Gary P. Pisano

Harry E. Figgie, Jr. Professor of Business Administration (Leave of Absence)

Gary Pisano is the Harry E. Figgie, Jr. Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School where he has been on the faculty since 1988. From 2018-2023, Pisano was Harvard Business School’s Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Promotion and Tenure.

Pisano is an expert in competitive strategy, innovation, and operations. Over the course of his career, Pisano has explored fundamental questions about how organizations innovate, learn, compete, and grow. His research and consulting have spanned a broad range of industries including aerospace, automobiles, apparel, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, entertainment, financial services, medical devices, semiconductors, software, specialty chemicals, and web services.

Pisano has published over 100 scholarly articles and case studies and has written six books, including his latest, Creative Construction: The DNA of Sustained Innovation. Throughout his career, Pisano’s work has won numerous awards including, Strategic Management Society’s Best Paper (2003) and Strategy + Business best books (2006, 2019). He is a two-time winner of the McKinsey Award (2009, 2019) for the best article published in Harvard Business Review, and the inaugural winner of the Clayton M. Christensen Prize (2020) for his work on innovative cultures. In 2020, he received the Greenhill Distinguished Services Award from the Harvard Business School.
At Harvard, Pisano has taught MBA, executive, and doctoral courses.

In addition to his academic research and teaching, Pisano is an advisor to senior executives at leading companies around the world. He has served on the boards of both public and private companies. He currently serves on the board of Generate Biomedicines. Pisano is also an Academic Partner at Flagship Pioneering. Professor Pisano received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.A. in economics from Yale.

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Technology and Operations Management

+1 (617) 495-6562

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Technology and Operations Management

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(617) 495-6562

International Competitiveness in High Technology and Science Based Sectors

This research project examines shifts in competitive capabilities of companies and countries in high technology and science based businesses. It is particularly concerned with the potential loss of such capabilities in various industrial sectors in the US. This research conducted in collaboration with Professor Willy Shih of Harvard Business School seeks to understand how management behavior and decisions and institutional factors shape investments in scientific and technological capability. This project builds upon our earlier work ("Restoring American Competitiveness" Harvad Business Review, July-August 2009) where we argued that the US economy was losing its competitive edge innovation due to the growth in outsourcing of manufacturing and increasingly of R&D. The current research project is aimed at deepening our understanding of such issues as:

1. How does location, and in particular, geographic proximity to suppliers or customers, matter to innovative capabilities?

2. What role does manufacturing competence play in a firm's capacity for innovation? When does outsourcing of manufacturing damage a firm's ability to innovate?

3. How do institutional factors (e.g. capital market, corporate governance, immigration policies, government funding of R&D, etc.) influence innovation performance?

This results from this research will be published in a book (expectation 2011).

Understanding the Drivers and Limits of Corporate Growth

Perhaps no issues garners more attention of senior executives and Boards of Directors than growth. Yet, the underlying factors shaping and limiting corporate growth are poorly understood. Empirically, we know that some corporations grow much faster than others over long periods of time. Some appear to have done a better jobg managing growth than others. But there is little consensus, and even less evidence, concerning the strategies companies can adopt to maintain desired growth rates. This research examines the underlying economics of corporate growth, and seeks to shed light on some issues as:

1. Are their limits to the growth of organizations, and, if so, what governs those limits?

2. Why do some firms grow faster (and longer) than others?

3. Are some growth strategies more effective than others? Are some organizational and governance structures more conducive to sustained growth than others?

This research is currently undertaken through a series of case studies on specific companies. The case study research will be supplemented with larger scale empirical analysis from growth patterns of US and European companies.

Featured Work

Creative Construction: The DNA of Sustained Innovation

Every company wants to grow, and the most proven way is through innovation. The conventional wisdom is that only disruptive, nimble startups can innovate; once a business gets bigger and more complex corporate arteriosclerosis sets in. Gary Pisano's remarkable research conducted over three decades, and his extraordinary on-the ground experience with big companies and fast-growing ones that have moved beyond the start-up stage, provides new thinking about how the scale of bigger companies can be leveraged for advantage in innovation.

He begins with the simply reality that bigger companies are, well, different. Demanding that they "be like Uber" is no more realistic than commanding your dog to speak French. Bigger companies are complex. They need to sustain revenue streams from existing businesses, and deal with Wall Street's demands. These organizations require a different set of management practices and approaches--a discipline focused on the strategies, systems and culture for taking their companies to the next level. Big can be beautiful, but it requires creative construction by leaders to avoid the creative destruction that is all-too-often the fate of too many.

Producing Prosperity: Why America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance

For years—even decades—in response to intensifying global competition, American 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 U.S. industrial sector.

Science Business: The Promise, the Reality, and the Future of Biotech

Why has the biotechnology industry failed to perform up to expectations despite all its promise? In Science Business, Professor Gary Pisano answers this question by providing an incisive critique of the industry. Pisano not only reveals the underlying causes of biotech's problems; he offers the most sophisticated analysis yet on how the industry works. And he provides clear prescriptions for companies, investors, and policymakers seeking ways to improve the industry's performance. The payoff? Valuable improvements in health care and a shinier future for human well-being. Named Best Biotech Book in 2007 by strategy+business.

Books

Pisano, Gary P. Creative Construction: The DNA of Sustained Innovation. New York: PublicAffairs, 2019. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Willy Shih. Producing Prosperity: Why America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2012. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. Science Business: The Promise, the Reality, and the Future of Biotech. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2006. View Details
Hayes, Robert H., Gary P. Pisano, David M. Upton, and S. C. Wheelwright. Operations, Strategy, and Technology: Pursuing the Competitive Edge. Indianapolis, IN: John Wiley & Sons, 2004. View Details
Pisano, G. P. The Development Factory: Unlocking the Potential of Process Innovation. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1996. View Details
Hayes, R. H., G. P. Pisano, and D. M. Upton. Strategic Operations: Competing through Capabilities. New York: Free Press, 1996. View Details
Hayes, R. H., G. P. Pisano, and D. M. Upton. Instructor's Manual, Strategic Operations: Competing through Capabilities. New York: Free Press, 1996. View Details
Pisano, G. P. and R. H. Hayes, eds. Manufacturing Renaissance. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1995. View Details

Journal Articles

Pisano, Gary P. "How Fast Should Your Company Really Grow?" Harvard Business Review 102, no. 2 (March–April 2024): 38–45. View Details
Randle, Dominika Kinga, and Gary P. Pisano. "Diversification as an Adaptive Learning Process: An Empirical Study of General-Purpose and Market-Specific Technological Know-How in New Market Entry." Special Issue on Knowledge Resources and Heterogeneity of Entrants within and across Industries. Industrial and Corporate Change 33, no. 1 (February 2024): 238–252. View Details
Di Stefano, Giada, Francesca Gino, Gary P. Pisano, and Bradley R. Staats. "Learning by Thinking: The Role of Reflection in Individual Learning." Management Science (in press). View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Commitment, Capabilities, and Strategy: A Personal Essay in Honor of Pankaj Ghemawat." Special Issue on Strategy Through a Ghemawat Lens: Honoring and Building on the Contributions of Pankaj Ghemawat. Strategy Science 7, no. 2 (June 2022): 152–155. View Details
Li, Jin, Gary Pisano, Richard Xu, and Feng Zhu. "Marketplace Scalability and Strategic Use of Platform Investment." Management Science 69, no. 7 (July 2023): 3958–3975. View Details
Harvey, Jean-François, Henrik Bresman, Amy C. Edmondson, and Gary P. Pisano. "A Strategic View of Team Learning in Organizations." Academy of Management Annals 16, no. 2 (July 2022): 476–507. View Details
Randle, Dominika Kinga, and Gary P. Pisano. "The Evolutionary Nature of Breakthrough Innovation: An Empirical Investigation of Firm Search Strategies." Strategy Science 6, no. 4 (December 2021): 290–304. View Details
Afeyan, Noubar, and Gary P. Pisano. "What Evolution Can Teach Us About Innovation." Harvard Business Review 99, no. 5 (September–October 2021): 62–72. View Details
Buciuni, Giulio, and Gary P. Pisano. "Variety of Innovation in Global Value Chains." Art. 101167. Journal of World Business 56, no. 2 (February 2021). View Details
Autor, David, David Dorn, Gordon H. Hanson, Gary P. Pisano, and Pian Shu. "Foreign Competition and Domestic Innovation: Evidence from U.S. Patents." American Economic Review: Insights 2, no. 3 (September 2020): 357–374. View Details
Caicedo, H. Hugo, Daniel A. Hashimoto, Julio C. Caicedo, Alex Pentland, and Gary P. Pisano. "Overcoming Barriers to Early Disease Intervention." Nature Biotechnology 38, no. 6 (June 2020). View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "We Shouldn't Wait for a Breakthrough in the COVID-19 Pandemic." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (May 6, 2020). View Details
Bohmer, Richard M.J., Gary P. Pisano, Raffaella Sadun, and Thomas C. Tsai. "How Hospitals Can Manage Supply Chain Shortages as Demand Surges." Harvard Business Review (website) (April 3, 2020). View Details
Pisano, Gary P., Raffaella Sadun, and Michele Zanini. "Lessons from Italy's Response to Coronavirus." HO5ITU. Harvard Business Review (website) (March 27, 2020). View Details
Dosi, Giovanni, Marco Grazzi, Daniele Moschella, Gary P. Pisano, and Federico Tamagni. "Long-term Firm Growth: An Empirical Analysis of U.S. Manufacturers 1959–2015." Industrial and Corporate Change 29, no. 2 (April 2020): 309–332. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Response to Comments on Toward a Prescriptive Theory of Dynamic Capabilities." Industrial and Corporate Change 28, no. 2 (April 2019): 419–421. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "The Hard Truth About Innovative Cultures." Harvard Business Review 97, no. 1 (January–February 2019): 62–71. View Details
Buciuni, Giulio, and Gary P. Pisano. "Knowledge Integrators and the Survival of Manufacturing Clusters." Special Issue on Challenges in International Business Development. Journal of Economic Geography 118, no. 5 (September 2018): 1069–1089. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Toward a Prescriptive Theory of Dynamic Capabilities: Connecting Strategic Choice, Learning, and Competition." Industrial and Corporate Change 26, no. 5 (October 2017): 747–762. View Details
Austin, Robert D., and Gary P. Pisano. "Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage." Harvard Business Review 95, no. 3 (May–June 2017): 96–103. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Andrew W. Lo. "Lessons From Hollywood: A New Approach To Funding R&D." MIT Sloan Management Review 57, no. 2 (Winter 2016): 47–54. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "You Need an Innovation Strategy." Harvard Business Review 93, no. 6 (June 2015): 44–54. View Details
