The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the complex interdependencies of globalized supply chains. While these global multistage production networks had spread during a relatively benign environment of falling trade barriers and increasing interdependencies among countries, a series of shocks over the last decade and the current crisis argue for a reassessment. Managers should consider regionalization, more robust second sourcing, and rethink scale and product mix as they work to ensure more resilience in the future.
(Most popular article of 2020, MIT Sloan Management Review)
Willy C. Shih
Robert and Jane Cizik Baker Foundation Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration
Robert and Jane Cizik Baker Foundation Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration
Willy Shih is the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration, and is part of the Technology and Operations Management Unit.
Technology and Operations Management
Willy Shih is the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration. He is part of the Technology and Operations Management Unit, and he teaches in the MBA and Executive Education Programs. His expertise is in manufacturing, product development, and supply chains, and he has written or co-authored numerous cases and teaching materials in industries ranging from semiconductors, information technology, consumer electronics, aerospace, transportation equipment, manufacturing processes and tools, and intellectual property.
Prior to coming to HBS in 2007, Willy spent 28 years in industry at IBM, Digital Equipment, Silicon Graphics, Eastman Kodak, and Thomson SA. He worked in product development and manufacturing in a wide range of areas including computer systems, scientific instruments, semiconductors, digital cameras, optical discs and software systems. Reporting to him have been major manufacturing operations in the United States, China, Ireland, Japan, and Mexico, as well as global sales and marketing operations. He has led the building of billion dollar revenue businesses.
Willy is on the Board of Directors of Nextracker LLC, a maker of smart solar tracker solutions. He is a member of the Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness reporting to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, as well as the Industrial Advisory Committee working on the CHIPS and Sceince Act for Commerce. He has two S.B. degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a Life Member of the IEEE.
- Featured Work
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Harvard Business Review
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities in the production strategies and supply chains of firms everywhere. Coupled with a rise in economic nationalism, manufacturers everywhere are going to be under pressure to rethink their sourcing and logistics strategies. They need to analyze their risk exposures, and then think about how to improve their resilience. They should look beyond just relocating supply, towards harnessing process innovations and revisiting some of the trade-offs between product variety and flexibility.
Why have things been such a mess? For starters, there are a lot more layers than you probably imagine.Despite the current turmoil, memories will fade, and economics will trump concerns about national vulnerabilities.by Gary P. Pisano and Willy C. Shih, Harvard Business Review, JulyAugust 2009
For decades, U.S. companies have been outsourcing manufacturing in the belief that it held no competitive advantage. That’s been a disaster, maintain Harvard professors Pisano and Shih, because today’s low-value manufacturing operations hold the seeds of tomorrow’s innovative new products.What those companies have been ceding is the country’s industrial commons—that is, the collective operational capabilities that underpin new product and process development in the U.S. industrial sector. As a result, America has lost not only the ability to develop and manufacture high-tech products like televisions, memory chips, and laptops but also the expertise to produce emerging hot products like the Kindle e-reader, high-end servers, solar panels, and the batteries that will power the next generation of automobiles.
To rebuild the commons and restore its wealth-generating machine will require government and industry in the United States to make two drastic changes. Read the full article
by Gary Pisano and Willy C. ShihCompanies compete on the decisions they make. For years—even decades—in response to intensifying global competition, companies decided to outsource their manufacturing operations in order to reduce costs. But we are now seeing the alarming long-term effect of those choices: in many cases, once manufacturing capabilities go away, so does much of the ability to innovate and compete. Manufacturing, it turns out, really matters in an innovation-driven economy.
In Producing Prosperity, Harvard Business School professors Gary Pisano and Willy Shih show the disastrous consequences of years of poor sourcing decisions and underinvestment in manufacturing capabilities. They reveal how today’s undervalued manufacturing operations often hold the seeds of tomorrow’s innovative new products, arguing that companies must reinvest in new product and process development in the US industrial sector. Only by reviving this “industrial commons” can the world’s largest economy build the expertise and manufacturing muscle to regain competitive advantage. America needs a manufacturing renaissance—for restoring itself, and for the global economy as a whole.
This will require major changes. Pisano and Shih show how company-level choices are key to the sustained success of industries and economies, and they provide business leaders with a framework for understanding the links between manufacturing and innovation that will enable them to make better outsourcing decisions. They also detail how government must change its support of basic and applied scientific research, and promote collaboration between business and academia.
