Publications

05 Dec 2022
What Do You Think?

How Would Jack Welch’s Leadership Style Fare in Today’s World?

(iStockphoto/josefkubes) Jack Welch’s leadership practices and accomplishments as CEO of General Electric for 20 years have once again come under scrutiny. He is the subject of two recent books. Their titles—David Gelles’ The Man Who Broke Capitalism and William... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Medical Devices & Supplies; Medical Devices & Supplies; Medical Devices & Supplies; Medical Devices & Supplies

12 Feb 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 12, 2019

Devices: Challenges and Opportunities for U.S. Regulators and Innovators By: Gordon, William J., and Ariel Dora Stern Abstract— Software has become an increasingly important component of medical device... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

10 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 10, 2018

Bangladesh, Africa, and Chile, benefiting the public as well as their own enterprises. He then describes how an Indian health care organization is tackling institutional voids as it expands into medical tourism in the Cayman Islands. An... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

09 Aug 2016
First Look

August 9, 2016

paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51309 Innovation under Regulatory Uncertainty: Evidence from Medical Technology By: Stern, Ariel Dora Abstract—This paper explores how the regulatory approval process affects... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Sep 2021
Research & Ideas

The Trial of Elizabeth Holmes: Visionary, Criminal, or Both?

after dropping out of Stanford University, knew the product didn’t deliver while she solicited new business and investments. Defense attorneys say Holmes “believed” in the revolutionary blood-testing device and that “trying hard and... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Medical Devices & Supplies; Medical Devices & Supplies; Medical Devices & Supplies

28 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

The FDA’s Speedy Drug Approvals Are Safe: A Win-Win for Patients and Pharma Innovation

vaccines are now widely considered safe and effective, the public’s fears were a reflection of a broader hesitation about faster-than-expected R&D processes, Stern says. “Regulation in health care product markets exists for a very good reason,” she says. “We don't... View Details

Keywords: by Kasandra Brabaw; Pharmaceutical

March 2021
Case

VideaHealth: Building the AI Factory

By: Karim R. Lakhani and Amy Klopfenstein

Florian Hillen, co-founder and CEO of VideaHealth, a startup that used artificial intelligence (AI) to detect dental conditions on x-rays, spent the early years of his company laying the groundwork for an AI factory. A process for quickly building and iterating on new... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Innovation and Invention; Disruptive Innovation; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Technology Adoption; Digital Platforms; Entrepreneurship; AI and Machine Learning; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; North and Central America; United States; Massachusetts; Cambridge

02 Apr 2013
First Look

First Look: April 2

since the human genome sequence was completed-has changed the way we think about, study, and approach the development of novel therapies. However, these advances in knowledge have so far not been reflected in substantial medical progress... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

27 May 2009
First Look

First Look: May 27, 2009

these fundamental questions must be answered. A medical doctor himself, Bohmer explains that health-care professionals are tasked with providing two very different types of care—sequential and iterative. With sequential care, a patient... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

July 2013 (Revised May 2024)
Case

BMVSS: Changing Lives, One Jaipur Limb at a Time

By: Srikant Datar and Saloni Chaturvedi

Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) is an Indian not-for-profit organization engaged in assisting differently-abled persons by providing them with the legendary low-cost prosthesis, the Jaipur Foot, and other mobility-assisting devices, free of cost. Known... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Financial Condition; Health Care and Treatment; Diversity; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Growth and Development Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; India; Asia

May 2022
Case

Byte

By: Boris Groysberg, Katherine Connolly Baden and Julia Kelley

In January 2021, Byte co-founders Scott Cohen and Blake Johnson reflected on how far their Los Angeles-based direct-to-consumer (DTC) orthodontics company had come since launching its clear aligners just a little over two years earlier. Cohen and Johnson were both... View Details

Keywords: Growth; Customer Experience; Customer Focused Organization; Innovation; DTC; Growth Management; Expansion; Entrepreneurship; Customer Focus and Relationships; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

December 2011
Case

Bergerac Systems: The Challenge of Backward Integration

By: David A. Garvin and Sunru Yong

Bergerac Systems is a small, rapidly growing manufacturer of diagnostic instruments used in veterinary practices. The company introduced the OmniVue chemistry analyzer, which enables veterinarians to run a wide range of blood and blood chemistry tests on their animal... View Details

Keywords: Financial Analysis; Manufacturing Strategy; Strategy; Production; Supply Chain Management; Vertical Integration; Performance Capacity; Financial Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

August 2017
Case

RoboTech: Storming into the U.S. Market

By: Christopher A. Bartlett, Rachel Gordon and John J. Lafkas

This case describes the challenges facing the CEO of a small, Singapore-based industrial robotics company that decides to diversify away from its core industrial robot business by leveraging its expertise into the medical-devices industry. It launches an innovative... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Diversification; Product Launch; Competitive Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Singapore; United States

27 Feb 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

How Following Best Business Practices Can Improve Health Care

for a period as medical residents turn over in teaching hospitals. Who Drives Digital Innovation? Evidence from the US Medical Device IndustryDoes large-scale technological... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Medical Devices & Supplies; Medical Devices & Supplies

13 Sep 2021
Research & Ideas

Science: The Unlikely Frontier for New Business Ideas

study highlights two vastly disparate companies—Coca-Cola and McKesson—that sought patents within the same technology class. The companies proposed devices that used carousel-like storage systems to dispense beverages and View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

25 Apr 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Using Design Thinking to Invent a Low-Cost Prosthesis for Land Mine Victims

Keywords: Re: Srikant M. Datar; Medical Devices & Supplies; Medical Devices & Supplies

January 2014 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Henry Schein: Doing Well by Doing Good?

By: Rebecca Henderson, Raffaella Sadun, Aldo Sesia and Russell Eisenstat

Henry Schein Inc., a distributor of supplies to dentist, physician, and veterinary practices, had sales approaching $9 billion and employed nearly 16,000 people. The company had experienced impressive growth under the leadership of Stanley Bergman and his executive... View Details