Gifts to the HBS Fund support a wide range of people and programs like this.

Developing ideas that have tangible, real-world impact—not just in academia but in practice and policy—has always been a vital part of HBS’s DNA.

So not surprisingly, when the coronavirus hit, the faculty quickly recognized the opportunity—and necessity—to use their research to help leaders, companies, organizations, and governments navigate the challenges posed by the pandemic. This meant not only extending and reframing their research, but also developing new ways to disseminate their findings.

“Our colleagues are studying all aspects of the pandemic and are working with business, government, and social sector leaders—as well as with colleagues at Harvard and beyond—to offer insights, strategies, and best practices,” says Gary Pisano, senior associate dean for faculty development and the Harry E. Figgie Jr. Professor of Business Administration. His interest in expanding the reach of this work drove the launch of the COVID-19 Business Impact Center, an online hub for the School’s intellectual capital related to the pandemic. Research is categorized under six broad areas: economic and financial impacts, health care management and policy, leading through crisis, adapting your business, leveraging technology, and work life.

Faculty members have shared their ideas and offered practical solutions through working papers, articles, op-eds, podcasts, webinars, and videos. They have also engaged directly with alumni through live virtual programs, such as Crisis Management for Leaders, a five-part webinar series that drew more than 4,700 attendees.

Research Highlights

How the Pandemic Might Change US Health Care

Rob Huckman, an expert in health care operations and management and faculty chair of HBS’s Health Care Initiative, is considering how the health care system might look once the current pandemic has passed. In a Harvard Business Review article, he outlines several lessons that are emerging: “medicine is medicine,” no matter where and how it is practiced; what it means to be a “health care provider” needs to expand to include caregivers without advanced clinical degrees; and the United States needs a new health insurance model. Huckman concludes, “It is critical to start considering how the lessons of this crisis can be captured not only to make the next crisis easier to manage but also to ensure that the ongoing operation of our health care system is improved in a fundamental manner.”

Leveraging Technology to Gain an Edge

In a Working Knowledge article, five faculty members affiliated with the School’s Digital Initiative share their expertise on how technology is helping leading companies gain an edge during the pandemic. For example, Lauren Cohen observed: “Technology will be most powerfully utilized . . . by those firms who apply it organization-wide to create more nimble, efficient organizations . . . These firms will emerge as the long-run winners.” Ayelet Israeli noted that technology can’t succeed alone: “Leadership, agility, adaptability, compassion, and ingenuity will set the most successful organizations apart.” Ariel Stern cites the prevalence of telemedicine as an example of how successful organizations will use digital technology to augment and expand their offerings.

Guiding Small Business Owners

Zoe Cullen, Mike Luca, and Chris Stanton, working with several MBA students and Harvard economist Ed Glaeser, created a guide for small business owners to help them navigate the US Small Business Administration’s coronavirus relief programs. With frequently asked questions about the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans, as well as 10 tips for small businesses and an extensive list of additional resources, the guide is both practical and user-friendly.

Pandemic Raises Stakes on Healthy Buildings

John Macomber and the Harvard Chan School’s Joe Allen published a new book, Healthy Buildings: How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity, and gave a virtual talk sponsored by Baker Library in April. The authors explore the nine foundations of a healthy building, such as ventilation, air quality, water, moisture, and security. The pandemic is making it “easier than ever to invest in the basics of a healthy building,” says Macomber. He expects that a growing public focus on health measures will drive major changes across a variety of industries, especially in travel and hospitality, and that savvy business leaders and landlords will begin to leverage healthier indoor spaces as a competitive advantage.

Learning about Crisis Response from Chinese Companies

Das Narayandas and coauthors studied the actions of 350 senior executives to ascertain how Chinese companies adapted, innovated, survived—and even thrived—when the pandemic hit. In a Harvard Business Review article, they wrote: “The past four months have provided an opportunity to study a once-in-a-lifetime moment—how companies function during an unprecedented global pandemic while also navigating an accelerated shift to digital operations.” Among 11 key lessons they identified were: “Be transparent about your challenges” by keeping teams abreast of the state of the organization, priorities, and principles; and “find new ways to collaborate” by reorganizing swiftly and cutting across traditional silos. The authors also found that market-leading firms with strong reserves “actively invested in the short term with the sole focus of extending their long-term advantage over less endowed competitors.”

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