Publications

David Norton and I introduced the Balanced Scorecard in a 1992 Harvard Business Review article (Kaplan & Norton, 1992). The article was based on a multi-company research project to study performance measurement in companies whose intangible assets played a central role... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Balanced Scorecard; Management Systems; Performance Improvement; Strategy

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Impact Stories - Impact Stories

McFarland Flint; Illustrations by Pete Ryan 15 Dec 2024 HBS Magazine Agenda: Amanda E/J Morrison (MBA 2014) Re: Amanda Johnson (MBA 2014); By: Janelle Nanos Play Health Minute: Measure Costs Correctly for Better Patient Outcomes Professor... View Details

January 2024
Article

A Cost Model for a Low Threshold Clinic Treating Opioid Use Disorder

By: Sarah E. Wakeman, Elizabeth Powell, Syed Shehab, Grace Herman, Laura Kehoe and Robert S. Kaplan

The US fee-for-service payment system under-reimburses clinics offering access to comprehensive treatments for opioid use disorder (OUD). The funding shortfall limits a clinic’s ability to expand and improve access, especially for socially marginalized patients with... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Cost; Equality and Inequality; Health Industry

January 2008
Article

Mastering the Management System

By: Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton

Companies have always found it hard to balance pressing operational concerns with long-term strategic priorities. The tension is critical: World-class processes won't lead to success without the right strategic direction, and the best strategy in the world will get... View Details

Keywords: Framework; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Systems; Operations; Performance Improvement; Strategy

December 1992 (Revised May 1993)
Case

Porsche AG

Describes the financial management of the research and development departments of an automobile manufacturer and technology supplier. Existing cost systems measure accurately the costs incurred by department and by project. But little formal information is provided... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Cost Accounting; Research and Development; Machinery and Machining; Auto Industry; Technology Industry

July 1989 (Revised August 1993)
Supplement

Kanthal (B)

Describes actions taken by senior management of Kanthal after seeing the results of the newly installed account management system. Designed as a class handout. A rewritten version of an earlier case by the same author. View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Management Systems; Management Teams

Web

Business & Environment - Faculty & Research

Emissions Target Outcomes." Nature Climate Change 15, no. 3 (March 2025): 279–286. More Publications Faculty George Serafeim Michael W. Toffel Forest L. Reinhardt Richard H.K. Vietor Joseph B. Lassiter Robert View Details

February 1997 (Revised June 1999)
Background Note

Committed and Flexible Resources

Stresses the difference between costs committed in advance of knowing actual demand (committed costs) and cost incurred proportional to demand. Committed costs appear fixed since their supply is independent of the amount actually used. Flexible resources are supplied... View Details

Keywords: Cost

Web

Research - Health Care

Period By: Julia C. Bulman, Nicole H. Kim, Robert S. Kaplan , Sarah Schroeppel DeBacker, Olga R. Brook and Ammar Sarwar The study used time-driven activity-based costing... View Details

Article

Reverse the Curse of the Top-5

The past 40 years has seen a large increase in the number of articles submitted to journals ranked in the top-5 of their discipline. This increase is the rational response, by faculty, to the overweighting of publications in these journals by university promotions and... View Details

Keywords: Information Publishing; Journals and Magazines; Power and Influence; Research

Web

Podcast - Business & Environment

market for reusable containers for take-out food and beverages. Fabian shares how Vytal is tackling packaging waste by building a reusable container system for restaurants, canteens, and major events. He explains why deposit-based systems... View Details

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Finance - Faculty & Research

GenAI." Harvard Business School Case 325-066, April 2025. (Revised April 2025.) More Publications Faculty Josh Lerner Paul A. Gompers William A. Sahlman Robert S. Kaplan... View Details

2018
Working Paper

Reverse the Curse of the Top-5

The past 40 years has seen a large increase in the number of articles submitted to journals ranked in the top-5 of their discipline. This increase is the rational response, by faculty, to the overweighting of publications in these journals by university promotions and... View Details

Keywords: Information Publishing; Journals and Magazines; Power and Influence; Research

SSRN

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April 2003
Tutorial

ABC Pen Factory Tutorial

To preview this online product, Authorized Faculty can call our customer service department at 1-800-545-7685 or 617-783-7600. Illustrates, via a guided audio tour accompanied by dynamically changing spreadsheets, the role for activity-based cost systems. The numerical... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants

Web

Video - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

HBS ISC Resources Resources Video Courses Data Events & Presentations Frameworks News Publications Video Video Jan 2019 Presentation How to Measure Costs in Health Care How to Measure Costs in Health Care by Professor View Details

Oct 14 2014
Short Film

The Explainer: The Balanced Scorecard

June 1987 (Revised May 1990)
Case

John Deere Component Works (B)

Having installed an activity-based system, the division is now exploring the insight provided by that system. In particular, it is studying the economics of lot-size process planning and product mix management. View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Production; Business or Company Management; Planning; Cost Accounting; Cost Management; Product Marketing; Management Practices and Processes; Consumer Products Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

Educators

Awards

Institute of Management Accountants. Lybrand Certificate of Merit

Winner of the 1999 Lybrand Certificate of Merit Award presented by the Institute of Management Accountants for "Transfer Pricing with ABC" (with Dan Weiss and Eyal Desheh, Management Accounting, May 1997). View Details

Other Article

My Favorite Slide: The Entrepreneurial Gap Applied to Health Care

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Robert Simons

Value-based health care increases physicians’ accountability for patient outcomes. Many have resisted, claiming that patient outcomes are influenced by many forces outside their control, such as patient’s compliance with post-acute and rehab care. The difference... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Outcome or Result; Motivation and Incentives