Publications

25 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

The Country Effect: Does Location Matter?

helping define company success in highly industrialized countries. In short, they reported that companies with cultures that embrace entrepreneurialism and competitiveness—the rabbits and tigers—outperform... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

February 2003 (Revised August 2005)
Case

UCB (A): Managing Information for Globalization and Innovation

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Brian DeLacey

This case presents a complex total MIS strategy case for a $3 billion European pharmaceutical/chemicals company based in Brussels. It covers corporate strategy alignment of IT portfolio, IT operations issues, and global coordination of IT. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Operations; System; Corporate Strategy; Investment Portfolio; Globalization; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Brussels

30 Jun 2020
Book

Capitalism Is More at Risk Than Ever

S. Paine When Unilever CEO Paul Polman announced the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) in November 2010, commentators took notice. The plan set ambitious goals, to be sure, but more than that, the nature of the goals was highly unusual for a publicly traded,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

January 2017
Case

Medtronic: Making the Big Leap Forward (A)

By: William W. George and Monica Baraldi

In 2014, Medtronic was about to execute a $50 billion acquisition of Ireland-based Covidien. Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak was committed to building the largest medical technology company in the world while broadening its ability to fulfill its mission of “alleviating... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Medtronic; Covidien; Mission; Tax Inversion; Business Strategy; Leadership; Mergers and Acquisitions; Pharmaceutical Industry; Republic of Ireland; Europe; Minnesota; United States

27 Jul 2015
Research & Ideas

The ‘Promotion’ That Makes You Feel Bad

of people are affected by this topic." An estimated 50 percent of multinationals use English as their common company language, Neeley says. Countless more have the same policy on an unofficial basis, she... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

10 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

How to Look at Globalization Now

interview with HBS Working Knowledge's Martha Lagace, he discusses what companies should bear in mind going forward.Lagace: People often equate globalization with the idea that globally standardized products are displacing local ones. In... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Article

What to Know About Locating in a Cluster

By: Willy C. Shih and Sen Chai

As a study of two industry clusters in Denmark shows, factors that can make clusters attractive—easy people movement and knowledge spillovers—can also make it harder for individual companies to retain proprietary knowledge. View Details

Keywords: Clusters; Clustering; Competitiveness; Life Sciences; Telecommunications; Science-based; Research And Development; Industry Clusters; Research; Innovation Strategy; Innovation and Management; Geographic Location; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Denmark

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April 2014 (Revised July 2015)
Case

Sanofi Pasteur: The Dengue Vaccine Dilemma

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, David E. Bloom, Vincent Dessain and Emilie Billaud

In 2012, Sanofi Pasteur was racing to develop a vaccine against dengue, a mosquito-borne disease, and was evaluating this product in a Phase IIb trial conducted with school children in Thailand. But while the candidate vaccine met the high safety expectations and a... View Details

Keywords: Health Testing and Trials; Product Launch; Market Entry and Exit; Emerging Markets; Pharmaceutical Industry; France

18 Jun 2001
Research & Ideas

When In-House Research Isn’t Enough

paradigm to consider that takes into account both internal and external research and development efforts to create what he calls a "company innovation system." "What I hope this term will convey," he told HBS alumni, "is what I'm seeing in... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner

22 Aug 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, August 23

forthcoming Handbook of Structural Transformation Location Fundamentals, Agglomeration Economies, and the Geography of Multinational Firms By: Alfaro, Laura, and Maggie Xiaoyang Chen Abstract—Multinationals exhibit distinct agglomeration... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 1991 (Revised August 2005)
Case

Whelan Pharmaceuticals: Tax Factors and Global Site Selection

Whelan Pharmaceuticals, a U.S. company with $3 billion in sales, must decide where to manufacture its newest product. In considering possible sites, both foreign and U.S., the firm must identify and make trade-offs between tax, marketing, and manufacturing factors. View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Geographic Location; Cost vs Benefits; Production; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

August 1995 (Revised June 1997)
Case

Hillcrest Research Associates, Inc.

Hillcrest designs and administers testing procedures for drugs to determine whether they pass FDA specifications. As the company grows, it encounters problems with information technology and with the clinical research associates, who feel pressured to report more... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Information Technology; Health Testing and Trials; Pharmaceutical Industry

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02 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

The Dubious Logic of Global Megamergers

Williams had nearly $8 billion in sales. The oil industry is becoming more competitive in part because of such cast-off purchases by companies like Williams. Stay Home. For many companies, it still makes a lot more sense to grow... View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat & Fariborz Ghadar

August 2001 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Helios Health (A)

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Alfred Martin

Helios PC system provides personalized drug information to the patients in the doctor's waiting room. It has met with considerable consumer acceptance and a very high return for the drug companies that sponsor it. What price should it charge them for the service? View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Price; Health Care and Treatment; Information Publishing; Innovation and Invention; Product Marketing; Demand and Consumers; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

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15 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

The Right Connections

pharmaceutical companies — what the authors call downstream social capital — had a direct impact on the size of the startup's IPO. "Downstream social capital was essential in attracting the interest of... View Details

Keywords: by Judith A. Ross

13 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Merck CEO Ken Frazier Discusses a COVID Cure, Racism, and Why Leaders Need to Walk the Talk

As chairman and CEO of the leading vaccine producer in the world, pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., Ken Frazier has one of the highest-profile positions in global business. But Frazier, who is leading one of the firms on a charge to... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Pharmaceutical

January 2006 (Revised April 2007)
Case

General Electric Healthcare, 2006

By: Tarun Khanna and Elizabeth Raabe

In January 2006, Joe Hogan, head of General Electric (GE) Healthcare Technologies, prepared to step into William Castell's shoes as CEO of GE Healthcare, the world's leading manufacturer of diagnostic imaging equipment. In 2004, former CEO Jeff Immelt acquired Amersham... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Cost vs Benefits; Growth and Development Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Machinery and Machining; Global Range; Multinational Firms and Management; Product Design; Technological Innovation; Expansion; Value Creation; Business Subsidiaries; Health Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry