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• Case | HBS Case Collection | September 2017 (Revised February 2018)

  Becton Dickinson: Global Health Strategy

  Mark R. Kramer and Sarah Mehta

  Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) was a medical technology firm headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, with 43,000 employees and 2016 revenues of $12.5 billion. For several years, the company had pursued developing products that created shared value, defined as those that both generated profits and created positive social impact. One of the primary ways the company advanced such products was through establishing and maintaining public-private partnerships (PPPs) with governmental or non-governmental organizations. In June 2017, Gary Cohen, an executive vice president of BD, and Renuka Gadde, vice president of BD’s Global Health function, were deeply engaged in a six-year PPP to bring a new low-cost labor and delivery tool called the Odon Device to market. This device had the potential to avert hundreds of thousands of maternal and newborn deaths, primarily in low-resource settings. Although they had faced many challenges in bringing together multiple organizations to develop and launch the device, Cohen and Gadde were convinced that BD’s ability to collaborate with governments and international agencies to address urgent global health needs was a source of competitive advantage for the company. Through these collaborations, BD had strengthened important external relationships and developed a distinctive corporate strategy for its expansion in emerging markets. Cohen, Gadde, and the BD Global Health team were also working to construct a framework for measuring both the social and financial impact of the company’s shared value initiatives, starting with the BD Odon Device. Cohen believed that creating shared value was “fundamentally a better way to do business,” but he wanted hard data to demonstrate the full economic and social benefit of BD’s shared value initiatives. The competition for internal capital and the challenges of taking on new types of products meant that any shared value initiative required a rigorous business case and clear indicators of social impact.

  Keywords: shared value; Creating Shared Value; Odon Device; medical technology; Value Creation; Values and Beliefs; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Health Testing and Trials; Emerging Markets; Social Issues; Competitive Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Africa; Asia; Middle East;

  Citation:

  Kramer, Mark R., and Sarah Mehta. "Becton Dickinson: Global Health Strategy." Harvard Business School Case 718-406, September 2017. (Revised February 2018.)  View Details

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• Module Note | February 2018

  Creating Shared Value: Competitive Advantage through Social Impact

  Mark Kramer

  Citation:

  Kramer, Mark. "Creating Shared Value: Competitive Advantage through Social Impact." Harvard Business School Module Note 718-480, February 2018.  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | December 2014 (Revised February 2018)

  Discovery Limited

  Michael E. Porter, Mark R. Kramer and Aldo Sesia

  Discovery Ltd. is a South Africa-based insurance company. Started in the early 1990s, Discovery used behavioral economics and data collection to innovate in the health care insurance industry. Its founder Adrian Gore believed that the company's products needed to not only make money but also have a positive impact on society. Using its Vitality Wellness program as its strategic lynchpin, Discovery expanded into other insurance areas and financial services products and also entered new markets abroad. In late 2014, Gore and his team had to decide how to further develop the company and prioritize among many growth opportunities.

  Keywords: shared value; health care; financial services; South Africa; strategy; Strategy; Value Creation; Health Care and Treatment; Insurance; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Health Industry; Insurance Industry; South Africa;

  Citation:

  Porter, Michael E., Mark R. Kramer, and Aldo Sesia. "Discovery Limited." Harvard Business School Case 715-423, December 2014. (Revised February 2018.)  View Details

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