Publications

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19 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

A Brand Manager’s Guide to Losing Control

campaign had been Photoshopped—information that also tore across the Web. What should marketers do in situations like this? Maybe nothing. "One strategy that brand managers pursue is to just give in and let them talk," Avery says. "Part of View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising

14 Nov 2006
First Look

First Look: November 14, 2006

Working PapersThe Business of Free Software: Enterprise Incentives, Investment, and Motivation in the Open Source Community Authors:Marco Iansiti and Gregory L. Richards Abstract In this paper, we examine... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 16, 2019

against the backdrop of a turbulent industry and consider the implications for the anesthesiologist. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55974 March 2019 Management Science Open View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

2017
Working Paper

Explaining the Vertical-to-Horizontal Transition in the Computer Industry

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

This paper seeks to explain the technological forces that led to the rise of vertically integrated corporations in the late 19th century and the opposing forces that led to a vertical-to-horizontal transition in the computer industry 100 years later. I first model the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Business History; Vertical Integration; Horizontal Integration; Digital Platforms; Computer Industry

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March 2008 (Revised June 2011)
Case

MySpace

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, David T. Chen and Carin-Isabel Knoop

The case, set in late 2007, examines what MySpace—the largest online social network—should do to respond to its agile competitor, Facebook. Since its inception MySpace had experienced phenomenal growth, acquiring 20 million members in its first 20 months of operation,... View Details

Keywords: Open Source Distribution; Partners and Partnerships; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Information Technology Industry

03 Dec 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Creating Leaders: An Ontological Model

Keywords: by Werner Erhard, Michael C. Jensen & Kari L. Granger

16 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 16, 2018

DSMC holds as a consistent pattern in a dynamic equilibrium. Given DSMC, clusters of firms making different complementary goods, including open platforms with surrounding ecosystems, can survive and compete... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

April 2005 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Epodia: Demise of the HBS case-writing Monopoly?

Karl Ulrich, Wharton professor, must decide between a commercial and "open source" model for his new business case venture. Students analyze a variety of open source and proprietary business models and formulate strategic recommendations. View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Cases; Management; Open Source Distribution; Business Strategy

Find at Harvard

08 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

Will the Japan Disaster Remake the Landscape for Green Energy in Asia?

relatively cost efficient and scalable source of electricity. The reviews will happen across the world and each country will consider their own energy mix characteristics together with local sentiment." Todd was one of several... View Details

Keywords: by Dennis Fisher; Energy; Utilities

July 2004 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Linux in 2004

By: Pankaj Ghemawat, Brian Subirana and Christina Pham

A new technology platform conceived in the early 1990s, Linux developed into a force to be reckoned with in the operating system marketplace. At first, Linux was dismissed as a renegade option used only by tech geeks. By 2004, however, Linux had exploded into the... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Open Source Distribution; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Digital Platforms; Information Technology Industry

11 Feb 2019
Working Paper Summaries

The IBM PC

Keywords: by Carliss Y. Baldwin; Computer

October 2022
Case

Pricing at Echosec Systems

By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Annelena Lobb and Alexis Lefort

This case follows the evolution of pricing strategy at Echosec Systems, a Canadian open source intelligence firm. The case provides information on pricing as the company grows and diversifies its product offerings. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Price; Product Development; Information Industry; Canada; United States

January 5, 2014
Article

Seven Things You Need to Know about CEO Lou Shipley

By: Lou Shipley and Michael B. Farrell

Globe reporter Michael B. Farrell recently spoke with Lou Shipley, the newly appointed chief executive of Black Duck Software Inc., a growing Burlington open source software company. Here's what he found out. View Details

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15 Jan 2007
Research & Ideas

The Business of Free Software

IT vendors including Oracle, IBM, and Sun that traditionally have built offerings based on proprietary technologies are now investing billions of dollars into open source software—arrangements that are... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Computer

11 Jul 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Managing Proprietary and Shared Platforms: A Life-Cycle View

Keywords: by Thomas R. Eisenmann; Technology

February 2024
Case

AGENTS.inc: Pathways to Growth at an AI Startup

By: Frank Nagle, Manuel Hoffmann, Karoline Ströhlein and Susan Pinckney

The case describes the history of AGENTS.inc. Despite being a small startup, with only four employees, that had never had a funding round, the company boasted an impressive client portfolio including multiple Fortune 500 companies. While AGENTS.inc had been an early... View Details

July 2004 (Revised September 2004)
Background Note

A Conversation about Information Technology

Two managers discuss the benefits, costs, opportunities, and headaches of corporate computing. Topics include security, training, the Internet and Web, collaboration, productivity, Moore's Law, computer crashes, upgrades, open source software, network effects,... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Problems and Challenges

2019
Working Paper

Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 15 The IBM PC

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

The IBM PC was the first digital computer platform that was open by as a matter of strategy, not necessity. The purpose of this chapter is to understand the IBM PC as a technical system and set of organization choices in light of the theory of how technology shapes... View Details

Keywords: IBM; Personal Computer; Digital Platforms; System; Strategy