Publications

25 Jul 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

The Evolution of Apple

In the context of the computer industry at large, professor David Yoffie explores the ups and downs of a company that's always been a bit different in "Apple Computer, 2006." The case poses this question: Given its 2 percent computer market share that year,... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Computer; Technology

February 1985 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Health Stop (A): What Type of Innovation Is It? And Six Factors Alignment

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Joyce Lallman, Nancy Kane, Jefferson C. Grahling 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 case series enables readers to conduct... View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Strategy; Valuation; Health Industry; Retail Industry

Article

Using the Balanced Scorecard for Successful Health Care M&A Integration

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The failure of merged organizations to achieve stated goals is commonplace. In health care, the challenge is exacerbated by the industry’s third-party payer system and multiple stakeholders, especially the physicians in the merging entities. This article describes how... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Mergers and Acquisitions; Integration; Balanced Scorecard

April 2012
Article

Teamwork on the Fly

By: Amy C. Edmondson

In a fast-paced and ever-changing business environment, traditional teams aren't always practical. Instead, companies increasingly employ teaming: gathering experts in temporary groups to solve problems they may be encountering for the first and only time. This... View Details

Keywords: Teaming; Cross-functional Integration; Organizational Learning; Groups and Teams; Experience and Expertise; Interpersonal Communication; Projects; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competency and Skills; Learning

28 May 2021
Blog Post

Taking Measure on Memorial Day

you could do more.” With Jamie in mind, I’ve learned that successes and failures are not measures of a life well-lived. Instead, I’ve learned that a legacy is defined by the ways in which we share our gifts with the world. Graduation Day... View Details

2023
Working Paper

Corporate Leaders Say They Are for Stakeholder Capitalism—But Which Version Exactly?: A Critical Look at Four Varieties

By: Lynn S. Paine

The past few years have seen an outpouring of articles and statements heralding the arrival of a new and more inclusive form of capitalism often called stakeholder capitalism. The new capitalism promises to strengthen companies, improve outcomes for their... View Details

Keywords: Stakeholder Capitalism; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Economic Systems; Business and Shareholder Relations

12 Dec 2023
Book

HBS Faculty Books of 2023: Find Happiness, Fix Things, and Fail Well

mobilize organizational change quickly, untangle digital strategy, and reflect on socially responsible leadership. Take a look back at some of the books by Harvard Business School faculty members that hit the market this year: Economic... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

2012
Book

The Founder's Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup

By: Noam Wasserman

Often downplayed in the excitement of starting up a new business venture is one of the most important decisions entrepreneurs will face: Should they go it alone or bring in cofounders, hires, and investors to help build the business? More than just financial rewards... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Partners and Partnerships; Social Psychology; Outcome or Result

Find at Harvard

2013
Working Paper

Work Design Drivers of Organizational Learning about Operational Failures: A Laboratory Experiment on Medication Administration

By: Anita L. Tucker

Operational failures persist in hospitals, in part because employees work around them rather than attempt to prevent recurrence. Drawing on a process improvement tool—the Andon cord—we examine three work design components that may foster improvement-oriented behaviors:... View Details

Keywords: Health Care; Process Improvement; Organizational Learning; Behavioral Operations; Prosocial Behavior; Experiments; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Behavior; Performance Improvement; Health Care and Treatment; Business Processes; Health Industry

31 May 2021
News

How Three Survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre Continue to Fight for Reparations 100 Years Later

17 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

Are Companies Getting Away with 'Cheap Talk' on Climate Goals?

Companies regularly set ambitious climate goals, but these plans often end up like many people’s New Year’s resolutions: unmet aspirations that quietly fizzle out. While companies often gain positive media attention by trumpeting plans for reducing greenhouse gas... View Details

Keywords: by Tim Gray

June 2019
Technical Note

Valuing Employee Equity at Early Stage Ventures

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Christopher Stanton and Sanchali Pal

The note introduces a framework to consider factors that influence the value of employee equity at early stage ventures. Valuing equity is complex, and it important to account for expected dilution, assess exit potential, and acknowledge the high rate of failure in... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Equity; Valuation; Business Startups

5 PM – 6 PM EDT, 21 Apr 2021
Virtual Programming

Why Startups Fail

HBS Professor Tom Eisenmann will discuss insights from his book, Why Startups Fail, with two failed alumni founders: Christina Wallace (MBA 2010), cofounder of Quincy Apparel and now Senior Lecturer at HBS, and Lindsay Hyde (MBA 2014), cofounder of Baroo, now... View Details

January 2014
Case

Steven Carpenter at Cake Financial (Abridged)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Joseph B. Fuller and Shikhar Ghosh

Steven Carpenter reflects on the successes and failures of his recent venture, Cake Financial. Carpenter had just sold the four-year-old startup and was at work on a new business plan. But first, he wanted to understand why Cake Financial, a service that allowed users... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Internet; Financial Services Industry; Web Services Industry

December 2021 (Revised January 2023)
Supplement

Katerra (B)

By: Lindsay N. Hyde, Thomas R. Eisenmann and Tom Quinn

In May 2020, SoftBank executives, having invested nearly $2 billion in Katerra, decided the vision of an end-to-end, vertically-integrated construction process was worth saving—with some major changes to company structure. The SoftBank Vision Fund invested $200 million... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Failure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Entrepreneurship; Construction; Real Estate Industry; Construction Industry; Technology Industry; United States

11 Oct 2013
HBS Seminar

Sen Chai, Post-Doc Labor & Worklife Program at the Harvard Law School, and NBER

09 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 9

Working PapersOperational Failures and Problem Solving: An Empirical Study of Incident Reporting Authors:Julia Adler-Milstein, Sara J. Singer, and Michael W. Toffel Abstract Operational failures occur in... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

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