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August 1986 (Revised September 2004)
Case

Hanson Ski Products

By: William J. Bruns Jr. and Julie H. Hertenstein

At the end of the budget cycle, the manager must test whether plans are feasible given financing arrangements and constraints. Cash needs are great due to seasonality. Needed loans must be calculated at five separate dates, and financial position projected. This is a... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Capital Budgeting; Cash Flow; Financial Strategy; Activity Based Costing and Management; Financing and Loans; Managerial Roles; Credit; Insurance

December 2012
Article

Grand Innovation Prizes: A Theoretical, Normative, and Empirical Evaluation

By: Alan MacCormack, Fiona Murray, Scott Stern and Georgina Campbell

This paper provides a systematic examination of the use of a Grand Innovation Prize (GIP) in action—the Progressive Automotive Insurance X PRIZE—a $10 million prize for a highly efficient vehicle. Following a mechanism design approach we define three key dimensions for... View Details

Keywords: Design; Motivation and Incentives; Goals and Objectives; Performance; Auto Industry

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2011
Working Paper

The Impact of Forward-Looking Metrics on Employee Decision Making

By: Pablo Casas-Arce, F. Asis Martinez-Jerez and V.G. Narayanan

This paper analyzes the effects of providing forward-looking metrics on employee decision making. We use data from a southern European bank that, in April 2002, started providing its branch managers with customer lifetime value (CLV) information about mortgage... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Decision Choices and Conditions; Mortgages; Employees; Information; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Service Delivery; Banking Industry; Europe

18 Feb 2015
First Look

First Look: February 18

authors go beyond the common belief of retail as a monolithic industry and provide a framework that any brick-and-mortar retailer can use to respond to the eCommerce threat. Through six examples, this book demonstrates how this framework... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2010 (Revised September 2010)
Case

athenahealth: Innovating in Response to a Crisis in Healthcare

When Jonathan Bush and his partner, Todd Park, realized that their revolutionary approach to delivering clinical care was being stymied by the inefficiencies in the healthcare system and insurance red tape, they turned their proprietary technology, athenaNet, to a new... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Information Management; Innovation and Invention; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Health Industry; United States

July 2002 (Revised December 2002)
Case

Mercer Management Consulting (A)

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Michael Echenberg

Insurance giant Marsh & McLennan acquires management consulting firms Temple, Barker & Sloane (TBS) in 1987 and Strategic Planning Associates (SPA) in 1990 and sets out to merge the two. The merger proceeds slowly and painfully. Following the February 1990 merger,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Decision Making; Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career; Horizontal Integration; Consulting Industry

2023
Article

Dynamic HTA for Digital Health Solutions: Opportunities and Challenges for Patient-Centered Evaluation

By: Jan B. Brönneke, Annika Herr, Simon Reif and Ariel D. Stern

Germany’s 2019 Digital Healthcare Act (Digitale-Versorgung-Gesetz, or DVG) created a number of opportunities for the digital transformation of the health care delivery system. Key among these was the creation of a reimbursement pathway for patient-centered digital... View Details

Keywords: Digital Transformation; Applications and Software; Product Development; Insurance; Policy; Health Industry; Germany

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November 1992 (Revised June 1993)
Case

International Paper (A)

Concerns the decision of International Paper, the world's largest pulp and paper corporation, about when to adopt the provisions of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards 106 (SFAS 106), "Employers' Accounting for Postretirement Benefits Other than Pensions." SFAS... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Compensation and Benefits; Pulp and Paper Industry

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February 2022 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Sekisui House and the In-Home Early Detection Platform

By: John D. Macomber and Akiko Kanno

To address an aging population and sales declines, a major Japanese homebuilder considers pivoting to provide and support an in-home health detection platform, in competition with tech companies. This case considers the point of view of major builders regarding how... View Details

Keywords: Voice Assistants; Architecture; Smart Home; Aging Society; Digitalization; Real Estate; Home Automation; Sensors; Strategy; Digital Platforms; Health Care and Treatment; Housing; Age; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Japan

05 Jan 2010
First Look

First Look: January 5

pairwise industry and establishment level and measure agglomeration in a global and continuous metric space. These indices exhibit distinct advantages compared to traditional measures of agglomeration including the independence on the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

17 Aug 2010
First Look

First Look: August 17

note:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/311011-PDF-ENG Note on the Insurance Industry Clayton Rose, Scott WaggonerHarvard Business School Note 311-012 This note provides an overview of the structure and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

November 2022
Case

The Battle Among Channels for Marketing Pharmaceuticals: UpScript, Pharmacy Benefit Managers, and Direct-to-Consumer Sales

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Tiffany Farrell

Can an online, direct-to-consumer pharmacy both improve the quality and speed of care for patients who need branded drugs and stabilize profits for pharmaceutical manufacturers? UpScript, after years spent achieving legal and regulatory compliance and simultaneous... View Details

Keywords: DTC; Internet and the Web; Marketing Channels; Customer Value and Value Chain; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Competitive Strategy; Service Delivery; Growth and Development Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

30 Apr 2024
Book

When Managers Set Unrealistic Expectations, Employees Cut Ethical Corners

school, for example, I had been asked to research insurance coverage for a raft of lawsuits being brought against Johns-Manville Corporation for injuries and deaths from exposure to asbestos. At the time, Johns-Manville was the leading... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

02 Mar 2007
What Do You Think?

What Is the Government’s Role in US Health Care?

avoidance on the part of physicians, a litigious society, and inadequate protection from it for physicians (Rowland Freeman), "defensive" medicine leading to unnecessary tests and treatments, an insurance system that is costly and... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Health

03 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

Why a Failed Startup Might Be Good for Your Career After All

Measuring success from 5 million resumes The researchers focused on entrepreneurs backed by venture capitalists, but they faced a challenge right off the bat. How do you measure success for job holders in different roles in industries as... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

01 Nov 2017
What Do You Think?

What Are the Real Lessons of the Wells Fargo Case?

SUMMING UP Respondents to this month’s Wells Fargo “case study” identified problem symptoms, diagnosed causes, proposed remedies, and even suggested a title for a follow-on case. Mitch says that when one company is consistently more successful than others in that View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Banking

12 Sep 2023
Research & Ideas

How Can Financial Advisors Thrive in Shifting Markets? Diversify, Diversify, Diversify

boomers surge into retirement and fintech businesses offer new ways for investors to grow their nest eggs. While revenue from financial planning reached $65 billion in 2021, up 30 percent from 2017, many in the industry are trying to... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Financial Services

October 1988 (Revised May 1990)
Case

Ford Motor Co.: The Product Warranty Program (A)

Raises powerful issues concerning product warranty policy as a strategic marketing variable. Also raises several exciting issues concerning the role of product policy in competitive battles, product line issues, interfunctional coordination issues, and some ethical... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Marketing Strategy; Insurance; Product; Policy; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States

October 2009 (Revised November 2016)
Case

Generation Health: A Pioneer in Genetics Benefit Management (A)

By: Robert F. Higgins, Jeffrey D. Marrazzo and Rachel Gordon

Generation Health, a pioneer in the new field of genetics benefit management and a newly formed company, faces many strategic issues. CEO Per Lofberg is in the midst of negotiating a partnership with a major pharmacy benefit management company. As part of these... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Genetics; Health Industry; Health Industry