Aerospace - Publications - Faculty & Research

Philip Caldwell

Caldwell was the first CEO of Ford who was not a member of the family. He is credited with orchestrating one of the most dramatic and successful turnarounds in business history. Through his focus on quality, commitment to research, and open employment practices, he... View Details

Keywords: Automotive & Aerospace

Edward G. Budd

During the 1910s and 1920s, Budd constructed a successful business supplying car bodies, including an all-steel sedan body, to auto manufacturers such as General Motors, Studebaker, Ford and Chrysler. In the 1930s, Budd pioneered the fabrication of stainless steel.... View Details

Keywords: Automotive & Aerospace

Web

Career Timeline - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

HBS ISC About Michael Porter About Michael Porter A Letter from Michael Porter Biography The Essential Porter Honors & Awards Affiliated Organizations & Institutions VBHCD Initiative Biography Biography Career Timeline Career Timeline Career Timeline 1969 – B.S.E. with... View Details

01 Apr 1998
News

Emerging Information

membership in exchange for the company's frank assessment of the service. More recently, Mueller added information about Russian and Chinese aviation in response to a request from a large aerospace manufacturer that, up to that point, had... View Details

Keywords: Paul Michelman

13 Mar 2019
Blog Post

There's No Quick Shortcut to Success: Zorpads Takes Off

traditionally used for absorption in the aerospace and healthcare fields. The insert is a small adhesive square that can fit into any shoe but has more odor-absorbing surface area than a tennis court. Originally called "N'Odor,"... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Consumer Products / Retail

Guy W. Vaughan

Vaughan was instrumental in the creation of products such as the Wright Whirlwind J-6 plane, used by Charles Lindbergh, and the Wright Cyclone engine series, which were used in DC-1 aircraft. Vaughan’s real achievements, however, came during World War II, when he... View Details

Keywords: Automotive & Aerospace

Alex Trotman

Being of Scottish descent, Trotman’s presence as CEO of Ford was seen as quite rare at the old auto giant. However, with Trotman’s special attention to leadership at all levels, he continued to improve the company’s operations. Instituting intensive, innovative... View Details

Keywords: Automotive & Aerospace

Willard F. Rockwell, Jr.

Having worked in many of the company's subsidiaries since graduating from college, Rockwell Jr. assumed leadership from his father in 1967 and expanded the company across the globe through a series of mergers and acquisitions. View Details

Keywords: Automotive & Aerospace

Willard F. Rockwell

Trained as an engineer, Rockwell had several positions in the auto-parts manufacturing industry prior to becoming president of the entity now known as Rockwell International. Though the company was successful as an auto-parts maker, Rockwell expanded it into many other... View Details

Keywords: Automotive & Aerospace

Simon Ramo

A brilliant scientist, Ramo held 25 patents by the age of 30. He was responsible for much of the development of the Air Force’s ballistic missile, airborne radar, computer, navigation and armament control systems. He started his own company in 1953, and it merged with... View Details

Keywords: Automotive & Aerospace

Larry L. Prince

Prince continued Genuine Parts’ record 50-year history of consecutive sales and earnings increases. Through an expanding product line and strategic acquisitions, the company revenues have increased from $3 billion to over $8 billion. Prince has also been a key leader... View Details

Keywords: Automotive & Aerospace

John K. Northrop

After frustrating attempts at aircraft engineering with many other firms, John Northrop founded Northrop Aircraft and helped it grow into a very lucrative defense contractor, providing everything from bombers, fighter jets, and reconnaissance planes to the United... View Details

Keywords: Automotive & Aerospace

Harvey H. Lamm

Lamm created the only publicly traded car importer in the United States through the founding of Subaru of America. He introduced the United States to “four wheel drive” and “all wheel drive” with the import of the Subaru wagon in 1975, a move that would spawn a new... View Details

Keywords: Automotive & Aerospace

Paul G. Hoffman

Hoffman, the Studebaker company executive, is one of the few auto company presidents to have risen from the sales department. In the first nine-months of his tenure, sales totaled 30,194, which put the company fourth among the independent passenger car producers. By... View Details

Keywords: Automotive & Aerospace

Joseph W. Crosby

Crosby built a small $3 million military supply (jet propulsion fuels) company into a $275 million advanced research and development operation. During his tenure, Thiokol designed sophisticated rocket launch equipment used for the Mercury and Gemini space programs and... View Details

Keywords: Automotive & Aerospace

May 2014 (Revised November 2014)
Supplement

Houston We Have A Solution: NASA and Open Innovation (B)

By: Michael Tushman, Hila Lifshitz-Assaf and Kerry Herman

Jeff Davis, director of Space Life Sciences Directorate at NASA, has been working for several years to raise awareness amongst scientists and researchers in his organizations of the benefits of open innovation as a successful and efficient way to collaborate on... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Aerospace Industry

Citation

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January 2014
Case

Boeing 787 Manufacturing Footprint

By: Willy Shih

This case looks at the outsourcing strategy for major subsystems of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, and the risks and production consequences of letting go of core technology. It is intended to be used as a (B) case for 612-036 Boeing 737 Manufacturing Footprint: The Wichita... View Details

Keywords: Outsourcing; Outsourced Production; Boeing 787; Manufacturing Footprint; Systems Integration; Production; Supply Chain Management; Aerospace Industry; United States

Citation

Educators

May 2012
Case

Columbia's Final Mission (Abridged) (A)

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Kerry Herman

This case documents decision-making processes, organizational culture, and other contributors to NASA's failed Columbia mission in 2003. Addresses the question of how organizations should deal with "ambiguous threats" - weak signals of potential crisis - and explores... View Details

Keywords: Cognitive Biases; Teams; Organizational Learning; Ambiguous Threat; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Decision Making; Failure; Crisis Management; Aerospace Industry

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March 2010
Background Note

Airline Travel in the U.S.

By: Sunil Gupta and Kavita Shukla

How should airlines respond to the rising share of Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) as consumers increasingly search the web to buy tickets? View Details

Keywords: Management; Marketing Channels; Consumer Behavior; Market Participation; Agency Theory; Online Technology; Aerospace Industry; United States

Citation

Find at Harvard

April 2007
Case

The Boeing Company: Moonshine Shop

By: Robert D. Austin, Richard L. Nolan and Shannon O'Donnell

Describes how the "Moonshine Shop," a group of plant-savvy creative generalists, is helping a great industrial company become more innovative. Chronicles the history of the Moonshine Shop, its successes and failures, and describes innovations they've helped put in... View Details