Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(1,235)
- Faculty Publications (355)
- August 2016 (Revised January 2017)
- Case
Accounting for the iPhone Upgrade Program (A)
By: Jonas Heese, Krishna G. Palepu, H. David Sherman and Monica Baraldi
On September 9, 2015, Apple Inc. announced the “iPhone Upgrade Program,” a new way to purchase iPhone models 6s and 6s Plus in Apple’s retail stores throughout the U.S. Next to the strategic implications of the Upgrade Program, financial analysts tried to understand... View Details
- July 2016 (Revised March 2024)
- Case
Alphabet Eyes New Frontiers (A)
By: Juan Alcacer, Raffaella Sadun, Olivia Hull and Kerry Herman
In October 2015, Google restructured into Alphabet, a holding company, which analysts said would facilitate innovation among its diverse subsidiaries. But when news reports surfaced revealing struggles within Alphabet companies including Nest, the smart thermostat... View Details
Keywords: Innovation; Conglomerates; Corporate Restructuring; Google; Corporate Strategy; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Innovation Strategy; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Research and Development; Diversification; Financial Reporting; Talent and Talent Management; Technology Industry; Computer Industry; California; United States
- June 2016
- Case
The Wealthfront Generation
By: Luis Viceira and Allison Ciechanover
- Article
Invention and Agglomeration in the Bay Area: Not Just ICT
By: Chris Forman, Avi Goldfarb and Shane Greenstein
We document that the Bay Area rose from 4% of all successful US patent applications in 1976 to 16% in 2008. This is partly driven by the increase in the prevalence of information and communication technology; however, even for patents unrelated to information and... View Details
- March 2016 (Revised February 2017)
- Case
Hello Alfred: Come Home Happy
By: Joseph B. Fuller and Carin-Isabel Knoop
On a mission to "automate the on-demand economy," Harvard Business School classmates Marcela Sapone and Jessica Beck launched Hello Alfred in 2013 to provide subscribers with an "Alfred" to complete various chores for a monthly fee. In early 2016, the company has built... View Details
- February 2016 (Revised July 2017)
- Case
An Australian Ballot for California?
By: David Moss, Marc Campasano and Dean Grodzins
In early 1891, California lawmakers were considering a plan to reform the state's elections through the introduction of an “Australian” ballot. Under this new system, candidates from all qualifying parties would appear on official ballots, which would be printed by... View Details
- January 2016
- Case
Open Innovation at Fujitsu (A)
By: Amy C. Edmondson and Jean-François Harvey
This case study examines the open innovation journey at Fujitsu, a global information and communication technology company. The case ends with the location decision between Tokyo, Japan, downtown San Francisco or Sunnyvale, California, regarding establishing a small... View Details
Keywords: Open Innovation; Collaboration; Culture Change; Leadership; Japan; United States; Inter-organizational Relationships; Teaming; Maker Movement; Nascent Industries; Change Management; Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Emerging Markets; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Sunnyvale; Tokyo; San Francisco
- January 2016
- Supplement
Open Innovation at Fujitsu (B)
By: Amy C. Edmondson and Jean-François Harvey
This add-on case study reveals the location decision that was made in front of the challenge presented in case study #616-034.
