- 23 Jun 2016
- Op-Ed
Brexit: Should Britain Stay or Go?
Britain is holding a referendum on whether to leave the European Union. In this pair of op-eds, Harvard Business School professors Geoff Jones and Dante Roscini each explain why they think leaving is a bad idea -- and where Europe should go from here. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 08 Mar 2016
- Research & Ideas
Solving an Economic Mystery Surrounding Argentina and Chile
At the dawn of the twentieth century, Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world. In the twenty-first century, it is struggling, its economy eclipsed by Chile. A new book by Geoffrey Jones and Andrea Lluch helps explain the “Argentina Paradox” and the influence of globalism. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 14 Dec 2015
- Working Paper Summaries
Business Groups Exist in Developed Markets Also: Britain Since 1850
Looking at U.K. history, Geoffrey Jones finds that groups of companies bound through formal or informal ties can add value in developed markets as well as developing markets.
- 08 Dec 2015
- Research Event
Research Trends Discussed at India and South Asia Conference
Harvard Business School recently brought together scholars to discuss the business history and current research trends in India and South Asia. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 14 Jan 2015
- Research & Ideas
Thriving in the Turbulence of Emerging Markets
Entrepreneurs in developing market economies face special management challenges. Company leaders in India, Turkey, and Africa discuss their experiences with Harvard Business School's Creating Emerging Markets project. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 20 Nov 2014
- Working Paper Summaries
Entrepreneurship and Business Groups: An Evolutionary Perspective on the Growth of the Koç Group in Turkey
This working paper examines the emergence and growth of diversified business groups in Turkey, where such groups played a critical role in the creation of modern industries and remain dominant in the economy even today. Specifically, the authors focus on the origins of the Koç Group, which grew to be the largest business group in Turkey. They explore the dynamics of its growth from its foundation in 1917 until the late 1980s. Overall, this research supports prevailing explanations of business groups which identify the role of institutional voids, government policies, and contact capabilities. However, the authors also stress that entrepreneurship needs to be incorporated into the determinants of business group growth, especially to account for why particular entrepreneurs built such groups while others, faced with similar conditions, did not. Key concepts include: Diversified business groups are the dominant organizational form in many emerging markets, including Turkey. Their emergence and importance has been explained in terms of institutional voids, government policies, and contact capabilities, but entrepreneurship also mattered. Entrepreneurship mattered not only in the origins of such groups, but in their subsequent growth as large businesses. In this case study, there is evidence of entrepreneurship that was alert both to the new opportunities offered by the Republic, and prepared to disrupt and create new opportunities. The founder, Vehbi Koç, was creative in his search for new knowledge and skills, reaching out both to ethnic minorities within Turkey and Western multinationals. As he grew his business, he also pioneered corporate philanthropy within Turkey, which included having to lobby to change the legal framework of Turkish business. He also took the lead in Turkey in modernizing traditional organizational methods, although he and his family stayed firmly in control of the group. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 28 May 2014
- Research & Ideas
Building Histories of Emerging Economies One Interview at a Time
Much of modern business history has been written on experiences in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Now, the unheard stories of emerging markets in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are being told on a new website by the Business History Initiative. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 20 Mar 2014
- Working Paper Summaries
Waste, Recycling and Entrepreneurship in Central and Northern Europe, 1870-1940
The efficient and appropriate collection and disposal of solid waste has been recognized as essential to the hygiene and health of urban societies since the nineteenth century. Over the course of the first half of the twentieth century, sanitary engineers and the broader public also came to understand that the inappropriate treatment of waste could cause major environmental degradation, while recycling could contribute significantly to environmental sustainability. A key question for this industry, therefore, has been whether such social value could be combined with the pursuit of profitable opportunities. In this paper the authors focus on the late nineteenth century through the 1940s, a crucial period for the emergence of firms concerned with waste disposal in industrialized central and northern Europe. The authors show that German, Danish, and other European entrepreneurs built substantial businesses which aimed to achieve "shared value" by making positive social and environmental contributions to their societies. Some of these entrepreneurs had strikingly modern views of environmental challenges and they prefigured many later twentieth-century recycling processes. At the same time, the profit motive encouraged technological innovation, a major ideal of capitalist enterprise, and left a legacy of scientific and engineering knowledge of waste materials and their processing and utilization which benefited later recyclers. Although post-1970 non-profit community recycling centers, municipal collection programs, and recycling divisions of waste management companies provide the terminology and the ideology behind modern recycling, they owe their technological and organizational foundations to an earlier generation of profit-seeking engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs. Key concepts include: Industrialization and the birth of consumer societies in the nineteenth century encouraged authors the emergence of firms concerned with waste disposal. This paper examines entrepreneurs in this industry in central and northern Europe from the late nineteenth century to the 1940s. These entrepreneurs sometimes had strikingly modern views of environmental challenges and the need to overcome them. They initiated processes for sorting and recycling waste materials that are still employed today. They were driven by a desire to keep city and countryside healthy and unpolluted, and to avoid the gratuitous waste of resources. In an era of municipalization, these entrepreneurs demonstrated the potential for fruitful interactions between business and city government. Their companies show the challenges of achieving profitability in large-scale recycling. The problems of many of these businesses may help to explain why private waste companies have been associated with late and reluctant entry into recycling activities, often trailing municipal governments and non-profit entities in the late twentieth century. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 12 Mar 2014
- Research & Ideas
Entrepreneurship and Multinationals Drive Globalization
Why is the firm overlooked as a contributor when we identify the drivers of globalization? Geoffrey Jones discusses his new book, Entrepreneurship and Multinationals: Global Business and the Making of the Modern World. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 11 Mar 2014
- Research & Ideas
Book Excerpt: ’Entrepreneurship and Multinationals’
An excerpt from Entrepreneurship and Multinationals: Global Business and the Making of the Modern World, by Geoffrey Jones. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 20 Sep 2013
- Working Paper Summaries
Historical Origins of Environmental Sustainability in the German Chemical Industry, 1950s-1980s
This paper examines the emergence of environmental strategies in the chemical industry between the 1950s and the 1980s. German chemical firms have been hailed as "eco-pioneers" in this regard, but this study demonstrates that initially the leading chemical companies of both Germany and the United States followed a similar approach to societal concerns about environmental pollution. Both German and American firms suggested that pollution incidents and complaints were a matter for local responses, tailored to specific settings, and should be considered primarily as nuisances rather than as environmental or health hazards. By the 1970s, however, the evolution of environmental strategies in the German chemical industry diverged greatly from that of the United States. This working paper explores how and why by examining the strategies of two prominent German chemical companies, Bayer and Henkel. The German firms diverged from their American counterparts in using public relations strategies not only to contain fallout from criticism of their pollution impact, but also to create opportunities for changes in corporate culture to encourage sustainability. While the US chemical industry remained defensive and focused on legal compliance, there was a greater proactivity among the German firms. The study stresses the importance of the regional embeddedness of Bayer and Henkel in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which made their reputations especially vulnerable to criticism. A new generation of corporate leaders also perceived that more reactive strategies were needed to fulfill societal expectations. They were savvy enough to understand that investing in environmental sustainability could provide an opportunity to create value for the firm, and that self-identifying as eco-pioneers had commercial as well as reputational benefits, provided that the image reflected genuine policies and processes. Key concepts include: Leading German chemical companies have been regarded and self-identified as "eco-pioneers," but before the 1970s their environmental strategies were broadly similar to their U.S. counterparts. Subsequently the German firms became more proactive in their environmental strategies. The regional embeddedness of Bayer and Henkel in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia emerges as an important determinant of their emergent green strategies. The firms had deep reputational stakes invested in their region and were highly exposed to criticism of their environmental impact. Corporate leaders of Henkel and Bayer were early movers in understanding that investing in environmental sustainability could provide an opportunity to create value for their firms. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 07 Aug 2013
- Working Paper Summaries
Debating the Responsibility of Capitalism in Historical and Global Perspective
The concept of corporate responsibility is often assumed to be recent in origin. This is far from accurate. Indeed, a recent study has traced the long history of corporate responsibility concepts in the United States back to the eighteenth century. This working paper puts this United States evidence in a wider comparative and global perspective. The paper proceeds chronologically, beginning with the era of the first global economy during the nineteenth and early twentieth century, and going forward to the present day. Overall, the author demonstrates that from the nineteenth century, American, European, Japanese, Indian, and other business leaders discussed the responsibilities of business beyond making profits, although until recently such views have not been mainstream. Key concepts include: Four factors have driven beliefs that corporations have responsibilities beyond making money for their owners. These factors are spirituality; self-interest; fears of government intervention; and the belief that governments were incapable of addressing major social issues. Many of the most forceful exponents of responsibility had strong religious or spiritual values. They did not accept the arguments of Adam Smith, Ted Levitt, and Milton Friedman that they should set aside these values in the sphere of business, and simply take on trust that self-interest and profit maximization would automatically deliver public good. Self-interest also mattered. In the United States, where corporate philanthropy acquired a unique importance, rich business leaders can be regarded as making investments in shaping the future. Less grandiosely, corporate social responsibility and philanthropy could be interpreted as reflecting the desire of business leaders to secure legitimacy for themselves and their firms. In the United States in particular wanting to pre-empt government intervention was important also. While most research has focused on developed countries, historically the non-Western world has produced many pioneers of corporate responsibility. These include Shibusawa Eiichi in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Japan, Jamnalal Bajaj in interwar India, Ibrahim Abouleish in postwar Egypt, and multiple Latin American companies today. Historically and today, there has never been a consensus on what responsibility means, and although the language of corporate responsibility has now diffused globally, there remain wide variations in the relationship between rhetoric and practice. A key challenge now is disentangling the now near-universal rhetoric of corporate responsibility with what is actually happening. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 29 Mar 2013
