Publications

Web

Buy Now, Pay Later: Cars on Time

outstanding in the United States—about $850 billion—is about equal to the nation’s credit card debt. 23 In the 1920s, auto financing took a giant leap forward when the car manufacturers entered the game. In 1924, GM launched the General Motors Acceptance Corporation... View Details

Web

Environmental Quality - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

HBS ISC Research Areas Research Areas Antitrust & Competition Policy CEO Leadership Environmental Quality Innovation & Innovative Capacity Philanthropy Social Progress Index Environmental Quality... View Details

24 Jan 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: January 24, 2017

innovations generate heterogeneous innovation qualities, and firm size affects innovation incentives. This framework allows us to analyze how... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2019 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Acelerex

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In early 2019, Randell Johnson, Founder and Chief Executive of Acelerex, was reflecting on the company’s first year of rapid growth and the challenges of scaling the business that lay ahead. Acelerex was riding the waves of change taking place in electrical power grids... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Energy Sources; Growth Management; Expansion; Global Strategy; Cash Flow; Energy Industry; Web Services Industry; Consulting Industry

Web

Research - Behavioral Finance & Financial Stability

credit extended to private sector firms. See Sam’s other research here , Jeremy’s other research here , Adi’s other research here , and Eric’s other research here . More Info Large banks and small firm lending By: Victoria Ivashina &... View Details

22 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Bringing ‘Lean’ Principles to Service Industries

but it could also lead to more radical, innovative change (the sacking of Troy). "One of the main ideas behind lean is to take parts of a task that don't require human intervention and give them to machines so that humans can focus... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Computer

November 2012
Case

CSIRO: The Light Metals Flagship Decision

By: Willy Shih, Margaret P. Pierson and Dawn Lau

This case explores the challenge of investing in basic research as a public good. CSIRO was Australia's leading science and research agency, and it was chartered to enhance national prosperity through R&D. Its Flagships program was designed to align research interests... View Details

28 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

Unilever: Transformation and Tradition

as a result, but also avoiding disasters. The ice cream and other foods businesses were built patiently by the acquisition of one local firm after another, and their melding into the Unilever model. Following the National Starch... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products

24 Jan 2020
News

Clayton M. Christensen Dies at 67

managing factors that shape the way firms introduce advanced technologies to existing and prospective markets, and the process by which innovation transforms—or displaces—companies or entire industries. He... View Details

10 May 2016
First Look

May 10, 2016

large-sample evidence adding to a growing literature suggesting that NPEs—in particular, large patent aggregators—on average act as "patent trolls," suing cash-rich firms seemingly irrespective of actual patent infringement.... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

Web

Buy Now, Pay Later &mdash Easy Payments: The Rise of Installment Selling

purchase that would contribute to income rather than simply depreciate with time. A similar argument justified the purchase of a home sewing machine, which reduced average time for making a shirt from fourteen hours to just one. The single View Details

Article

Unraveling the Process of Creative Destruction: Complementary Assets and Incumbent Survival in the Typesetter Industry

By: M. Tripsas

When radical technological change transforms an industry established firms sometimes fail drastically and are displaced by new entrants, yet other times survive and prosper. Drawing upon an unusually rich data set that covers the technological and competitive... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Transformation; Market Entry and Exit; Competition; History; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Business Processes; Competency and Skills; Assets; Perspective; Disruptive Innovation

Find at Harvard

01 Sep 2023
News

Case Study: The Home Team

immediate revenue generation. My advice is to prioritize solid unit economics from the outset and build steadily, without compromising for rapid scale. This doesn’t mean you can’t be innovative in your scaling approach. Various partners... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Real Estate

September 2020
Case

True North: Pioneering Analytics, Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Kairavi Dey and Hannah Mayer

True North was a private equity fund that specialized in the growth and buyout of mid-market, India-centric companies. The leadership team initially believed that technology was not core to traditional businesses and steered clear of new age technology-oriented... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Information Technology; Management; Operations; Organizations; Leadership; Innovation and Invention; Business Model; AI and Machine Learning; Computer Industry; Technology Industry

30 Sep 2008
First Look

First Look: September 30, 2008

Working PapersParallel Search, Incentives and Problem Type: Revisiting the Competition and Innovation Link Authors:Kevin J. Boudreau, Nicola Lacetera, and Karim R. Lakhani Abstract This paper presents econometric evidence of two... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

28 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 28, 2009

architectural firm dedicated to being both client-oriented and environmentally responsible. The case uses a difficult design decision in a tsunami rehabilitation project to illustrate the challenges faced by professional services View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

05 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 5, 2018

traditional question of how the inflow of foreign workers affects native employment and earnings to explore effects on innovation and productivity, wage inequality across skill groups, the behavior of multinational firms, firm-level... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

20 May 2014
First Look

First Look: May 20

the World Management Survey (WMS) has collected firm-level management practices data across multiple sectors and countries. We developed the survey to try to explain the large and persistent TFP differences across firms and countries.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2003 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Blockbuster Inc. & Technological Substitution (C): The Internet Changes the Game

Investigates how the rise of the Internet as a vehicle for renting and buying movies has disrupted the video rental industry and how market leader Blockbuster Inc. can and should respond to these developments. Explores how the emergence of e-commerce affects the degree... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Risk and Uncertainty; Decisions; Technological Innovation; Competition; Change Management; Service Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry