Publications

06 Jan 2017
News

Mental Illness and the Workplace

everybody sees and says is special. That you're, again-- like at Harvard Business School-- like you're God, like you're the pope. Hanna: And you came back, though, and you... View Details

April 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Supply Chain Partners: Virginia Mason and Owens & Minor (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem

Virginia Mason Medical Center (VM) hired Owens & Minor (O&M) as its alpha vendor for medical/surgical supplies in 2004. By 2005, O&M was performing Just-in-Time and Low Unit of Measure services for VM, but they believed the pricing model in the industry was outdated.... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Price; Distribution; Supply Chain Management; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

February 2016
Case

Express Scripts: Promoting Prescription Drug Home Delivery (A)

By: John Beshears, Patrick Rooney and Jenny Sanford

The pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) sector processes prescription drug claims on behalf of companies that offer a prescription drug benefit to their employees. This case follows Bob Nease, Chief Scientist at Express Scripts, as he considers methods to promote home... View Details

Keywords: Pharmaceuticals; Prescription Drugs; Pharmacy Benefit Manager; PBM; Healthcare; Behavioral Economics; Choice Architecture; Active Choice; Service Delivery; Decision Choices and Conditions; Health Care and Treatment; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Compensation and Benefits; Pharmaceutical Industry

01 Oct 2000
News

Laura Scher of Working Assets

into a much-needed windfall for a host of cash-strapped nonprofits. Since cofounding Working Assets in 1985, Laura Scher has helped the company channel nearly $20 million to organizations such as Greenpeace,... View Details

Keywords: Marguerite Rigoglioso

May 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Harlem Children's Zone, The: Driving Performance with Measurement and Evaluation

By: Allen S. Grossman and Daniel F. Curran

Geoffrey Canada, CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone, wanted his organization to grow dramatically to reach thousands of poor and underserved children in Harlem. The agency ran a variety of successful social service programs throughout New York City that were separately... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Goals and Objectives; Measurement and Metrics; Organizational Structure; Performance Evaluation; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Nonprofit Organizations; Expansion; Valuation

07 Sep 2016
News

Appreciating the Big Role of Small Business

and Royce Yudkoff are leading the course Financial Management of Smaller Firms, in which students learn how to identify, acquire, and run small... View Details

11 Jan 2019
Blog Post

The ABCs of Recruiting at HBS

EC? RC? Aldrich? What’s an Aldrich? Every organization has their own acronyms and jargon and HBS is no exception. Here are some of the terms used at HBS that relate to... View Details

Research Summary

Wearing a Red Hat ¨C The Impact of Activist Industrial Policy on Software Development in China

The idea that the government should steer economic development by strategically hand-picking and managing certain industries is controversial but appeals to many developing countries that are eager to upgrade their industries. In this paper, I study China's recent... View Details

20 Aug 2001
Research & Ideas

Making an Ally of Uncle Sam

Goals for influencing government should flow directly from the analytic frameworks that companies use to develop business strategies. As Michael Porter noted in Competitive Strategy, "No structural analysis is complete without a... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Watkins, Mickey Edwards & Usha Thakrar

October 2016 (Revised April 2018)
Case

ASICS: Chasing a 2020 Vision

By: Elie Ofek, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

In early 2016, Motoi Oyama, president and CEO of ASICS, a major sports apparel and footwear manufacturer based in Japan, lays out his company’s growth plan for the upcoming 5 years. The new plan set ambitious goals in terms of revenue and profit increases. At the heart... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Sports Apparel; Competitive Positioning; Direct To Consumer Marketing; Retail Formats; Lifestyle Brands; Information Technology; Competition; Brands and Branding; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Platforms; Product Positioning; Marketing Channels; Sports; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry

16 Sep 2019
Research & Ideas

Crowdsourcing Is Helping Hollywood Reduce the Risk of Movie-Making

aggregating a large number of independent guesses, even by inexpert and unknowledgeable sources, can produce surprisingly precise and successful outcomes. Even so, while some... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Motion Pictures & Video

01 Dec 1997
News

A Piece of the Action

able to greatly increase our knowledge of the region and develop a deep understanding of business practices that cut across functional boundaries, from finance to human... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

18 Oct 2004
Research & Ideas

The Bias of Wall Street Analysts

companies their firms are issuing securities for—or hope to do business with. The research, "Playing Favorites: Financing Options Sway Analysts' Thinking," was published in the June 2004 edition of... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen; Financial Services

September 2018 (Revised August 2019)
Case

The Progressive Corporation, 2018

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In early 2019, The Progressive Corporation (Progressive), the USA’s third-largest auto insurance writer, reported earned premiums were up 20% in 2018 compared to the previous year, and net income was up 64%. Direct sales of personal auto policies rose 21%, while agent... View Details

21 Jan 2022
Blog Post

Tipping Point: Investing in the Women of Kenya’s Coffee Farms

to tip. She believes consumer education and trust, as well as frictionless tipping options, will drive those numbers higher. When Kahawa launched tipping capability for customers who purchase directly from the View Details

01 Oct 2000
News

Lumry Chair Supports IT and Entrepreneurship

to "share the blessings that my family has been given." A 1969 graduate of Harvard College, Lumry is president of Acorn Ventures, Inc., in Bellevue, Washington, a firm that provides seed capital, financial... View Details

Keywords: Educational Services

December 2023 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Research In Motion: Launching and Scaling the World's First Smartphone Empire (A)

By: Tatiana Sandino and Samuel Grad

In 2005, Research In Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry smartphone was a sensation. After its launch in 1999, the groundbreaking BlackBerry had captured the hearts and minds of corporate America through its secure wireless email service. The device was so addictive and... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Innovation and Management; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Management Style; Product Development; Managerial Roles; Growth and Development Strategy; Technology Industry; United States; Canada