Narayan, Vaibhav A., Marco Mohwinckel, Gary Pisano, Michael Yang, and Husseini Manji. "Beyond Magic Bullets: True Innovation in Health Care." Nature Reviews: Drug Discovery 12, no. 2 (February 2013): 85–86. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Willy C. Shih. "Does America Really Need Manufacturing?" Harvard Business Review 90, no. 3 (March 2012). View Details
Gino, Francesca, and Gary P. Pisano. "Why Leaders Don't Learn from Success." Harvard Business Review 89, no. 4 (April 2011): 68–74. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "The Evolution of Science-Based Business: Innovating How We Innovate." Special Issue on Management Innovation—Essays in the Spirit of Alfred D. Chandler. Industrial and Corporate Change 19, no. 2 (April 2010): 465–482. 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
Verganti, Roberto, and Gary P. Pisano. "Which Kind of Collaboration Is Right for You?" Harvard Business Review 86, no. 12 (December 2008). View Details
Gino, Francesca, and Gary P. Pisano. "Toward a Theory of Behavioral Operations." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 10, no. 4 (fall 2008): 676–691. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and David J. Teece. "How to Capture Value from Innovation: Shaping Intellectual Property and Industry Architecture." Special Issue on Leading Through Innovation (50th Anniversary Issue). California Management Review 50, no. 1 (Fall 2007): 278–296. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Can Science be a Business?" Harvard Business Review 84, no. 10 (October 2006). View Details
Pisano, Gary. "Profiting from Innovation and the Intellectual Property Revolution." Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the publication of David Teece's article, "Profiting from Innovation", in Research Policy Research Policy 35, no. 8 (October 2006): 1122–1130. View Details
Huckman, Robert S., and Gary P. Pisano. "The Firm Specificity of Individual Performance: Evidence from Cardiac Surgery." Management Science 52, no. 4 (April 2006): 473–488. View Details
Huckman, Robert S., and Gary P. Pisano. "Adopting New Technologies: Turf Battles in Coronary Revascularization." New England Journal of Medicine 352, no. 9 (March 3, 2005): 857–859. View Details
Edmondson, Amy, Gary P. Pisano, Richard Bohmer, and Ann Winslow. "Learning How and Learning What: Effects of Tacit and Codified Knowledge on Performance Improvement Following Technology Adoption." Decision Sciences 34, no. 2 (spring 2003): 197–223. View Details
Fernandopulle, Rushika, Timothy Ferris, Arnold Epstein, Barbara McNeil, Joseph Newhouse, Gary Pisano, and David Blumenthal. "A Research Agenda for Bridging the 'Quality Chasm'." Health Affairs 22, no. 2 (March–April 2003): 178–190. View Details
Edmondson, Amy C., Richard Bohmer, and Gary P. Pisano. "Disrupted Routines: Team Learning and New Technology Adaptation." Administrative Science Quarterly 46, no. 4 (December 2001): 685–716. View Details
Edmondson, Amy C., Richard Bohmer, and Gary P. Pisano. "Speeding Up Team Learning." Harvard Business Review 79, no. 9 (October 2001): 125–134. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., Richard Bohmer, and Amy C. Edmondson. "Organizational Differences in Rates of Learning: Evidence from the Adoption of Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery." Management Science 47, no. 6 (June 2001): 752. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., David Teece, and Amy Shuen. "Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic Management." Strategic Management Journal 18, no. 7 (August 1997): 509–533. (Winner of Strategic Management Journal Best Paper Prize presented by Strategic Management Society.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Learning-Before-Doing in the Development of New Process Technology." Research Policy 25, no. 7 (October 1996): 1097–1119. View Details
Hayes, R. H., and G. P. Pisano. "Manufacturing Strategy: At the Intersection of Two Paradigm Shifts." Production and Operations Management 5, no. 1 (Spring 1996): 25–41. View Details
Pisano, G. P., and S. C. Wheelwright. "The New Logic of High Tech R&D." Harvard Business Review 73, no. 5 (September–October 1995). View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and David Teece. "Dynamic Capabilities of Firms: An Introduction." Industrial and Corporate Change 3, no. 3 (1994): 537–556. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Knowledge, Integration and the Locus of Learning: An Empirical Analysis of Process Development." Strategic Management Journal 15 (Winter 1994): 85–100. View Details
Hayes, Robert H., and G. P. Pisano. "Beyond World-Class: The New Manufacturing Strategy." Harvard Business Review 72, no. 1 (January–February 1994): 77–84. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "The Governance of Innovation: Vertical Integration and Collaborative Arrangements in the Biotechnology Industry." Research Policy 20, no. 3 (June 1991): 237–249. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "The R&D Boundaries of the Firm: An Empirical Analysis." Administrative Science Quarterly 35, no. 1 (March 1990): 153–176. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Using Equity Participation to Support Exchange: Evidence from the Biotechnology Industry." Journal of Law, Economics & Organization 5, no. 1 (Spring 1989): 109–126. View Details