For executives, policymakers, academics, and innovators alike, Producing Prosperity provides the clearest and most compelling account yet of how the American economy lost its competitive edge—and how to get it back. - Books
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- Pisano, Gary P., and Willy Shih. Producing Prosperity: Why America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2012. View Details
- Journal Articles
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- Shih, Willy C. "The New Era of Industrial Policy Is Here." Harvard Business Review 101, no. 5 (September–October 2023): 66–75. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "What Really Makes Toyota’s Production System Resilient." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (November 15, 2022). View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Climate Regulations Are About to Disrupt Global Shipping." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (October 21, 2022). View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "In Uncertain Times, Big Companies Need to Take Care of Their Suppliers." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (April 6, 2022). View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Are the Risks of Global Supply Chains Starting to Outweigh the Rewards?" Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (March 21, 2022). View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "The Supply Chain, Explained." Wall Street Journal (August 1, 2022). (Online Edition, July 22, 2022.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Increasing the Level of Abstraction as a Strategy for Accelerating the Adoption of Complex Technologies." Strategy Science 6, no. 1 (March 2021): 54–61. (ISSN 2333-2050 (print), ISSN 2333-2077 (online)) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Is It Time to Rethink Globalized Supply Chains? The COVID-19 Pandemic Should Be a Wake-up Call for Managers and Prompt Them to Consider Actions That Will Improve Their Resilience to Future Shocks." MIT Sloan Management Review 61, no. 4 (Summer 2020): 16–18. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Global Supply Chains in a Post-Pandemic World: Companies Need to Make Their Networks More Resilient. Here's How." R2005F. Harvard Business Review 98, no. 5 (September–October 2020): 82–89. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Why High-Tech Commoditization Is Accelerating." Art. 59420. MIT Sloan Management Review 59, no. 4 (Summer 2018): 53–58. View Details
- Chai, Sen, and Willy C. Shih. "Why Big Data Isn't Enough." Art. 58227. MIT Sloan Management Review 58, no. 2 (Winter 2017): 57–61. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "The Real Lessons From Kodak's Decline." MIT Sloan Management Review 57, no. 4 (Summer 2016): 11–13. View Details
- Chai, Sen, and Willy C. Shih. "Bridging Science and Technology Through Academic-Industry Partnerships." Research Policy 45, no. 1 (February 2016): 148–158. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Sen Chai. "What to Know About Locating in a Cluster." Art. 57117. MIT Sloan Management Review 57, no. 1 (Fall 2015): 104–107. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Jyun-Cheng Wang. "Will Our Partner Steal Our IP?" Harvard Business Review 91, nos. 1/2 (January–February 2013): 137–139. View Details
- Yu, Howard H., and Willy C. Shih. "Taiwan's PC Industry, 1976–2010: The Evolution of Organizational Capabilities." Business History Review 88, no. 2 (Summer 2014): 329–357. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "What It Takes to Reshore Manufacturing Successfully." MIT Sloan Management Review 56, no. 1 (Fall 2014): 55–62. View Details
- Henkel, Joachim, Carliss Y. Baldwin, and Willy C. Shih. "IP Modularity: Profiting from Innovation by Aligning Product Architecture with Intellectual Property." California Management Review 55, no. 4 (Summer 2013): 65–82. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "The Re-Industrialization of the United States?" Wirtschaftspolitische Blätter 60, no. 2 (Second Quarter 2013): 297–312. View Details
- Pisano, Gary P., and Willy C. Shih. "Does America Really Need Manufacturing?" Harvard Business Review 90, no. 3 (March 2012). View Details
- Pisano, Gary P., and Willy C. Shih. "Restoring American Competitiveness." Harvard Business Review 87, nos. 7-8 (July–August 2009). (Winner of McKinsey Award. First Place For the best articles published each year in the Harvard Business Review presented by McKinsey & Company.) View Details
- Christensen, Clayton M., Stephen P. Kaufman, and Willy C. Shih. "Innovation Killers: How Financial Tools Destroy Your Capacity to Do New Things." Special Issue on HBS Centennial. Harvard Business Review 86, no. 1 (January 2008). View Details
- Working Papers
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- Chai, Sen, and Willy C. Shih. "Bridging Science and Technology Through Academic-Industry Partnerships." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 13-058, January 2013. (Revised July 2014.) View Details
- Henkel, Joachim, Carliss Y. Baldwin, and Willy C. Shih. "IP Modularity: Profiting from Innovation by Aligning Product Architecture with Intellectual Property." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 13-012, August 2012. (Revised November 2012.) View Details
- Cases and Teaching Materials
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- Shih, Willy C. "Outsourcing Primer." Harvard Business School Background Note 625-069, October 2024. View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Billy Chan. "Cathay Cargo: Turnaround Short Haul, or Double Crew Long Haul?" Harvard Business School Case 625-019, September 2024. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Knowledge Transfer: Toyota, NUMMI, and GM." Harvard Business School Case 625-003, July 2024. (Revised October 2024.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, Michael W. Toffel, and Kelsey Carter. "Power-to-X." Harvard Business School Technical Note 624-038, August 2023. (Revised July 2024.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Michael W. Toffel. "Sian Flowers: Fresher by Sea? – PowerPoint Supplement." Harvard Business School PowerPoint Supplement 624-016, July 2023. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Michael W. Toffel, and Kelsey Carter. "Life Cycle Assessment: An Overview." Harvard Business School Background Note 624-052, November 2023. (Revised August 2024.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Michael W. Toffel, Kelsey Carter, Jennifer Godfrey, Rafaella Mazza, and Katrina Yeh. "Agricultural Innovation and Sustainability in the Netherlands." Harvard Business School Technical Note 624-021, July 2023. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Michael W. Toffel, and Kelsey Carter. "Corporate Climate Targets." Harvard Business School Background Note 624-041, November 2023. (Revised July 2024.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Organizational Learning." Harvard Business School Background Note 624-058, December 2023. View Details
- Shih, Willy, Michael W. Toffel, and Kelsey Carter. "Decarbonizing Shipping at A.P. Møller-Maersk (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 624-051, December 2023. (Revised November 2024.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, Michael W. Toffel, and Kelsey Carter. "Decarbonizing Shipping at A.P. Møller-Maersk (A)." Harvard Business School Case 624-049, November 2023. (Revised November 2024.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Norse Atlantic Airways." Harvard Business School Case 624-034, November 2023. (Revised May 2024.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Nancy Dai. "From Imitation to Innovation: Zongshen Industrial Group (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 624-056, November 2023. View Details
- Shih, Willy, Michael W. Toffel, and Kelsey Carter. "Amager Bakke: Municipal Waste to Energy." Harvard Business School Background Note 624-040, September 2023. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Geely SEA: New Electric Vehicle Platforms." Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 624-055, November 2023. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "CMA CGM: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Container Shipping." Harvard Business School PowerPoint Supplement 624-018, September 2023. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "CMA CGM: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Container Shipping." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 624-710, September 2023. (This is for instructors only.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "CMA CGM: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Container Shipping." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 624-019, September 2023. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "CMA CGM: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Container Shipping." Harvard Business School Supplement 624-708, September 2023. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "T.G.S. Transportation: Battery Electric or Hydrogen?" Harvard Business School Case 624-032, August 2023. (Revised September 2023.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Michael W. Toffel. "Sian Flowers: Fresher by Sea?" Harvard Business School Teaching Note 624-017, July 2023. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Emilie Billaud. "CMA CGM: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Container Shipping." Harvard Business School Case 623-006, May 2023. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Sian Flowers: Fresher by Sea - Video Supplement." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 623-713, May 2023. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Michael W. Toffel, and Pippa Tubman Armerding. "Sian Flowers: Fresher by Sea?" Harvard Business School Case 623-008, August 2022. (Revised October 2022.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Coats Dyehouse Management." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 622-703, February 2023. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Shu Lin. "Geely SEA: New Electric Vehicle Platforms." Harvard Business School Case 622-001, January 2022. (Revised August 2022.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Fair Park Covid-19 Mass Vaccination Site (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 622-005, August 2021. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Coats: Supply Chain Challenges: Spreadsheet Supplement." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 622-702, August 2021. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Coats: Supply Chain Challenges." Harvard Business School PowerPoint Supplement 622-041, August 2021. (Revised November 2023.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Fair Park Covid-19 Mass Vaccination Site (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 622-004, August 2021. (Revised February 2023.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Fair Park Covid-19 Mass Vaccination Site (A)." Harvard Business School Case 622-003, August 2021. (Revised February 2023.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Coats: Supply Chain Challenges." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 622-034, August 2021. (Revised November 2023.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Adina Wong. "Coats: Supply Chain Challenges." Harvard Business School Case 621-115, May 2021. (Revised July 2021.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Merck: COVID-19 Vaccines." Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 621-067, October 2020. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Merck: COVID-19 Vaccines." Harvard Business School Case 621-028, September 2020. View Details
- Bojinov, Iavor I., Chiara Farronato, Yael Grushka-Cockayne, Willy C. Shih, and Michael W. Toffel. "Comparing Two Groups: Sampling and t-Testing." Harvard Business School Technical Note 621-044, August 2020. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Antonio Moreno. "Vanguard Retail Operations (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 620-105, June 2020. (Revised August 2020.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Antonio Moreno. "Vanguard Retail Operations (A)." Harvard Business School Case 620-104, June 2020. (Revised May 2022.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "ZEISS Group: Organize by Customer Culture?" Harvard Business School Case 620-103, March 2020. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Zhejiang Geely Holding Group: Acquisition of Volvo Cars and Volvo Cars: Acquisition by Geely." Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 620-072, January 2020. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Shaping the Vaccine Manufacturing Ecosystem (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 620-071, December 2019. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Feng Zhu. "Interview with Stephen L. Herbert, X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: Protagonist in 617-046 X Fire Paintball & Airsoft." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 620-706, December 2019. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Shaping the Vaccine Manufacturing Ecosystem." Harvard Business School Case 620-021, September 2019. View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Dawn Lau. "Myanmar: Special Economic Zones." Harvard Business School Case 620-027, October 2019. (Revised February 2021.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Port Competition in the Pearl River Delta." Harvard Business School Case 620-038, September 2019. (Revised July 2021.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "MoviePass." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 620-023, August 2019. View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Esel Çekin. "Kazakhstan Railways: From the Middle of Nowhere to a Center of Trade?" Harvard Business School Case 620-020, August 2019. View Details
- Oberholzer-Gee, Felix, Willy Shih, and Nancy Dai. "Volvo Cars: Acquisition by Geely." Harvard Business School Case 619-042, February 2019. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "MoviePass." Harvard Business School Case 619-052, February 2019. (Revised November 2021.) View Details
- Oberholzer-Gee, Felix, Willy Shih, and Nancy Dai. "Zhejiang Geely Holding Group: Acquisition of Volvo Cars." Harvard Business School Case 619-041, February 2019. View Details
- Shih, Willy, Paul Hong, and YoungWon Park. "Komatsu Komtrax: Asset Tracking Meets Demand Forecasting." Harvard Business School Case 619-022, November 2018. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Supply Chain Management." Harvard Business School Module Note 619-023, October 2018. (Revised August 2019.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Conducting a Kaizen." Harvard Business School Background Note 619-016, August 2018. (Revised July 2019.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Video Supplement to Toyota Motor Manufacturing, U.S.A. case (693-019): An updated video of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, Georgetown, KY site showing seat installation." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 618-713, May 2018. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Esel Çekin. "EKOL Logistics: Thinking Outside the Box: Spreadsheet Supplement." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 618-712, March 2018. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Esel Çekin. "EKOL Logistics: Thinking Outside the Box." Harvard Business School Case 618-037, March 2018. