Publications

March 1996 (Revised January 2002)
Case

CIBA Vision: The Daily Disposable Lens Project (A)

By: Gary P. Pisano

Examines CIBA Vision's decision on whether to launch a major new R&D initiative to develop a low-cost, daily disposable contact lens, and how to organize such a project should it proceed. One group of executives favors setting up a small, autonomous project team... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Operations; Research and Development; Decision Making; Production; Strategy; Management; Organizational Design; Globalization; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

October 2013
Article

How Much to Make and How Much to Buy? An Analysis of Optimal Plural Sourcing Strategies

By: Phanish Puranam, Ranjay Gulati and Sourav Bhattacharya

While many theories of the firm seek to explain when firms make rather than buy, in practice, firms often make and buy the same input—they engage in plural sourcing. We argue that explaining the mix of external procurement and internal sourcing for the same input... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain; Forecasting and Prediction; Framework; Prejudice and Bias; Mathematical Methods

Find at Harvard

01 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 1

occurs when supplier- and customer-facing IT are adopted together, suggesting the presence of complementarities in supply chain technology adoption. These results are consistent with the view that, by... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

01 Sep 2006
News

Light Years Ahead

team, an experience that convinced him that he needed more management skills. By his own recollection, he was virtually “clueless” about the very special place to which he was heading. His application to the MBA Program caught the... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training

28 Mar 2023
Blog Post

Novo Nordisk

to produce human insulin in genetically modified yeast cells: fermentation, recovery, and purification. The company also handles manufacturing and supply chain development, upscaling for production, assembly... View Details

27 Feb 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

How Following Best Business Practices Can Improve Health Care

Harvard Business School spends a significant amount of research funds each year on the health care industry, answering questions such as: How can the business of health care be made more efficient? What can a business do to motivate employees to take better care of... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Medical Devices & Supplies; Medical Devices & Supplies

06 Feb 2012
Research & Ideas

Kodak: A Parable of American Competitiveness

list" of strategic capabilities for the country to focus on, with great success. Today China has captured the supply chain in the electronics industry and will be a dominant player for years to come.... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Manufacturing

July 1995 (Revised September 1997)
Case

Baseball Strike, The

Describes structural conditions in the American baseball industry in 1995. Although this case covers conditions leading to the 1994-95 strike, it is designed primarily for analysis of the structural tensions that arise between suppliers, buyers, and rivals as industry... View Details

Keywords: Industry Structures; Sports; Labor and Management Relations; Sports Industry; United States

Profile

Jeremy Lipstein

where, with one professor and fifteen student colleagues, Jeremy studied "international economics and global capital markets." Colgate proved a training ground for leadership as well. In his senior year, Jeremy became student body president. There, he learned... View Details

11 Jun 2020
In Practice

Are Digital Organizations Better at Overcoming COVID?

Government leaders rushing to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in March gave companies little time to shift to an all-virtual workforce. Ready or not, many businesses had to become more digital. But true digital transformation takes far more than a Zoom account. Using... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

18 Jun 2013
First Look

First Look: June 18

point, management was aiming to raise $15 million to get closer to manufacturing prototypes, but had they sufficiently proved out both the manufacturing feasibility and the market demand? How could they address the next hurdles in terms... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

01 Sep 2015
News

Ink

and managed to realize this joint value; and each participant must earn a sufficient return to justify the investment. The second element—managing complex collections of people, products, and partners—presents a formidable challenge for... View Details

February 2003 (Revised December 2006)
Case

Toys "R" Us (A)

By: Michael G. Rukstad, Dennis A. Yao and Cate Reavis

In 1992, Toys "R" Us, the pioneer of the "category killer" retail format, faced significant competitive threats from mass discounters and warehouse clubs and was losing market share. This case explores the dynamic sustainability of Toys "R" Us's retailing model, its... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Competition; Supply and Industry; Power and Influence; Retail Industry; United States