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- All HBS Web
(2,907)
- People (4)
- News (493)
- Research (1,802)
- Events (13)
- Multimedia (8)
- Faculty Publications (943)
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- 28 Apr 2006 - 1 May 2006
- Conference Presentation
Exploring the Relationship between Product Architecture and Organizational Form: A Test of "Conway's Law"
By: Alan MacCormack
MacCormack, Alan. Exploring the Relationship between Product Architecture and Organizational Form: A Test of "Conway's Law". In Empirical Studies of Software Development (Session Chair). Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Production and Operations Management Society (POMS), Boston, MA, April 28–May 1, 2006.
- 2018
- Working Paper
Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 6 The Value Structure of Technologies, Part 1: Mapping Functional Relationships
Organizations are formed in a free economy because a person or group perceives value in carrying out a technical recipe that is beyond the capacity of a single person. Technology specifies what must be done, what resources must be assembled, what actions taken, and... View Details
Baldwin, Carliss Y. "Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 6 The Value Structure of Technologies, Part 1: Mapping Functional Relationships." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-037, October 2018.
- March 1990
- Article
Architectural Innovation: The Reconfiguration of Existing Product Technologies and the Failure of Established Firms
By: R. Henderson and K. B. Clark
Henderson, R., and K. B. Clark. "Architectural Innovation: The Reconfiguration of Existing Product Technologies and the Failure of Established Firms." Administrative Science Quarterly 35, no. 1 (March 1990): 9–30.
- October 2014
- Article
Hidden Structure: Using Network Methods to Map System Architecture
By: Carliss Y. Baldwin, Alan MacCormack and John Rusnak
In this paper, we describe an operational methodology for characterizing the architecture of complex technical systems and demonstrate its application to a large sample of software releases. Our methodology is based upon directed network graphs, which allows us to... View Details
Baldwin, Carliss Y., Alan MacCormack, and John Rusnak. "Hidden Structure: Using Network Methods to Map System Architecture." Research Policy 43, no. 8 (October 2014): 1381–1397.
- 2025
- Working Paper
Training Within Firms
By: Brayan Diaz, Andrea Neyra-Nazarrett, Julian Ramirez, Raffaella Sadun and Jorge Tamayo
Training investments are essential for improving worker and firm productivity, yet their
implementation is often hindered by low participation rates and insufficient worker engagement.
This study uses data from three firms–a car manufacturer, a quick-service... View Details
Keywords: Productivity; Absenteeism; Middle Managers; Training; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Productivity; Employees
Diaz, Brayan, Andrea Neyra-Nazarrett, Julian Ramirez, Raffaella Sadun, and Jorge Tamayo. "Training Within Firms." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 25-045, April 2025.
- 2018
- Working Paper
Ratcheting, Competition, and the Diffusion of Technological Change: The Case of Televisions Under an Energy Efficiency Program
By: Tomomichi Amano and Hiroshi Ohashi
In differentiated goods markets with societal implications, quality standards are commonly implemented to avoid the under-provision of innovation. Firms have clear incentives to engage in strategic behavior because policymakers use market outcomes as a benchmark in... View Details
Keywords: Product Differentiation; Energy Efficiency Standards; Ratcheting; Diffusion Of Innovation; Technological Innovation; Competition; Quality; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy
Amano, Tomomichi, and Hiroshi Ohashi. "Ratcheting, Competition, and the Diffusion of Technological Change: The Case of Televisions Under an Energy Efficiency Program." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-021, September 2018.
- January 1991
- Article
Engines of Progress: Designing and Running Entrepreneurial Vehicles in Established Companies: The New Venture Process at Eastman Kodak, 1983-89
By: R. M. Kanter, L. Richardson, J. North and E. Morgan
Kanter, R. M., L. Richardson, J. North, and E. Morgan. "Engines of Progress: Designing and Running Entrepreneurial Vehicles in Established Companies: The New Venture Process at Eastman Kodak, 1983-89." Journal of Business Venturing 6 (January 1991): 63–82.
- 2020
- Working Paper
Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 6 The Value Structure of Technologies, Part 1: Mapping Functional Relationships
Organizations are formed in a free economy because an individual or group perceives value in carrying out a technical recipe that is beyond the capacity of a single person. Technology specifies what must be done, what resources must be assembled, what actions taken in... View Details
Baldwin, Carliss Y. "Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 6 The Value Structure of Technologies, Part 1: Mapping Functional Relationships." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-039, September 2020.
- May 2017 (Revised October 2017)
- Case
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies: Building Breakthrough Innovations in Crowd-Powered Ecosystems
By: Lynda M. Applegate, Terri L. Griffith and Ann Majchrzak
Dirk Ahlborn, co-founder and CEO of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Inc. (HTT) looks back at the evolving organizational design and community that allows HTT to be crowd-powered. Since the founding in 2013, HTT has dealt with building an organization with less... View Details
Keywords: Collaboration; Crowdsourcing; Entrepreneurial Finance; Innovation; Organizational Design; Startups; Business Startups; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Product Development
Applegate, Lynda M., Terri L. Griffith, and Ann Majchrzak. "Hyperloop Transportation Technologies: Building Breakthrough Innovations in Crowd-Powered Ecosystems." Harvard Business School Case 817-134, May 2017. (Revised October 2017.)
