Publications

May 2016 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Building the Digital Manufacturing Enterprise of the Future at Siemens

By: Willy Shih

This case describes the motivation for and the development of Siemens' digital manufacturing enterprise vision, which became the foundation for its implementation of Industrie 4.0. While the effort started with a purely defensive move by Anton Huber, head of the... View Details

Article

The Cost Structure, Customer Profitability, and Retention Implications of Self-Service Distribution Channels: Evidence from Customer Behavior in an Online Banking Channel

By: Dennis Campbell and Frances X. Frei

This paper uses the context of online banking to investigate the consequences of employing self-service distribution channels to alter customer interactions with the firm. Using a sample of retail banking customers observed over a 30-month period at a large U.S. bank,... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Service Operations; Distribution Channels; Consumer Behavior; Internet and the Web; Banks and Banking; Technology Adoption; Service Delivery; Market Transactions; Market Participation; Profit; Retail Industry; Banking Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

01 Apr 2000
News

Books

selecting references, and creating a résumé, to planning and executing a search campaign, interviewing techniques, and negotiating job offers. An extensive bibliography includes both publications and Web sites that address topics such as... View Details

Keywords: Amy E. Dean

16 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

At the Center of Corporate Scandal Where Do We Go From Here?

appropriate. That's one pole of the continuum. At the other pole, you have people who really believe there's something extremely wrong with the barrel. Thus it's not just a matter of a few bad apples; what we really need is a wholesale revamping of the systems of... View Details

Keywords: by Kim B. Clark

01 Dec 2003
Research & Ideas

Sometimes Success Begins at Failure

to have any further potential. Once the project was sidelined, IBM decided to publish it on its AlphaWorks Web site, where outsiders could examine and download various IBM software. Soon thereafter, IBM managers noticed that this... View Details

Keywords: by Henry Chesbrough; Health; Pharmaceutical

17 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Is There Help for the Big Ticket Buyer?

from a lack of information (about the negotiation process, about the other side's reservation price, etc.). In recent years, however, a large number of Web sites (e.g., www.cartalk.com) have sprung up that reveal the exact dealer cost of... View Details

Keywords: by Max H. Bazerman

12 Jul 2004
Research & Ideas

Michael Porter’s Prescription For the High Cost of Health Care

outcomes. They would help subscribers to know when and where it is appropriate to travel outside of their immediate areas for quality care. (Some payers have begun to post information about treatments and providers on their Web sites, but... View Details

Keywords: by Michael E. Porter; Health

30 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Computer Security is For Managers, Too

each warrants. A bank, for instance, might assign the greatest amount of protection to the database that stores its customers' financial information. For a pharmaceutical company, it might be the research servers that hold data on promising drug compounds. Internal... View Details

Keywords: by Robert D. Austin & Christopher A.R. Darby

February 2025 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Managing Complexity at mymuesli

By: Thomas Graeber and Stacy Straaberg

In April 2009, direct-to-consumer e-commerce muesli brand mymuesli faced a flood of customer questions. The breakfast cereal startup enabled users to order personalized muesli on its website by choosing from 75 organic ingredients for a total of 566 quadrillion... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Decisions; Food; Product Marketing; Product Positioning; Product Launch; Problems and Challenges; Behavior; Competitive Advantage; Customization and Personalization; Segmentation; Internet and the Web; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; Germany

January 2020
Case

The June Oven

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Christian Godwin

The June Oven was a smart oven which was capable of identifying food and cooking it accordingly. This type of smart oven represented the next step in the long history of oven and stove development. Due to the widespread use of traditional ovens, the market for the June... View Details

May 1983 (Revised December 1987)
Case

Technical Data Corp.

By: William A. Sahlman

Describes a decision confronting the president of a small company about selling some or all of the shares in his company to another firm. Technical Data Corp. provides analytical services to professional bond market traders over a system of computer terminals operated... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Internet and the Web; Information Infrastructure; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Valuation; Negotiation Tactics; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Strategy; Horizontal Integration; Information Industry; Service Industry

September 2010
Teaching Note

The Challenges of Launching a Start-Up in China: Dorm99.com (TN)

By: F. Warren McFarlan

Teaching Note for 307075. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Capital; Investment; Joint Ventures; Product Launch; Business and Government Relations; Entrepreneurship; Opportunities; Business Startups; Problems and Challenges; Social and Collaborative Networks; Beijing

October 2002 (Revised December 2003)
Case

Collabrys, Inc. (A)-The Evolution of a Startup

By: Dorothy A. Leonard and Brian DeLacey

The CEO of a two-year-old start-up must now decide whether to become a technology provider or a service agency. In a time of enormous uncertainty about the viability of various business models for Internet-delivered services and products, Collabrys has survived the... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Internet and the Web; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Corporate Strategy; Technological Innovation; Cost vs Benefits; Partners and Partnerships; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Corporate Finance; United States