Publications

April 2008 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Commonwealth Care Alliance: Elderly and Disabled Care

By: Michael E. Porter and Jennifer F Baron

Individuals enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid, known as dual eligibles, are among the highest-cost beneficiaries in the US. Commonwealth Care Alliance, a small nonprofit insurer and care delivery system in Massachusetts, operated under a public demonstration... View Details

Keywords: Programs; Public Sector; Alliances; Policy; Age; Service Delivery; Value; Health Care and Treatment; Welfare; Insurance Industry; Health Industry; Massachusetts

January 2003 (Revised September 2004)
Case

Consulting by Auditors (B): The Compromise and its Fallout

By: Ashish Nanda

This case tracks the evolution from October 2000 to July 2001 of public debate, regulatory decisions, and firm perspectives on the subject of consulting by accounting firms. View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Service Delivery; Accounting Industry; Consulting Industry

30 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

Vanguard, Trian And The Problem With 'Passive' Index Funds

need to get shareholders more engaged? What shape should the separation of management and ownership take in the twenty-first century?” “We are now in a situation where index investors are the major shareholders in most of the large- and medium-sized View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

14 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 14, 2009

philosopher John Rawls) can be reconciled for roommate problems. Finally, we extend our results to two-sided matching problems. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-111.pdf Lean Principles, Learning, and Software Production: Evidence from Indian... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

28 Jul 2016
Op-Ed

Where is TripAdvisor for Doctors?

TripAdvisor demonstrates the reach and power of recommendation services for consumers: it has become the world’s largest travel site with 340 million unique monthly visitors and 350 million reviews online covering 6.5 million hotels,... View Details

Keywords: by John A. Quelch; Health

August 2015 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Amazon.com, 2021

By: John R. Wells, Benjamin Weinstock, Gabriel Ellsworth and Galen Danskin

In February 2021, Amazon announced 2020 operating profits of $22,899 million, up from $2,233 million in 2015, on sales of $386 billion, up from $107 billion five years earlier (see Exhibit 1). The shareholders expressed their satisfaction (see Exhibit 2), but not all... View Details

17 Oct 2016
HBS Case

Business Solutions That Help Cut Food Waste

As much as 40 percent of food grown in the United States for human consumption is wasted. Source: Eivaisla After decades of wasteful food practices, where perfectly good food is discarded even as poverty keeps many families hungry, solutions are starting to come... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Food & Beverage

March 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Nigeria: Africa's Giant

By: Marlous van Waijenburg

"Nigeria: Africa’s Giant" delves into the economic development and state building record of Africa’s most populous country. Despite being one of the continent’s largest oil-exporters, Nigeria’s economy has been struggling, and poverty is widespread. The country’s... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Developing Countries and Economies; Government Administration; Poverty; Africa; Nigeria

April 2004 (Revised December 2004)
Case

Jazztel

By: Marc L. Bertoneche, Laurent Jacque, Kenneth Hynes and Jennifer Woolman

Jazztel--an upstart Spanish telecom--is considering an IPO on the NASDAQ (rather than the Madrid Bolsa) for funding its ambitious capital expenditure program estimated at $750 million over the next 10 years. The alternative would be another round of high-yield debt.... View Details

Keywords: History; Initial Public Offering; Valuation; Privatization; Financing and Loans; Financial Strategy; Telecommunications Industry; Spain

Find at Harvard

February 1987 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Arley Merchandise Corporation

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

Involves the initial public offering of a firm's stock. The offering includes a money-back guarantee to investors from the issuing firm which comes in the form of a "put" option. Option valuation is thus an important issue in this case. View Details

Keywords: Initial Public Offering; Stocks; Cases; Valuation; Stock Options; Service Industry; Service Industry

23 Sep 2008
First Look

First Look: September 23, 2008

individual-level data from an Indian software services firm to examine the effects of team familiarity and variation in market experience on multiple measures of performance for over 1,100 software development projects. Consistent with... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Alan D. MacCormack

Alan MacCormack is the MBA Class of 1949 Adjunct Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, a member of The Digital, Data, and Design (D^3) Institute at Harvard, and a core faculty member... View Details

Keywords: automotive; communications; computer; e-commerce industry; electronics; high technology; information technology industry; internet; semiconductor; software; telecommunications; venture capital industry

Web

Faculty & Research

Stability Project supports research collaborations across Harvard University to understand, predict, and prevent financial instability. All Initiatives & Projects There are no upcoming events. Recent Publications Using Satellites and... View Details

January 2002 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Space Data Corporation

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Jay Wynn

Space Data Corp. plans to partner with the U.S. National Weather Service to place transceivers on weather balloons and thereby create a national mobile communications network. The company is in the late development stages and is planning to launch a regional test that... View Details

Keywords: Wireless Technology; Business Startups; Business Processes; Adaptation; Partners and Partnerships; Opportunities; Public Administration Industry; Public Administration Industry; United States

Career Coach

Ben Schlatka

Ben (HBS '05) has deep experience in technology driven organizations - including fund raising and venture formation, product marketing, product management, business development and managing technical professionals in large public and... View Details

Keywords: Financial Services (All); Financial Services (All); Financial Services (All); Financial Services (All); Financial Services (All); Financial Services (All); Financial Services (All); Financial Services (All)

01 May 2006
Research & Ideas

What Companies Lose from Forced Disclosure

the one hand, more measures provide more dials to turn to get the manager to take actions consistent with the firm's best interests. On the other hand, more public information imposes more risk on the manager (more chances for things... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen; Financial Services

June 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Hôpital de Pontoise

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Simon Harrow

In 2010, Andre Razafindranaly, managing director of a large French public hospital, considers which organizational structure will help them adjust to the changing health sector environment. The move from global budget to activity-based funding has led his and many... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Governance Controls; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Health Care and Treatment; Leading Change; Service Delivery; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Health Industry; France