- Working Paper Summaries
Entrepreneurs, Firms, and Global Wealth since 1850
This paper examines the historical causes of the wealth gaps between the West and "the Rest." It integrates the business history literature into the current dominant explanations of global wealth and poverty which focus on deficient institutions, poor human capital development, geography, and culture. It argues that there is a "missing gap" between these factors, and the entrepreneurs and firms which create wealth and drive innovation. The paper examines why entrepreneurial catch-up was so challenging in the Rest in the nineteenth century. It shows that nonetheless productive business enterprises were emerging in Asia, Latin America, and Africa by the first half of the twentieth century. However, these were often crippled by the subsequent era of Communism and state intervention. The second global economy from the 1980s provided new opportunities for firms from the Rest to catch up, including easier access to knowledge and capital through returning diaspora, business schools and management consultancies, and smarter state capitalism. (A revised version of this working paper is forthcoming in Entrepreneurship and Multinationals: Global Business and the Making of the Modern World, Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, fall 2013). Key concepts include: It is important to incorporate entrepreneurs and firms into historical explanations of the causes of global wealth and poverty. It was hard for entrepreneurs in most of Asia, Latin America, and Africa to catch up once modern industrialization had got underway because of the societal and cultural embeddedness of new technologies. Minorities or immigrants were especially important in new firm creation as many Asian, African, and Latin American countries began to industrialize because of their advantages in capital-raising and trust levels. As entrepreneurs in developing countries began catching up with their Western counterparts in the first half of the twentieth century, they were often successful in creating hybrid organizational forms well-adapted to their local contexts. The second global economy since 1980 has facilitated entrepreneurial catch-up through easier access to knowledge and capital through returning diaspora, business schools and management consultancies, and smarter state capitalism. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 13 Sep 2012
- Working Paper Summaries
Entrepreneurship in the Natural Food and Beauty Categories Before 2000: Global Visions and Local Expressions
How do entrepreneurs create a market? Geoffrey Jones takes a historical approach and focuses on influential figures who created new categories of natural and organic food, agriculture, and beauty products over the course of the twentieth century. At first these pioneering entrepreneurs, often motivated by ideological or religious convictions, faced little consumer demand for "green" products and little consumer knowledge of what they entailed. The creation of new categories thus involved a lengthy process with three overlapping waves of entrepreneurship. First, the diffusion of ideas through publishing, and promotion of research and education, engaged many entrepreneurs. They were, in effect, making the ideological case for natural products, and providing the basis for them to be made available. Second, entrepreneurs engaged in the creation of industry associations which could advocate, as well as give the nascent industry credibility and create standards. Finally, entrepreneurial ventures established retail stores, supply and distribution networks, and created brands. Key concepts include: Entrepreneurial cognition and motivation frequently lay in individual, and very local, experiences, combined with strong global visions about the need for environmental sustainability. There was a notable international transfer of ideas and concepts. Exposure to Asia, or an imagined Asia, was a significant influence on many pioneering entrepreneurs. Many individual entrepreneurs suffered from personal illnesses which appeared to have motivated their subsequent careers. A significant sub-set of the influential historical figures were articulate in expressing strong religious convictions. These entrepreneurs believed that business could and should be used as a vehicle to preserve and protect the natural environment. By the 1990s, entrepreneurs encouraged a much wider range of businesses to enter the natural categories, some genuinely, but others seeking to green wash conventional businesses. This created confusion and skepticism in consumer minds. There were also legitimacy issues caused by growing scale. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 14 Jun 2012
- Working Paper Summaries
“Power from Sunshine”: A Business History of Solar Energy
