Publications

03 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Layoffs Can Be Bad Business: 5 Strategies to Consider Before Cutting Staff

other valuable items to help a downsized employee, including non-wage benefits such as health care, job placement, immigration support, and vesting of stock options. “A layoff is a lousy way to take View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Telecommunications; Technology; Financial Services; Manufacturing

January 2014 (Revised December 2014)
Case

GenapSys: Business Models for the Genome

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Joseph B. Fuller and Matthew Preble

GenapSys, a California-based startup, was soon to release a new DNA sequencer that the company's founder, Hesaam Esfandyarpour, believed was truly revolutionary. The sequencer would be substantially less expensive—potentially costing just a few thousand dollars—and... View Details

Keywords: DNA Sequencing; Life Sciences; Business Model; Innovation ＆ Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Genetics; Business Strategy; Health Industry; Health Industry; Health Industry; Health Industry; Health Industry; United States

May 2024
Supplement

DRSi (A)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

In March of 2019, Jen Ransom Fuller purchased DRSi. DRSi, located in Bellevue, Washington, printed and reproduced architectural plans and drawings. Fuller planned to use her first year of ownership to learn the business and to run it in much the same way as the seller.... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Small Business; Cost vs Benefits; Decisions; Business Education; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Problems and Challenges; Health Pandemics; Selection and Staffing; Employee Relationship Management; Production; Logistics; Safety; United States; Washington (state, US)

November 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

BiomX: Bringing Phage Back to the Stage

By: Paul A. Gompers, Elie Ofek, Orna Dan and Emilie Billaud

In the spring of 2023, and following the favorable results of a trial involving its phage cocktail for treating lung infections among cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, the leadership of BiomX had several critical issues to wrestle with. First, given its precarious... View Details

Keywords: Working Capital; Financing and Loans; Health Testing and Trials; Product Development; Research and Development; Science-Based Business; Commercialization; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

September 2009
Case

The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc.

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer, Stephen P. Bradley and Natalie Kindred

Through its uniquely proactive approach to medical malpractice risk management, the Risk Management Foundation (RMF) has decreased claims—and premiums—for the Harvard hospitals it insures. The RMF is the captive medico-legal insurer of the Harvard medical institutions... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Insurance; Health Care and Treatment; Risk Management; Performance Improvement; Safety; Health Industry; Health Industry; Boston

March 2014
Teaching Note

Oral Rehydration Therapy

By: Nava Ashraf and Natalie Kindred

This Teaching Note accompanies the case "Oral Rehydration Therapy" (911-035). The case highlights the puzzlingly high rate of diarrhea-related child mortality in developing countries despite the existence of a simple, effective treatment: oral rehydration therapy... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Innovation Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Developing Countries and Economies; Technological Innovation; Distribution Channels; Emerging Markets; Consumer Behavior; Performance Consistency; Performance Evaluation; Health Industry; Africa; Asia

Web

Lifelong Learning - Alumni

Career Management Climate Change Diversity and Inclusion Economy, Government Entrepreneurship Finance and Operations Governance and Boards Happiness, Purpose View Details

02 Nov 2021
Research & Ideas

Why COVID-19 Probably Killed More People Than We Realize

of official COVID deaths for each country helped them gauge potential underreporting. “There’s been a lot of research on COVID in terms of health and mitigation efforts, but as accountants, we felt like we... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Web

Marketing - Faculty & Research

than has been portrayed thus far in the extant literature by taking an ecosystem perspective. This broader outlook allows examining not only the product strategies of the firms in the focal industry and their mapping to specific customer... View Details

14 Feb 2023
HBS Case

Is Sweden Still 'Sweden'? A Liberal Utopia Grapples with an Identity Crisis

Sweden has long seemed like a social-welfare capitalist dream come true, where companies and labor unions collaborate in harmony with government support. Swedish citizens are among the wealthiest in the world, View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

17 Dec 2012
Research & Ideas

Teaming in the Twenty-First Century

smart cities, related to health care simply cannot be solved without cross-disciplinary collaboration," says Edmondson. To illustrate, she tells the story of the execution of a CT scan, a process that took... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish

01 Dec 2023
News

Joint Venture

The human knee is a marvel. It’s the hinge at the center of our gait, the evolutionary adaptation that makes humans the only fully bipedal mammals on the planet. But the knee also is a complicated and vulnerable knot of bone, muscle, and sinew. Nearly everyone knows... View Details

Keywords: Shoshi Parks

October 2009
Case

Medisys Corp.: The IntensCare Product Development Team

By: Anne Donnellon and Joshua D. Margolis

Key topics include designing teams, managing teams, managing conflict, group dynamics, project management, product development, interdepartmental relations, and organizational change. MediSys, a U.S.-based medical equipment maker, has been developing IntensCare, a new... View Details

Keywords: Project Management; Interdepartmental Relations; Organizational Change; Leadership; Conflict Management; Interpersonal Communication; Groups and Teams; Product Design; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Health Care and Treatment; Power and Influence; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

Nancy F. Koehn is a historian at the Harvard Business School where she holds the James E. Robison chair of Business Administration. Koehn's research focuses on crisis leadership and how leaders and their teams rise to the challenges of high-stakes situations. Her... View Details

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

13 Mar 2007
First Look

First Look: March 13, 2007

medical knowledge changes constantly, and hospital care units must learn if they are to provide high quality care. To develop a model of how improvement project teams promote essential organizational... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2010 (Revised November 2010)
Background Note

Plavix: Drugs in the Age of Personalized Medicine

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Mara G. Aspinall and Rachel Gordon

PIavix, one of the world's best selling drugs in 2010, appears to have a limited future. Its patent was due to expire soon, and recently new data had been discovered that indicated that a small subset of the population would be at risk for stroke, heart attack, or even... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Product Positioning; Business and Government Relations; Genetics; Competitive Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry

July 2020
Case

King's College Hospital in Crisis

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

On December 11, 2017, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (King’s), one of London’s leading teaching hospital groups, was put into “special measures” by NHS Improvement (NHSI), the financial regulator of England’s National Health Service (NHS). The future of... View Details

Keywords: Hospitals; Financing; Health Care and Treatment; Financial Condition; Crisis Management; Organizational Structure; Transformation; Strategic Planning; United Kingdom

October 2022
Supplement

The SAH Group: The Time is Right, Instructor Spreadsheet

By: Juan Alcacer and Alpana Thapar

In January 2021, Jalila Mezni, CEO of the SAH Group, was preparing to present the company’s future growth plans to its board of directors. The Tunisian company was a leading producer and distributor of personal care and packaged hygiene products. In 2019, it expanded... View Details

Keywords: Growth Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Investment Decisions; Growth Management; Vertical Integration; Distribution; Competition; Strategy; Supply Chain; Presentations; Product Positioning; Market Entry and Exit; Pulp and Paper Industry; Pulp and Paper Industry; Pulp and Paper Industry; Tunisia

October 2022
Supplement

The SAH Group: The Time is Right, Spreadsheet Supplement

By: Juan Alcacer and Alpana Thapar

In January 2021, Jalila Mezni, CEO of the SAH Group, was preparing to present the company’s future growth plans to its board of directors. The Tunisian company was a leading producer and distributor of personal care and packaged hygiene products. In 2019, it expanded... View Details

Keywords: Growth Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Investment Decisions; Growth Management; Vertical Integration; Distribution; Competition; Strategy; Supply Chain; Presentations; Market Entry and Exit; Product Positioning; Pulp and Paper Industry; Pulp and Paper Industry; Pulp and Paper Industry; Tunisia