Publications

June 2008 (Revised May 2017)
Case

Cook Composites and Polymers Co.

By: Deishin Lee, Michael W. Toffel and Rachel Gordon

This case describes how a company improves resource efficiency and process quality in its manufacturing process by developing a waste by-product into a new product. The case describes how CCP cleans production equipment between batches using styrene, which becomes a... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Business Processes; Performance Efficiency; Natural Environment; Wastes and Waste Processing; Pollutants; Environmental Sustainability; Chemical Industry; Manufacturing Industry

June 2011 (Revised December 2013)
Case

FIJI Water: Carbon Negative?

By: Francesca Gino, Michael W. Toffel and Stephanie van Sice

Seeking to go beyond global best practices in reducing environmental impacts, FIJI Water, a premium artesian bottled water company in the United States, launched a Carbon Negative campaign that would offset more greenhouse gas emissions than were released by the... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Footprint; Carbon Offsetting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Brands and Branding; Negotiation Tactics; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Fiji

05 Sep 2012
What Do You Think?

Will Business Management Save US Health Care?

Wittenberg put it, " management will never fix the health care system (it) can promote standardization and mass production (but) the actions of individual managers will have no effect on the overall system," one that as Barry Shere pointed out, "attempts... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Health

January 2025
Teaching Note

Vytal: Packaging-as-a-Service

By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel and Stacy Straaberg

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 124-007. The Germany-based startup Vytal operated the largest digital-native reusable packaging-as-a-service network globally, having raised nearly €15 million, established a large network of restaurant partners, and prevented the use of... View Details

December 2012 (Revised March 2015)
Case

AmTran Technology Ltd.

By: Willy Shih, Jyun-Cheng Wang and Karen E. Robinson

As an original design manufacturer (ODM) of television sets and leading supplier to Vizio, a market leader in the U.S. for LCD flat panel TVs, AmTran Technology Ltd. uses what founder Alpha Wu describes as a "WE" model in which western companies perform sales,... View Details

30 Sep 2014
First Look

First Look: September 30

supply chain factories' adherence to the global labor standards embodied in codes of conduct imposed by multinational buyers. We find that suppliers are more likely to adhere when they are embedded in states... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Article

The Growing Strategic Importance of End-of-Life Product Management

By: Michael W. Toffel

Requiring manufacturers to manage the their products when they become waste is an innovative form of regulation, one that has been adopted by countries in Asia, Europe, and North America on a variety of products that range from vehicles to appliances to batteries.... View Details

Keywords: Product; Environmental Sustainability; Cost Management; Wastes and Waste Processing; Strategy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Manufacturing Industry; Asia; Europe; North and Central America

Find at Harvard

Read Now

01 Sep 2012
News

On a Sound Track

that is relevant in Shanghai, Panama, South Africa, Europe, or wherever. The United States is one big market. Contrast that with Europe, where we have a central office, but where there are lots of different markets that require different strategies and investments. Our... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; audio accessories; Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, and Book Stores; Retail Trade

19 Jun 2007
First Look

First Look: June 19, 2007

http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/07-051.pdf Alignment in Cross-Functional and Cross-Firm Supply Chain Planning Authors:Santiago Kraiselburd and Noel Watson Abstract In this paper, we seek to use quantitative... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

19 Sep 2012
News

On a Sound Track

that is relevant in Shanghai, Panama, South Africa, Europe, or wherever. The United States is one big market. Contrast that with Europe, where we have a central office, but where there are lots of different markets that require different strategies and investments. Our... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; audio equipment; fashion; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

12 May 2009
First Look

First Look: May 12, 2009

http://hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=809142 Supply Chain Partners: Virginia Mason and Owens & Minor (A) Harvard Business School Case 109-076 Virginia Mason Medical Center (VM) hired... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

10 Jun 2014
First Look

First Look: June 10

tens of thousands of code-of-conduct audits, we conduct one of the first large-scale comparative studies to determine which international, domestic, civil society, and market institutions promote supply View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 May 2019
Cold Call Podcast

If the Key to Business Success Is Focus, Why Does Amazon Work?

Keywords: Re: Sunil Gupta; Retail

August 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

New Hope Liuhe: Building an Integrated Agri-Food Business

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Shu Lin, Natalie Kindred and Nancy Hua Dai

In October 2018, LIU Chang (Angela), chairman of Beijing-based New Hope Liuhe (NHL), was considering the strategy of the firm. With $9 billion in sales and a presence in nearly 20 countries, NHL was China’s largest animal feed producer and a major pork and poultry... View Details