Faculty & Research - Business History - Harvard Business School

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03 Jul 2019
Cold Call Podcast

The Controversial History of United Fruit

Re: Geoffrey G. Jones

                          Geoffrey Jones discusses the overthrow of President Jacobo Arbenz of Guatemala in 1954 in a US-backed coup supporting United Fruit Company and a key landmark in the history of globalization.

27 May 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Voting Trusts and Antitrust: Rethinking the Role of Shareholder Rights and Private Litigation in Public Regulation, 1880s to 1930s

by Naomi R. Lamoreaux and Laura Phillips Sawyer

                          Historically, judges were reluctant to intervene in corporations’ internal affairs and displayed a particular wariness of shareholders’ derivative suits. By the end of the 19th century, however, they had begun to revise their views and to see shareholders’ private...

May15

15 May 2019
Research Event

The Unconventional Capitalism That Shapes Business History

by Geoffrey G. Jones

                          Geoffrey G. Jones reports on a business history conference studying the many shades of capitalism around the world and through time.

14 Mar 2019
Cold Call Podcast

How Helena Rubinstein Used Tall Tales to Turn Cosmetics into a Luxury Brand

Re: Geoffrey G. Jones

                          Professor Geoff Jones examines the career of Helena Rubinstein, one of the trailblazing female entrepreneurs of the 20th century. Using guile, brilliant branding, and more than a few falsehoods, Rubinstein lifted cosmetics from an accessory item for prostitutes to a...

13 Mar 2019
Working Paper Summaries

The Consequences of Invention Secrecy: Evidence from the USPTO Patent Secrecy Program in World War II

by Daniel P. Gross

                          Information plays a critical role in technological progress, yet many inventors opt for trade secrecy to protect their intellectual property. This paper studies the myriad repercussions of concealing new inventions through the lens of a systematic and sweeping...

2019
Book Chapter

International Business and Emerging Markets in Historical Perspective

By: G. Jones

This chapter examines international business in emerging markets over the long run. It shows how the strategies of Western multinationals evolved over time. In the first era of globalization in the 19th century, Western firms sought access to resources, and they faced...

14 Feb 2019
Cold Call Podcast

The Delicious History of Hershey's Chocolate

Re: Nancy F. Koehn

                          Milton Hershey, the candy king, pioneered chocolate treats for the masses. But he also built a controversial company town and what today is one of the richest schools in America. Nancy Koehn discusses Hershey's innovative life and vision.

February 2019 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Electric Car Wars, 2018

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

Electric cars had long been championed by environmentalists as a superior solution to the internal combustion engine (ICE), but, despite large government incentives and strong pioneering efforts by a few automakers over the years, electric and hybrid cars and light...

04 Feb 2019
Book

Green Businesses Are Incredibly Difficult to Make Profitable. Try It Anyway

by Dina Gerdeman

                          Making a business successful is a challenge in itself, but making a green business profitable is an even harder journey. For society's sake, entrepreneurs must be prepared to make that journey, says Geoffrey Jones.

Enterprise & Society

Oral History and the Business History of Emerging Markets

By: G. Jones and R. Comunale

This article highlights the benefits that rigorous use of oral history can offer to research on the contemporary business history of emerging markets. Oral history can help fill some of the major information voids arising from the absence of a strong tradition of...

07 Dec 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Oral History and Writing the Business History of Emerging Markets

by Geoffrey Jones and Rachael Comunale

                          Oral history is a valuable resource to explore how businesses developed and functioned in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, regions with a growing share of global economic activity and the majority of the world’s population. While oral history is not uncritical, it...

2018
Working Paper

Oral History and Writing the Business History of Emerging Markets

By: Geoffrey Jones and Rachael Comunale

This working paper highlights the benefits that rigorous use of oral history can offer to research on the contemporary business history of emerging markets. Oral history can help fill some of the major information voids arising from the absence of a strong tradition of...