St. Norbert College faculty members Joy Pahl, Jamie O’Brien and Marc von der Ruhr visit Taylor Guitars.

Taylor Guitars: A Case Study in Sustainability, Ethics and Innovation

In an industry where tradition often outweighs transformation, Taylor Guitars has carved a path that not only respects the art of instrument-making but also embraces sustainability, ethics and long-term vision.

A recent case study, conducted by a team of St. Norbert College academics from The Donald J. Schneider School of Business & Economics — Marc von der Ruhr, Joy Pahl and Jamie O’Brien — has shed light on how Taylor Guitars has become a pioneer in corporate responsibility. Through extensive research and direct engagement with the company’s leadership, the study uncovers a compelling narrative of innovation without compromise.

The journey to the case study
It’s not often that an economist brings their hobby centerstage, and von der Ruhr, an economist with a passion for guitars, did just that. He first took notice of Taylor Guitars’ innovations in 2019. While he was initially skeptical of the company’s construction changes to their acoustic guitars, he was quickly impressed after testing their instruments himself in a small Green Bay shop with O’Brien in tow. However, it was in 2022, while on sabbatical, that he discovered Taylor’s deep-rooted dedication to building a sustainable business, particularly their work in Cameroon with ebony harvesting.

“I found some annual reports on what they were doing in Cameroon in terms of supporting the ebony harvesting,” he explains. “They bought and rehabbed a local sawmill, improving the local economy. And I thought, ‘This isn’t just greenwashing. This is really a company taking sustainability seriously.’”

Recognizing the potential for a meaningful case study, Marc brought the idea to his colleagues, Pahl and O’Brien. Together, they embarked on a research project that would take them deep into the philosophy of the Taylor Guitars business model.

An unexpected invitation
After their initial case study was close to being done, von der Ruhr figured he would send a simple inquiry through Taylor Guitars’ general support email on behalf of their team. It quickly escalated when the vice president of marketing connected the team with Scott Paul, Taylor’s director of sustainability. After several communications, Paul encouraged the researchers to visit Taylor Guitars’ headquarters in San Diego, Calif., and interview Bob Taylor, the company’s founder, and the new president, Andy Powers.

What followed was a day-long immersive experience at Taylor Guitars’ factory — one that von der Ruhr describes as one of the most rewarding days of his professional life.

“This was only fun. Some of my research has been dry, but this was one of the three most rewarding professional projects I’ve ever done.”

Inside Taylor Guitars: A culture of green responsibility
The team’s visit included meetings with Paul, a private lunch with Taylor and Powers, a factory tour — including professional salivating over the restricted research & development areas — and an extensive conversation with Taylor and Powers that lasted well beyond its scheduled time.

“We had a good case study. But there’s so much more to this story,” von der Ruhr reflects with a sparkle of admiration. “It’s not just about sustainability or just about innovation or just about leadership. There are three legs to a barstool, and the seat of the barstool is ethics.”

One of the most striking elements of Taylor Guitars’ sustainability efforts is its Ebony Project in Cameroon. Historically, the guitar industry discarded ebony with natural streaks because consumers preferred uniformly dark wood. Taylor challenged this wasteful practice by incorporating variegated ebony into their flagship models, setting a new industry standard and showcasing that a new line of acoustic guitars could push companies to do more for environmental standards, too.

“Now, other big companies are using variegated ebony, where 10 years ago, it was left to rot on the forest floor,” von der Ruhr emphasizes.

Beyond ebony conservation, Taylor Guitars has also expanded its sustainability initiatives by:

• Using urban trees for guitar production instead of simply being used as mulch.

• Investing in reforestation efforts to ensure the future availability of quality wood.

• Reducing and eventually eliminating plastic packaging at its factories including looking at how to reuse shrink wrap used for transporting logs.

“Bob Taylor saw decades ahead of time that, the way we’re deforesting the world, some of the quality wood he had access to would no longer be around,” von der Ruhr notes.

One of the central takeaways from the team’s case study is how Taylor Guitars defies the assumption that ethical businesses must sacrifice profitability. The company has consistently prioritized ethical decision-making without compromising financial success.

“A lot of people say, ‘To be a successful business, I might need to compromise my ethics.’ Here’s a company that imposes higher ethics on an industry and is wildly successful,” von der Ruhr stresses.

Further solidifying its stance, Taylor Guitars transitioned into an employee-owned company, ensuring that its values remain intact even after Bob Taylor’s eventual retirement.

“He didn’t want to sell the company to a big corporation that could mismanage it,” von der Ruhr notes. “Instead, he made Taylor employee-owned, ensuring its long-term sustainability.”

The case study’s impact on St. Norbert education
Sometimes, it can be difficult to see real-world impacts in the academic world from a case study like this, but von der Ruhr and the team believe this specific case study will be invaluable in various business courses in both undergraduate and graduate programs that cover sustainability, global supply chains, ethical leadership, business strategy and more.

Even students with no prior interest in guitars have found the case study eye-opening. One student studying for their MBA remarked after a class with von der Ruhr, “I don’t play guitar, but if I ever chose to, I would immediately buy a Taylor because of what you taught me with this case study.”

Taylor Guitars has also acknowledged the significance of the study, with Paul stating, “Bob Taylor, Andy Powers and our marketing team said this is the single most comprehensive review of their work that’s ever been done.”

Von der Ruhr has already appeared on Taylor’s Primetime Live Podcast to share more about the case study, and Taylor Guitars has also expressed interest in providing a platform for the study on their website. This will provide tons of traffic to the study, highlighting the importance of research work done by von der Ruhr, Pahl and O’Brien, as well as other academics doing research in their own fields.

This whole effort, and the transparency shown by Taylor Guitars, not only redefines the conversation around business ethics but also serves as a blueprint for how sustainability, innovation and profitability can coexist.

“More than ever, students need to see that ethics is not an unsuccessful business model,” von der Ruhr elaborates. “In fact, that should be what they demand as consumers.”

Reflecting on the last several years, he also shares that this project has been one of the most fulfilling of his career, inspiring even his personal habits.

“After we got back and the whole plastic issue was brought to our attention, my wife and I deliberately made choices to use fewer plastic products.”

His experience meeting Bob Taylor also reinforced his belief in ethical leadership.

“They say, ‘Never meet your heroes.’ Well, I met one of my heroes, and I only think of him more as a hero now after having been to Taylor Guitars.”

March 2025