Publications

September 2009 (Revised February 2014)
Case

Nantucket Nectars: The Exit

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, William A. Sahlman and Noam Wasserman

The founders of Nantucket Nectars are trying to decide whether and how to sell their company. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Exit or Shutdown; Decision Choices and Conditions; Auctions; Food and Beverage Industry; Massachusetts

July 2009
Case

Arcor: Global Strategy and Local Turbulence (Abridged)

Argentine confectionery manufacturer, Arcor Group, seeks to implement an international strategy but in 2003, while recovering from the Argentine financial crisis, globalization plans are thwarted. Already Latin America's leading candy producer and an exporter to over... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Currency; Global Strategy; Expansion; Balance and Stability; Food and Beverage Industry; Latin America; Argentina

January 2009
Teaching Note

The Octopus and the Generals: The United Fruit Company in Guatemala (TN)

By: Geoffrey G. Jones and Marcelo Bucheli

Teaching Note for [805146]. View Details

Keywords: Policy; Vertical Integration; Economy; War; Poverty; Government and Politics; Food and Beverage Industry; Guatemala; North and Central America

September 2008 (Revised October 2008)
Case

Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A1)

By: Fabrizio Ferri, V.G. Narayanan and James Weber

Two activist investors, one a founder and one a hedge fund manager, seek to improve board oversight at a chain restaurant company. Prestley Blake founded Friendly Ice Cream in 1935 with his brother, and the two created a chain of full-service restaurants. In 1979, they... View Details

Keywords: Investment Activism; Governing and Advisory Boards; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business or Company Management; Business and Shareholder Relations; Conflict of Interests; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

April 2008 (Revised September 2008)
Case

Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A)

By: Fabrizio Ferri, V.G. Narayanan and James Weber

Two activist investors, one a founder and one a hedge-fund manager, seek to improve board oversight at a chain restaurant company. Prestley Blake founded Friendly Ice Cream in 1935 with his brother, and the two created a chain of full-service restaurants. In 1979 they... View Details

Keywords: Investment Activism; Governing and Advisory Boards; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business or Company Management; Business and Shareholder Relations; Conflict of Interests; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

May 2006 (Revised February 2007)
Background Note

Innocent Drinks (TN)

By: Michael J. Roberts and William A. Sahlman

Teaching Note to (805-031). View Details

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

March 2006 (Revised April 2010)
Teaching Note

Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker (A) & (B) (TN)

By: Daniel C. Snow and Steven C. Wheelwright

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

December 2005
Teaching Note

Nectar: Making Loyalty Pay (TN)

By: John A. Deighton

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

2000
Book

Kellogg TechVenture

By: Mohanbir S. Sawhney and Ranjay Gulati

Keywords: Information Technology; Business Ventures; Food and Beverage Industry

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May 2005 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Gallardo's Goes to Mexico

By: Clayton M. Christensen

The theories of market segmentation and brand building in Chapter 3, What Products Will Customers Want to Buy? in The Innovator's Solution by Clayton Christensen and Michael Raynor suggest that when companies segment markets and build brands in ways that match how the... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Global Strategy; Brands and Branding; Segmentation; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Mexico

November 2003 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Arcor: Global Strategy and Local Turbulence

Argentine confectionery manufacturer, Arcor Group, seeks to implement an international strategy but in 2003, recovering from the Argentine financial crisis, thwarts globalization plans. Already Latin America's leading candy producer and an exporter to over 100... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Making; Global Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Argentina

August 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Board of Directors at The Coca-Cola Company, The

By: Jay W. Lorsch, Rakesh Khurana and Sonya Sanchez

Provides a history of the board of directors of the Coca-Cola Co. through 2003. Describes the evolution in the board's membership, practices, and structure and the role it played in the company's governance. Questions are raised about the relationship between the board... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Food and Beverage Industry

January 2003 (Revised May 2003)
Case

Heineken NV: Workplace HIV/AIDS Programs in Africa (B)

Second in a three-part series that explores the multifaceted organizational and strategic choices that companies now face as a result of the global AIDS epidemic. Heineken is considering becoming one of the first companies to offer AIDS drugs (antiretroviral therapy)... View Details

Keywords: Health Disorders; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Employees; Food and Beverage Industry; Africa

September 2002
Case

Pura Vida Coffee

By: James E. Austin and Allen S. Grossman

Tells the story of two HBS graduates who sell gourmet coffee over the Internet to support an outreach ministry in Costa Rica. View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Internet and the Web; Food and Beverage Industry; Costa Rica

March 2002
Case

2002 Global Coffee Summit: Searching for Solutions

By: Ray A. Goldberg and James M Beagle

Global coffee leaders gathered in 2002 to develop alternative market-based approaches that would ensure a sustainable supply of coffee and address the social and ecological issues confronted by a global depression in coffee prices. View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Social Issues; Natural Environment; Price; Food and Beverage Industry

February 2001 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Balance, Inc. (B)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Michele Lutz

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Food and Beverage Industry

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November 2000
Teaching Note

Sendwine.com TN

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Abby J. Hansen PHD

Teaching Note for (9-800-211). View Details

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

April 2000 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Coca-Cola Company (A), The: The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester

By: Michael D. Watkins, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

Chronicles M. Douglas Ivester's 26-month term as chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Co., and how he navigated the company through a series of what some considered "small crises." View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Crisis Management; Management Teams; Food and Beverage Industry