Publications

16 Mar 2009
Research & Ideas

When the Internet Runs Out of IP Addresses

engineering time to handle all the details. But when a Web site supports both IPv6 and IPv4, some users will mistakenly try to reach the site by IPv6 because their computers and network cards are misconfigured. (For example, certain... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Telecommunications

April 2010 (Revised July 2014)
Case

Apple Inc. in 2010

By: David B. Yoffie and Renee Kim

On April 4, 2010, Apple Inc. launched the iPad, the company's third major innovation released over the last decade under its iconic CEO Steve Jobs. Apple's strategy of shifting its business into non-PC products had thrived so far, driven by the smashing success of the... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Computer Industry; Computer Industry

31 Jul 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Investment Incentives in Proprietary and Open-Source Two-Sided Platforms

Keywords: by Ramon Casadesus-Masanell & Gastón Llanes

2012
Chapter

Schumpeterian Competition and Diseconomies of Scope: Illustrations from the Histories of Microsoft and IBM

By: Timothy F. Bresnahan, Shane Greenstein and Rebecca M. Henderson

We address a longstanding question about the causes of creative destruction. Dominant incumbent firms, long successful in an existing technology, are often much less successful in new technological eras. This is puzzling, since a cursory analysis would suggest that... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Opportunities; Competition; Information Technology; Innovation and Management; Organizations; Relationships; Information Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

2023
Book

Deeply Responsible Business: A Global History of Values-Driven Leadership

By: Geoffrey Jones

Corporate social responsibility has entered the mainstream, but what does it take to run a successful purpose-driven business? This book examines leaders who put values alongside profits to showcase the challenges and upside of deeply responsible business. Should... View Details

11 Apr 2011
Lessons from the Classroom

Teaching a ‘Lean Startup’ Strategy

A dozen years ago, it seemed like all it took to launch a successful technology company was a vague idea, a PowerPoint presentation, a trade-show booth with a sexy spokesmodel, and a URL. Then the dot-com bubble burst and investors got wiser and warier. Gone are the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Computer; Computer

15 Jan 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Redrawing the Lines: Did Political Incumbents Influence Electoral Redistricting in the World’s Largest Democracy?

Keywords: by Lakshmi Iyer & Maya Reddy

03 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

Top Ten Legal Mistakes Made by Entrepreneurs

date, then taxes this difference as ordinary income. An 83 (b) election allows the tax computation to be made based on the value at the time the shares are issued, which is often pennies per share. A no-name firm offering the highest... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

01 Sep 2022
What Do You Think?

Is It Time to Consider Lifting Tariffs on Chinese Imports?

American labor unions. Others argue about the importance of maintaining national security. Could they be persuaded to support such a move if the US government invested in American industries at the same time, perhaps similarly to Congress’s recent decision to fund... View Details

Keywords: Re: James L. Heskett

July 2016 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Alphabet Eyes New Frontiers (A)

By: Juan Alcacer, Raffaella Sadun, Olivia Hull and Kerry Herman

In October 2015, Google restructured into Alphabet, a holding company, which analysts said would facilitate innovation among its diverse subsidiaries. But when news reports surfaced revealing struggles within Alphabet companies including Nest, the smart thermostat... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Conglomerates; Corporate Restructuring; Google; Corporate Strategy; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Innovation Strategy; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Research and Development; Diversification; Financial Reporting; Talent and Talent Management; Computer Industry; Computer Industry; California; United States

29 Oct 2019
Sharpening Your Skills

Robots in the Boardroom

advantage for companies–if they know how to use it. Man vs. Machine: Which Makes Better Hires? Computers make better hiring decisions than managers when filling simpler jobs. Research Papers Some Facts of High-Tech PatentingThis study... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

01 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

Better by the Bundle?

says. All kinds of products are sold in bundles. Microsoft Office is sold as a bundle of computer software, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Cable companies offer their channels in bundle packages. Even a music CD is essentially a... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

19 Jul 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Open Source Software and Global Entrepreneurship

Keywords: by Nataliya Langburd Wright, Frank Nagle, and Shane Greenstein; Computer

April 2001 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Seagate Technology Buyout

By: Gregor M. Andrade, Stuart C. Gilson and Todd C. Pulvino

In March 2000, a group of private investors and senior managers were negotiating a deal to acquire the disk drive operations of Seagate Technology. The motivating factor for the buyout was the apparently anomalous market value of Seagate's equity: Seagate's equity... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Leveraged Buyouts; Financial Strategy; Computer Industry

August 2013 (Revised December 2014)
Case

Taking Dell Private

By: David J. Collis, David B. Yoffie and Matthew Shaffer

In July 2012, Michael Dell, CEO and founder of Dell, Inc., met with a representative of Silver Lake Partners to explore taking his company private. The company, which he had founded in his dorm room as a college freshman and which had made him the youngest Fortune 500... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Going Private; The PC Market; Market For Corporate Control; Corporate Strategy; Leveraged Buyouts; Change Management; Private Equity; Market Entry and Exit; Private Ownership; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Internet and the Web; Computer Industry; Computer Industry; United States

23 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

The Power of Conversational Leadership

and web-enabled video chat (which help to mimic in-person communication). Global computer networking giant Cisco Systems, for example, uses its own TelePresence videoconferencing technology to simulate in-person meetings among its... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

November 2020 (Revised July 2022)
Case

Dell Technologies: Bringing the Cloud to the Ground

By: Navid Mojir and V. Kasturi Rangan

The case tells the story of Dell Technologies and its efforts to revitalize its value proposition and escape a commodity trap by acquiring EMC for $67 billion—the largest tech acquisition in history. It also shows the deeply intertwined connections between a company’s... View Details

Keywords: Value Proposition; Go-to-market; Strategic Positioning; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Technological Innovation; Business Divisions; Computer Industry; Computer Industry