- Forthcoming
- Article
No Line Left Behind: Assortative Matching Inside the Firm
By: Achyuta Adhvaryu, Vittorio Bassi, Anant Nyshadham and Jorge Tamayo
How do firms pair workers with managers, and which constraints affect the allocation of labor within the firm? We characterize the sorting pattern of managers to workers in a large readymade garment manufacturer in India and then explore potential drivers of the... View Details
Keywords: Assortative Matching; Productivity; Global Buyers; Readymade Garments; Labor; Organizational Design; Performance Productivity; Fashion Industry
Adhvaryu, Achyuta, Vittorio Bassi, Anant Nyshadham, and Jorge Tamayo. "No Line Left Behind: Assortative Matching Inside the Firm." Review of Economics and Statistics (forthcoming). (Pre-published online October 29, 2024.)
- 11 Jun 2006 - 13 Jun 2006
- Conference Presentation
Exploring the Links Between Product and Organizational Architectures: An Empirical Study of Open and Closed Source Software
By: Alan MacCormack
- September 2015 (Revised March 2025)
- Technical Note
FIELD Global Capstone: Developing Customer Empathy
By: Jill Avery
The Design Thinking process begins with empathizing with potential customers. Empathizing, being aware of, interpreting, and understanding the thoughts of others, as well as being able to vicariously experience them oneself, requires the careful and deliberate study of... View Details
Keywords: Market Research; Design Thinking; Customer Behavior; Ethnography; Interviews; Surveys; A/B Testing; Experimentation; Marketing; Customer Focus and Relationships; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers
Avery, Jill. "FIELD Global Capstone: Developing Customer Empathy." Harvard Business School Technical Note 316-082, September 2015. (Revised March 2025.)
- February 2015
- Case
TouchTunes and the Connected Digital Jukebox Platform
By: Alan MacCormack and Noah Fisher
The case describes innovation and new product development at TouchTunes, the leader in the Digital Jukebox market. In March 2013, after releasing its innovative "Virtuo" jukebox developed in collaboration with frog design, TouchTunes was at a crossroads. Having... View Details
- Research Summary
The Unexpected Effects of Workplace Transparency
Workplace transparency provides a foundation for learning and control, and therefore for satisfaction and productivity. Yet my research shows that an obsession with transparency-enhancing tools and structures can backfire, producing the unintended consequences of... View Details
- January 2017
- Case
Kada Orthopedics: A Bone of Contention
By: Kevin Schulman and Matt Strickland
Kada Orthopedics is a small implantable orthopedic device manufacturer founded by industry veterans trying to sell stable-technology products to an increasingly cost-conscious healthcare market. Although they have marginally successful product in early 2016, the... View Details
- 2020
- Working Paper
The Effects of Hierarchy on Learning and Performance in Business Experimentation
By: Sourobh Ghosh, Stefan Thomke and Hazjier Pourkhalkhali
Do senior managers help or hurt business experiments? Despite the widespread adoption of business experiments to guide strategic decision-making, we lack a scholarly understanding of what role senior managers play in firm experimentation. Using proprietary data of live... View Details
Keywords: Experimentation; Innovation; Search; New Product Development; Innovation and Invention; Organizational Design; Learning; Performance
Ghosh, Sourobh, Stefan Thomke, and Hazjier Pourkhalkhali. "The Effects of Hierarchy on Learning and Performance in Business Experimentation." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-081, February 2020.
- March–April 2020
- Article
Avoid the Pitfalls of A/B Testing
By: Iavor I. Bojinov, Guillaume Sait-Jacques and Martin Tingley
Online experiments measuring whether “A,” usually the current approach, is inferior to “B,” a proposed improvement, have become integral to the product-development cycle, especially at digital enterprises. But often firms make serious mistakes in conducting these... View Details
Keywords: A/B Testing; Experiment Design; Social Networks; Product Development; Performance Improvement; Measurement and Metrics; Social Media
Bojinov, Iavor I., Guillaume Sait-Jacques, and Martin Tingley. "Avoid the Pitfalls of A/B Testing." Harvard Business Review 98, no. 2 (March–April 2020): 48–53.
- August 2018
- Background Note
Note on Hackathons
By: Ethan Bernstein
Organizations have often sought to meet the pressures of rapid change through novel ways of managing human capital to boost innovation and productivity. Hackathons have emerged as one of the latest approaches to do just that. How can those responsible for managing... View Details
Keywords: Hackathon; Crowdsourcing; Hack; Innovation; Productivity; Minimum Viable Product; Time; Transparency; Bootcamp; Design; Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Management; Organizational Structure; Performance Productivity; Technology; Technology Industry
Bernstein, Ethan. "Note on Hackathons." Harvard Business School Background Note 419-021, August 2018.
- March 2015
- Article
Business Model Evaluation: Quantifying Walmart's Sources of Advantage
By: Humberto Brea-Solís, Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Emili Grifell-Tatjé
We develop an analytical framework on the basis of the economics of business performance to provide quantitative insight into the link between a firm's business model choices and its profit consequences. The method is applied to Walmart by building a qualitative... View Details
Keywords: Business Models; Quantitative Analysis; Walmart; Production Theory; Business Model; Competitive Advantage; Profit
Brea-Solís, Humberto, Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, and Emili Grifell-Tatjé. "Business Model Evaluation: Quantifying Walmart's Sources of Advantage." Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal 9, no. 1 (March 2015): 12–33.
- March 2014
- Article
Search Diversion and Platform Competition
By: Andrei Hagiu and Bruno Jullien
Platforms use search diversion in order to trade off total consumer traffic for higher revenues derived by exposing consumers to unsolicited products (e.g., advertising). We show that competition between platforms leads to lower equilibrium levels of search diversion... View Details
Keywords: Market Intermediation; Search; Two-Sided Markets; Platform Design; Platform Competition; Competition; Two-Sided Platforms
Hagiu, Andrei, and Bruno Jullien. "Search Diversion and Platform Competition." International Journal of Industrial Organization 33 (March 2014): 48–60.