Publications

22 Apr 2021
News

Leading for a Better World in Boston; Virtual Event Showcases Japan Fellowship

which connects farmers to food banks to reduce food waste and feed needy communities; Anne Hayes, executive director of The Food Project, which... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

31 Aug 2020
Blog Post

Five Important Steps before Taking the Entrepreneurial Leap

over a shared love of India (we both lived there at various times), startups, and the natural foods space. We even realized that we had a mutual friend who then turned out to be one View Details

01 Feb 2001
News

Volunteers Crack Case, Consider School's Future

I knew there had to be a hitch when HBS invited its alumni volunteers — fund agents, reunion organizers, and my fellow Class Notes correspondents — back to campus in early November for two days of free food... View Details

Keywords: Laura Singleton; alumni; volunteers; conferences; cases; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

November 2005 (Revised October 2012)
Case

The Auction for Burger King (A)

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and James Quinn

Paul Walsh, CEO of Diageo, must evaluate bids received in an auction of the Burger King restaurant unit. Describes how Diageo came to own Burger King, the attempts to turn the unit around, the strategic reasons for its sale, the auction process, and various bidders'... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Leveraged Buyouts; Bids and Bidding; Valuation; Auctions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Negotiation Tactics; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

March 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Noodles & Company

Aaron Kennedy has successfully grown Noodles & Co. from a single global noodle shop to a chain of 58 restaurants spanning six states in seven years. In the face of increasing competition, Kennedy has plans to roll out 240 new stores in the next four years. He must... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Organizational Culture; Franchise Ownership; Growth and Development Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

November 2009 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Red Tomato: Keeping It Local

By: Jose B. Alvarez, Mary Louise Shelman and Laura Winig

This case describes the operating model and history of Red Tomato, a non-profit organization dedicated to branding and logistical support for locally grown produce farmers in the northeast U.S. The case highlights the challenges involved in making locally grown produce... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Trends; Food; Local Range; Consumer Behavior; Logistics; Supply Chain; Nonprofit Organizations; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Northeastern United States

09 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 9, 2008

enormous strain on the 1.2 billion people living on a dollar a day or less. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and relief agencies are on the front lines of this global crisis, distributing food and other... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

18 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Who Controls Water?

Although much of the globe is awash in it, the allocation of water for human consumption is anything but easy. As the planet's population grows, urbanizes, and is subjected to climate change, many experts... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Agriculture & Agribusiness

March 1998 (Revised August 1998)
Case

Pepsi Blue

By: John A. Quelch

Executives at Pepsico are considering a possible redesign of the Pepsi carbonated beverage packages worldwide to give the brand a modern, up-to-date image and "ownership" of the color blue against Coca-Cola's "ownership" of the color red. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Advertising; Brands and Branding; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

August 2005 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Kemps LLC: Introducing Time-Driven ABC

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Kemps is making a strategy shift: from being focused on fulfilling customer requests to becoming the best cost dairy producer in the industry. Its existing manufacturing cost system, however, fails to capture the costs associated with handling special flavors, small... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Customer Relationship Management; Cost Accounting; Managerial Roles; Cost Management; Earnings Management; Business Strategy; Time Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Decisions; Food and Beverage Industry

November 1993 (Revised September 1998)
Supplement

Beech-Nut Nutrition Corporation (C): Conclusion

By: Lynn S. Paine

Describes the results of the charges related to the sale of the apple juice products. View Details

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry; United States

20 Jun 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, June 20

efficiency and traceability of the global food system. This case focuses on how best to implement this new system and respect the privacy of the ultimate consumer, and the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 May 2019
Research Event

The Unconventional Capitalism That Shapes Business History

Lalocracio In thinking about the current contested state of global capitalism, and what to do about it, much can be learned from the debates I heard at the recent Harvard Business School conference, Seeking the Unconventional in Forging Histories of Capitalism, which... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey G. Jones; Education

January 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Chiacchierone's Owners Chat About Tipping

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Michael S. Kaufman

The founders of a successful upscale restaurant operating with a "no-tipping" policy are faced with employee defections to tipped establishments as well as difficulty in recruiting. They must decide whether to retain or jettison their policy and determine how to deal... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Employees; Policy; Food and Beverage Industry

September 2020 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Briscola—Pizza Society: Scaling Affordable Luxury

By: Gary P. Pisano and Federica Gabrieli

Riccardo Cortese and Federico Pinna were the CEOs of Briscola—Pizza Society, a restaurant chain they had founded in 2014 with a clear ambition: create a distinctive international pizza chain that would combine a fast-casual format with the devotion to quality that... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; Geographic Location; Business Model; Ownership Type; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; Italy