Book Chapters

Pisano, Gary P. "Pharmaceutical Biotechnology." In Technological Innovation & Economic Performance, edited by Benn Steil, David G. Victor, and Richard R. Nelson. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002. View Details
Edmondson, Amy C., Richard Bohmer, and Gary Pisano. "Learning New Technical and Interpersonal Routines in Operating Room Teams: The Case of Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery." In Research on Managing Groups and Teams: Technology. Vol. 3, edited by B. Mannix, M. Neale, and T. Grifith, 29–51. Stamford: JAI Press, 2000. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "In Search of Dynamic Capabilities: The Origins of R&D Competence in Biopharmaceuticals." Chap. 5 in The Nature and Dynamics of Organizational Capabilities, edited by Giovanni Dosi, Richard Nelson, and Sidney Winter, 129–154. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., Amy Shuen, and David Teece. "Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic Management." In The Nature and Dynamics of Organizational Capabilities, edited by Giovanni Dosi, Richard Nelson, and Sidney Winter. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. View Details
Henderson, Rebecca, Gary P. Pisano, and Luigi Orsenigo. "The Pharmaceutical Industry and the Revolution in Molecular Biology: Interactions Among Scientific, Institutional, and Organizational Change." In Sources of Industrial Leadership: Studies of Seven Industries, edited by David Mowery and Richard Nelson. Cambridge University Press, 1999. View Details
Ghemawat, Pankaj, and Gary P. Pisano. "Building and Sustaining Success." In Strategy and the Business Landscape, by Pankaj Ghemawat. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1999. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Paul Mang. "Collaborative Product Development and the Market for Know-How: Strategies and Structures in the Biotechnology Industry." In Research on Technological Innovation, Management, and Policy. Vol. 4, edited by Richard S. Rosenbloom and Robert A. Burgelman. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1989. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and David Teece. "Collaborative Arrangements and Global Technology Strategy: Some Evidence from the Telecommunications Equipment Industry." In Research on Technological Innovation, Management, and Policy. Vol. 4, edited by Richard S. Rosenbloom and Robert A. Burgelman. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1989. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., Michael Russo, and David Teece. "Joint Ventures and Collaborative Arrangements in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry." In International Collaborative Ventures in U.S. Manufacturing, edited by David Mowery. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger Publishing Company, 1988. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., W. Shan, and David Teece. "Joint Ventures and Collaboration in the Biotechnology Industry." In International Collaborative Ventures in U.S. Manufacturing, edited by David Mowery. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger Publishing Company, 1988. View Details