In each generation, the concept of getting "power from sunshine" has attracted entrepreneurial visionaries who encountered a perennial problem: Solar energy was expensive compared to conventional fuels that were not priced to incorporate wider environmental costs. This paper by Geoffrey Jones and Loubna Bouamane provides a business history of solar energy between the nineteenth century and the present day. Its covers early attempts to develop solar energy, the use of passive solar in architecture before World War II, the subsequent growth of the modern photovoltaic (PV) industry, and alternative non-PV technologies such as parabolic collectors. As the authors argue, building viable business models proved crucially dependent on two factors: the prices of alternative conventional fuels and public policy. Key concepts include: The potential of solar power has attracted entrepreneurs for well over a century, but they have all struggled to build commercial businesses. The invention of PV cells in the 1950s, the "space age electronic marvel," transformed the potential of solar energy, but also vastly raised the financing stakes as the new technology was complicated and capital-expensive. Niche markets were found, especially among end-users such as satellites, pocket calculators and roof tops, but the widespread use of solar to generate electricity in large grid systems required government subsidies and other support, especially because the environmental costs of fossil fuels were not included in pricing. Subsidies and feed-in tariffs drove the growth of the solar industry over the last decade, especially in Europe and China, but they also distorted incentives and sometimes encouraged rent-seeking. Regular and unpredictable shifts in government policies, influenced by lobbying and shifts in the price of conventional energy sources, were especially damaging to renewable energy, with shifting Federal and state policies in the United States providing a prime example. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 16 Dec 2011
- Research & Ideas
Reintroducing Intellectual Ambition to the Study of Business History
The editors of Harvard Business School's Business History Review, Walter A. Friedman and Geoffrey Jones, are challenging historians to tackle big subjects with major importance to the future of business. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 Oct 2011
- Working Paper Summaries
Historical Trajectories and Corporate Competences in Wind Energy
Analyzing developments in the wind turbine business over more than a century, Geoffrey Jones and Loubna Bouamane argue that public policy has been a key variable in the spread of wind energy since the 1980s, but that public policy was more of a problem than a facilitator in the earlier history of the industry. Geography has mattered to some extent, also: Both in the United States and Denmark, the existence of rural areas not supplied by electricity provided the initial stimulus to entrepreneurs and innovators. Building firm-level capabilities has been essential in an industry which has been both technically difficult and vulnerable to policy shifts. Key concepts include: Firms from Denmark have been unusually prominent throughout the history of the wind energy business. The basis of the competitive Danish industry was laid without support or even encouragement from its government. US-based firms have also been regularly found among the leading wind energy companies. But their relative importance varied considerably over time, has rarely reflected the overall importance of the U.S. market, and has involved a changing cast of actual firms. German and Spanish, and more recently Indian and Chinese firms, have emerged to become amongst the largest turbine manufacturers in the industry. The most striking change over the last decade has been in the competitive landscape. Engineering powerhouses, such as GE and Siemens, and wholly or partly state-owned Chinese firms with low-cost bases, are now prominent actors in this industry. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 12 Sep 2011
- Research & Ideas
The Untold Story of ‘Green’ Entrepreneurs
The history of entrepreneurs in green industries is largely unwritten, a fact that Harvard Business School business historian Geoffrey Jones is trying to remedy. In a new paper, Jones explores the edge-of-society pioneers who created the wind turbine industry. Key concepts include: The research looks at entrepreneurs in the fields of organic food, sustainable agriculture, natural cosmetics, the built environment, ecotourism, and waste recycling. The history of green entrepreneurship is largely untold, ignored by both business and environmental historians. Many still think that there were few environmental concerns or green businesses until the last decade. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 16 Aug 2011
- Working Paper Summaries
Managing Political Risk in Global Business: Beiersdorf 1914-1990
After the outbreak of World War 1, management of political risk became a central concern for firms, especially those operating internationally. These risks were on many levels, from expropriation to exchange controls and other economic policies. German firms, which had flourished during the second industrial revolution of the late nineteenth century, and enthusiastically expanded internationally, found themselves especially exposed to such risks. Focusing on one such firm, Beiersdorf, a German-based pharmaceutical and skin care company (and, during the Nazi years, a so-called Jewish business), the authors examine corporate strategies of political risk management during the twentieth century, especially the volatile years of Nazi Germany. The history of Beiersdorf highlights areas of managerial discretion. Faced by the worst of all worlds, the firm survived and was able, albeit at great cost, to rebuild its business. Key concepts include: The historical case of the German multinational Beiersdorf, the maker of the global skin care brand Nivea, is used to explore the growth of host and home country political risk in the twentieth century. The firm had its international factories and trademarks expropriated during World War 1, and again after World War 2, and as a Jewish firm faced great difficulties in its home economy during the Nazi era 1933-1945. Beiersdorf pursued several management strategies in response to growing risk. In Nazi Germany, it removed its Jewish management, and partly adapted its marketing message to the regime's ideology. It survived. Internationally, after World War 1 the firm developed an elaborate organizational structure designed to avoid future expropriations. It transferred international businesses to trusted associates. This had short-term success, but in the longer term it did not prevent the loss of factories and the Nivea trademark. After World War 2 Beiersdorf needed to spend decades rebuilding the fragmented Nivea brand. It only recovered ownership of the brand in the United States and Great Britain in 1973 and 1992, respectively. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
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