Publications

2024
Working Paper

Product Liability Litigation and Innovation: Evidence from Medical Devices

By: Alberto Galasso and Hong Luo

We examine the relationship between product liability litigation and innovation by systematically combining data on product liability lawsuits with data on new product introductions in a panel dataset of leading medical device firms. We first document a decline in... View Details

Keywords: Lawsuits and Litigation; Product Development; Technological Innovation; Safety; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

Read Now

08 Jan 2014
What Do You Think?

Do Productivity Increases Contribute to Social Inequality?

Summing Up Does Social Equality Improve Productivity? Inequality in our society is an important and growing issue. It prompted a debate among respondents to this month's column about the causes, specifically the role played by innovation leading to increased View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

January 2025
Case

Hebbia: Redefining Productivity for Knowledge Workers Using AI

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Minoshka Narayan

In early 2025, George Sivulka, founder and CEO of Hebbia, reflected on the company’s rapid ascent as a pioneer in GenAI-powered productivity tools for knowledge workers. With its proprietary technology, Hebbia had redefined information retrieval and analysis and earned... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Customer Relationship Management; AI and Machine Learning; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Service Delivery; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Technology Industry; United States; New York (city, NY)

2020
Other Teaching and Training Material

Leading the Charge: A Podcase about Product Management at Opower

By: Jeffrey Rayport and John J. Lafkas

The Opower podcase materials contain audio from professor Jeffrey Rayport's interview with Ben Foster, the former vice president of product management at Opower, and more recently the co-founder of Prodify. In the podcase, Ben discusses how product management works in... View Details

Keywords: Product; Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Conflict Management; Software

March – April 2008
Article

Customer Preference Discontinuities: A Trigger for Radical Technological Change

By: Mary Tripsas

What factors cause a mature industry to re-enter a period of technological turbulence? This paper addresses this question by developing a model of technological evolution that incorporates both technological trajectories and a new concept: preference trajectories, ... View Details

Keywords: History; Technology; Transition; Consumer Behavior; Industry Structures; Product Development

Find at Harvard

Read Now

Teaching Interest

Technology and Operations - MBA Required Curriculum

By: Ryan W. Buell

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... View Details

Teaching Interest

Technology and Operations - MBA Required Curriculum

By: Feng Zhu

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... View Details

September 1991 (Revised January 1998)
Case

Chaparral Steel: Rapid Product and Process Development

By: Dorothy Leonard-Barton and Gil Preuss

One of the nation's foremost mini-mills' core competence is the rapid realization of technology into products. This case describes the development of a highly innovative casting technique and features the role of the company's culture in achieving its goals. The... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Innovation and Invention; Information Infrastructure; Product; Organizational Culture; Business Processes; Competency and Skills

Research Summary

Evolution of firm structure in vertical specialized technology supply chains

By: Willy C. Shih

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... View Details

Keywords: Globalization Of Supply Chain; Globalization; Technological Innovation; Manufacturing Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Auto Industry; United States; Asia; China

21 May 2013
Working Paper Summaries

If Technology Has Arrived Everywhere, Why Has Income Diverged?

Keywords: by Diego A. Comin & Martí Mestieri Ferrer

November 2000
Case

Hewlett-Packard's Home Products Division in Europe (1996-2000)

By: David J. Arnold and Carin-Isabel Knoop

By November 2000, Hewlett-Packard's Home Products Division (HPD) had been selling its Pavilion line of personal computers in Europe for almost five years. During that time, HPD had entered and exited Germany, struggled in France and the United Kingdom, and... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Information Infrastructure; Transformation; Performance Evaluation; Computer Industry; France; Germany; United Kingdom

Web

Product Management - Course Catalog

HBS Course Catalog Product Management Course Number 1765 Senior Lecturer Sara McKinley Torti Spring; Q3; 1.5 credits Exam Career Focus: This half course provides an introduction to product management,... View Details

09 Mar 2014
News

Conflict brews as Keurig tries ‘lock-out’ technology

May 1997 (Revised July 1997)
Case

Vermeer Technologies (F): FrontPage 97

By: Ashish Nanda

Vermeer engineers work at the breakneck pace of "Internet time" to develop the next version of their software product, winning accolades from Microsoft management. Even before this version ships, however, they are faced with another punishing development schedule for... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Applications and Software; Business Startups; Product Development; Information Technology Industry

May 1997 (Revised July 1997)
Case

Vermeer Technologies (D): Making Transitions

By: Ashish Nanda

Microsoft has acquired Vermeer, and Vermeer executives are both excited and concerned as they prepare to move to Redmond. Even though the acquisition has been financially rewarding, the Vermeer engineers worry how well they will adapt to their new home. Meanwhile,... View Details

Keywords: Horizontal Integration; Value Creation; Applications and Software; Acquisition; Product Development; Information Technology Industry