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Jimmy Zhang. "BeiGene Supplemental PowerPoint." Harvard Business School PowerPoint Supplement 618-043, January 2018. View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Jimmy Zhang. "BeiGene." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 618-039, January 2018. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Fuyao Glass: Making Automotive Windshields." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 618-706, December 2017. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Interview with Case Protagonist Wen Li." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 618-704, January 2018. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Data-Driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 618-702, December 2017. View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Jimmy Zhang. "BeiGene." Harvard Business School Case 618-033, November 2017. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Fuyao Glass America: Sourcing Decision." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 618-032, October 2017. (Revised September 2022.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Michael W. Toffel. "Production Processes." Harvard Business School Background Note 618-023, September 2017. (Revised March 2023.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Nancy Hua Dai. "Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System." Harvard Business School Case 618-005, August 2017. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Fuyao Glass America: Sourcing Decision." Harvard Business School Case 618-007, August 2017. (Revised September 2022.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Flex Hungary: Launching Production (A)." Harvard Business School Case 618-002, August 2017. (Revised March 2020.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Introduction to Incentive-based Sales Compensation Systems." Harvard Business School Background Note 617-037, January 2017. (Revised April 2018.) View Details
- Buell, Ryan W., Willy C. Shih, and Michael W. Toffel. "Irregular Operations." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 617-705, November 2016. View Details
- Buell, Ryan W., Willy C. Shih, and Michael W. Toffel. "United Airlines Operations." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 617-704, November 2016. View Details
- Buell, Ryan W., Willy C. Shih, and Michael W. Toffel. "United Airlines: More Out-and-Back Flying? Case Supplement #1." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 617-701, September 2016. (Revised August 2018.) View Details
- Buell, Ryan W., Willy Shih, and Mike Toffel. "United Airlines: More Out-and-Back Flying?" Harvard Business School Case 617-010, September 2016. (Revised July 2018.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Building the Digital Manufacturing Enterprise of the Future at Siemens." Harvard Business School Case 616-060, May 2016. (Revised April 2018.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Building Watson: Not So Elementary, My Dear! (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 616-025, October 2015. (Revised October 2016.) View Details
- McGee, Henry, and Willy Shih. "Wanda Studios Qingdao." Harvard Business School Case 616-005, September 2015. (Revised December 2016.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Chen-Fu Chien, and Hung-Kai Wang. "Epistar and the Global LED Market." Harvard Business School Case 615-053, June 2015. (Revised January 2017.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, Howard Yu, and Feng Liu. "WeChat: A Global Platform?" Harvard Business School Case 615-049, June 2015. (Revised April 2018.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Dalian Wanda Group: The AMC Entertainment Acquisition (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 615-034, February 2015. (Revised April 2018.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Dalian Wanda Group: The AMC Entertainment Acquisition (A)." Harvard Business School Case 615-033, December 2014. (Revised April 2018.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Carl Zeiss and Free-Form Production: Can We See Clearly Yet?" Harvard Business School Teaching Note 615-035, November 2014. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Netflix in 2011." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 615-008, October 2014. View Details
- Shih, Willy, Pian Shu, and Jill Avery. "Project Planning." Harvard Business School Exercise 615-030, September 2014. (Revised September 2015.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "American Airlines in 2011." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 615-012, November 2014. View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Margaret Pierson. "Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief: What Can We Learn from Commercial Supply Chains?" Harvard Business School Case 615-003, September 2014. (Revised March 2017.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "American Airlines in 2011." Harvard Business School Case 615-009, July 2014. (Revised November 2015.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Stephen Kaufman. "Netflix in 2011." Harvard Business School Case 615-007, August 2014. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Gregory Dieterich. "RCA: Color Television and the Department of Justice (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 614-073, May 2014. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Gregory Dieterich. "RCA: Color Television and the Department of Justice (A)." Harvard Business School Case 614-072, May 2014. (Revised July 2016.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "MediaTek: From Feature Phones to Smartphones." Harvard Business School Case 614-059, March 2014. View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Sen Chai. "BGI: Data-driven Research." Harvard Business School Case 614-056, February 2014. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Interview with Joe Kennedy, Pandora Media." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Case 614-705, February 2014. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Boeing 787 Manufacturing Footprint." Harvard Business School Case 614-049, January 2014. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Rational Choice and Managerial Decision-Making." Harvard Business School Background Note 614-048, January 2014. (Revised November 2015.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Karen Robinson. "MIT Mystery Hunt: The Answer is Secondary." Harvard Business School Case 614-050, January 2014. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Living Proof: Are we a technology company or a beauty company?" Harvard Business School Teaching Note 614-014, November 2013. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 614-012, November 2013. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Rhythm & Blues." Harvard Business School Case 614-036, October 2013. View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Sen Chai. "PadFone vs. FonePad." Harvard Business School Case 614-023, September 2013. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Boeing 787: More Electric Architecture." Harvard Business School Case 614-015, September 2013. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Living Proof: Are We a Technology Company or a Beauty Company?" Harvard Business School Case 614-013, September 2013. (Revised November 2015.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Raising the Level of Abstraction." Harvard Business School Technical Note 614-019, August 2013. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 614-011, August 2013. (Revised November 2013.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (A)." Harvard Business School Case 614-010, August 2013. (Revised November 2013.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Carl Zeiss and Free-Form Production: Can We See Clearly Yet?" Harvard Business School Case 614-007, July 2013. (Revised March 2015.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Exploration vs. Exploitation." Harvard Business School Module Note 614-004, July 2013. (Revised November 2021.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Sen Chai. "Novozymes: Establishing the Cellulosic Ethanol Value Chain." Harvard Business School Case 614-001, July 2013. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "The LEGO Group: Publish or Protect?" Harvard Business School Teaching Note 613-097, June 2013. (Revised February 2016.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Margaret Pierson. "Renesas Electronics and the Automotive Microcontroller Supply Chain (A) (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 613-084, March 2013. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Margaret Pierson. "Renesas Electronics and the Automotive Microcontroller Supply Chain ." Harvard Business School PowerPoint Supplement 613-085, March 2013. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Big Data at IBM: What to Do About Hadoop? (TN) (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 613-060, March 2013. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Global Unichip Corporation (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 613-086, February 2013. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Sen Chai. "The LEGO Group: Publish or Protect?" Harvard Business School Case 613-079, February 2013. (Revised March 2015.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "AmTran Technology Ltd. (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 613-070, January 2013. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "AmTran Technology Ltd. (TP)." Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 613-078, January 2013. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "ASUSTeK and the Google Nexus 7 Tablet (TP)." Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 613-075, January 2013. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "ASUSTeK and the Google Nexus 7 Tablet (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 613-057, January 2013. View Details
- Shih, Willy, Margaret Pierson, and Dawn H. Lau. "Austal, Ltd. (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 613-026, January 2013. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Margaret Pierson, and Dawn H. Lau. "Austal, Ltd. (A)." Harvard Business School Case 613-025, January 2013. View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Ying Zhou. "Cabot Corporation: The Fuel Cell Decision (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 613-067, January 2013. View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Ying Zhou. "Cabot Corporation: The Fuel Cell Decision (A)." Harvard Business School Case 613-066, January 2013. View Details
- Shih, Willy, Jyun-Cheng Wang, and Karen E. Robinson. "AmTran Technology Ltd." Harvard Business School Case 613-069, December 2012. (Revised March 2015.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Jyun-Cheng Wang. "ASUSTeK and the Google Nexus 7 Tablet." Harvard Business School Case 613-056, November 2012. (Revised May 2013.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, Margaret P. Pierson, and Dawn Lau. "CSIRO: The Light Metals Flagship Decision." Harvard Business School Case 613-029, November 2012. View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Chen-Fu Chien. "Global Unichip Corporation (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 613-049, November 2012. (Revised August 2013.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Chen-Fu Chien. "Global Unichip Corporation (A)." Harvard Business School Case 613-048, October 2012. (Revised August 2013.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Driving Towards a Disruption? (TP)." Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 613-052, September 2012. View Details
- Khurana, Rakesh, Jeffrey Polzer, Willy Shih, and Eric Baldwin. "Teaming at GE Aviation." Harvard Business School Case 413-074, November 2012. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 613-040, September 2012. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption." Harvard Business School Case 613-039, September 2012. (Revised April 2013.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Industrial Metrology: Getting In-Line? (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 613-041, September 2012. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation: Working with Project Teams as a 'Single Point of Contact'." Harvard Business School Video Supplement 613-701, September 2012. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Competency-Destroying Technology Transitions: Why the Transition to Digital Is Particularly Challenging." Harvard Business School Background Note 613-024, August 2012. (Revised August 2013.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Margaret Pierson. "Boeing 737 Manufacturing Footprint: The Wichita Decision (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 612-037, June 2012. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Margaret Pierson, Alexander Down, William Gustave Jair-Shemuel Jurist, Diego Medicina, and Helen Wang. "Microsoft IT India ." Harvard Business School Case 612-078, June 2012. View Details
- Shih, Willy, Margaret Pierson, Pankaj Agarwal, Diego Medicina, and Juan Prajogo. "Business-driven Research at IBM Research India ." Harvard Business School Case 612-076, June 2012. (Revised July 2012.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation: A World of Opportunities (Video)." Harvard Business School Video Supplement 612-703, April 2012. View Details
- Shih, Willy, Pankaj Agarwal, and Christine Chi. "HP Labs in Singapore." Harvard Business School Case 612-080, April 2012. (Revised June 2012.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Margaret Pierson. "Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation." Harvard Business School Case 612-091, April 2012. View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Margaret Pierson. "Renesas Electronics and the Automotive Microcontroller Supply Chain (A)." Harvard Business School Case 612-071, April 2012. View Details
- Shih, Willy, William Jurist, Brian McIntosh, and Helen Wang. "General Motors Technical Center India – Powertrain Engineering." Harvard Business School Case 612-074, April 2012. (Revised August 2013.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Margaret Pierson. "Modularity in Design and Manufacturing: Application to Commercial Aircraft." Harvard Business School Background Note 612-035, October 2011. (Revised July 2012.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Margaret Pierson. "Boeing 737 Industrial Footprint: The Wichita Decision." Harvard Business School Case 612-036, October 2011. (Revised July 2012.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Building Watson: It's not so elementary my dear! (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 612-018, December 2011. View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Margaret Pierson. "On the Use of Capital Efficiency Metrics." Harvard Business School Background Note 612-034, October 2011. (Revised October 2012.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Nancy Hua Dai. "Dongfeng Passenger Vehicle Company: Marketing Challenges for the Underprivileged Latecomer." Harvard Business School Case 612-029, October 2011. (Revised March 2015.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Digital Microscopy Is Making Me Crazy!" Harvard Business School Case 612-002, July 2011. (Revised January 2013.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Building Watson: Not So Elementary, My Dear!" Harvard Business School Case 612-017, September 2011. (Revised July 2012.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Digital microscopy is making me crazy! (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 612-013, July 2011. View Details
- Shih, Willy, Kamen Bliznashki, and Fan Zhao. "IBM China Development Lab Shanghai: Capability by Design." Harvard Business School Case 611-055, June 2011. (Revised October 2012.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Netflix (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 607-139, May 2007. (Revised May 2011.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Scale Effects, Network Effects, and Investment Strategy." Harvard Business School Background Note 611-082, May 2011. View Details
- Shih, Willy, Sen Chai, Kamen Bliznashki, and Courtney Hyland. "Office of Technology Transfer - Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences." Harvard Business School Case 611-057, March 2011. (Revised June 2012.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Pandora Radio: Fire Unprofitable Customers?" Harvard Business School Teaching Note 610-078, March 2010. (Revised November 2014.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Sen Chai. "Office of Technology Transfer - Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 611-058, April 2011. View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Jia Cheng. "Semiconductor Manufacturing International Company in 2011." Harvard Business School Case 611-053, March 2011. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Carrot or Stick? Getting Paid for Innovation at Tessera Technologies." Harvard Business School Case 610-085, March 2010. (Revised January 2011.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Chen-Fu Chien, and Jyun-Cheng Wang. Shanzhai! MediaTek and the "White Box" Handset Market. Harvard Business School Case 610-081, April 2010. (Revised December 2010.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Chintay Shih, Jyun-Cheng Wang, and Ho Howard Yu. "Chi Mei Optoelectronics." Harvard Business School Case 608-123, May 2008. (Revised December 2010.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "AMD Dresden: Copy Inexactly!" Harvard Business School Case 609-004, August 2008. (Revised December 2010.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Jyun-Cheng Wang. "Upgrading the Economy: Industrial Policy and Taiwan's Semiconductor Industry." Harvard Business School Case 609-089, February 2009. (Revised December 2010.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Thomas Thurston. "Intel NBI: Intel Corporation's New Business Initiatives (A)." Harvard Business School Case 609-043, October 2008. (Revised December 2010.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Intel NBI: Intel Corporation's New Business Initiatives (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 609-102, April 2009. (Revised December 2010.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Halle Alicia Tecco. "Pandora Radio: Fire Unprofitable Customers?" Harvard Business School Case 610-077, March 2010. (Revised November 2010.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Reverse Engineering, Learning, and Innovation." Harvard Business School Background Note 611-039, October 2010. (Revised May 2012.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Assembling Smartphones: Takt Time =/= Cycle Time? (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 611-013, September 2010. (Revised October 2010.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Sen Chai. "Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate." Harvard Business School Case 611-009, September 2010. (Revised July 2013.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise." Harvard Business School Course Overview Note 610-099, June 2010. (Revised October 2010.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "From Imitation to Innovation: Zongshen Industrial Group (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 611-011, October 2010. View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Ethan Bernstein. "Assembling Smartphones: Takt Time ≠ Cycle Time?" Harvard Business School Case 611-012, September 2010. (Revised December 2012.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Jyun-Cheng Wang, and Ho Howard Yu. "Quanta Research Institute: Rainforest or Hothouse?" Harvard Business School Case 611-024, September 2010. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 611-010, September 2010. View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Nancy Hua Dai. "From Imitation to Innovation: Zongshen Industrial Group." Harvard Business School Case 610-057, May 2010. (Revised June 2012.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. Shanzhai! MediaTek and the "White Box" Handset Market (TN). Harvard Business School Teaching Note 611-007, July 2010. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Chet Huber on OnStar, video." Harvard Business School Video Supplement 610-716, June 2010. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Jyun-Cheng Wang. "Delta Electronics Hybrid Power Train." Harvard Business School Case 610-098, May 2010. (Revised August 2013.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Halle Alicia Tecco. "Tim Westergren of Pandora Radio." Harvard Business School Video Supplement 610-714, May 2010. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Interview with Jonney Shih, Chairman, ASUSTeK Computer, Inc." Harvard Business School Video Supplement 610-712, April 2010. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Carrot or Stick? Getting Paid for Innovation at Tessera Technologies (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 610-094, April 2010. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Ethan S. Bernstein, Maly Hout Bernstein, Jyun-Cheng Wang, and Yi-Ling Wei. "A Giant Among Women." Harvard Business School Case 610-096, April 2010. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Ho Howard Yu, and Hung-Chang Chiu. "Transforming ASUSTeK: Breaking from the Past." Harvard Business School Case 610-041, January 2010. (Revised March 2010.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Interview with Bill Hambrecht (Video)." Harvard Business School Video Supplement 610-708, March 2010. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Disruptive IPOs? WR Hambrecht & Co. (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 610-066, March 2010. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "MP3 Portable Audio Players and the Recorded Music Industry (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 608-120, February 2008. (Revised March 2010.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Transforming ASUSTeK: Breaking from the Past (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 610-047, January 2010. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Opening Pandora's Box (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 608-125, January 2008. (Revised December 2009.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Chen-Fu Chien. "The TSMC Way: Meeting Customer Needs at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 610-004, August 2009. (Revised October 2009.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Giovanni Carraro. "Low-k Dielectrics at IBM." Harvard Business School Case 610-023, October 2009. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Thomas Thurston. "Intel NBI: Image Components Organization." Harvard Business School Case 610-028, September 2009. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Chintay Shih, Hung-Chang Chiu, Yi-Ching Hsieh, and Ho Howard Yu. "ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Eee PC (A)." Harvard Business School Case 609-011, July 2008. (Revised September 2009.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Ethan Bernstein. "Jieliang Phone Home! (TN) (A), (B), and (C)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 609-084, February 2009. (Revised September 2009.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "The TSMC Way: Meeting Customer Needs at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (CW)." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 610-702, August 2009. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Thomas Thurston. "Intel NBI: Radio-Frequency Identification." Harvard Business School Case 610-027, August 2009. (Revised August 2009.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Thomas Thurston. "Intel NBI: Vivonic." Harvard Business School Case 610-025, August 2009. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Chen-Fu Chien, Chintay Shih, and Jack Chang. "The TSMC Way: Meeting Customer Needs at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co." Harvard Business School Case 610-003, August 2009. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Thomas Thurston. "Intel NBI: MXP Digital Media Processor." Harvard Business School Case 608-100, May 2008. (Revised August 2009.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Thomas Thurston. "Intel NBI: Handheld Graphics Organization." Harvard Business School Case 608-098, May 2008. (Revised August 2009.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Meghan Dolan. "Researching a Company." Harvard Business School Background Note 610-024, August 2009. (Revised December 2012.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Andrew A. King. "Tokyo Electron Ltd." Harvard Business School Case 609-096, May 2009. View Details
- Shih, Willy, Ethan Bernstein, and Nina Bilimoria. "Jieliang Phone Home! (C)." Harvard Business School Supplement 609-082, February 2009. (Revised July 2012.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, Ethan Bernstein, and Nina Bilimoria. "Jieliang Phone Home! (A)." Harvard Business School Case 609-080, February 2009. (Revised July 2012.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Andrew A. King. "Advanced Micro Devices: Competing in the Shadow of a Giant (A)." Harvard Business School Case 609-002, July 2008. (Revised April 2009.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Chintay Shih, and Chen-Fu Chien. "Horizontal Specialization and Modularity in the Semiconductor Industry." Harvard Business School Background Note 609-001, July 2008. (Revised April 2009.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Eee PC (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 609-012, August 2008. (Revised April 2009.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, Stephen P. Kaufman, and Rebecca McKillican. "Dollar General (A)." Harvard Business School Case 607-140, May 2007. (Revised November 2019.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Rebecca McKillican. "Dollar General (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 607-156, June 2007. (Revised April 2009.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Dollar General (TN) (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 608-118, January 2008. (Revised April 2009.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Stephen P. Kaufman, and David Spinola. "Netflix." Harvard Business School Case 607-138, May 2007. (Revised April 2009.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Stephen P. Kaufman, Melissa Marie Blakeley, and Marissa Wairy Dent. "Opening Pandora's Box." Harvard Business School Case 607-135, June 2007. (Revised April 2009.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Elie Ofek. "Intel 2006: Rising to the Graphics Challenge." Harvard Business School Case 607-136, June 2007. (Revised April 2009.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Elie Ofek. "Intel 2006: Rising to the Graphics Challenge (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 608-045, July 2007. (Revised April 2009.) View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Digital Music: From MP3 to Streaming." Harvard Business School Case 608-119, February 2008. (Revised December 2023.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Ethan S. Bernstein, and Nina Yaz Bilimoria. "Jieliang Phone Home! (Video)." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 609-704, April 2009. View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Chen-Fu Chien. "Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation." Harvard Business School Case 609-063, July 2013. (Revised July 2013.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Upgrading the Economy: Industrial Policy and Taiwan's Semiconductor Industry (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 609-090, March 2009. View Details
- Shih, Willy, Ethan Bernstein, and Nina Bilimoria. "Jieliang Phone Home! (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 609-081, February 2009. (Revised August 2021.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "AMD Dresden: Copy Inexactly! (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 609-091, February 2009. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Intel NBI: Intel Corporation's New Business Initiatives (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 609-071, January 2009. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation: 'Reverse BOT'." Harvard Business School Case 609-062, January 2009. (Revised October 2012.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, Gary Pisano, and Andrew A. King. "Radical Collaboration: IBM Microelectronics Joint Development Alliances." Harvard Business School Case 608-121, February 2008. (Revised November 2008.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, and Howard H. Yu. "ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Eee PC (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 609-052, November 2008. (Revised January 2013.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Chi Mei Optoelectronics (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 609-040, September 2008. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Chintay Shih, Chen-Fu Chien, Ho Howard Yu, and Yu-Shian Chiang. "Tong Lung Metal Industry Co., Ltd." Harvard Business School Case 609-034, September 2008. (Revised October 2012.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "System on a Chip 2008: Global Unichip Corp. (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 609-033, August 2008. View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Chen-Fu Chien, Chintay Shih, and Ting-Chen Chen. "System on a Chip 2008: Ardentec Corporation." Harvard Business School Case 609-026, August 2008. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "AT&T v. Microsoft (A): IP Litigation Strategy." Harvard Business School Case 608-080, January 2008. (Revised August 2008.) View Details
- Shih, Willy, Chintay Shih, and Jyun-Chen Wang. "Quanta Computer and the One Laptop Per Child Initiative." Harvard Business School Case 608-102, February 2008. (Revised August 2008.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "AT&T v. Microsoft (B): District Court Ruling and Appeal." Harvard Business School Supplement 608-081, April 2008. (Revised August 2008.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Clayton Christensen. "Strategic Innovation Simulation: Back Bay Battery." Simulation and Teaching Note. Watertown, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2008. Electronic. (2656-HTM-ENG.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., Chintay Shih, Chen-Fu Chien, and Yuan-Chieh Chang. "System on a Chip 2008: Global Unichip Corp." Harvard Business School Case 608-159, June 2008. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "Quanta Computer and the One Laptop Per Child Initiative (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 608-103, February 2008. (Revised June 2008.) View Details
- Shih, Willy C., and Andrew A. King. "Radical Collaboration: IBM Microelectronics Joint Development Alliances (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 608-122, May 2008. View Details
- Shih, Willy C. "Sensors Unlimited: Bringing InGaAs Technology to the Market." Harvard Business School Case 608-138, May 2008. View Details
- Shih, Willy. "AT&T v. Microsoft: IP Litigation (TN) (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 608-082, January 2008. (Revised April 2008.) View Details
- Presentations
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- Shih, Willy C. "Abstraction, Knowledge Flows, and the Rapid Dissemination of Emerging Technologies." In Strategic Management of Emerging Technologies. Paper presented at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, August 12–14, 2018. View Details
- Other Publications and Materials
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- Shih, Willy C., and Henry McGee. "Hollywood on the Yellow Sea." The Atlantic 316, no. 5 (December 2015): 44–51. View Details
- Research Summary
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Willy's research interests reflect the 28 years he spent in industry, during which he logged many questions on firm performance, relative competitiveness, and firm culture as an impediment to change. His primary interests today are in the drivers of industrial competitiveness in high tech and science-based businesses, the impact of globalization on relative competitiveness, and the structure and evolution of global supply chains.How do emerging economies develop industrial and technical capabilities that overtake those of advanced economies? Are there some industrial sectors that are especially susceptible to such targeting? What will it take to restore America’s industrial competitiveness? Gary Pisano and I have been looking at patterns of international performance in high tech and science-based industries. I have focused in Asia, looking at multiple technology sectors. I have been examining the process of capability building, and how firms there have moved from imitation to innovation, in the process capturing leadership positions in industries ranging from semiconductors and notebook computers to flat panel displays and mobile phone handsets.The global market in many everyday products has been transformed by the internationalization of production. In many industries, semiconductors and electronic products in particular, a sequential mode of production has evolved in which goods are produced in a series of stages taking place in different countries by “vertical specialists” who pass work-in-progress across borders to the next firm in the value chain. This multi-country production sequence has been facilitated by inexpensive and rapid communications and the low cost to transport goods, as well as declines in tariff and non-tariff barriers. A distinguishing feature of this kind of vertical specialization is that imported inputs are used to produce export goods. These might be components or partial subassemblies, but frequently a product might transit through dozens of firms and cross multiple frontiers before it makes it to a storefront for sale to the ultimate consumer. We are interested in the evolution of firm structure as technological shifts drive changes in the vertical boundaries.Technological advancements are a major source of improvement in competiveness, and a firm’s incentives to invest are diminished when the knowledge generated is involuntarily dispersed to competitors. While intellectual property rights can moderate this flow to the extent that protections are enforceable, the protection of intangible knowledge is exceedingly difficult. Spillovers of such knowledge reduce the incentives to invest, and it has been suggested that increases in the amount of spillover both decreases industry R&D intensity and increases the equilibrium number of firms.
In the context of national competiveness, the mechanisms and rate of diffusion of knowledge to countries like China are key question for leaders and policymakers. How long does “catching up” take, or for moving importantly moving from an imitation phase to one driven by innovation? I believe there are two aligned forces that are reshaping international competition in technology – the rising level of abstraction offered in technology building blocks, coupled with the increasingly sophisticated embodiment of know-how in design and manufacturing tools. This stream of my research is studying the efficacy of this pathway.
- Teaching
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This course enables students to develop the skills and concepts needed to ensure the ongoing contribution of a firm's operations to its competitive position. It helps them to understand the complex processes underlying the development and manufacture of products as well as the creation and delivery of services.
A course looking at pioneering efforts in sustainable production methods and technologies supporting the energy transition.Keywords: Green Technology; Energy GenerationThe course objective is to provide students perspectives and insight into one of the major political and economic development programs of China – its Belt and Road Initiative, a strategy that involves infrastructure development and investments in countries spanning Central and South Asia, Africa, and Europe. This signature foreign policy initiative is described by the Chinese government as "a bid to enhance regional connectivity and embrace a brighter future," while some observers see it as a push to enhance China’s role in global affairs with a China-centered trading network. The course exposes students to the diversity of views across the region and beyond, combining advance study and preparation with the unique perspective that will come form on the ground observations and interactions.
pendingI designed this course to enable students to examine cross-strait issues between the Peoples Republic of China and the Republic of China—(Taiwan) at a critical juncture. Many products produced for the global marketplace—televisions, computers and computer components, smartphones, communications/processor chips, and networking equipment to name just a few have designers in Taiwan and manufacturing or assembly on the mainland. Many mainland manufacturers with huge export revenues such as Hon Hai Precision Industries (Foxconn) or Quanta Computer are Taiwan-based. This is at a time where the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has set goals to increase the innovation and design content of work done on the mainland, while funding the acquisition of technology from abroad. While there is some visibility to this in Western markets, it is viewed as an existential crisis in Taiwan, something that has by and large escaped global notice outside of East Asia.Professor Shih has taught the Technology and Operations Management (TOM) course and FIELD Global Immersion in the first-year MBA required curriculum. He also has taught Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise (BSSE) in the second-year MBA curriculum, as well as an Immersive Field Course (IFC) focused on China Supply Chains in 2016-17, and China's Belt & Road Initiative in 2019-20. He also teaches in Executive Education programs. - Awards & Honors
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First Place winner of the McKinsey Award with Gary P. Pisano for the best article in the Harvard Business Review during 2009 for the paper "Restoring American Competitiveness."Received the 2020 Robert F. Greenhill Award.
- Areas of Interest
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- industry evolution
- supply chain management
- technology strategy
- competitive strategy
- corporate strategy
- value profit chain
- aerospace
- automotive
- biotechnology
- communications
- computer
- digital imaging
- electrical equipment
- electronics
- entertainment
- high technology
- industrial goods
- information technology industry
- manufacturing
- retailing
- semiconductor
- Asia
- China
- Japan
- Taiwan
- United States
- Western Europe
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