Publications

06 Sep 2019
Blog Post

The Business of Medicine: MD/MBA Students Having an Impact

These Harvard Medical School (HMS) students are already making a difference in the health care community. Now, they are at HBS fine-tuning their leadership skills in preparation of receiving their MD/MBA. Each year, MD/MBA applicants... View Details

Research Summary

Overview

By: Kyle R. Myers

Professor Myers studies the economics of what determines the rate and direction of innovation. He has examined the reallocation of scientists through the use of targeted research grants at the National Institutes of Health, and is working to further understand how... View Details

17 Sep 2019
Cold Call Podcast

How a New Leader Broke Through a Culture of Accuse, Blame, and Criticize

Keywords: Re: Amy C. Edmondson; Health

March 2021 (Revised January 2023)
Case

The Trouble with TCE

By: Vincent Pons, Rafael Di Tella and Galit Goldstein

Trichloroethylene, or TCE, was a chemical used by tens of thousands of businesses in the United States. It was an affordable tool for many. Yet, TCE had been associated with important health risks, including cancer and autoimmune disease. TCE potentially posed other... View Details

Keywords: Trichloroethylene; Toxicity; Lobbying; Chemicals; Health Disorders; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Ethics; Business and Government Relations; Chemical Industry; United States

12 Aug 2014
First Look

First Look: August 12

http://hbr.org/product/aspada-in-search-of-the-right-structure-for-impact-investing/an/314099-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 214-085 Financial Policy at Apple, 2013 (A) By the end of 2013, Apple had $137 billion in cash and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 Jan 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Economic Transition and Private-Sector Labor Demand: Evidence from Urban China

Keywords: by Lakshmi Iyer, Xin Meng, Nancy Qian & Xiaoxue Zhao

September 2012 (Revised August 2015)
Case

Shanghai Pharmaceuticals

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Natalie Kindred

Shanghai Pharmaceuticals (SPH), a vertically integrated Chinese pharmaceutical conglomerate, was considering its strategic options in the context of a rapidly evolving industry, policy, and economic environment. The company—essentially a collection of subsidiaries... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Business Conglomerates; Vertical Integration; Decision Choices and Conditions; Mergers and Acquisitions; Consolidation; Health Care and Treatment; Global Strategy; State Ownership; Health Industry; Health Industry; Shanghai; United States; Europe

2011
Working Paper

Fairness, Efficiency and Flexibility in Organ Allocation for Kidney Transplantation

By: Dimitris Bertsimas, Vivek F. Farias and Nikolaos Trichakis

We propose a scalable, data-driven method for designing national policies for the allocation of deceased donor kidneys to patients on a waiting list, in a fair and efficient way. We focus on policies that have the same form as the one currently used in the U.S. In... View Details

Keywords: Fairness; Policy; Health Disorders; Marketplace Matching; Performance Effectiveness; Rank and Position; Health Industry; United States

Read Now

24 Aug 2016
Research & Ideas

Can Obamacare Be Saved?

On August 15th, Aetna announced that it would reduce by 80 percent its participation in the Obama administration’s public exchanges for health insurance policies in 2017, citing significant financial losses.... View Details

Keywords: by John A. Quelch and Emily Boudreau; Health; Health

Michael W. Toffel

Professor Toffel is the Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management. His research examines how companies are addressing climate change (especially decarbonization) and other environmental and working condition issues in their operations and supply... View Details

April 2007 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Dr. Iqbal Survé at Sekunjalo Investment Group (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Stecker

Dr. Iqbal Surve, a self-described "medical doctor, philanthropist, and social entrepreneur," was born in 1963 and grew up in poverty, like virtually all non-white South Africans during apartheid. During the 1970s and 1980s, he served in leadership positions in the ANC,... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Social Entrepreneurship; Investment; Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Partners and Partnerships; South Africa

02 Jan 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, January 3, 2018

government turns out to be different from that in the United States. It shows that big business emerged as a constructive player in environmental policy in the 1960s, when it persuaded the government to establish a joint research... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

29 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

The COVID Gender Gap: Why Fewer Women Are Dying

According to a survey of citizens in eight countries, women are much more likely than men to view COVID-19 as a severe health problem. They are also more willing to wear face masks and follow other public View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Health

2015
Working Paper

Expertise vs. Bias in Evaluation: Evidence from the NIH

By: Danielle Li

Evaluators with expertise in a particular field may have an informational advantage in separating good projects from bad. At the same time, they may also have personal preferences that impact their objectivity. This paper develops a framework for separately identifying... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Performance Evaluation; Experience and Expertise

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October 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Case

The Financial Crisis: Timothy Geithner and the Stress Tests

By: Samuel G. Hanson, Robin Greenwood, David Scharfstein and Adi Sunderam

In February and March 2009, the U.S. economy was in the midst of a terrifying financial and economic crisis. Between the beginning of 2008 and early 2009, four of the 25 largest U.S. financial institutions had failed, and nine of these 25 institutions had taken... View Details

Keywords: Bailout; Regulation; Stress Test; Financial Crisis; History; Economy; Policy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Decision Making; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Real Estate Industry; United States