Publications

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Business Economics - Doctoral

Business Economics From corporate finance, industrial organization, and international business, to markets, competition, and government regulation, HBS doctoral students in Business Economics delve into some of the most pressing and... View Details

October 2000 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Harvard Management Company and Inflation-Protected Bonds, The

By: Luis M. Viceira

In March 2000, the board of The Harvard Management Co. (HMC) approved significant changes in the policy portfolio determining the long-run allocation policy of the Harvard University endowment. These changes included a sharp reduction of the allocation to U.S. equities... View Details

Keywords: Bonds; Investment Portfolio; Investment Funds; Asset Management; Corporate Governance; Capital Markets; Financial Services Industry; United States

2016
Working Paper

Innovation Network

By: Daron Acemoglu, Ufuk Akcigit and William Kerr

Technological progress builds upon itself, with the expansion of invention in one domain propelling future work in linked fields. Our analysis uses 1.8 million U.S. patents and their citation properties to map the innovation network and its strength. Past innovation... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Growth; Networks; Patents; Industry Growth; Technology Industry

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15 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

In the Virtual Dressing Room Returns Are A Real Problem

Many distinctive aspects of the textile and apparel industries present challenges to implementing electronic commerce. First, and perhaps most important, is the difficulty of accurately characterizing the product online. Many of the... View Details

Keywords: by Jan Hammond & Kristin Kohler; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Consumer Products; Manufacturing; Retail

18 Aug 2008
Research & Ideas

How Disruptive Innovation Changes Education

to study education through the lenses of your research on innovation. How did you come to approach the problem in this way, and what makes the analysis of public education similar to, and different from, other View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Education

May 1995 (Revised March 1996)
Case

ToyWorld, Inc.: Information Technology Planning

By: Lynda M. Applegate

ToyWorld, a fast growing retailer, was revitalizing its information technology (IT) infrastructure and called in AT&T to help plan for the future. Five strategic alternatives for use of information and communications technology were identified through value chain... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Information Technology; Growth and Development; Expansion; Partners and Partnerships; Retail Industry

December 1986 (Revised November 1990)
Case

Club Med (B)

Highlights the issue of high employee turnover in a multi-site, international subsidiary of a large resort company. Also described are service-quality problems the company has because the amount of value added through employee interaction with customers is high.... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Retention; Recruitment; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Tourism Industry; United States

Article

Open to Negotiation: Phenomenological Assumptions and Knowledge Dissemination

By: Corinne Bendersky and Kathleen L. McGinn

Phenomenological assumptions-assumptions about the fundamental qualities of the phenomenon being studied and how it relates to the environment in which it occurs-affect the dissemination of knowledge from subfields to the broader field of study. Micro-process research... View Details

Keywords: Framework; Knowledge Dissemination; Research; Organizations; Negotiation; Information Publishing

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2010
Article

Estimating the Attributable Cost of Physician Burnout in the United States

By: Shasha Han, Tait D. Shanafelt, Christine A. Sinsky, Karim M. Awad, Liselotte N. Dyrbye, Lynne C. Fiscus, Mickey Trockel and Joel Goh

Background: Although physician burnout is associated with negative clinical and organizational outcomes, its economic costs are poorly understood. As a result, leaders in health care cannot properly assess the financial benefits of initiatives to remediate... View Details

Keywords: Physicians; Burnout; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Employees; Cost; Programs; Policy; Health Industry

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18 Nov 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Innovation Network

Keywords: by Daron Acemoglu, Ufuk Akcigit, and William Kerr; Technology

Eaton Corp.: Portfolio Transformation and the Cost of Capital

In 2000, Eaton Corporation was broadly diversified industrial conglomerate. But its strategy was evolving and its focus was narrowing around “power management” and more recently on “intelligent power,” the use of digitally enabled products and services designed... View Details

January 1980 (Revised April 1994)
Case

New Balance Athletic Shoes

By: Kim B. Clark

Faced with growth exceeding 100% per year, James Davis, president of New Balance, must decide how to meet the need for additional capacity. Several factors contribute to a climate of extreme uncertainty. Several options are considered, ranging from a second shift to... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Forecasting and Prediction; Financial Strategy; Information; Growth Management; Organizational Design; Performance Capacity; Risk and Uncertainty; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Republic of Ireland

July 2017
Case

Centerbridge Partners and Great Wolf Resorts: Buying from a Highly Regarded Competitor

By: Josh Lerner, John D. Dionne and Amram Migdal

The case examines the March 2015 Centerbridge Partners investment decision regarding whether to acquire Great Wolf Resorts, a North American family-oriented indoor water parks and hotel operator, from a private equity (PE) competitor, Apollo Global Management. The case... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity Financing; Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities; CMBS; Secondary Buyouts; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Cost; Cost of Capital; Equity; Private Equity; Financial Instruments; Debt Securities; Accommodations Industry; Accommodations Industry; Accommodations Industry; North and Central America; United States

2010
Chapter

From Visible Harm to Relative Risk: Centralization and Fragmentation of Pharmacovigilance

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich

Adverse drug reactions pose distinct but potentially catastrophic risks to patients, physicians, pharmaceutical firms, and regulators. Between the early 1960s and the present, national systems were built to collect, standardize, and respond to individual reports of... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Health Testing and Trials; Business and Government Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

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Article

Capturing Value from Intellectual Property (IP) in a Global Environment

By: Juan Alcácer, Karin Beukel and Bruno Cassiman

Globalization should provide firms with an opportunity to leverage their know-how and reputation across countries to create value. However, it remains challenging for them to actually capture that value using traditional Intellectual Property (IP) tools. In this paper,... View Details

Keywords: Appropriation Strategy; Counterfeit; Intellectual Property Rights; Litigation; Value Capturing; Intellectual Property; Rights; Value; Lawsuits and Litigation; Global Range; Situation or Environment

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November 1999 (Revised July 2003)
Case

Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.

By: Paul M. Healy and Jacob Cohen

Pre-Paid Legal Services' business model reveals two key issues--managing the sales force and sales growth and managing claims. Students analyze the economics of the business and consider how to measure firm performance, how to evaluate and reward the sales force, and... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Salesforce Management; Marketing Strategy; Accrual Accounting; Business Cycles; Forecasting and Prediction; Insurance; Business Growth and Maturation; Insurance Industry

21 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 21, 2015

(the exogenous component of the variation in industry imports from China and changes in federal spending) and two supply-side ones (TFP shocks and variation in knowledge/ideas coming from foreign patenting). In each case, we find... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 1993 (Revised May 1994)
Case

Genzyme Corporation: Strategic Challenges with Ceredase

Genzyme Corp., one of the largest biotechnology companies, has succeeded in developing, manufacturing, and commercializing its first therapeutic, a treatment for a rare genetic disease. Analysis of the case requires students to identify and understand how Genzyme has... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Corporate Strategy; Technology; Health; Product Development; Biotechnology Industry; Biotechnology Industry; United States

May 1997 (Revised May 2004)
Case

Riverbend Telephone Company

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

An independent telephone company needs to acquire a new truck for use in telephone line installation and maintenance and must decide whether to buy or lease the truck. The company must address the rate of return in a regulated industry and the best accounting treatment... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Analysis; Cash Flow; Investment Return; Ownership