Publications

23 Oct 2015
News

The Mayo Clinic Model for Running a Value-Improvement Program

11 Jan 2000
Research & Ideas

Calling All Managers: How to Build a Better Call Center

company can triumph. That's especially true in the financial services industry, where call centers have moved beyond their most obvious function—as low-cost channels for resolving a myriad of customer concerns—to become powerful means of service View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Service; Financial Services

16 Apr 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Can Biometric Tracking Improve Healthcare Provision and Data Quality? Experimental Evidence from Tuberculosis Control in India

Keywords: by Thomas Bossuroy, Clara Delavallade, and Vincent Pons; Health; Medical Devices & Supplies

Murat Vargı

Keywords: Diversified

22 Oct 2013
News

Examining Healthcare

June 2007 (Revised October 2007)
Case

Information Technology and Clinical Operations at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer, F. Warren McFarlan and Julia Rose Adler-Milstein

Describes the history of clinical computing at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital and the development, since the 1996 merger to form the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, of an information system designed to support the delivery of patient care. The hospitals' CIO, John... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Product Design; Service Delivery; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Health Industry; Boston

May 2009 (Revised January 2011)
Case

HubSpot: Inbound Marketing and Web 2.0

By: Thomas J. Steenburgh, Jill Avery and Naseem Ashraf Dahod

This case introduces the concept of inbound marketing, pulling customer prospects toward a business through the use of Web 2.0 tools and applications like blogging, search engine optimization, and social media. Students follow the growth of HubSpot, an entrepreneurial... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Entrepreneurship; Price; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Communications; Social and Collaborative Networks; Segmentation; Web

2013
Article

The Medical Response to the Boston Marathon Bombings

By: Dutch Leonard and Arnold M. Howitt

Several factors combined in the aftermath of the bombings to facilitate the delivery of medical care. The authors highlight 10 elements of the emergency medical response that saved dozens of lives in Boston. View Details

Keywords: Boston Marathon Bombing; Emergency Medical Response; Health Care and Treatment; Crisis Management; Boston

May 2025
Case

Fidji Simo: Growing the Pie at Instacart

By: Hubert Joly, Leonard A. Schlesinger and James Barnett

In January 2025, Instacart CEO Fidji Simo considers strategies for continuing to grow Instacart from a grocery delivery platform to a holistic grocery technology company, including in-store grocery technology and expanding partnerships across the grocery sector. View Details

March 1998
Case

Launch

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

Launch has developed an entertainment publication on CD-ROM with 240,000 subscribers and has recently introduced an on-line entertainment product (www.mylaunch.com) to complement the CD-ROM. Deals with multiple-channel delivery and platform selection and branding on... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Distribution Channels; Information Publishing; Brands and Branding; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Publishing Industry

November 1995 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Massachusetts General Hospital: CABG Surgery (A)

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and James Weber

A cross-functional team at Massachusetts General Hospital tries to reengineer the service delivery process (the "care path") for heart bypass surgery (CABG) in order to shorten hospital stays (and lower costs) while maintaining/enhancing the quality of care provided. View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Business Processes; Mission and Purpose; Product Positioning; Product Marketing; Management Practices and Processes; Customer Satisfaction; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Fair Value Accounting; Ethics; Pharmaceutical Industry; Health Industry; Massachusetts

06 Sep 2018
News

Why U.S. Grocery Chains Need More (and Better) Store-Brand Products

November 1999 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Webvan: Groceries on the Internet

By: John A. Deighton and Kayla Bakshi

What are the prospects for grocery shopping on the Web? This case invites a comparison of seven business models, with particular emphasis on Webvan. Why does the investment community value Webvan at $7.8 billion after less than six months of operating experience, and... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Experience and Expertise; Investment; Information; Marketing; Distribution Channels; Service Delivery; Cognition and Thinking; Internet and the Web; Retail Industry; Service Industry

September 1992 (Revised January 1993)
Case

Courtyard by Marriott

By: James L. Heskett and Roger H. Hallowell

Courtyard by Marriott, a chain of modestly priced hotels, weighs its future options regarding human resources, its service delivery system, and management structure. Fairfield Inn, another Marriott product, is discussed for contrast. View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Service Operations; Brands and Branding; Management Systems; Decision Making; Service Industry; Accommodations Industry

25 Nov 2015
News

DoorDash Could Be the Next Unicorn—Or a Sign of Disaster

25 Apr 2017
Video

Veho Wins 2017 New Venture Competition Business Track

February 2016 (Revised May 2016)
Case

Dinr: My First Start-up (A)

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Kristina Maslauskaite

In May 2012, a young employee at Google's London office, Markus Berger, was thinking whether he should quit his job and go after his dream of becoming an entrepreneur. Berger's idea was to create Dinr, a company that would offer an upscale food ingredient delivery... View Details

Keywords: Exit Strategy; Startup; Start-up; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Food

15 Oct 2020
Other Presentation

Pandemic Caused 'A Lot of Consumer-Driven Innovation': Harvard's Herzlinger

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

The "Godmother of consumer-driven health care" Regina Herzlinger of Harvard Business School and Bloomberg's Vonnie Quinn discuss how the pandemic is a wake-up call for how U.S. health care is incentivized, and what can be done to improve the delivery of American... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Health Care Industry; Health Pandemics; Health Care and Treatment; Service Delivery; Demand and Consumers; Health Industry; United States

June 2001 (Revised October 2003)
Case

Sampa Video, Inc.

A video rental store is considering offering home delivery service. Management must value the project under different financing strategies and methods, specifically adjusted present value (APV) and weighted average cost of capital (WACC). View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Cost of Capital; Entertainment; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Strategy; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry