Publications

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March 2018
Supplement

China Vanke: Battle for Control (D)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Charles C.Y. Wang, Dawn H. Lau and Anthony K. Woo

In the battle for control over China Vanke, the Chinese securities regulator steps in to censure Vanke and Baoneng for acting against the interests of the market and minority shareholders. The Chinese insurance regulator also finds Baoneng to be in violation of... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business and Shareholder Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Real Estate Industry; China

30 Jun 2020
News

Bipartisan Tax-Free Solution To Health Care Financing: Coupling HRAs With A Public Option

Article

A Public Option Can Be a Triple Win for U.S. Healthcare

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Richard Boxer

The United States needs to control healthcare costs and quality while reaching universal coverage. The strongest choice is a public option that allows people to choose between Medicare and private payers. But a public option needs sustainable financing mechanisms that... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare; Public Option; Universal Health Coverage; Health Care and Treatment; Cost Management; Quality; United States

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February 2003 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Safe to Say at Prudential Financial

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Corey B. Hajim

The CEO initiated a cultural change process at Prudential Financial to support a major business reorientation. Prudential, historically a privately held ("mutual") insurance company, went public in 2001. The cultural change was intended to prepare the organization to... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Risk and Uncertainty; Private Ownership; Going Public; Transformation; Organizational Culture

October 10, 2019
Article

The Case for the Public Option Over Medicare for All

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Richard Boxer

How can the United States better control its health care costs and quality and still achieve universal coverage? The strongest choice is not Medicare for All, which would eliminate private insurance; it’s the public option, which would allow people to choose from... View Details

Keywords: Universal Health Coverage; Public Option; Medicare; Health Care and Treatment; Insurance; Cost Management; Quality; United States

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2016
Blog

Building A Culture of Health - John A. Quelch: Creating A Culture of Health

By: John A. Quelch

All American companies are in the health business whether they like it or not. The private sector directly pays for one-fifth of the whopping 17.5% of GDP spent on healthcare in the United States. Rather than viewing health merely as an insurance expense to be... View Details

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03 Feb 2015
First Look

First Look: February 3

mandated insurance coverage. Publisher's link: http://dx.doi.org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2014.10.042 February 2015 Journal of Law & Economics What Are We Meeting For? The Consequences of View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2021
Case

Saham Group: It's In the Genes

By: Christina R. Wing and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in August 2020 as Moulay Mhamed Elalamy (Mhamed), CEO of the Saham Group (the Group), a pan-African investment company that operates a variety of businesses out of Morocco, contemplates the Group’s identity, its investment strategy, and how to navigate... View Details

Keywords: Family and Family Relationships; Family Business; For-Profit Firms; Transformation; Transition; Emerging Markets; Change Management; Private Equity; Investment; Strategy; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; Morocco; Africa

14 Aug 2012
News

New Medical Devices Get Smart

13 Jul 2009
Research & Ideas

Diagnosing the Public Health Care Alternative

think the chances of a government plan supplanting private options are slim," he writes. But the existence of both public and private insurance plans might provide enough... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Health

May 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Case

Lincoln Financial Meets the Financial Crisis

By: Robert C. Pozen and Peter Goodspeed Spring

In March of 2009, Lincoln Financial Group's CEO Dennis Glass was facing a difficult decision as to how he would replenish his company's capital, which could quickly fall to dangerously low levels as a result of the financial crisis. Though the cost of raising capital... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Financial Crisis; Capital; Private Equity; Crisis Management; Business and Government Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Insurance Industry

April 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Growing Financial Services in India: Aditya Birla Financial Services Group

By: Paul M. Healy and Rachna Tahilyani

Aditya Birla Financial Services Group is a large, broad-based, Indian financial services institution offering products ranging from life insurance and mutual funds to private equity. The company has witnessed a turnaround in recent years and regained lost market share.... View Details

Keywords: Regulatory Environment; Finance; Asset Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Transformation; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Business Processes; Organizational Structure; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Segmentation; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; India

September 2004 (Revised December 2004)
Case

Bank Leu's Prima Cat Bond Fund

In 2001, Bank Leu, a Swiss private bank, is considering creating the world's first public fund for catastrophe bonds. Cat bonds are securities whose payments depend on the probability of a catastrophe occurring, such as an earthquake or hurricane. Cat bonds are... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Bonds; Natural Disasters; Insurance; Capital Markets; Banks and Banking; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; Switzerland

15 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 15

for larger firms (which have access to bond markets), we confirm that this substitution has strong predictive power for lending volume by small and unrated firms. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/10-107.pdf Unfair Advantage'? Combining Banking with... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

26 Jun 2014
News

Shifting toward Defined Contributions — Predicting the Effects

08 May 2013
News

Hospital Prices No Longer Secret As New Data Reveals Bewildering System, Staggering Cost Differences

May 2025 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Humana Commits to Value-Based Care

By: V.G. Narayanan, Henry Eyring and David Lane

In late 2023, CEO Bruce Broussard reviewed health insurer Humana’s transformation into a value-based care ecosystem. Under its CenterWell brand, the several millions of members in Humana Medicare Advantage plans now had access to Humana-provided primary care, home... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Units; Financing and Loans; Innovation Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Operations; Mergers and Acquisitions; Insurance; Health Care and Treatment; Partners and Partnerships; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; United States