Publications

January 2008 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Inner Mongolia Yili Group: China's Pioneering Dairy Brand

By: Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan and Tracy Yuen Manty

Setting up the goal to become one of the top 20 enterprises in the world dairy industry by 2010, the Inner Mongolia Yili Group had ambitious plans. As one of China's biggest national dairy companies, its main challenge was competing as a local company against... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Competition; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; China

Research Summary

National Innovation Systems in the Life Sciences

This is an international comparative study of how institutional contexts shape the process by which science is leveraged into commercial technology. The study explores how variance in corporate governance systems, knowledge- and skill-formation systems, and... View Details

March 2018 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Yo-Yo Ma and Silkroad

By: Rohit Deshpandé, Paul A. Gompers and Scott Duke Kominers

Silkroad—a cross-cultural music collaboration that world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma had spearheaded since 1998, was preparing to celebrate its 20th anniversary. In parallel, Ma was stepping back from his role as the organization’s Artistic Director. Silkroad had come of... View Details

Keywords: Managing Diverse Teams; Leadership Transitions; Global Innovation; Music; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Music Entertainment; Leadership; Transition

2018
Introduction

Introduction

By: Sophus A. Reinert

BOOK ABSTRACT: When Istvan Hont died in 2013, the world lost a giant of intellectual history. A leader of the Cambridge School of Political Thought, Hont argued passionately for a global-historical approach to political ideas. To better understand the development of... View Details

Keywords: Markets; Moral Sensibility; Government and Politics; Trade; History

Find at Harvard

March 2004 (Revised April 2005)
Case

International Rivers Network and the Bujagali Dam Project (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Aldo Sesia

In the summer of 2002, the International Rivers Network (IRN), an environmental NGO located in Berkeley, California, was engaged in what appeared to be the last hours of a three year campaign to stop a $582 million dam and hydropower project at Bujagali Falls in... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Corporate Disclosure; Project Finance; Investment; Environmental Sustainability; Projects; Developing Countries and Economies; Energy Industry; Uganda

01 Feb 2012
What Do You Think?

Is Support for Small Business Misplaced?

center of economic development can be held up as a possible antidote to macroeconomic stagnation. That's why a recent article by Charles Kenny caught my eye. Kenny, a fellow at the Center for Global View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

16 Mar 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Higher-Ambition CEOs Need Higher-Ambition Boards

Keywords: by Edward J. Ludwig, Anna Elise Walton & Michael Beer

July 2020 (Revised January 2021)
Case

Pattern Brands

By: Sunil Gupta, Elie Ofek and Julia Kelley

In March 2020, direct-to-consumer (DTC) company Pattern Brands needed to decide how to allocate resources across its different brands. Pattern Co-Founders Nick Ling and Emmett Shine hoped to avoid the pitfalls faced by some DTC companies—such as inability to scale and... View Details

25 Sep 2001
Other Presentation

The Baltic Rim Regional Agenda

By: Michael E. Porter

This presentation draws on ideas from Professor Porter's articles and books, in particular, The Competitive Advantage of Nations (The Free Press, 1990), "The Microeconomic Foundations of Economic Development," in The Global Competitiveness Report 1998,... View Details

Keywords: Economics; Growth and Development; Russia

Read Now

The Lancet COVID-19 Commission was an interdisciplinary initiative encompassing the health sciences, business, finance, and public policy. The Lancet COVID-19... View Details

September 2023
Case

FoodCloud: Tackling Food Insecurity and Climate Change in One Bite

By: Brian Trelstad and Emer Moloney

In 2013, Aoibheann O’Brien and Iseult Ward founded FoodCloud, a non-profit social enterprise that aimed to address food waste and food insecurity issues. Through its technology platform, Foodiverse, FoodCloud connected surplus food from retailers with community groups... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Expansion; Technological Innovation; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Growth and Development Strategy; Green Technology Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Republic of Ireland; Europe

January 2020
Article

Rethinking Measurement of Pay Disparity and Its Relation to Firm Performance

By: Ethan Rouen

I develop measures of firm-level pay disparity and examine their relation to firm performance. Using comprehensive compensation data for a large sample of firms, I find no statistically significant relation between the ratio of CEO-to-mean employee compensation and... View Details

Keywords: Pay Disparity; Pay Ratio; CEO Pay Ratio; Income Inequality; Executive Compensation; Employees; Wages; Equality and Inequality; Business Ventures; Performance

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11 Apr 2013
Panel Discussion

From Per Capita to Pro Capita: Launch of the Social Progress Imperative

By: Michael E. Porter, Michael Green, Heather Hancock, Judith Rodin, Madhav Chavan and Ngaire Woods

What is a successful country? The global debate about development has, for decades, been focused on a single, economic measure of success: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Per Capita. But this tells us little about the real wellbeing of a nation or its sustainability. What... View Details

Keywords: Social Progress Index; Country; Measurement and Metrics; Social Issues

March 1991 (Revised April 1995)
Case

Bundling

Recent developments in the software business point to some of the reasons why companies offer their products or services in bundles. One is the opportunity to leverage market power, as Microsoft arguably has done by bundling applications software with its operating... View Details

Keywords: Software; Product Marketing; Information Technology Industry

07 Aug 2019
Research & Ideas

Big Infrastructure May Not Always Produce Big Benefits

Governments and policymakers often assume that infrastructure development is key to jumpstarting economic growth for citizens, an “If we build it they will come” chain reaction of new jobs, more efficient... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Construction

30 Nov 2010
Working Paper Summaries

The New Face of Chinese Industrial Policy: Making Sense of Anti-Dumping Cases in the Petrochemical and Steel Industry

Keywords: by Regina Abrami & Yu Zheng; Manufacturing; Chemical

December 2004 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Managing Diversity at Spencer Owens & Co.

By: Robin J. Ely and Ingrid Vargas

Spencer Owens & Co, a disguised consulting firm, focuses on domestic and international economic development. As an extension of the firm's commitment to social justice, 20 years ago, Spencer Owens management introduced an affirmative action hiring and promotion... View Details

Keywords: Working Conditions; Selection and Staffing; Development Economics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Employees; Diversity; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Consulting Industry