Publications

14 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restarting Under Uncertainty: Managerial Experiences from Around the World

their value proposition to reflect ever-evolving demand conditions and discover new growth opportunities. They adapt their approach toward HR management to preserve business viability while maintaining... View Details

Keywords: by Raffaella Sadun, Andrea Bertoni, Alexia Delfino, Giovanni Fassio, and Mariapaola Testa

July 2021 (Revised July 2022)
Case

Brigham & Women's Hospital: Using Patient Reported Outcomes to Improve Breast Cancer Care

By: Robert S. Kaplan, Navraj S. Nagra and Syed S. Shehab

Dr. Andrea Pusic, breast cancer reconstruction surgeon, wants to extend outcomes measurement beyond traditional surgical metrics of infections, complications, and survival rates. The case describes her development of a new mobile phone app, which collects patients’... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Outcome or Result; Cost Management; Activity Based Costing and Management; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Health Testing and Trials; Surveys; Health Industry; Boston

03 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

HBS Faculty on Revolution in the Middle East and North Africa

tomorrow are going to be of the unsavory variety, 30 years of experience dealing with Iran shows that neglect and isolation are ineffective strategies for managing conflict. Second, diplomacy is about... View Details

Keywords: Re: Deepak Malhotra; Energy; Utilities

07 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

The Case for Combating Climate Change with Nuclear Power and Fracking

If you ask any given environmentalist to identify the biggest threat to the planet, you may expect to hear about man-made climate change, consumerism, or overpopulation. But if you ask Harvard Business School's Joseph B. Lassiter, he'll toss in another: single-issue... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Energy; Utilities

February 1999 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: Coordinating Patient Care

External cost pressures are motivating the adoption of case management (CM) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), but several of the organization's key professional groups are working against it. President and CEO David Dolins must decide whether CM is... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Service Operations; Organizational Culture; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; Boston

01 Aug 2018
What Do You Think?

Are Free Trade and Free Markets Quaint Ideas From the Past?

for years, extending back to Adam Smith’s “invisible hand.” While many members of the management community generally accept the notion of free markets and trade, those unable to compete with imports are... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

2017
Working Paper

The Effects of Media Slant on Firm Behavior

By: Vishal P. Baloria and Jonas Heese

The media can impose reputational costs on firms because of its important role as an information intermediary and its ability to negatively slant coverage. We exploit a quasi-natural experiment that holds constant the information event across firms, but varies the... View Details

Keywords: Media Slant; Reputational Capital; Strategic Corporate Decisions

SSRN

20 Feb 2019
Blog Post

Part 1: Military Transition and the JD/MBA - Setting Career Goals

Phil Caruso, JD/MBA '19, has served as a U.S. Air Force officer for seven years on active duty and four years in the reserve. He continues to pay his luck forward as a Co-Director of the Harvard Veterans... View Details

01 Dec 1997
News

Making Real Progress in the Middle East: The Bottom-Up, Economic Solution

these ventures is competitive advantage and profit. For Israeli companies, cooperation can open up new markets, provide cost-effective outsourcing opportunities, and significantly lower the View Details

Keywords: Michael Porter, Yagil Weinberg, and Noreena Hertz

September 1995 (Revised March 2023)
Background Note

Process Fundamentals

By: Ann E. Gray and James Leonard

This note provides an introduction for a course or module covering the basic elements of production or service operations and how processes are managed. Begins by discussing the activities that take place in a "process." Analysis tools such as the process flow diagram... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Operations; Management; Business Processes; Analysis

10 Sep 2018
Research & Ideas

Celebrating 'The Men and Women of the Corporation' 40 Years Later

interplay between men and women in a number of different organizations, and I tried to write something that would derive examples from all those organizations, as I've managed... View Details

Keywords: by Robin J. Ely

February 2010 (Revised June 2022)
Case

Dollarama Inc.

By: Andre F. Perold

Dollarama is the leading operator of dollar stores in Canada. The firm performed extraordinarily well after a leveraged buyout in 2004 and recently executed a highly successful IPO. The company sources its goods primarily from Asia. It has strong brand recognition and... View Details

Keywords: Price; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Supply Chain; Competitive Advantage; Valuation; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry; Canada

December 2011
Article

Platform Envelopment

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Geoffrey Parker and Marshall Van Alstyne

Due to network effects and switching costs in platform markets, entrants generally must offer revolutionary functionality. We explore a second entry path that does not rely upon Schumpeterian innovation: platform envelopment. Through envelopment, a provider in one... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Economic Systems; Development Economics; Business or Company Management; Business Strategy; Network Effects; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

March 2009 (Revised May 2009)
Background Note

Executing Strategy

By: J. Bruce Harreld

This is a note to introduce the principles for effectively implementing a new strategy. It emphasizes the interdependence of strategy and execution in developing and sustaining superior competitive performance. Primarily based on the notion that strategy should be a... View Details

Keywords: Alignment; Competitive Strategy; Management Teams

Web

Innovation and Renovation: Optimizing Product Line Architecture - Course Catalog

longevity. Craft strategies that not only drive adoption but also sustain relevance in evolving competitive landscapes. Manage a product life cycle. Lead offerings through continuous renovation to ensure they stay fresh View Details

2011
Case

Wrapitup

By: W. Earl Sasser

A restaurant chain based in California offers made-to-order sandwich wraps using fresh, healthy ingredients. The founders of the company take a very active role in day-to-day business and tightly control every aspect of the restaurant operation from hiring store... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Governance Controls; Revenue; Employee Relationship Management; Planning; Customer Satisfaction; Problems and Challenges; Profit; Change Management; Compensation and Benefits; Leadership Style; Service Industry; California

October 2004 (Revised January 2006)
Tutorial

Introduction to Responsibility Accounting Systems

By: David F. Hawkins, V.G. Narayanan, Jacob Cohen and Michele Jurgens

Responsibility accounting systems generate financial and related nonfinancial information about the actual and planned activities of a company's responsibility centers--organizational units headed by managers responsible for a unit's performance. The principal... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Cost Accounting; Governance Controls; Financial Reporting; Performance Evaluation; Budgets and Budgeting; Planning