Working Papers

Randle, Dominika Kinga, and Gary P. Pisano. "Diversification as an Adaptive Learning Process: An Empirical Study of General-Purpose and Market-Specific Technological Know-How in New Market Entry." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 23-032, December 2022. View Details
Sarnecka, Dominika K., and Gary P. Pisano. "The Evolutionary Nature of Breakthrough Innovation: Re-Evaluating the Exploration vs. Exploitation Dichotomy." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-071, December 2020. View Details
Harvey, Jean-François, Henrik Bresman, Amy C. Edmondson, and Gary P. Pisano. "Team Learning and Superior Firm Performance: A Meso-Level Perspective on Dynamic Capabilities." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-059, December 2018. (Revised January 2020.) View Details
Autor, David, David Dorn, Gordon H. Hanson, Pian Shu, and Gary Pisano. "Foreign Competition and Domestic Innovation: Evidence from U.S. Patents." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 22879, December 2016. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Towards a Prescriptive Theory of Dynamic Capabilities: Connecting Strategic Choice, Learning, and Competition." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 16-146, June 2016. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "A Normative Theory of Dynamic Capabilities: Connecting Strategy, Know-How, and Competition." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 16-036, September 2015. View Details
Buciuni, Giulio, and Gary P. Pisano. "Can Marshall's Clusters Survive Globalization?" Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 15-088, May 2015. View Details
Lazzeri, Francesca, and Gary P. Pisano. "The Organizational and Geographic Drivers of Absorptive Capacity: An Empirical Analysis of Pharmaceutical R&D Laboratories." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 14-098, April 2014. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Creating an R&D Strategy." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 12-095, April 2012. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Roberto Verganti. "Collaborative Architectures for Innovation." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 08-105, June 2008. View Details
Gino, Francesca, and Gary Pisano. "Toward a Theory of Behavioral Operations." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 07-096, May 2007. View Details
Gino, Francesca, Gary Pisano, Michael R. Sorell, and Mark Szigety. "R&D Portfolio Strategy, Diversification and Performance: An Information Perspective." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 06-059, June 2006. View Details
Gino, Francesca, and Gary Pisano. "Behavioral Operations." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 06-035, February 2006. View Details
Gino, Francesca, and Gary Pisano. "Holding or Folding? R&D Portfolio Strategy Under Different Information Regimes." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 05-072, April 2005. View Details
Bohmer, Richard M.J., Ann B. Winslow, Amy C. Edmondson, and Gary P. Pisano. "Team Learning Trade-Offs: When Improving One Critical Dimension of Performance Inhibits Another." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 05-047, January 2005. View Details
Gino, Francesca, and Gary Pisano. "R&D Performance Volatility: A Behavioral Model." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 05-015, December 2004. View Details
Huckman, Robert S., and Gary P. Pisano. "The Effect of Organizational Context on Individual Performance: Evidence from Cardiac Surgery." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 03-083, January 2003. View Details
Edmondson, Amy C., Ann B. Winslow, Richard M.J. Bohmer, and Gary Pisano. "Learning How and Learning What: Effects of Tacit and Codified Knowledge on Performance Improvement Following Technology Adoption." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 02-063, November 2002. View Details
Bohmer, Richard, Amy Edmondson, Gary Pisano, and Ann B. Winslow. "Learning as Strategy Dependent: Tradeoffs in New Technology Implementation." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 03-012, July 2002. View Details
Edmondson, Amy C., Richard M.J. Bohmer, and Gary Pisano. "Disrupted Routines: Effects of Team Learning on New Technology Adaptation." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 01-003, August 2000. View Details
Edmondson, Amy C., Richard M.J. Bohmer, and Gary Pisano. "Disrupted Routines: Effects of Team Learning on New Technology Adaptation." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 00-090, June 2000. View Details
Pisano, Gary, Richard M.J. Bohmer, and Amy C. Edmondson. "Experience Versus Learning: Evidence from the Adoption of Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 00-036, June 2000. View Details
Edmondson, Amy C., Richard M.J. Bohmer, and Gary Pisano. "Learning New Technical and Interpersonal Routines in Operating Room Teams: The Case of Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 00-003, July 1999. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Learning Before Doing in the Development of New Process Technology." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 96-013, September 1995. View Details

