Exploration - Publications - Faculty & Research

July 2013 (Revised November 2021)
Module Note

Exploration vs. Exploitation

This module note introduces James March's concept of exploration and exploitation, and the management challenge of balancing the allocation of resources to the two activities in the firm. The note also touches on the O'Reilly and Tushman paper on the ambidextrous... View Details

Citation

Purchase

2020
Working Paper

The Evolutionary Nature of Breakthrough Innovation: Re-Evaluating the Exploration vs. Exploitation Dichotomy

By: Dominika K. Sarnecka and Gary P. Pisano

Over the past few decades, a consensus has emerged that breakthrough innovations emerge from exploration of novel terrain while more routine innovations are the product of exploitation. In this paper, we revisit this explore versus exploit dichotomy with an analysis... View Details

Keywords: Breakthrough Innovation; Exploration And Exploitation; Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation

Citation

Read Now

Web

Explore Our Programs

Whether you seek development opportunities for yourself or a colleague, explore our many offerings—from multi-week comprehensive leadership programs to short, topic-focused learning experiences. Each offers a challenging curriculum, a... View Details

07 Jan 2015
News

Exploring leadership

A graduate of West Point who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Dan Lennox-Choate (MBA 2015) has been surprised by the leadership lessons he’s learned at HBS. (Published January 2015) View Details

20 Jun 2016
Blog Post

Exploring Cleantech at HBS

1.3 billion people around the world lack access to energy, and for everyone else, most of their energy comes from sources that are often unreliable, expensive, and detrimental to the environment. I had worked on sustainable transportation at Tesla before HBS, and came... View Details

01 Dec 2005
News

Exploring the Galápagos

“Marty should be here for this; this is what he came here for,” Esther Flashner laments to our Galápagos National Park guide, as a dozen of us stroll the sandy beach of Darwin Bay on the island of Genovesa. We are improbably close to nesting sea birds, four species of... View Details

Keywords: Ted A. Adams; Arts, Entertainment

February 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Chari: Exploring Fintech in Morocco

By: Karen G. Mills and Ahmed Dahawy

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Morocco. It highlights Morocco’s unique economy where cash remains a dominant player in the market despite global advancements in digitalization. The case also explores the various cultural and... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Business History; Business and Government Relations; Technological Innovation; Distribution Industry; Financial Services Industry; Morocco

Citation

Educators

Purchase

23 Jun 2014
News

Freedom to Explore

chairman of Porpoise Ventures. “HBS allowed me to solidify what I was going to do with the passions that I had. My MBA gave me the freedom to explore all sorts of options that I wouldn’t have considered otherwise.” A longtime donor to... View Details

2012
Book

Ernest Shackleton, Exploring Leadership

By: Nancy F. Koehn

Broadly speaking, polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton was not successful; he never achieved any of the goals he originally set for himself. But when confronted with crushing adversity, he inspired his crew to work together to survive against incredible odds. While... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Leadership; Cooperation

Citation

Purchase

01 Mar 2005
News

South Africa Explorer

we headed to Stellenbosch, the capital of South Africa’s wine region. We delighted in an elegant French-style picnic at the Boschendal wine estate, coordinated by Julian Coulter (MBA ’03), export sales and marketing manager. In addition, our group View Details

Keywords: Christine Sullivan; Hospitality

winter 2003/2004
Article

Exploring the Innovation Pyramid

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Keywords: Innovation and Invention

Citation

Find at Harvard

01 Jun 2015
News

Exploring Global Business Practices

Enhancing the Worldview of HBS Students and Faculty Building on a legacy of global engagement, Harvard Business School has made internationalization a key priority for its second century. To prepare leaders to meet the challenges of today’s society, the School focuses... View Details

12 Mar 2006
Research & Ideas

New Research Explores Multi-Sided Markets

Andrei Hagiu is on the vanguard of a new field of business research that explores the dynamics of multi-sided markets. Although these markets have been around a long time, they have not really been recognized as entities unique from other... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Technology

01 Sep 2006
News

Exploring Vietnam and Cambodia

Photos by SARAH HALL Twenty-eight alumni and guests explored natural wonders, vibrant cities, and historical sites of Vietnam and Cambodia last spring during a ten-day trip sponsored by the HBS Alumni Travel Program. Starting in Hanoi on... View Details

Keywords: Sarah Hall; Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions; Arts, Entertainment; Hospitality

July 1986
Case

Yellow Flats Exploration Co.

Citation

Find at Harvard

15 May 2017
Blog Post

Exploring Career Options at HBS

teaching style, international reach, and cutting-edge research. Once admitted, I didn’t hesitate for a second and moved across the world to join the program. During my two years at business school I’ve had a lot of time to think about my career goals and View Details

February 2020
Teaching Note

Essential Explorations at MUJI

By: Tomomichi Amano and Das Narayandas

Launched as a private brand in 1980 to counter the increasingly brand-conscious consumer in Japan, MUJI offered beautifully designed, fairly priced, no-frills quality goods. The once modest private label brand with 40 products had expanded significantly by 2019 to more... View Details

Keywords: Product Portfolio Management; Brands and Branding; Product; Management; Change Management; Mission and Purpose; Retail Industry; Japan

Citation

Purchase

01 Mar 2004
News

HBS Alumni Explore Tanzania

Tanzania photo galleries Photography by Graeme Johnson, Alan Steinert, Jr., and Susan Young. Mt Kilimanjaro photo galleries Photos courtesy Norm Boone (MBA ’77) and Linda Lubitz. It’s 5:30 a.m. As our Jeep bumps along a dirt road under a full, yellowy moon, our driver,... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Arts, Entertainment; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

December 2004 (Revised October 2005)
Case

Intel Research: Exploring the Future

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Kerry Herman

It is 2004 and David Tennenhouse, the director of Intel Research, is reviewing the organization he has built since 2000. Intel Research was charged with exploring new and disruptive technologies that lay off the "silicon roadmap" that drove most of Intel's R&D efforts.... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Technological Innovation; Research and Development; Performance Evaluation; Venture Capital; Technology Networks; Semiconductor Industry; United States

Citation

Educators

Purchase

August 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Essential Explorations at MUJI

By: Tomomichi Amano, Das Narayandas, Naoko Jinjo and Akiko Kanno

Launched as a private brand in 1980 to counter the increasingly brand-conscious consumer in Japan, MUJI offered beautifully designed, fairly priced, no-frills quality goods. The once modest private label brand with 40 products had expanded significantly by 2019 to more... View Details

Keywords: Product Portfolio Management; Brands and Branding; Product; Management; Change Management; Mission and Purpose; Retail Industry; Japan

Citation

Educators

Purchase