Monsanto and the National University of Córdoba (B): The Price of a Bad Reputation: The Business Perspective

Argentina's agri-food sector experienced a boom starting 2011, and the country's arable land doubled in just five years. To meet the demand, Monsanto - the world's leading producer of genetically modified seeds and herbicides - decided to build a plant in the province of Córdoba and sign a collaboration agreement with the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the National University of Córdoba, the oldest and most prestigious academic institution in the country. After receiving all the necessary permits and obtaining the support of the political authorities, the company acquired land and began construction. However, the population immediately mobilized against the seed production plant and blocked truck access to the land, so construction was halted. In the midst of the scientific and political debate that followed, the company had to make a decision about what to do with the project and, for its part, the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences was pressured by the university rectorate to suspend the signed agreement. What should both Monsanto and the faculty do in the face of this problem