Business History

Business History is a featured research topic and an initiative at Harvard Business School.
 
Harvard Business School has a long tradition of investing in business history, and of asserting its central role in management education. In 1927, the School created the first endowed professorship in the field. It also founded the field’s first journal, the Business History Review. Since the work of Joseph Schumpeter at Harvard's Center for Entrepreneurial History in the 1940s, the School has taken an interdisciplinary and global approach to understanding business history. Today business historians at the School investigate a broad range of themes, including entrepreneurship, innovation, globalization, and environmental sustainability.

Featured Works

 

  1. Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2018

    Oral History and Writing the Business History of Emerging Markets

    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 corporate archives in most countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Oral history also permits a level of nuance that is hard to obtain even if written documents exist and are accessible in corporate and governmental archives. Oral histories can provide insights into why events did not occur as well as why companies chose certain industries over others, including wishing to avoid sectors where there was extensive government interference. Oral history can shed light on hypersensitive topics, such as corruption, which are rarely formally documented. While the methodological challenges of oral history are considerable and fully acknowledged, oral history can still be seen as a critical source of data on opinions, voices, and judgements on events in which there was often silence in written records.

    Keywords: oral history; Business History; Research; Emerging Markets;

    Citation:

    Jones, Geoffrey, and Rachael Comunale. "Oral History and Writing the Business History of Emerging Markets." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-056, November 2018.  View Details
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  2. Article | Australian Economic History Review

    Business, Governments and Political Risk in South Asia and Latin America since 1970

    G. Jones and Rachael Comunale

    This article contributes to the literature on political risk in business and economic history by examining both new perspectives (risk encountered by companies domestically, rather than risk for foreign investors) and new settings (emerging markets economies in Latin America and South Asia). It makes use of the Creating Emerging Markets oral history database at the Harvard Business School to examine business leaders’ perceptions of political risk over time between the 1970s and the present day, employing NVivo coding of the dataset to move beyond simple descriptive use of the content. The article identifies five major sources of risk operating in both geographies. Macroeconomic and policy turbulence emerged as the biggest source of risk for Latin Americans, while excessive bureaucracy was the biggest source of risk for South Asians. Political instability, corruption, and violence were other sources of risk encountered by many firms. The article examines not only the types of risk found in different environments, but also how interviewees discussed and responded to risk. In the case of corruption, although most countries surveyed had similarly high levels of corruption, it manifested itself differently in different regions. Especially informative was the issue of bureaucratic risk. Although interviewees in both regions reported having to dedicate significant time to navigating government regulation, interviewees in South Asia frequently reported attempting to stay away from highly regulated industries, while many interviewees in Latin America discussed how they adapted to heavier government oversight by forming closer ties or working relationships with incumbent administrations. This article demonstrates how oral history testimony can deepen and nuance current understandings of the evolution of business in emerging markets over the last half century. It can shed light on sensitive topics that are hard to study using written sources alone and adds nuance to phenomena commonly surveyed or measured qualitatively.

    Keywords: political risk; emerging market; bribery; Business ＆ government relations; turbulence; violence; Risk and Uncertainty; Emerging Markets; Crime and Corruption; Business and Government Relations; Business History; India; Latin America;

    Citation:

    Jones, G., and Rachael Comunale. "Business, Governments and Political Risk in South Asia and Latin America since 1970." Australian Economic History Review 58, no. 3 (November 2018): 233–264.  View Details
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  3. Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2018

    Rev. Georgiette Morgan-Thomas & The American Hat Factory

    Steven Rogers and Ariel Rogers

    On a sunny Monday morning, Rev. Morgan-Thomas walked into her newly acquired hat factory thinking, “What have I gotten myself into? Things are worse than I imagined. Can I ever turn this company around given all of the known and unknown problems? Can I make it profitable?”

    Keywords: Millinery; factory; B-to-B; B-to-C; women's hats; crowns; brims; hat maker; custom; wholesale; Arts; Buildings and Facilities; Business Ventures; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Crisis; Business History; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Fashion Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Retail Industry; Pennsylvania;

    Citation:

    Rogers, Steven, and Ariel Rogers. "Rev. Georgiette Morgan-Thomas & The American Hat Factory." Harvard Business School Case 319-009, August 2018.  View Details
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  4. Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2018

    Sustainability and Green Business in Latin America During Globalization Waves

    Geoffrey Jones

    This working paper examines the impact of modern business enterprise on the natural environment of Latin America during the globalization waves between the 19th century and the present day. It argues that although global capitalism created much wealth for the region, this was at the cost of massive ecological destruction in Latin America. During the first global economy considerable wealth was created from the exploitation of natural resources for the land-owning elite in Latin America, at the cost of large-scale ecological destruction. During the Great Reversal in the mid-20th century, public policies aimed at “catching up” resulted in the co-proliferation of hydro-electric schemes and resulting co-creation of ecological damage by firms and governments. In the new global economy since 1980, renewed economic growth and consumerism resulted in mountains of waste in increasingly polluted mega-cities. Biodiversity and the natural environment have been challenged across the subcontinent. However, there were interesting positives as these ecological horrors also created opportunities for a surprising cohort of green businesses across sectors ranging from beauty and health to ecotourism. In the 21st century, both business and governments in the region needed to address sustainability issues far more seriously, before a point of no return was reached.

    Keywords: Globalization; Natural Environment; Outcome or Result; Business History; Pollution and Pollutants; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Tourism Industry; Latin America;

    Citation:

    Jones, Geoffrey. "Sustainability and Green Business in Latin America During Globalization Waves." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-009, August 2018.  View Details
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  5. Article | Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient | 2018

    Revenue Farming Reconsidered: Tenurial Rights and Tenurial Duties in Early Modern India, ca. 1556–1818

    Sudev J Sheth

    The meaning of land revenue farming in Indian history has eluded consensus. Some view it as an administrative aberration indicating weak state control, while others see it as a strategy for consolidating authority. This essay traces the historical development of iqṭāʻ and ijārah, two Perso-Arabic terms frequently translated from the sources as “revenue farming estate.” I then suggest that existing perspectives do not capture the broader structure and significance of various entitlements to land revenue. Instead, I suggest that entitlements be schematized according to how regularized the right was, whether it was permanent, and how duty-bound the right holder was. In this formulation, revenue farm refers to a complex of rights and duties secured by contract in which a sovereign transferred the temporary exploitation of a holding for rent in advance. It was one of four tenurial complexes under which entitlements fell, the others being estates from bureaucratic assignment, hereditary occupation or possession by grant/gift, and tributary or chieftaincy.

    Keywords: iqṭāʻ; ijārah; revenue farming; financial agents; Mughal Empire; Business History; Business and Government Relations; Property; Finance; South Asia;

    Citation:

    Sheth, Sudev J. "Revenue Farming Reconsidered: Tenurial Rights and Tenurial Duties in Early Modern India, ca. 1556–1818." Art. 4. Special Issue on Repossessing Property in South Asia: Land, Rights, and Law across the Early Modern/Modern Divide edited by Faisal Chaudhury. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 61, nos. 5-6 (2018): 878–919.  View Details
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  6. Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2018

    Business, Governments and Political Risk in South Asia and Latin America since 1970

    Geoffrey Jones and Rachael Comunale

    This working paper provides a new perspective on how businesses have responded to political risk in South Asia and Latin America over the last half century. The existing business history literature on political risk is focused on the experiences of Western multinationals in the 20th century, especially in Nazi Germany and the post-colonial developing world. This working paper is instead focused on perceptions of political risk by domestic business leaders active in Latin America and South Asia since the 1970s. Employing data from the Creating Emerging Markets oral history database developed at the Harvard Business School, the working paper identifies five major sources of political risk: macroeconomic and policy turbulence, excessive bureaucracy, political instability, corruption, and violence. Employing NVivo coding, marked regional differences were identified. Macroeconomic and policy turbulence was the biggest perceived source of risk in Latin America. Excessive bureaucracy was the biggest source of perceived risk in South Asia. There were regional differences also in how leaders in different regions responded to the same risk. In both regions business leaders reported having to dedicate significant time to navigating government regulations, but interviewees in South Asia frequently reported attempting to steer clear from highly regulated industries, while many interviewees in Latin America discussed how they adapted to heavier government oversight by forming closer ties or working relationships with incumbent administrations.

    Keywords: Business and Government Relations; Risk Management; Government and Politics; Business History; South Asia; Latin America;

    Citation:

    Jones, Geoffrey, and Rachael Comunale. "Business, Governments and Political Risk in South Asia and Latin America since 1970." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 18-102, May 2018.  View Details
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  7. Case | HBS Case Collection | April 2018 (Revised November 2018)

    Coco Chanel: From Fashion Icon to Nazi Agent

    Geoffrey Jones and Emily Grandjean

    This case describes the career of the iconic French fashion designer Coco Chanel who created a transformational business during the first half of the 20th century. Beginning in her early adulthood, Chanel leveraged relationships with acquaintances, friends, and romantic partners to build her fashion business and legendary luxury brand based on understated elegance. Chanel’s famous “little black dress” was accompanied by many other innovations including the use of jersey as material for daytime clothing and her development of the Chanel No. 5 perfume. The case pays close attention to the importance of Chanel’s networks among the cultural elite and European high society. It explores how she embraced the rise of Anti-Semitism among many members of the upper class at that time. During World War II, Chanel lived in the Ritz Hotel in Paris in occupied France, where she entered into a romantic relationship with a high-ranking German intelligence officer. Subsequently, Chanel herself became an intelligence operative for the Nazis. The case ends with Chanel in Switzerland in 1945 after she departed France following the Liberation of Paris by Allied forces. This case can be used to explore multiple issues including creating and building an iconic fashion brand, entrepreneurship, and ethical responsibility of business.

