Publications

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June 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Case

Lotus Development Corp.: Spousal Equivalents (A)

A group of Lotus employees propose extending all health care and other benefits to the spousal equivalents of lesbian and gay employees. The vice president of human resources considers the proposal during a reorganization and period of financial uncertainty. View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Diversity Characteristics; Compensation and Benefits

04 Nov 2015
News

M.B.A.s Get Lessons in Income Inequality

May 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Case

COVID-19: The Global Shutdown

By: Laura Alfaro and Sarah Jeong

In the first months of 2020, a pandemic overwhelmed the world. COVID-19, commonly known as the coronavirus, spread from China and created a severe public health emergency across countries. While an immediate fear of the disease’s impact on human life permeated society,... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Microeconomics; Macroeconomics; Financial Crisis; Economy; Economic Systems; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Economic Sectors; Health Pandemics

Professor Narayanan is the Thomas D. Casserly, Jr. Professor of Business Administration, and Senior Associate Dean of Executive Education and HBS Online. His research focuses on management accounting with an interest in performance evaluation and incentives... View Details

Keywords: health care; health care; health care; health care; health care

Research Summary

Overview

Professor Sherman's research has long focused on financial reporting, performance measurement/management, and financial literacy issues facing corporate management and Boards of Directors in global businesses. He also actively studies methods to improve productivity in... View Details

October 2009 (Revised January 2010)
Case

The Joslin Diabetes Center

By: Michael E. Porter, Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg and Scott Wallace

The Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, Massachusetts is a leading center for diabetes care, clinician training, and research. The incidence of diabetes is rising precipitously worldwide, challenging quality of life with its complications and rapidly accelerating health... View Details

Keywords: Integration; Service Delivery; Medical Specialties; Health Care and Treatment; Outcome or Result; Corporate Finance; Health Industry; Boston

25 Jul 2023
Research & Ideas

Could a Business Model Help Big Pharma Save Lives and Profit?

cross-sector and cross-border partnerships needed to execute the model. Adding new information about how pharmaceutical companies handle global public health challenges. Jessica Martinez, a former Big Pharma executive who joined the Bill... View Details

Keywords: by Esther Schrader; Health; Health

24 Sep 2018
Research & Ideas

How Cost Accounting is Improving Healthcare in Rural Haiti

Medical records at a healthcare clinic in Lascahobas, Haiti. Ryan McBain A few years ago, the Boston-based nonprofit health care organization Partners in Health (PIH) set out to quantify the cost of primary... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

09 Oct 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Habit Formation and Rational Addiction: A Field Experiment in Handwashing

Keywords: by Reshmaan Hussam, Atonu Rabbani, Giovanni Reggiani, and Natalia Rigol

07 Jan 2009
News

Czar Power

27 Nov 2012
Working Paper Summaries

No Margin, No Mission? A Field Experiment on Incentives for Pro-Social Tasks

Keywords: by Nava Ashraf, Oriana Bandiera & Kelsey Jack

March 2001 (Revised July 2004)
Case

Adecco SA's Acquisition of Olsten Corp

In the summer of 1999, Adecco SA, one of the world's leading staffing companies, was in the midst of attempting to acquire the staffing operations of Olsten Corp., a U.S. firm. This case analyzes the economics of the staffing industry, basic valuation, cross-border... View Details

Keywords: Financial Condition; Acquisition; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Service Industry; United States

02 Apr 2024
What Do You Think?

What's Enough to Make Us Happy?

(Image created with Midjourney, an artificial intelligence tool) Happiness, an elusive condition we all want to experience, is a popular topic. It’s a complex subject. It may or may not require everything from good health to sufficient... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

January 2024
Background Note

Evaluating Innovations in the Organization of Primary Care: What Type of Innovation Is It and How Well Does It Align with the Six Factors?

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and James Wallace

How can we evaluate if innovative health care ventures can do good—benefit society—and do well—become financially viable? This question is the topic of the first module in the Innovating in Health Care course book.

This note and "Health Stop (A): What Type... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Health Care and Treatment; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Mission and Purpose; Alignment; Health Industry

August 2022 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Sweet Teez Bakery: Projecting the Dough's Rise

By: Emily R. McComb, Mel Martin and Amy Klopfenstein

In 2021, the HBS Impact Investment Fund student team met with entrepreneur Teresa Maynard, who had applied for a $25,000 impact investment loan. The students thought the former Harvard Data Scientist’s bakery business, Sweet Teez Bakery, showed promise. Maynard had... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investment; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Investment; Goods and Commodities; Financial Reporting; Small Business; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Massachusetts

16 Sep 2012
News

'Green' warrior says doing nothing has a cost, too

February 2020 (Revised June 2020)
Case

From Cradle to Heaven: Taikang Insurance Group

By: William C. Kirby, Shu Lin, John P. McHugh and Yuanzhuo Wang

Taikang Insurance Group was a leading Chinese insurance and financial services institution. It operated in the insurance, asset management, and health and senior care industries. Due to China’s underdeveloped social welfare state, Taikang saw an opportunity for the... View Details

Keywords: Health; Insurance; Strategy; Insurance Industry; China

10 Dec 2024
Interview

A New Model for Funding Healthcare Innovation

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Duke Rohlen

Ajax Health founder Duke Rohlen (HBS MBA 2001) and HBS Professor Regina Herzlinger join host Brian Kenny to discuss the key success factors for both start-up and established medical technology firms. The case “Ajax Health: A New Model for Medical Technology Innovation”... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Business Model; Private Equity; Health Industry