Professor
Geoffrey Jones
“It is important to learn from the past of businesses if we are to build a more responsible and sustainable future”
What I’m Reading
Recommendations
About me
Current Book Projects
What I’m Reading
Robert Macfarlane
Is a River Alive? (W.W. Norton, 2025)
The author takes readers through a fascinating journey along rivers in Ecuador, India, and Canada as he shows how rivers must be seen as living beings rather than mere resources, that should be recognized as such in our imaginations and in law. It is a beautifully written book which makes the stories it tells unforgettable. A compelling statement of the Rights of Nature movement, which seeks to grant legal personhood to natural entities.Mark Mazower
On Antisemitism. A Word in History (Penguin, 2025)
I have been thrilled to read this compelling new history of antisemitism from the late nineteenth century until now. This deeply reflective book explains its changing forms and meanings over time, including showing how over the recent decades antisemitism has become – unexpectedly - conflated with criticism of the state of Israel. Mazower is based at Colombia University, and he really sheds new light on a subject where there is a vast, sometimes brilliant, but often confusing literature.Recommendations
The Cambridge Companion to the History of Multinationals & Society
Geoffrey Jones and Sabine Pitteloud present the latest research on the global history of multinationals and their impact on society and the environment. Bringing together leading international scholars, these essays survey key themes in the impact of multinationals on society, from taxation and corruption to gender and the climate. The contributors highlight the remarkable diversity in multinational strategies and organizational structures over time. They challenge the idea of an inescapable rise of multinationals by looking beyond the experience of Western countries and considering the effects of dramatic political shifts. The book reveals how multinationals have often acted opportunistically, with their resilience carrying social costs through the exploitation of weak regulations, corrupt governments, inequalities, poor human rights, and environmental harm. This is an essential introduction to the historical role of multinationals for scholars, students, and policymakers.
Geoffrey Jones, Yuan Jia-Zheng, Yuhai Wu & Qianru Wang
Government, business and making China an educational powerhouse since the 1980s.
China’s K-12 education system has achieved remarkable success since the 1980s, with high literacy rates, widespread basic education, and gender equality. This article explores how a blend of public and private interests—the “walking on two legs” approach-fueled this success, particularly through the rise of private tutoring or “shadow education.” However, a major policy shift after 2016 aimed to address systemic inequalities and regional disparities, reflecting broader moves towards greater centralization in education policy.”
Creating Emerging Markets
Access interviews with business leaders in emerging economies
The Creating Emerging Markets oral history project co-directed by Geoffrey Jones and Tarun Khanna has discussed the responsibility of business with top business leaders in the Global South.
With 196 in-depth interviews conducted across 34 countries, Creating Emerging Markets captures the voices of business leaders shaping the global economy and offers valuable insights on innovation, leadership, family business, business and education, and business-government relations.
Deeply Responsible Business, A Global History of Values-Driven Leadership
Offers an invaluable historical perspective on business responsibility from the 1800s Quaker capitalism to Modern B-Corps
Published by Harvard University Press
About me
Professor
Geoffrey Jones
Geoffrey Jones is the Isidor Straus Professor of Business History at the Harvard Business School. He was born in Birmingham in Britain, and worked briefly at the chocolate company Cadbury that is discussed in Deeply Responsible Business before earning his B.A. and Ph.D degrees at Cambridge University. He also holds an honorary Doctorate in Economics and Business Administration from Copenhagen Business School and an honorary Ph.D degree from the University of Helsinki. He taught at Cambridge University, the London School of Economics, and Reading University, and held Visiting Professorships in Colombia and Japan, before moving to the United States in 2000. He is a Fellow of the Academy of International Business and an International Fellow of the British Academy. He became a U.S. citizen in 2010 and now lives in Belmont, Massachusetts.
Current Book Projects
I am finishing a business history of the Global South since the nineteenth century, provisionally titled Underdog Capitalism in the Global South: Resilience, and Risk Over Time, under contract with Cambridge University Press.
This book explores the creation and growth of locally owned businesses in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America over the past century. It highlights how entrepreneurs in the Global South, despite challenges such as colonial legacies and global economic inequalities, built enterprises that contributed to bridging the gap between richer and poorer regions. A central theme is resilience, showcasing how these entrepreneurs navigated risks and setbacks to create lasting businesses.
