Wal-Mart versus Whole Foods: why “cheap” beats “highest quality organic” as a more impactful corporate value

By Anonymous Wal-Mart is a corporate juggernaut much more likely to be singled out as a bad corporate citizen – for closing a store to prevent unionization [1] or for paying its workers below poverty levels and effectively being subsidized by state and federal aid [2] – than for using its massive scale, efficient supply […]

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What do Wal-Mart and McDonalds have in common?

By N.R. Wal-Mart and McDonalds have many things in common that most Americans know about. They are both huge American companies that operate around the world and that thrive on affordability for their customers. Wal-Mart and McDonalds are both publicly traded and have historically outperformed the market during economic downturns. However, what some people (myself […]

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There’s room at the table for restaurants to help the environment

By A. Amos One of the questions we’ve discussed in class is how firms can improve their operations to use resources more efficiently. We observed how both Maersk Line and Walmart reduced their operating costs and their environmental impact by optimizing their supply chains and leveraging their vast networks of suppliers, distributors, and customers. These […]

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Balancing making money and doing good at Walmart

By Christie Walmart is the biggest retailer in the world, with $466 billion in sales and 2.2 million employees in 2013. (1) Because of its size, Walmart has the ability to deliberately craft their vision and push industry to meet this vision. In 2005, Lee Scott announced that Walmart would make sustainability a priority and […]

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Walmart sustainability goals: from business as usual to breakthrough innovation

By Erik Desrosiers Following our discussion of the Walmart water bottle case, I was left deeply disappointed about the lack of innovation in the solutions the company has contemplated. With annual sales that rival the GDP of the world’s 20 largest countries, Walmart has both the opportunity and responsibility to advance human society further than […]

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Market leaders supporting sustainability related regulation to create competitive advantage

By Elizabeth Thus far in class, we have collectively touted the espousal of sustainability related regulation as a strategy for creating competitive advantage. Indeed, some among us have even gone so far as to suggest that companies such as Wal-Mart would be smart to join hands with legislators in writing new regulatory policies. The chief […]

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