The launch of the Open Innovation Gateway (OIG) was a success. Fujitsu's management team now had to figure out the best way to continue to... View Details
Keywords: Open Innovation; Collaboration; Culture Change; Inter-organizational Relationships; Teaming; Maker Movement; Nascent Industries; Change Management; Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Leadership; Emerging Markets; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Japan; United States; Sunnyvale
- December 2015 (Revised January 2016)
- Case
Woolf Farming and the California Water Crisis
By: Forest Reinhardt, David Bell, Natalie Kindred, Mary Shelman and Laura Winig
This case highlights the tough choices, competing interests, and decision-making mechanisms involved in California's management of its severe drought, entering its fifth year in 2015. Stuart Woolf, CEO of Woolf Farming, a grower and processor of almonds, tomatoes, and... View Details
- November 2015 (Revised February 2017)
- Case
Cisco Systems: In Search of the Next CEO
By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott, Olivia Hull and J. Yo-Jud Cheng
It’s August 2014 and John Chambers is expected to announce his retirement after 17 years as CEO of global technology giant Cisco Systems. Under Chambers’s leadership, Cisco has grown from $2.2 billion in annual revenues and under 4,000 employees to revenues of $46... View Details
Keywords: Leadership; Succession Planning; CEO Succession; Managing Change; Person-organization Fit; Management Succession; Transition; Talent and Talent Management; Change Management; Retirement; Innovation Leadership; Recruitment; Corporate Governance; Experience and Expertise; Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States; San Jose; California
- October 2015
- Teaching Note
Molycorp: Financing the Production of Rare Earth Minerals (A)
By: Benjamin C. Esty and E. Scott Mayfield
Molycorp, the western hemisphere's only producer of rare earth minerals, was in the middle of a $1 billion capital expenditure project in its effort to become a vertically integrated supplier of rare earth minerals, oxides, and metals. Yet it had just reported lower... View Details
Keywords: Convertible Debt; Uncertainty; Competition; Startup; China; Supply ＆ Demand; Growth; Rare Earth Minerals; Discounted Cash Flows; Mining; Payoff Diagrams; Option Pricing; Capital Budgeting; Capital Structure; Cash Flow; Financial Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Vertical Integration; Valuation; Metals and Minerals; Mining Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Canada; California
- October 2015
- Article
Agglomerative Forces and Cluster Shapes
By: William R. Kerr and Scott Duke Kominers
We model spatial clusters of similar firms. Our model highlights how agglomerative forces lead to localized, individual connections among firms, while interaction costs generate a defined distance over which attraction forces operate. Overlapping firm interactions... View Details
- June 2015 (Revised August 2016)
- Case
Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015
By: David B. Yoffie
In the years after 2009, Qualcomm navigated the wireless industry's transition from 3G to 4G, retaining its technological leadership and experiencing dramatic growth in revenue and profit. In March 2014, Qualcomm appointed a new CEO, Steve Mollenkopf, who had to... View Details
- June 2015
- Case
Silicon Fen
By: Tom Nicholas, David Chambers and Matthew G. Preble
- April 2015 (Revised March 2017)
- Case
Instacart and the New Wave of Grocery Startups
By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld
Instacart is testing an Uber-style solution to the challenge of building a home-delivered grocery business. It is backed by $220 million of venture funding. Will this model succeed where businessses like Webvan failed? What are the questions that this exploratory... View Details
- February 2015 (Revised December 2016)
- Case
Poseidon Carlsbad: Desalination and the San Diego County Water Authority
By: John Macomber
Extreme drought conditions in California have significant impacts on the ability of the San Diego County Water Authority to provide adequate water for current users. Water shortfalls also could curtail the economic development of one of the fastest growing regions in... View Details
- January 2015 (Revised March 2015)
- Case
San Francisco, 2015 #tech #inequality
By: Clayton Rose, Allison Ciechanover and Kunal Modi
In December 2013 a group of angry protesters blocked one of the commuter buses provided by the large Silicon Valley firms (known as "Google buses") which was stopped in San Francisco on its way to the company's headquarters 40 miles south. The protests were a tangible... View Details
- November 2014 (Revised May 2017)
- Teaching Note
Fresno's Social Impact Bond for Asthma
By: John A. Quelch
The case desccribes a social impact bond (SIB) to fund home-based remediation programs designed to reduce asthma attacks among Fresno residents (especially children) and thereby save on health care costs (ambulance callouts, emergency room visits etc.). The case... View Details
- November 2014
- Article
Government Green Procurement Spillovers: Evidence from Municipal Building Policies in California
By: Timothy Simcoe and Michael W. Toffel
We study how government green procurement policies influence private-sector demand for similar products. Specifically, we measure the impact of municipal policies requiring governments to construct green buildings on private-sector adoption of the U.S. Green Building... View Details
- September 2014 (Revised May 2017)
- Case
Fresno's Social Impact Bond for Asthma
By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez
In 2014, Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) were quickly gaining popularity as an investment vehicle which joined together private investors and nonprofits to tackle social issues. Although numerous SIB projects and proposals had cropped up across the U.S. following the launch... View Details