Publications

Educators

April 2006
Article

Competitive Advantage and the Value Network Configuration: Making Decisions at a Swedish Life Insurance Company

By: Øystein D. Fjeldstad and Christian H.M. Ketels

When the Swedish Life Insurers Förenade Liv found themselves in difficulties in a rapidly changing market, their response was to call in the consultants. And one of the consultant's first suggestions was to use the Value Network, not the Value Chain, as a new... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Fluctuation; Networks; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Value; Quality; Decision Making; Market Transactions; Performance Effectiveness; Customers; Insurance Industry; Sweden

Read Now

14 Jun 2023
Research & Ideas

Four Steps to Building the Psychological Safety That High-Performing Teams Need

mission critical in today’s work environment,” Edmondson says. “You no longer have the option of leading through fear or managing through fear. In an uncertain, interdependent world, it doesn’t work—either as a motivator or as an enabler... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

06 Oct 2023
Book

Yes, You Can Radically Change Your Organization in One Week

to ruin a change initiative is failing to answer the question: Why now? We need a clear and compelling change mandate.” Morriss: “It’s critical to understand what you're trying to say deeply and describe it simply. If you look at human... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

21 Nov 2023
Research & Ideas

Employee Negativity Is Like Wildfire. Manage It Before It Spreads.

Knowing how to turn down the volume on negative group emotions when they become counterproductive is a critical skill for today’s business leaders, Goldenberg says. The COVID-19 pandemic showed just how consequential this type of... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

March 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Amperity: First-Party Data at a Crossroads

By: Elie Ofek, Hema Yoganarasimhan and Alexis Lefort

In the summer of 2023, Amperity management was facing a critical decision on its future direction. Given the dramatic changes occurring within the digital advertising ecosystem, as concerns over consumer privacy placed limits on the ability to engage in third-party... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Technology Adoption; Business Strategy; Digital Marketing; Price; Product; Business or Company Management; Advertising Industry

Educators

March 2024 (Revised June 2025)
Teaching Note

CoPilot(s): Generative AI at Microsoft and GitHub

By: Frank Nagle and Maria P. Roche

This teaching note is the companion to case N9-624-010 CoPilot(s): Generative AI at Microsoft and GitHub, which takes place in late 2021. The case briefly describes the history of both GitHub and Microsoft with a particular focus on open source software (OSS)—software... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Technological Innovation; Product Launch; Open Source Distribution; Product Development; Commercialization; Competition; Resource Allocation; Technology Industry

14 Mar 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, March 14

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52405 forthcoming Critical Finance Review Inflation Bets or Deflation Hedges? The Changing Risks of Nominal Bonds By: Campbell, John Y., Adi Sunderam, and Luis M. Viceira Abstract—The... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

26 May 2015
First Look

First Look: May 26

http://hrleadsbusiness.org/rise-of-hr-e-book May 2015 JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association Medicine's Continuous Improvement Imperative By: Huckman, Robert S., and Ananth Raman Abstract— Maintaining quality and spurring innovation have long been... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Oct 2009
Research & Ideas

The Vanguard Corporation

outperformed the market. The one exception was a company that got caught with a lot of debt because of acquisitions, as well as being in an industry, construction, that was the first to be hit. Now, there are critics of each of these... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

July 2008 (Revised August 2008)
Case

In-Vitro Fertilization: Outcomes Measurement

By: Michael E. Porter, Saquib Rahim and Benjamin Chung-Shi Tsai

As of 2007, there were very few examples of widespread measurement and reporting of health outcomes, a critical quality measure. In-vitro fertilization clinics have been required to report their patient's health outcomes since 1995. The protagonist of the case, Dr.... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Measurement and Metrics; Operations; Outcome or Result; Health Industry; Cleveland

Educators

Article

The Business Case for Investing in Physician Well-Being

By: Tait D. Shanafelt, Joel Goh and Christine A. Sinsky

Importance: Widespread burnout among physicians has been recognized for more than two decades. Extensive evidence indicates that physician burnout has important personal and professional consequences.
Observations: A lack of awareness regarding... View Details

Keywords: Physicians; Well-being; ROI; Health; Welfare or Wellbeing; Ethics; Investment Return; Health Industry

16 Dec 2014
First Look

First Look: December 16

analysis equipment and accessories for critical care patients. Based in Denmark, Radiometer sold through a combination of sales subsidiaries and distributors around the world and generated sales of over DKr... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Winter 2022
Article

Distributing a Billion Vaccines: COVAX Successes, Challenges, and Opportunities

By: Eric Budish, Hannah Kettler, Scott Duke Kominers, Erik Osland, Canice Prendergast and Andrew A. Torkelson

By January 2022, the COVAX international vaccine collaboration had allocated over a billion vaccines to over 140 countries. We describe and review the allocation process chosen, which reflected both an objective of equitably distributing vaccines across the world and... View Details

Keywords: Vaccines; Pandemics; Health Care and Treatment; Health Pandemics; Distribution; Supply Chain; Equality and Inequality

11 Sep 2007
First Look

First Look: September 11, 2007

and deliverables. Many critical business challenges are detailed in this case. Nevertheless, given their fully integrated business model and significant manufacturing base, the odds are in Biocon's favor to overcome these challenges and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

18 Oct 2006
Research & Ideas

New at the Helm: A Talk with HBS Dean Light

support I received, after the announcement, from former students and faculty. People really care deeply about HBS and are committed to its ongoing excellence. The good news is, the School is in great shape. Q: Looking ahead, what are some... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Education

17 Jan 2023
In Practice

8 Trends to Watch in 2023

As 2023 begins, businesses and employees face an uncertain economy and labor market, as the twin dilemmas of inflation and interest rates weigh on forecasts. Harvard Business School faculty share the top trends that they believe will shape the workplace and markets... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

Article

Assessing the Food and Drug Administration's Risk-Based Framework for Software Precertification with Top Health Apps in the United States: Quality Improvement Study

By: Noy Alon, Ariel Dora Stern and John Torous

BACKGROUND: As the development of mobile health apps continues to accelerate, the need to implement a framework that can standardize categorizing these apps to allow for efficient, yet robust regulation grows. However, regulators and researchers are faced with numerous... View Details

Keywords: Mobile Health; Smartphone; Food And Drug Administration; Risk-based Framework; Health Care and Treatment; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Framework

Read Now

Article

Treatment Of Opioid Use Disorder Among Commercially Insured U.S. Adults, 2008–17

By: Karen Shen, Eric Barrette and Leemore S. Dafny

There is abundant literature on efforts to reduce opioid prescriptions and misuse, but comparatively little on the treatment provided to people with opioid use disorder (OUD). Using claims data representing 12–15 million nonelderly adults covered through commercial... View Details

Keywords: Opioid Treatment; Medication-assisted Treatment; Substance Use Disorder; Private Insurance; Health Disorders; Health Care and Treatment; Insurance; United States