Cases and Teaching Materials

Pisano, Gary P., Francesca Gino, and Ruth Page. "Pal's Sudden Service (B)." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 917-701, June 2024. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Catherine Piner. "Azenta Life Sciences: The Road to Transformation." Harvard Business School Case 623-066, March 2023. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Catherine Piner. "Woven Planet - Designing Software for the Car of the Future." Harvard Business School Case 623-064, March 2023. View Details
Gino, Francesca, Linda Hill, Gary Pisano, and Ruth Page. "Ed Catmull: Lessons from Leading Pixar Animation Studios." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Case 921-714, December 2022. (Click here to access this case.) View Details
Gino, Francesca, and Gary Pisano. "Strategic Agility: Lessons from the Game of Poker." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Case 922-705, January 2022. View Details
Pisano, Gary, and Francesca Gino. "Institutionalized Entrepreneurship: Flagship Pioneering." Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 923-007, August 2022. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Boston Beer Company: Sustaining a Culture for Innovation and Growth." Harvard Business School Case 623-015, August 2022. View Details
Pisano, Gary, Jan Hammond, and Marshall Fisher. "Chicago Chemicals, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 618-028, October 2017. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Francesca Gino. "Engineering Company Culture at Zaimella Ecuador (B)." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 919-706, May 2019. View Details
Farronato, Chiara, and Gary Pisano. "Marriott International: The Next 90 Years." Harvard Business School Case 618-017, September 2017. (Revised November 2018.) View Details
Gibson, Hise, Gary P. Pisano, Pettis Kent, and Michael Norris. "Defense Logistics Agency: Dynamic Vaccine Distribution at Scale." Harvard Business School Case 622-078, February 2022. (Revised August 2022.) View Details
Pisano, Gary, and Francesca Gino. "Institutionalized Entrepreneurship: Flagship Pioneering." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 922-706, January 2022. View Details
Gino, Francesca, and Gary Pisano. "Strategic Agility: Lessons from Jazz." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Case 922-704, January 2022. View Details
Sato, Vicki, and Gary Pisano. "Anthony Starks at InSiL Therapeutics (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 617-030, November 2016. (Revised December 2016.) View Details
Pisano, Gary, and Vicki Sato. "Anthony Starks at InSiL Therapeutics (A)." Harvard Business School Case 617-029, November 2016. View Details
Gino, Francesca, and Gary Pisano. "Humanistic Capitalism at Brunello Cucinelli." Harvard Business School Case 920-007, August 2019. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., Hise O. Gibson, and Nicole Gilmore. "Ready for Take-Off at Jet It." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 622-017, August 2021. View Details
Choudhury, Prithwiraj, Gary P. Pisano, and Bonnie Yining Cao. "Sercomm: Operating in China Amid COVID-19 and Beyond." Harvard Business School Case 621-005, November 2020. (Revised March 2021.) View Details
Gino, Francesca, Gary P. Pisano, and Alexander Rohe. "Pal's Sudden Service—Scaling an Organizational Model to Drive Growth." Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 921-031, December 2020. View Details
Gino, Francesca, Gary P. Pisano, and Alexander Rohe. "Scaling Well by Doing Good: Motivating Talent at b.good." Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 921-030, December 2020. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Federica Gabrieli. "Briscola—Pizza Society: Scaling Affordable Luxury." Harvard Business School Case 621-031, September 2020. (Revised October 2020.) View Details
Grushka-Cockayne, Yael, Francesca Gino, and Gary P. Pisano. "The Tham Luang Cave Rescue (B): The Rescue." Harvard Business School Supplement 321-035, August 2020. View Details
Grushka-Cockayne, Yael, Francesca Gino, and Gary P. Pisano. "The Tham Luang Cave Rescue: The Search (A)." Harvard Business School Case 321-034, August 2020. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., Hise Gibson, and Nicole Gilmore. "Ready for Take-Off at Jet It." Harvard Business School Case 621-036, August 2020. View Details
Gino, Francesca, Gary Pisano, and Mariana Cal. "Engineering Company Culture at Zaimella Ecuador." Harvard Business School Case 920-015, September 2019. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., William J. Anderson, Amitabh Chandra, Clarissa Ceruti, and Stephanie Oestreich. "The Life Sciences Revolution: A Technical Primer." Harvard Business School Technical Note 620-054, November 2019. (Revised April 2020.) View Details
Luo, Hong, Gary P. Pisano, and Huafeng Yu. "Institutionalized Entrepreneurship: Flagship Pioneering." Harvard Business School Case 718-484, January 2018. (Revised April 2018.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Jesse Shulman. "Flying into the Future: HondaJet." Harvard Business School Case 618-012, January 2018. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Robert D. Austin. "Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program." Harvard Business School Case 617-016, September 2016. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., Francesca Gino, and Bradley R. Staats. "Pal's Sudden Service—Scaling an Organizational Model to Drive Growth." Harvard Business School Case 916-052, May 2016. (Revised September 2017.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Robert D. Austin. "SAP SE: Autism at Work." Harvard Business School Case 616-042, January 2016. View Details
Pisano, Gary, James Weber, and Kait Szydlowski. "Pfizer's Centers for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI)." Harvard Business School Case 615-024, September 2014. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "VF Brands: Global Supply Chain Strategy." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 614-009, September 2013. View Details
Pisano, Gary, Alessandro Di Fiore, Elena Corsi, and Elisa Farri. "Chef Davide Oldani and Ristorante D'O." Harvard Business School Case 613-080, January 2013. (Revised October 2013.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Elena Corsi. "Virgin Group: Finding New Avenues for Growth." Harvard Business School Case 612-070, March 2012. (Revised May 2012.) View Details
Gino, Francesca, and Gary P. Pisano. "Ducati Corse: The Making of a Grand Prix Motorcycle." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 607-044, November 2006. (Revised December 2020.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P., Daniela Beyersdorfer, and Ruth Dittrich. "Innovation and Growth at Actelion Ltd." Harvard Business School Case 611-065, March 2011. (Revised February 2012.) View Details
Huckman, Robert S., Gary P. Pisano, and Liz Kind. "Amazon Web Services." Harvard Business School Case 609-048, October 2008. (Revised February 2012.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld. "Warner Bros. Entertainment." Harvard Business School Case 610-036, November 2009. (Revised August 2011.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P., Phillip Andrews, and Alessandro Di Fiore. "Fiat-Chrysler Alliance: Launching the Cinquecento in North America." Harvard Business School Case 611-037, May 2011. (Revised July 2011.) View Details
Huckman, Robert S., and Gary P. Pisano. "JetBlue Airways: Managing Growth." Harvard Business School Case 609-046, October 2008. (Revised June 2011.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P., Ryan Johnson, and Carin-Isabel Knoop. "MorphoSys AG: The Evolution of a Biotechnology Business Model." Harvard Business School Case 611-046, March 2011. View Details
Huckman, Robert S., Gary P. Pisano, and Virginia Fuller. "JetBlue Airways: Valentine's Day 2007 (A)." Harvard Business School Case 608-001, August 2007. (Revised June 2010.) View Details
Huckman, Robert S., and Gary P. Pisano. "Flextronics International, Ltd." Harvard Business School Case 604-063, November 2003. (Revised April 2010.) View Details
Huckman, Robert S., Gary P. Pisano, and Mark Rennella. "Wyeth Pharmaceuticals: Spurring Scientific Creativity with Metrics." Harvard Business School Case 607-008, February 2007. (Revised April 2010.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Bradley R. Staats. "Merger Integration at Bank of America: The TrustWeb Project." Harvard Business School Case 610-054, February 2010. (Revised April 2010.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld. "Amyris Biotechnologies: Commercializing Biofuel." Harvard Business School Case 610-031, February 2010. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Pamela Adams. "VF Brands: Global Supply Chain Strategy." Harvard Business School Case 610-022, November 2009. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., Elena Corsi, and Elisa Farri. "Tenova: Mining for Growth in an Economic Crisis." Harvard Business School Case 610-021, August 2009. (Revised September 2009.) View Details
