Publications

July 2002 (Revised August 2002)
Case

Washington Hospital Center (D): Emergency Medicine After September 11

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Michelle Heskett

The all-risks-ready emergency room prototype project becomes widely accepted as a need after September 11, 2001. The already operational medical informatics system, Insight, comes under heavy demand after its strong performance during crises and is noticed by various... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Health Care and Treatment; Nonprofit Organizations; Medical Specialties; Organizational Culture; Crisis Management; Technological Innovation; Higher Education; Performance Productivity; Health Industry; District of Columbia

September 2014
Case

FormPrint Ortho500

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Alisa Zalosh

The Senior Vice President of FormPrint's Medical Products business unit is considering issues raised by the upcoming introduction of a new 3D printing system, the Ortho500, which could print custom exoskeletal orthopedic splints, braces, and casts that conformed to a... View Details

Keywords: B2B Marketing; Technological Innovation; Market Entry and Exit; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Product Development; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

September – October 2011
Article

Managing the Multiple Dimensions of Risk-Part II: The Office of Risk Management

By: Anette Mikes and Robert S. Kaplan

In the second article of our two-part series, we explore the concept of an Office of Risk Management along with a case study of an innovative risk management function at JP Morgan Private Bank. We also look at the "softer" components of risk management, including a... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Innovation and Invention; Management Style; Managerial Roles; Risk Management

17 Feb 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

How Entrepreneurs Can Find the Right Problem to Solve

their idea, but a little humility and a lot of discovery work can determine whether there’s a winning solution and save a lot of wasted time and money building the wrong thing.... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

30 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 30

rather than the level of joy impact viewer retention most. The effect of joy is asymmetric, with higher gains for increases than losses for decreases. Based on these findings, the authors develop representative emotion trajectories to support ad design View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 May 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: May 2, 2017

patent boosts a start-up’s subsequent growth and innovation by facilitating access to funding from VCs, banks, and public investors. Download working paper:... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

December 1998
Case

MD Foods Amba

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

In 1998, MD Foods, a Denmark-based dairy cooperative, was searching for growth opportunities that would enable it to become northern Europe's preferred retail dairy supplier. The options being considered included expanding in existing markets, entering into new... View Details

Keywords: Cooperative Ownership; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; Market Entry and Exit; Alliances; Innovation and Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; United Kingdom; Denmark

09 Jan 2024
In Practice

Harnessing AI: What Businesses Need to Know in ChatGPT’s Second Year

step into 2024, this could be the year a new paradigm for collaborative innovation emerges between human and machine intelligence. Crowdsourcing—a technique using diverse ideas from the masses—is one such... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Information Technology

2018
Article

Service Operations: What's Next?

By: Joy M. Field, Liana Victorino, Ryan W. Buell, Michael J. Dixon, Susan M. Goldstein, Larry J. Menor, Madeleine E. Pullman, Aleda Roth, Enrico Secchi and Jie J. Zhang

The purpose of this article is to present exciting and innovative research questions in service operations that are aligned with eight key themes and related topics determined by the Journal of Service Management (JOSM) Service Operations Expert Research Panel.... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Research; Collaborative Innovation and Invention

20 Aug 2020
Book

From the Plow to the Pill: How Technology Shapes Our Lives

For centuries, the creation of innovative technology—from steam engines and automobiles to computers and smartphones—has dramatically changed the nature of our work. Less deeply understood has been the impact of technology on the inner currents of our personal lives,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

Web

What is the HBS Health Care Initiative? - MBA

Blog Blog MBA Voices Filter Results Arrow Down Arrow Up Read posts from Author Alumni Author Career and Professional Development Staff Author HBS Community Author HBS Faculty Author MBA Admissions Author MBA Students Topics Topics 1st Year (RC) 2+2 Program 2nd Year... View Details

June 2011 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Procter & Gamble: Marketing Capabilities

By: Rebecca M. Henderson and Ryan Johnson

P&G had become known and recognized as a marketing machine. It was the largest advertiser in the world, with 2010 spending of $8.68 billion. From the company's early exploitation of broadcast media (radio and television) for its soap products to more recent experiments... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Change Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Innovation Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Expansion; Consumer Products Industry

26 Apr 2023
In Practice

Is AI Coming for Your Job?

generation. All of this should increase productivity. However, AI models do make mistakes, whether in logic, efficiency, or inference. The skills to test, edit, and innovate or otherwise improve on AI... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Technology

June 1989 (Revised July 1994)
Case

Ito Yokado

By: Walter J. Salmon

Describes the means by which management has empowered the sales clerks and part time employees of this chain of 131 department stores. They are responsible for all sales and inventory management. This empowerment has led to fewer stockouts, higher sales, lower... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Management; Distribution; Supply Chain Management; Sales; Japan

September 2014
Article

Defining the Value of Proton Therapy Using Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing

By: N.G. Thaker, A.B. Guzman, Thomas W. Feeley, T.M. Jones, J.R. Incalcaterra, C. Kolom, S.J. Frank, L.S. Tatum, Ronald S. Walters, Scott B. Cantor, D.I. Rosenthal, A.S. Garden, G.B. Gunn, C.D. Fuller and M.B. Palmer

Technological innovations in radiation therapy (RT) have rapidly improved the quality of care for patients with head and neck cancer. Intensity-modulated proton therapy (MPT) holds promise of further improving outcomes compared with the current photon-based technique... View Details

Keywords: Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing; Health Care and Treatment; Technological Innovation; Activity Based Costing and Management

Read Now

April 2008
Case

Four Products: Predicting Diffusion (2008)

By: John T. Gourville

An updated "Four Products" case. This 2008 version includes: sliced peanut butter, foldable bicycle tires, high-end wooden puzzles, and artificial dirt for thoroughbred race tracks. These four products form the basis to assess the drivers of new product adoption. In... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Innovation and Invention; Product Marketing; Demand and Consumers; Adoption

October 1990 (Revised November 1992)
Case

Ceramics Process Systems Corp. (A)

By: Clayton M. Christensen

A small ceramics company started by a group of MIT professors struggles with some basic technology strategy issues. A plan to take "one commercializable step" at a time in order to get a foothold in the market goes awry because of incompatibility between the company's... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Technology; Problems and Challenges; Market Entry and Exit; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Research and Development; Production; Manufacturing Industry; Cambridge

11 Jun 2024
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2024

As the vacation season looms, Harvard Business School faculty members share recommendations for a little light reading. Spoiler alert: Lessons in Chemistry tops two of their beach-read lists. For those whose brains can’t—or won’t—turn off, HBS faculty also suggest some... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

Article

MIT Roundtable on Corporate Risk Management

By: Robert C. Merton

Against the backdrop of financial crisis, a distinguished group of academics and practitioners discusses the contribution of financial management and innovation to corporate growth and value, along with the pitfalls and unintended consequences of such innovation.... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Market Participation; Finance; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development Strategy; Value; Distribution; Capital Structure; Risk Management; Business Ventures; Business Model; Strategy