Publications

April 2001 (Revised November 2001)
Case

AvantGo

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Kerry Herman

Richard Owen, CEO of AvantGo, is preparing for a meeting in which he will set the human resource policy for the firm going forward. It has been three months since the company's IPO, and given the tremendous cramp in hiring over the six months prior to the IPO, he knows... View Details

Keywords: Initial Public Offering; Management Teams; Selection and Staffing; Retention; Growth and Development Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Information Technology; Decisions; Information Technology Industry; Service Industry; United States

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February 2001 (Revised August 2001)
Case

WholesalerDirect

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Kerry Herman

Describes the development of WholesalerDirect, a B2B electronic commerce venture in the plumbing, heating, cooling, and piping industry. Adam Berger, the CEO, is trying to raise funding to roll out the company's e-commerce platform to the industry's more than 3,000... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Valuation; Business Plan; Financing and Loans; Financial Strategy

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November 1996 (Revised June 1999)
Case

Living on Internet Time: Product Development at Netscape, Yahoo!, NetDynamics, and Microsoft

By: Marco Iansiti and Alan D. MacCormack

Describes how four companies in the Internet software market approach product development. Drawing upon short case studies of three recent projects, students are invited to synthesize the common attributes of development practice in turbulent environments. View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Situation or Environment; Volatility; Risk and Uncertainty; Research and Development; Information Technology Industry; United States

02 Sep 2014
First Look

First Look: September 2

friction-often pay too little attention to it in their approach to talent management. By managing language carefully, firms can hire and develop the best employees, improve collaboration on global teams, and strengthen the company's... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2012 (Revised September 2014)
Case

Doing Business in Vietnam

By: Alan MacCormack, Michael Shih-ta Chen and Dawn H. Lau

This case gives an overview of the current business environment in Vietnam as of 2012. The first part of the case introduces the main economic, political and cultural aspects of the country of which anyone who has business interest in the country ought to be aware.... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Market Finance; Emergent Countries; Business History; Economic History; Emerging Markets; Business Ventures; Strategy; Viet Nam

15 Feb 2011
First Look

First Look: Feb. 15

experiments offer evidence that debates about the relative costs and benefits of self-deception are informed by adopting a temporal view that assesses the cumulative impact of self-deception over time. Download the paper:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

04 Dec 2012
First Look

First Look: December 4

PublicationsWhen Does a Platform Create Value by Limiting Choice? Authors:Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Hanna Hałaburda Publication:Journal of Economics & Management Strategy (forthcoming) Abstract We present a theory for why it... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

24 Apr 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, April 24, 2018

April 2018 Management Science Offline Showrooms in Omni-channel Retail: Demand and Operational Benefits By: Bell, David R., Santiago Gallino, and Antonio Moreno Abstract—Omnichannel environments where customers shop online and offline at the same retailer are... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Mission to Mars (B)

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Aerospace Industry; Technology Industry

March 2002 (Revised March 2006)
Teaching Note

Red Hat and the Linux Revolution TN

Teaching Note for (9-600-009). View Details

13 Mar 2012
First Look

First Look: March 13

the reduction in store size was associated with TFP of retail chains falling by 0.4% per annum, or 40% of the post-1995 slowdown in UK retail TFP growth. China's Growing IT Services and Software Industry: Challenges and Implications... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 2

capture important information seemingly ignored by the market. A long-short portfolio based on these legislators' views earns abnormal returns of over 90 basis points per month following the passage of legislation. Industries that we... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

2010
Working Paper

The Architecture of Complex Systems: Do Core-periphery Structures Dominate?

By: Alan MacCormack, Carliss Y. Baldwin and John Rusnak

Any complex technological system can be decomposed into a number of subsystems and associated components, some of which are core to system function while others are only peripheral. The dynamics of how such "core-periphery" structures evolve and become embedded in a... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Product Design; Practice; Core Relationships; Software; Information Technology Industry

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June 2022
Background Note

FIELD Immersion 2022: Salt Lake City, Utah

By: Alan MacCormack and Kerry Herman

01 Apr 2002
Conference Presentation

To Beta or Not to Beta?: The Pedagogy and Execution of a Web-based New Product Development Exercise

By: Andrew McAfee and Alan MacCormack

Keywords: Product Development; Online Technology; Web

17 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 17

Participants assigned to recall a purchase made for someone else reported feeling significantly happier immediately after this recollection; most importantly, the happier participants felt, the more likely they were to choose to spend a windfall on someone else in the... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

10 Oct 1997
Conference Presentation

Developing Products on Internet Time

By: Alan David MacCormack

Keywords: Product Development

May 2006
Teaching Note

Virgin.com (TN)

Keywords: Web Services Industry

March 2006
Module Note

Managing Innovation in an Uncertain World: Module 4: Sensing Opportunity

Describes the fourth module of the 30-session Harvard Business School elective course Managing Innovation in an Uncertain World. The course helps students understand the challenges that uncertainty implies for innovation and how to overcome them. The course emphasizes... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Problems and Challenges; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Projects; Opportunities; Risk and Uncertainty; Perspective; Value Creation; Networks; Alignment