Publications

April 1996 (Revised June 1999)
Case

NYPD New

By: James L. Heskett

Police Commissioner Bratten and his staff have led a process designed to create a results-oriented police department from one that previously emphasized and measured effort. With increasing budgeting pressures, the next phase of effort calls for increasing emphasis on... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Performance Productivity; Leadership Style; Budgets and Budgeting; Public Administration Industry

11 Mar 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Finding Missing Markets (and a disturbing epilogue): Evidence from an Export Crop Adoption and Marketing Intervention in Kenya

Keywords: by Nava Ashraf, Xavier Giné & Dean Karlan; Food & Beverage

November–December 2019
Article

Pivoting Isn't Enough? Managing Strategic Reorientation in New Ventures

By: Rory McDonald and Cheng Gao

New ventures often experience deviations from their plans that oblige them to reorient in pursuit of better fit between their evolving products and their target customers. Yet research is largely silent on how managers explain such changes and justify their ventures in... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Reorientation; Technology Entrepreneurship; Innovation; Product Development Processes; Organizational Adaptation; Qualitative Methods (General); Entrepreneurship; Information Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Communication Strategy

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November 2016 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Formlabs: Selling a New 3D Printer

By: Frank V. Cespedes, Olivia Hull and Amram Migdal

Headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts, Formlabs manufactures 3D printers used to print everything from prototypes and models to jewelry, dental, and sculpture molds. As Formlabs prepares to ship its latest model, the Form 2, Head of Customer Development and... View Details

12 Nov 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Product Quality and Entering Through Tying: Experimental Evidence

Keywords: by Hyunjin Kim and Michael Luca; Technology; Web Services

August 1994
Case

Komatsu Ltd. (B): Profit Planning and Product Costing

Describes Komatsu's profit planning and product costing systems. Komatsu can boast a high degree of employee dedication to achieving its profit plan. Also explores the logic behind the design of a new cost system at Komatsu that is less accurate at the product level... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Cost Management; Profit

March 1991
Article

Engines of Progress: Designing and Running Entrepreneurial Vehicles in Established Companies: Raytheon's New Product Center, 1969-89

By: R. M. Kanter, J. North, L. Richardson, C. Ingols and J. Zolner

Keywords: Business Ventures; Business or Company Management; Entrepreneurship; Manufacturing Industry

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May 1992 (Revised July 1994)
Case

Breaking with the Past?: Four Examples of Product Change

Describes four examples of product change where the new version of the product makes a "break with the past" in some important respect. The four examples are those of the IBM PS/2 family of personal computers, Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet software, Nikon's line of SLR... View Details

Keywords: Product Design; Change; Information Technology Industry; Computer Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Electronics Industry

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January 1997 (Revised September 1997)
Case

Improving the Product Development Process at Kirkham Instruments Corp.

By: Clayton M. Christensen

Describes the efforts of a manufacturer of scientific instruments to implement new methods of managing new product development, which its executives had learned in a Harvard Business School seminar. The executives left the seminar excited to implement a new way of... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Product Launch; Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry; Technology Industry; United States

13 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

The Problem with Productivity of Multi-Ethnic Teams

When Harvard Business School professor Vincent Pons went to Kenya to conduct research in advance of the 2013 national elections, he discovered surprising lessons about how the ethnic makeup of teams affects the work they do—now published in a View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

October 2004 (Revised July 2010)
Case

Product Team Cialis: Getting Ready to Market

By: Elie Ofek

Lilly and ICOS are preparing for the launch of a new drug, Cialis, to compete against Viagra. To position against the incumbent firm Pfizer, which developed and markets Viagra, and other newcomers into the erectile dysfunction market, they must determine how best to... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Segmentation; Pharmaceutical Industry

06 Dec 2022
Research & Ideas

Latest Isn’t Always Greatest: Why Product Updates Capture Consumers

Suppose you’re in the market for a new selfie stick for an upcoming vacation. You see two models online—one that extends to 24 inches and the other to 16. Seems obvious that you’d pick the longer one, right? Bigger and better panoramic... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

13 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

Rescuing Products with Stealth Positioning

When firms adopt a reverse or breakaway positioning strategy, there is no pretense about what they're up to. Part of the appeal of their cleverly positioned product offerings comes from explicitly subverting... View Details

Keywords: by Youngme Moon

January 2014
Case

In a Bind: Peak Sealing Technologies' Product Line Extension Dilemma

By: Robert J. Dolan and Heather Beckham

Peak Sealing Technologies (PST), a manufacturer of premium carton sealing tapes, stresses technological innovation as the company's core value. But when a new regional competitor introduces a less expensive and inferior product, PST is faced with a decision that could... View Details

May 2013
Case

Launching Krispy Natural: Cracking the Product Management Code

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Heather Beckham

Pemberton Products is a U.S. market leader in the cookie and bakery snacks segment of the sweet snack market. Looking to expand into the salty snack market, the company acquires Krispy Inc., a maker of salty snack crackers located in the southeastern U.S. To compete... View Details

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Competition; Organizational Culture; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Expansion; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Acquisition; Food and Beverage Industry; Ohio; United States

January 2023 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Belden and Digital Transformation: From Product Sales to Solutions Sales

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amy Klopfenstein

This case concerns the industrial automation division at Belden, a hardware manufacturer. While Belden historically sold products such as cables, wires, and other networking devices, EVP of Industrial Automation Ashish Chand recognized that IT vendors were entering the... View Details

Keywords: Implementation; Sales Cycle; Digital Transformation; Sales; Product Positioning; Business Model; Market Entry and Exit; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Supply and Industry; Technology Industry; North America; United States

2014
Working Paper

Product to Platform Transitions: Organizational Identity Implications

By: Elizabeth J. Altman and Mary Tripsas

Organizations are increasingly recognizing that value they once derived from offering standalone products can be significantly enhanced if they transition to platform-based businesses that harness the innovative capabilities of complementors. While the competitive... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change; Organizational Identity; Ecosystems; Complementors; Managing Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Multi-Sided Platforms; Innovation and Management; Organizational Culture