Publications

07 Mar 2018
Research & Ideas

Electronic Health Records Were Supposed to Cut Medical Costs. They Haven't.

Despite the promise that electronic health records would cut billing costs, savings have yet to materialize, according to a major new study by researchers at Harvard Business School and Duke University. “The theory was that part of... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Health

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Faculty & Research

business education in 1925, the case method is a powerful interactive learning process that puts students in the shoes of a leader faced with a real-world management issue and challenges them to propose and... View Details

March 1998 (Revised August 1999)
Case

Band of Angels, The

"The Band of Angels" is a well-organized but independent group of wealthy entrepreneurs. This case details the principles and processes used by the band and offers two perspectives from entrepreneurs who have been financed. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Borrowing and Debt; Venture Capital; Perspective

June 2021
Case

Akira Fukabori and Kevin Kajitani at avatarin (A) (Abridged)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Tedards

In 2016, Akira Fukabori and Kevin Kajitani, aeronautical engineers at All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd., began to wonder why, in a world of accelerating globalization and digital connectivity, those who lived in far-remote villages or impoverished urban areas could not... View Details

Keywords: Agility; Ecosystem; Innovation Ecosystems; Innovation; Crowdsourcing; XPRIZE; Open Innovation; Partnership; Government; Collaboration; Co-creation; Purpose; Impact; Social Impact; Movement; Organizational Behavior; Organizational Ambidexterity; Ambidexterity; Culture; Culture Change; Global Teams; Experimentation; Space; Space Industry; Airline Industry; Start-up; Platform Business; Platform Strategy; Platform; Digital; Robotics; Robots; Avatar; Telepresence; Innovation Lab; Mobility; COVID-19; Intrapreneurship; Public-private Partnership; Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Partners and Partnerships; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Alignment; Leadership; Leading Change; Diversity; Organizational Culture; Change Management; Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; Transportation Industry; Aerospace Industry; Japan

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PhD Programs - Doctoral

PhD Programs The start of your PhD program launches your journey to a career in business academia. Students in our PhD programs are encouraged from day one to think of this experience as their first job in View Details

04 Jan 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Historical Change and the Competitive Advantage of Firms: Explicating the 'Dynamics' in the Dynamic Capabilities Framework

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones and R. Daniel Wadhwani

13 Jan 2009
First Look

First Look: January 13, 2009

as complicated local etiquette, obscured decision-making processes, and heavy reliance on interpersonal relationships instead of legal instruments all add to the complexities of Sino-foreign business negotiations and can make the View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

28 Feb 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

Master the Team Meeting

these obligations if it can be avoided. I also generally discourage team meetings on Mondays (holidays and long weekends often cause these to be rescheduled or skipped) or Fridays (long weekends, and not much time to debrief or process... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

August 1998 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Harbus Foundation, The

By: James E. Austin and Linda Carrigan

Describes the challenges faced by a group of HBS students as they create a foundation. Given surplus funds generated by the student-run newspaper, The Harbus leadership decides to find a meaningful use for the excess cash. Profiles both the entrepreneurial process used... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Asset Management; Financial Institutions; Investment Portfolio; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Problems and Challenges; Social Enterprise; Valuation; Financial Services Industry

Find at Harvard

Research Summary

Quality in Service Operations

Rogelio Oliva is interested in understanding how the operational characteristics of service delivery processes interact with human resource and marketing policies to determine the long term productivity, quality, and profitability of a service operation. Specifically,... View Details

April 2017
Case

Imprimis (A)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karen Elterman and Marc Appel

This case examines the strategic choices and evolving business model of Imprimis Pharmaceuticals from the perspective of CEO Mark Baum. The (A) case provides a brief history of the company and of the compounding business, outlining the challenges faced by Imprimis in... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Healthcare; Drug Compounding; Pharmaceuticals; Compounding; Drug Development; Decision-making; Mark Baum; Imprimis; Small Business; Decisions; Cost vs Benefits; Business Strategy; Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

July 2007 (Revised July 2008)
Case

The Beijing Dream

By: Arthur I Segel, Voon Siang Lee, Jialei Tian and Ying Laura Wang

The purchase of a single-family home is generally the major investment for most young couples in China. Shows in detail the process that a young couple goes through in late April 2007 to find, finance, and close on an apartment in Beijing within what they believe to be... View Details

Keywords: Property; Investment; Cost; Emerging Markets; Financing and Loans; Acquisition; Activity Based Costing and Management; Internet and the Web; Management Practices and Processes; Real Estate Industry; Beijing; United States

2025
Report

High Stakes: A Framework for Geopolitical Risk Management

By: Meg Rithmire and David Fagan

This report provides a data-based assessment of how U.S. companies perceive geopolitical risk and articulates a recommended decision-making process and framework to manage such risk. The research reflected in the report indicates that various concerns related to China... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; International Relations; Business or Company Management; Risk Management

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23 Jun 2008
Research & Ideas

Innovative Ways to Encourage Personal Savings

that I've done over the course of the last 10 years has been field-based, working in conjunction with HBS student teams, partners in business and the nonprofit sector, and especially through the nonprofit that I founded, Doorways to... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

10 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

Technology and COVID Upended Tipping Norms. Will Consumers Keep Paying?

If you’ve recently ordered food or coffee on an app, you’re probably familiar with the prompt to tip your barista, delivery driver, or sandwich maker. Or even more commonly, when ordering at a casual dining counter, you’ve been asked to leave a tip on the screen used... View Details

Keywords: by Anna Lamb, Harvard Gazette

September 2012 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption

By: Willy Shih

Ulrich Simon, the head of the Microscopy business group at Carl Zeiss AG knew that his unit was facing a disruptive threat, so he chartered a special team to tackle the industrial segment. Given a high degree of autonomy, the project team developed an understanding of... View Details

Keywords: Modularity; High Technology Products; Emergent Strategy; Product Lines; Corporate Strategy; Digital Platforms; Disruptive Innovation; Technology Industry; Germany

June 2005 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Vidient (A)

Vidient, a young company, is in the process of being spun out of a much larger, established Japanese business. Vidient is in the business of analyzing the feeds from security cameras and catches security breaches automatically, without human assistance. The parent... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Business Growth and Maturation; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Service Industry; Japan