Publications

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

April 2019
Article

Mitigating Malicious Envy: Why Successful Individuals Should Reveal Their Failures

By: Alison Wood Brooks, Karen Huang, Nicole Abi-Esber, Ryan W. Buell, Laura Huang and Brian Hall

People often feel malicious envy, a destructive interpersonal emotion, when they compare themselves to successful peers. Across three online experiments and a field experiment of entrepreneurs, we identify an interpersonal strategy that can mitigate feelings of... View Details

Keywords: Emotions; Perception; Interpersonal Communication; Communication Strategy

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19 Nov 2013
First Look

First Look: November 19

paper analyzes the effect of a woman's electoral victory on women's subsequent political participation. Using the regression discontinuity afforded by close elections between women and men in India's state elections, we find that a woman... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2020
Article

The Supply Chain Economy: A New Industry Categorization for Understanding Innovation in Services

By: Mercedes Delgado and Karen G. Mills

An active debate has centered on the importance of manufacturing for driving innovation in the U.S. economy. This paper offers an alternative framework that focuses on the role of suppliers of goods and services (the “supply chain economy”) in national performance. We... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Industries; Business-to-consumer Industries; Services; Innovation; Economy; Framework; Supply Chain; Service Operations; Innovation and Invention; Economic Growth; United States

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22 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 22

by Karen Golden-Biddle and Jane E. Dutton. Series in Organization and Management. New York: Psychology Press, 2012 Abstract How can application of a positive lens to understanding social change and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

10 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 10

PublicationsHow Will You Measure Your Life? Authors:Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth, and Karen Dillon Publication:HarperBusiness, forthcoming Abstract In 2010 world-renowned innovation expert Clayton M. Christensen gave a... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

February 2025
Case

Doing Business in Casablanca, Morocco

By: Karen G. Mills, Ahmed Dahawy and Choetsow Tenzin

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Morocco. The case explores the various historical, cultural, and social factors that impact the business environment. It also highlights Morocco’s unique economy where cash remains a dominant... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Business History; Business and Government Relations; Technological Innovation; Cash; Culture; Distribution Industry; Financial Services Industry; Morocco

June 2003 (Revised November 2003)
Case

Siemens Medical Solutions: Strategic Turnaround

By: D. Quinn Mills and Julian Kurz

Describes how Siemens Medical Solutions (MED) accomplished a remarkable turnaround from a money-losing operation to one of Siemens' most profitable divisions. By late 1996, a challenging market environment in the health care industry as well as inefficiencies in the... View Details

Keywords: Opportunities; Globalized Firms and Management; Health Care and Treatment; Transformation; Problems and Challenges; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

November 2008 (Revised January 2011)
Exercise

Breaking Through Action Plan

By: David A. Thomas and Karen J. Watai

The "Breaking Through Action Plan" is a developmental tool based on the book, Breaking Through: The Making of Minority Executives in Corporate America by David A. Thomas and John J. Gabarro. The Action Plan was originally designed as part of a facilitated session but... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Personal Development and Career; Relationships; Power and Influence; Trust

June 2014
Supplement

Chung and Dasgupta: Information for Jordan Ramirez

By: Ian Larkin and Karen Huang

The "Promotion Process at Chung and Dasgupta, LLP" set of cases explores the roles of general and firm-specific human capital in employee performance measurement, feedback, and promotion/compensation decisions. In the cases, a leading law firm must decide whether to... View Details

Keywords: Performance Appraisal; Performance Measurement; Employee Feedback; Motivation; Promotions; Human Capital; Performance Evaluation; Management Systems; Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Legal Services Industry; United States; Massachusetts

January 2021
Article

Veil-of-Ignorance Reasoning Mitigates Self-Serving Bias in Resource Allocation During the COVID-19 Crisis

By: Karen Huang, Regan Bernhard, Netta Barak-Corren, Max Bazerman and Joshua D. Greene

The COVID-19 crisis has forced healthcare professionals to make tragic decisions concerning which patients to save. Furthermore, the COVID-19 crisis has foregrounded the influence of self-serving bias in debates on how to allocate scarce resources. A utilitarian... View Details

Keywords: Self-serving Bias; Procedural Justice; Bioethics; COVID-19; Fairness; Health Pandemics; Resource Allocation; Decision Making

February 2017
Case

Eve Hall: The African American Investment Fund in Milwaukee

By: Steven Rogers and Alterrell Mills

The case highlights the role of minority chambers of commerce and the background of Eve Hall, a well-regarded multi-sector leader asked to revive Wisconsin's African-American chamber. This case study examines the lending options that a minority chamber of commerce... View Details

2022
Chapter

Creating 'Smart' Policy to Promote Entrepreneurship and Innovation

By: Karen G. Mills and Annie Dang

Entrepreneurship is a key to unlocking innovation and fostering regional and national economic productivity. Extensive studies demonstrate that small and young firms contribute to innovation and employment growth. But which of the many types of small firms are... View Details

Keywords: Economic Policy; High-growth; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Business Startups; Economic Growth; Policy; United States

May 2019
Supplement

Amazon's HQ2 (C): Choices

By: Karen Mills and Jan W. Rivkin

This supplement discusses Amazon’s 2018 decision to split its HQ2 between two locations--Long Island City in New York and National Landing outside Washington, DC—as well as the ensuing response from local politicians and the public. View Details

Keywords: Economic Development; Headquarters; Local Government; Incentives; Business Headquarters; Business and Government Relations; Development Economics

18 Oct 2016
First Look

October 18, 2016

2016 New York: HarperBusiness Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice By: Christensen, Clayton M., Taddy Hall, Karen Dillon, and David S. Duncan Abstract—The foremost authority on innovation and growth presents... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Jul 2009
First Look

First Look: July 7

driven at least partly by career concerns. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-014.pdf Policy Bundling to Overcome Loss Aversion: A Method for Improving Legislative Outcomes Authors:Katherine L. Milkman, Mary Carol... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2013
Book

Democracy and Its Elected Enemies: American Political Capture and Economic Decline

By: Steven Rosefielde and Daniel Quinn Mills

Democracy and Its Elected Enemies reveals that American politicians have usurped their constitutional authority, substituting their economic and political sovereignty for the people's. This has been accomplished by creating an enormous public service sector... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Government and Politics; Macroeconomics; Public Administration Industry; United States

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18 Apr 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, April 18, 2018

investigated how an organization’s heightened focus on political ideology impacts employees. We address this gap by exploring how an individual’s political ideological misfit with an organization’s prevailing ideology impacts mobility.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2023 (Revised May 2025)
Teaching Note

On

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karolin Frankenberger, Sascha Mader, Jordan Mitchell and Karen Elterman

Teaching Note for "On," HBS Case No. 723-430. On is a premium performance running shoe company founded in Switzerland in 2010. The company rapidly gained traction through its unique CloudTec cushioning technology, its innovative midsole plate called the Speedboard, and... View Details