Snow, Daniel C., Gary P. Pisano, Elena Corsi, and Gudrun Urfalino Kristinsdottir. "Columbus Tubing: Steel is Real." Harvard Business School Case 609-042, September 2008. (Revised August 2009.) 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
Pisano, Gary P. "The Concept of Development Strategy." Harvard Business School Background Note 609-045, October 2008. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., David J. Collis, and Peter K. Botticelli. "Intel Corporation: 1968-1997." Harvard Business School Case 797-137, May 1997. (Revised May 2008.) View Details
Gino, Francesca, and Gary P. Pisano. "Teradyne Corporation: The Jaguar Project (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 607-045, November 2006. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Discovering the Future: R&D Strategy at Merck." Harvard Business School Case 601-086, February 2001. (Revised July 2006.) View Details
Gino, Francesca, and Gary P. Pisano. "Ducati Corse: The Making of a Grand Prix Motorcycle." Harvard Business School Case 605-090, June 2005. (Revised June 2006.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P., Lee Fleming, and Eli Strick. "Vertex Pharmaceuticals: R&D Portfolio Management (A)." Harvard Business School Supplement 604-101, June 2004. (Revised June 2006.) View Details
Gino, Francesca, and Gary P. Pisano. "Vertex Pharmaceuticals: R&D Portfolio Management (A), (B), and (C) (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 606-145, June 2006. View Details
Gino, Francesca, and Gary P. Pisano. "Teradyne Corporation: The Jaguar Project." Harvard Business School Case 606-042, September 2005. (Revised May 2006.) View Details
Gino, Francesca, and Gary P. Pisano. "Vertex Pharmaceuticals: R&D Portfolio Management (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 606-116, April 2006. View Details
Gino, Francesca, and Gary P. Pisano. "Vertex Pharmaceuticals: R&D Portfolio Management (C)." Harvard Business School Supplement 606-117, April 2006. View Details
Bohmer, Richard M.J., Gary P. Pisano, and Ning Tang. "Istituto Clinico Humanitas (A)." Harvard Business School Case 603-063, September 2002. (Revised April 2006.) View Details
Bohmer, Richard M.J., and Gary P. Pisano. "Istituto Clinico Humanitas (A)(TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 603-077, November 2002. (Revised July 2004.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Discovering the Future: R&D Strategy at Merck (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 603-137, June 2003. View Details
Enriquez-Cabot, Juan, Gary P. Pisano, and Gaye Bok. "In vivo to in vitro to in silico: Coping with Tidal Waves of Data at Biogen." Harvard Business School Case 602-122, April 2002. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "BMW: The 7-Series Project (A)." Harvard Business School Case 692-083, February 1992. (Revised January 2002.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "CIBA Vision: The Daily Disposable Lens Project (A)." Harvard Business School Case 696-100, March 1996. (Revised January 2002.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Sharon L. Rossi. "BMW: The 7-Series Project (B)." Harvard Business School Case 695-013, September 1994. (Revised January 2002.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Intel Corporation: 1968-1997 TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 699-032, October 1998. (Revised August 2001.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Maryam Golnaraghi. "Partners HealthCare System, Inc. (B): Cardiac Care Improvement." Harvard Business School Case 696-063, April 1996. (Revised June 2001.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Sharon L. Rossi. "ITT Automotive: Global Manufacturing Strategy (1994)." Harvard Business School Case 695-002, August 1994. (Revised May 2001.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Shoshana Dobrow. "Heartport, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 600-020, March 2000. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., Joshua D. Hamermesh, Richard Atsuhiko Kondo, Karen J. Nowiszewski, and Erik James Wordelman. "HydroCision, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 699-176, May 1999. (Revised September 1999.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P., Steven C. Wheelwright, and Jonathan West. "Eli Lilly and Co.: Manufacturing Process Technology Strategy--1991." Harvard Business School Case 692-056, December 1991. (Revised October 1998.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Concept of Operations Strategy,The TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 698-064, May 1998. View Details
Ghemawat, Pankaj, and Gary P. Pisano. "Sustaining Superior Performance: Commitments and Capabilities." Harvard Business School Background Note 798-008, July 1997. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Maryam Golnaraghi. "Partners HealthCare System, Inc. (A)." Harvard Business School Case 696-062, February 1996. (Revised April 1997.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Partners HealthCare System, Inc. (A) TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 696-105, May 1996. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Operations Strategy Course Overview Note TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 696-106, May 1996. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Partners HealthCare System, Inc. (B): Cardiac Care Improvement TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 696-109, May 1996. View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and Maryam Golnaraghi. "State Street Bank and Trust Company: New Product Development." Harvard Business School Case 696-087, March 1996. (Revised April 1996.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "ITT Automotive: Global Manufacturing Strategy (1994) TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 696-040, August 1995. (Revised March 1996.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Applichem (A) (Abridged) TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 696-017, July 1995. (Revised March 1996.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Nucleon, Inc., Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 692-095, May 1992. (Revised February 1996.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Eli Lilly and Company: The Flexible Facility Decision (1993) TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 696-041, August 1995. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Crown Equipment Corporation: Design Services Strategy TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 696-042, August 1995. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "BMW: The 7-Series Project (A), Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 692-094, March 1992. (Revised April 1995.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Eli Lilly and Co.: Manufacturing Process Technology Strategy--1991, Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 692-109, May 1992. (Revised November 1994.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "American Connector Company (A) TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 695-014, August 1994. (Revised November 1994.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Eli Lilly and Co.: The Flexible Facility Decision--1993." Harvard Business School Case 694-074, March 1994. (Revised April 1994.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (A)." Harvard Business School Case 690-009, January 1990. (Revised October 1993.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Nucleon, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 692-041, November 1991. (Revised April 1994.) View Details
Hammond, Janice H., and Gary P. Pisano. "Applichem (A) (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 694-030, August 1993. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "American Connector Company (A)." Harvard Business School Case 693-035, October 1992. (Revised December 1992.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "American Connector Co. (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 693-049, October 1992. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Whistler Corp. (A)." Harvard Business School Case 690-011, February 1990. (Revised July 1992.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Perkin-Elmer: Physical Electronics Division, Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 692-107, May 1992. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Whistler Corp. (A) and (B), Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 692-108, May 1992. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Biotechnology: A Technical Note." Harvard Business School Background Note 690-010, February 1990. (Revised March 1992.) View Details
Pisano, Gary P., and David T. Kotchen. "Whistler Corp. (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 692-072, December 1991. View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "Perkin-Elmer: Physical Electronics Division." Harvard Business School Case 690-037, October 1989. View Details

