Publications

Monique Burns Thompson is an accomplished social entrepreneur who returns to HBS (class of 1993) and brings her twenty years of successful start-up and organizational leadership experience to her research and teaching at HBS. She has led as a co-founder, President,... View Details

June 2010
Case

FoldRite Furniture Company: Planning to Meet a Surge in Demand

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Afarin Bellisario

Demand for folding and stackable chairs and tables at FoldRite Furniture Co. is unexpectedly strong. The company spent the previous two years improving manufacturing quality and efficiency, dropping poor-performing product lines, developing new products that are... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing; Production Capacity; Production Scheduling; Risk Management; Growth Management; Production; Logistics; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; Europe

August 2005 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Kemps LLC: Introducing Time-Driven ABC

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Kemps is making a strategy shift: from being focused on fulfilling customer requests to becoming the best cost dairy producer in the industry. Its existing manufacturing cost system, however, fails to capture the costs associated with handling special flavors, small... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Customer Relationship Management; Cost Accounting; Managerial Roles; Cost Management; Earnings Management; Business Strategy; Time Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Decisions; Food and Beverage Industry

Research Summary

Managing the Manufacturer-Retailer Interface

By: Janice H. Hammond

Janice H. Hammond is studying the impact of coordination on the performance of manufacturing and retail channels. The focus of her research is on the supply "channel", the set of firms that undertakes the chain of activities that begins with acquisition of raw... View Details

December 2019
Case

Walmart Ecommerce (A): Picking up the Pace

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case is an abridged version (part 1 of 2) of "Walmart's Omnichannel Strategy: Revolution or Miscalculation?" HBS Case No. 720-370. The (A) case discusses Walmart's early forays into online retail, as well as improvements made under Doug McMillon beginning in 2014.... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry; Bentonville; Arkansas; United States

December 2003 (Revised May 2004)
Case

Blockbuster Inc. & Technological Substitution (A): Achieving Dominance in the Video Rental Industry

Provides a comprehensive background of the video rental industry and home entertainment giant, Blockbuster Inc. Follows the life of Blockbuster Inc. from its first days under founder Wayne Huizenga to its most recent developments under 2003 CEO John Antioco. By looking... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Decisions; Technological Innovation; Competition; Change Management; Economics; Service Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

14 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 14, 2015

case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/215038-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 615-052 Transforming Care at UnityPoint Health-Fort Dodge This case details the transformation of a health care delivery system, UnityPoint... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Faculty & Advisors - MBA

SignalFire is an AI-native venture capital fund that has been building an in-house AI platform for the past decade with $2B+ AUM. Prior to SignalFire, she was a product leader at CVS Health, where she launched nationwide prescription View Details

July 2023
Teaching Note

Belden and Digital Transformation: From Product Sales to Solutions Sales

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 823-002. Belden manufactures devices such as switches, cables, adapters, and connectors. Faced with market changes, the firm initiated a new Enhanced Solutions Delivery (ESD) initiative. In November 2022 executives are evaluating the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Digital Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Sales; Marketing Channels; Manufacturing Industry

April 2011
Article

Improving Cancer Care Through Public Reporting Of Meaningful Quality Measures

By: Tracy E. Spinks, Ronald Walters, Thomas W. Feeley, Heidi Wied Albright, Victoria S. Jordan, John Bingham and Thomas W. Burke

Historically, quality measures for cancer have followed a different route than overall quality measures in the health care system. Many specialized cancer treatment centers were exempt from standard reporting on quality measures because of the complexity of cancer.... View Details

Keywords: Cancer; Quality Metrics; Public Reporting; Affordable Care Act; Quality; Health; Health Industry; North and Central America

Read Now

20 Nov 2014
Video

Health Care Acceleration Challenge Finalists

Web

Required Curriculum - MBA

the ongoing contribution of a firm's operations to its competitive position. It helps them to understand the complex processes underlying the development and manufacture of products as well as the creation and delivery of services. Topics... View Details

December 2007 (Revised January 2008)
Case

Transforming Arizona's Health Care System: Developing and Implementing the Health-e Connection Roadmap

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Ajay Vinze, T.S. Raghu and Minu Ipe

Addresses the issues of leadership and change management in the process of transforming an industry through an innovative public-private partnership approach to policy making. In 2005, the Governor of Arizona issued an Executive Order to create a roadmap for the state... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Private Sector; Public Sector; Health Care and Treatment; Service Delivery; Partners and Partnerships; Information Technology; Health Industry; Service Industry

Research Summary

Overview

By: Natalia Rigol

My research focuses primarily on how to design, target, and deliver financial products to the poor, and, in particular, how financial inclusion can improve the socio-economic position of women. My projects have analyzed how the design and delivery of microfinance... View Details

September 1998
Case

Vanguard Group, Inc. (1998), The

By: Andre F. Perold

Since the beginning of 1997, Vanguard's assets under management have increased more than 60% from $240 billion to almost $400 billion, making it second in market share only to Fidelity. Vanguard views this success as another vindication of its low-cost strategy of... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Cost Management; Investment Funds; Product; Service Operations; Performance Expectations; Competition; Consolidation; Expansion; Internet; Financial Services Industry

January 2017 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Delivering the Goods at Shippo

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Jeffrey F. Rayport and Olivia Hull

Laura Behrens Wu, CEO of software start-up Shippo, prepares her pitch for a Series A funding round following a successful seed round. Customer adoption of Shippo’s e-commerce dashboard application, which allows small and medium retailers to compare delivery rates... View Details

October 2005
Case

Wipro Technologies: The Factory Model

Based in Bangalore, Wipro Technologies is a rapidly growing software services company. Wipro is experimenting with a new software service delivery model that draws on the principles of the Toyota production system and "lean" manufacturing. Addresses the advantages and... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Service Operations; Applications and Software; Standards; Information Technology Industry; Bangalore

2023
Working Paper

The Political Economy of a 'Miracle Cure': The Case of Nebulized Ibuprofen and Its Diffusion in Argentina

By: Sebastian Calónico, Rafael Di Tella and Juan Cruz Lopez Del Valle

We document the diffusion of nebulized ibuprofen in Argentina as a treatment for COVID-19. As the pandemic spread, this clinically unsupported drug reached thousands of patients, even some seriously ill, despite warnings by the regulator and medical societies. Detailed... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Health Care and Treatment; Health Pandemics; Adoption; Behavior; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Learning