    Keywords: Business History; Biography; Entrepreneurship; Relationships; Brands and Branding; Ethics; Fashion Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry;

    Citation:

    Jones, Geoffrey, and Emily Grandjean. "Coco Chanel: From Fashion Icon to Nazi Agent." Harvard Business School Case 318-139, April 2018. (Revised November 2018.)  View Details
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  8. Article | Keiei ronshū [Meiji Business Review] | March 2018

    Global Business over Time

    G. Jones

    This article explores how business enterprises have been powerful actors in the spread of global capitalism between 1840 and the present day. It also shows how global firms, emerging out of industrialized Western economies, created and co-created markets and ecosystems through their ability to transfer a package of financial, organizational, and cultural assets, skills, and ideologies across national borders. It argues such firms have been shapers of, as well as responders to, globalization waves over the last two centuries. Global firms are also shown to be actors in periodic deglobalization waves. This was because their function was to reinforce the gaps in wealth and income rather than disrupt them. Business enterprises proved disappointing institutions for knowledge and technology transfer. During the first global economy, multinational resource and related investments were highly enclavist and embedded in the institutional arrangements of Western imperialism and autocratic dictators. Western firms reinforced rather than disrupted institutional and societal norms, which restricted growth in many countries outside the West. They often functioned, as a result, as part of the problem, rather than part of the solution. In the more recent globalization era, the strategies of Western corporations have moved beyond the practices of the colonial past, but linkages and spillovers to local economies have often been disappointedly low. Their ability, and motivation, to locate value-added activities in the most attractive locations means that they strengthen clustering rather than encourage dispersion of knowledge.

    Keywords: global; multinational; business history; Globalization; Business History; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Economic Systems;

    Citation:

    Jones, G. "Global Business over Time." Keiei ronshū [Meiji Business Review] 65, no. 1 (March 2018): 1–26.  View Details
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  9. Chapter | Business Groups in the West: Origins, Evolution, and Resilience | 2018

    Britain: Global Legacy and Domestic Persistence

    G. Jones

    This chapter explores the British experience in a volume which examines the historical evolution of business groups in developed Western economies. The chapter argues that during the nineteenth century British merchant houses established business groups with diversified portfolio and pyramidal structures overseas, especially in developing economies, including both British colonies and the independent nations of Latin America. While these types of business groups remained a significant form of firm organization among enterprises specializing in overseas ventures, they did not become the dominant form of large enterprises within British economy itself. Business groups organized under the holding company such as Calico Printers' Association and Associated Portland Cement, as their names imply, were eventually a federation of many specialized companies. As they seldom committed to administrative centralization, their efficiency gain as a business organization remained marginal. The chapter first looks at the appearance and development of industry-focused and family-owned companies before World War II and the relative decline in importance of internationally-focused business groups during the second half of the twentieth century. The chapter then discusses the rise and fall of diversified and conglomerate type of groups like Hanson Trust and BTR, and the more durable Virgin Group and its counterparts. The empirical evidence presented in the chapter demonstrates that diversified business groups can add value in mature markets such as Britain. Even the much-criticized conglomerates of the 1970s-1990s were quite successful forms of business enterprise, and the demise of many of them appears to owe more to management fads than to serious underperformance.

    Keywords: business groups; business history; conglomerates; Globalization; Entrepreneurship; Business History; Organizations; Business Conglomerates; United Kingdom;

    Citation:

    Jones, G. "Britain: Global Legacy and Domestic Persistence." Chap. 5 in Business Groups in the West: Origins, Evolution, and Resilience, edited by Asli M. Colpan and Takashi Hikino, 123–146. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.  View Details
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  10. Case | HBS Case Collection | February 2018 (Revised April 2018)

    Yunnan Baiyao: Transforming a Chinese State-Owned Enterprise

    Michael Chu, William C. Kirby, Nancy Hua Dai and Yuanzhuo Wang

    This case tells the story of how Wang Minghui, Chairman of Yunnan Baiyao Group since 1999, transformed a single-product traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) state-owned enterprise (SOE) into a major diversified consumer health player in China's highly competitive fast-moving consumer goods market. The case also traces the development of the company from a private business to a SOE and then to a SOE under mixed state-private ownership.

    Keywords: state-owned enterprise (SOE); competition; traditional chinese medicine; Yunnan; Yunnan Baiyao; consumer health; enterprise transformation; Transformation; Health; Business History; State Ownership; Private Ownership; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Consumer Products Industry; Health Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; China;

    Citation:

    Chu, Michael, William C. Kirby, Nancy Hua Dai, and Yuanzhuo Wang. "Yunnan Baiyao: Transforming a Chinese State-Owned Enterprise." Harvard Business School Case 318-078, February 2018. (Revised April 2018.)  View Details
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Initiatives & Projects

  • Business History

    The Business History Initiative seeks to facilitate learning from the past through innovative research and course development, employing global and interdisciplinary perspectives.

Faculty

HBS Working Knowledge

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re Geoffrey G. Jones
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
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re Geoffrey G. Jones
Geoffrey Jones examines the career of Ernesto Tornquist, a cosmopolitan financier considered to be the most significant entrepreneur in Argentina at the end of the 19th century.
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re Geoffrey G. Jones and Amy C. Edmondson
Companies have thought for decades about business-focused solutions to fix the deteriorating environment. But judging by continually rising waters and temperatures, we may need a rethink about what s

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by Geoffrey Jones and Emily Grandjean

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