Publications

June 2017
Case

American Family Care

By: John Quelch and Leila Roumani

Article

Informal Family Insurance and the Design of the Welfare State

By: Rafael Di Tella and Robert MacCulloch

We study unemployment benefit provision when the family also provides social insurance. In the benchmark case, more generous State transfers crowd out family risk-sharing one-for-one. An extension gives the State an advantage in enforcing transfers through taxes... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Design; Welfare

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February 2019
Article

Does It Matter If Your Health Insurer Is For Profit? Effects of Ownership on Premiums, Insurance Coverage, and Medical Spending

By: Leemore S. Dafny

There is limited empirical evidence about the impact of for-profit health insurers on various outcomes. I study the effects of conversions to for-profit status by Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) affiliates in 11 states, spanning 28 geographic markets. I find both the... View Details

Keywords: Health Insurance; Medical Loss Ratio; Blue Cross; Corporate Governance; Health; Insurance; For-Profit Firms; Insurance Industry; United States

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March 2015 (Revised December 2016)
Case

American Well: The DTC Decision

By: Elie Ofek and Natalie Kindred

In late 2013, telehealth company American Well, which developed a digital platform that allowed patients to conduct online medical consultations with physicians, is considering pursuing a direct-to-consumer (DTC) strategy. Founded in 2006, American Well had, to date,... View Details

Article

Consumers' Misunderstanding of Health Insurance

By: George Loewenstein, Joelle Y. Friedman, Barbara McGill, Sarah Ahmad, Suzanne Linck, Stacey Sinkula, John Beshears, James J. Choi, Jonathan Kolstad, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian, John A. List and Kevin G. Volpp

We report results from two surveys of representative samples of Americans with private health insurance. The first examines how well Americans understand, and believe they understand, traditional health insurance coverage. The second examines whether those insured... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Economics; Simplification; Insurance; Consumer Behavior; Health Care and Treatment; Cognition and Thinking; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; United States

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December 1999
Case

American International Group, Inc.

By: Kenneth A. Froot and Heidi Cruz

American International Group, Inc. (AIG), one of the world's largest and most innovative insurers and financial intermediaries, is considering new strategies in an era of new competition and Internet distribution. View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; Distribution; Innovation and Invention

March 2014 (Revised January 2017)
Case

From Beijing Jeep to ASC Fine Wines: The Story of an American Family Business in China

By: William C. Kirby and Erica M. Zendell

In 1985, Don St. Pierre Sr. became President of Beijing Jeep, the troubled joint venture between American Motor Corporation and the Chinese government to build Jeep Cherokees in China. Just over a decade later in 1996, leveraging contacts from his time in the... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship In Emerging Markets; China; Joint Ventures; Wine Industry; International Entrepreneurship; International Business; Exports; Chinese Manufacturing; Business And Government Relations; Ownership Stake; Strategy; Operations; Auto Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; China

November 1989 (Revised November 2002)
Case

American Dream, The

By: Donald A. Brown, William J. Poorvu and Richard E Crum

Explores the process of purchasing a single family house through the eyes of a young couple. The couple is trying to determine what type of home to buy as well as how to finance it. View Details

Keywords: Personal Finance; Financing and Loans; Decisions; Real Estate Industry

31 Jul 2017
HBS Case

It’s Hard to Fix the Family Business Without Offending the Family

finds equally beneficial lessons in a much different setting: a small family-owned Vietnamese restaurant in Boston’s inner-city neighborhood of Dorchester. Challenges lie in navigating complex family relationships, transitioning from... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Food & Beverage

06 Nov 2008
Op-Ed

Selling Out The American Dream

anything but a good example for the average citizen. Left-wing politicians are equally guilty of framing the American Dream in material terms. They claim the Dream is increasingly out of reach of middle class Americans, pointing to a... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

April 2014
Teaching Note

From Beijing Jeep to ASC Fine Wines: The Story of an American Family Business in China

By: William C. Kirby and Erica M. Zendell

March 2010 (Revised April 2014)
Case

American Well: The Doctor Will E-See You Now

By: Elie Ofek and Ron Laufer

What is next for healthcare IT provider American Well, whose innovative Online Care technology allows physicians to deliver care to patients online in real time? Using American Well's platform, patients with non-emergency health concerns can communicate with physicians... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Service Delivery; Online Technology; Health Industry

November 2014 (Revised March 2016)
Background Note

Mental Health and the American Workplace

By: John A. Quelch and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Mental illness has been described as an epidemic affecting nearly a quarter of all Americans in their lifetimes, often during their most productive working years. Managers who can design organizations that maximize mental health can minimize these risks and boost... View Details

Keywords: Public Health; Productivity; Competitiveness; Stress Management; Depression; Absenteeism; Presenteeism; Work Culture; Business or Company Management; Work-Life Balance; Performance Productivity; Organizational Culture; Medical Specialties; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; United States

25 Jan 2021
Book

In a Nutshell, Why American Capitalism Succeeded

How did the United States become the world’s center of business growth following its founding in 1776? Surely a number of nations had powerful natural resources, stable financial and legal institutions, and dynamic entrepreneurs over that same span. Why was View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Manufacturing

21 Jan 2015
Lessons from the Classroom

Managing the Family Business: Market Basket’s Lessons About Buyouts

last summer. In this real Greek American tragedy, two branches of the Demoulas family warred for 30 years, in and out of court, over legitimate grievances involving a lot of money and, of course, over... View Details

Keywords: Retail

31 Jan 2023
Op-Ed

Can Insurance Technology Solve the Uninsured Driver Problem?

Despite mandates requiring motorists to carry car insurance, 13 percent of US drivers operate vehicles without any coverage—a problem that exposes uninsured drivers to catastrophic financial risks and leads to higher premiums for insured... View Details

Keywords: by Ray Kluender; Insurance

September 2014 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Samuel Colt: An American Gun Maker

By: Tom Nicholas and Casey Verkamp

Samuel Colt not only perfected and patented the technology for a gun that could fire multiple times without reloading, but he also developed and applied early principles of mass production more completely than anyone had done before. Until the nineteenth century,... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Product Positioning; Machinery and Machining; Production; Independent Innovation and Invention; Manufacturing Industry; United States