Publications

June 2012 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Great Western Hospital: High-risk Pregnancy Care

By: Michael E. Porter, Emma Stanton and Samuel Takvorian

Great Western Hospital (GWH) is a community hospital in Wiltshire, South West England and one of England's largest maternity providers; responsible for delivering over 9,000 babies per year. The case discusses the efforts of Dr. Harini Narayan, consultant obstetrician... View Details

Keywords: Health Care; Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Service Delivery; Risk Management

2010
Working Paper

Overconfidence by Bayesian Rational Agents

By: Eric Van den Steen

This paper derives two mechanisms through which Bayesian-rational individuals with differing priors will tend to be relatively overconfident about their estimates and predictions, in the sense of overestimating the precision of these estimates. The intuition behind one... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Measurement and Metrics; Game Theory; Forecasting and Prediction

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2010
Chapter

Leadership in a Globalizing World

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

In this chapter, world-renowned business expert, author, and Harvard Business School professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter asks the question, "Is leadership different in a globalizing world--one of broadening horizons and burgeoning sources of ideas and supplies--than in... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Globalized Firms and Management; Leadership; Research; Complexity; Diversity

February 2003 (Revised December 2006)
Case

Toys "R" Us (A)

By: Michael G. Rukstad, Dennis A. Yao and Cate Reavis

In 1992, Toys "R" Us, the pioneer of the "category killer" retail format, faced significant competitive threats from mass discounters and warehouse clubs and was losing market share. This case explores the dynamic sustainability of Toys "R" Us's retailing model, its... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Competition; Supply and Industry; Power and Influence; Retail Industry; United States

April 1992 (Revised February 1996)
Case

CFM International, Inc.

In April 1987 the management team of CFM International, Inc. (CFMI) was considering developing a new jet engine for the Airbus A340. The withdrawal of a competitor's engine had created an unforeseen opportunity for CFMI to re-enter a competition it had apparently lost... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Partners and Partnerships; Investment; Globalized Markets and Industries; Manufacturing Industry; Air Transportation Industry

03 Jan 2017
First Look

January 3, 2017

interaction of goals and measures with human behavior. Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/117112-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 117-113 Management Control Systems Module 13: Identifying Strategic Risk This... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

May 24, 2016
Article

Build a Culture of Health

By: John A. Quelch

Every company, large and small, has an impact on health. It does so in four ways: first, through the healthfulness and safety of the products and services it sells; second, through its attention to employee health and well-being in its work practices and benefits;... View Details

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2016
Blog

Building A Culture of Health - John A. Quelch: Creating A Culture of Health

By: John A. Quelch

All American companies are in the health business whether they like it or not. The private sector directly pays for one-fifth of the whopping 17.5% of GDP spent on healthcare in the United States. Rather than viewing health merely as an insurance expense to be... View Details

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October 2012
Case

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals: Living Healthier, Longer (Abridged)

By: Toby Stuart and James Weber

Describes a set of key strategic decisions facing the scientific founder and CEO of a promising, early stage bio-pharmaceuticals company. Should the company establish a proposed alliance with a pharmaceutical firm? Should it create a nutraceuticals business in parallel... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Brands and Branding; Pharmaceutical Industry

09 Feb 2021
News

How COVID Experiences Will Reshape the Workplace

Joseph S. Cullinan

In 1913, when Cullinan resigned his presidency, Texaco controlled over 4% of the nation’s oil production. Cullinan had grown Texaco from an initial capitalization of $3 million to one of $30 million with assets of approximately $60 million. A successful risk-taker,... View Details

Keywords: Utilities & Energy

March 2025
Case

Silicon Valley Bank: Gone in 36 Hours

By: Jung Koo Kang, Krishna G. Palepu, Charles C.Y. Wang and David Lane

This case examines factors contributing to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in March 2023, an event as unpredicted as it was quick. SVB funded nearly half of all U.S. venture-backed startups and at the end of 2022 held $173 billion in deposits, largely... View Details