Presentations

Edmondson, Amy C., Ann Winslow, Richard Bohmer, and Gary P. Pisano. "Different Patterns of Performance improvement for explicit and tacit knowledge: An empirical test." . View Details
Pisano, Gary P. "The Biomedical Revolution: From Promise to Reality." Paper presented at the HBS Healthcare Industry Alumni Conference, November 15, 2002. View Details

Other Publications and Materials

Huckman, Robert S., and Gary P. Pisano. "The Firm Specificity of Individual Performance: Evidence from Cardiac Surgery." January 2005. View Details
Huckman, Robert S., and Gary P. Pisano. "The Effect of Organizational Context on Individual Performance: Evidence from Cardiac Surgery." December 2002. View Details

Research Summary

International Competitiveness in High Technology and Science Based Sectors

1. How does location, and in particular, geographic proximity to suppliers or customers, matter to innovative capabilities?

2. What role does manufacturing competence play in a firm's capacity for innovation? When does outsourcing of manufacturing damage a firm's ability to innovate?

3. How do institutional factors (e.g. capital market, corporate governance, immigration policies, government funding of R&D, etc.) influence innovation performance?

This results from this research will be published in a book (expectation 2011).

Understanding the Drivers and Limits of Corporate Growth

1. Are their limits to the growth of organizations, and, if so, what governs those limits?

2. Why do some firms grow faster (and longer) than others?

3. Are some growth strategies more effective than others? Are some organizational and governance structures more conducive to sustained growth than others?

Awards & Honors

First Place winner of the McKinsey Award with Willy C. Shih for the best article in the Harvard Business Review during 2009 for the paper "Restoring American Competitiveness."

Winner of the 2003 Strategic Management Journal Best Paper Prize for "Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic Management" (with David Teece and Amy Shuen, August 1997).

Received the 2012 Emerald Management Reviews Citation of Excellence Award for "Which Kind of Collaboration Is Right for You?" with Roberto Verganti (Harvard Business Review, December 2008).

Winner of the 2016 Best Research Award from the Strategic Management Society.

Creative Construction: The DNA of Sustained Innovation was selected by Strategy+Business as one of the Best Business Books on Strategy in 2019.

Winner of the 2019 McKinsey Award for the best article in Harvard Business Review for "The Hard Truth About Innovative Cultures" (January–February 2019).

Winner of the first Clayton M. Christensen Prize in 2020 for his Harvard Business Review article “The Hard Truth about Innovative Cultures” (January–February 2019).

Received the 2020 Robert F. Greenhill Service Award for continued outstanding contributions to the HBS community.

Additional Information

Areas of Interest