Publications

January 2014 (Revised May 2015)
Case

Yahoo: Both Sides of the Stamped Deal

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Lisa C. Mazzanti

In 2012, Marissa Mayer became the CEO of Yahoo!, a tech giant with a tumultuous past. When Mayer tries to reinvigorate the company, she hires Jacqueline Reses, who has a private equity background, to head both human resources and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). As part... View Details

Keywords: Mobile App; Acquisition-hire; Exit Strategy; Start-up; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Mergers and Acquisitions; Human Resources; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Product Development; Technology Industry; Sunnyvale; New York (city, NY)

15 Dec 2015
News

The Year in Ideas 2015

to explore.) PLUS: Alumni experts on what big ideas we’ll see in 2016. The experiment started with weather balloons attached to Styrofoam beer coolers, each with a wireless router inside. It was proof of concept for an ambitious endeavor... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna, Christine Lejeune, Dan Morrell, and April White

27 Sep 2016
First Look

September 27, 2016

https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/316144-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 517-002 Digital Lumens: Creating Value Through Software Digital Lumens, founded in 2007, developed and implemented intelligent LED lighting solutions for the View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Jun 2003
News

Up Against The Firewall

for security,” Lipner explains, “we believe that, for us, it’s an industry leadership issue. Over a year ago, Bill Gates put a stake in the ground and said we’re going to focus the company on trustworthy computing around the principles of... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Robert Austin; Corporate Services; Computer Systems Design and Related Services; Professional Services

01 Dec 2005
News

One-on-One with Peter Cuneo

model? We make money in two ways. First, we expose our characters in all appropriate forms of mass media, such as motion pictures, television, the Internet, publishing, and wireless applications. In negotiating these arrangements, our... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; comic books; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Publishing Industries (except Internet); Publishing Industries (except Internet); Publishing Industries (except Internet)

June 1995
Case

Northern Telecom and Netas (B): Transferring Technology to Central Asia

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Kalman D. Applbaum and Pamela A. Yatsko

In the early 1990s, the Turkish telecommunications firm, Netas, established joint ventures in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan as miniature replications of Netas's own experience on the receiving end of technology transfer with Netas's 51% owner, Northern Telecom. This case... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Change Management; Transition; Developing Countries and Economies; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Learning; Technology Adoption; Telecommunications Industry; Turkey; Kazakhstan; Azerbaijan

June 1995
Case

Northern Telecom and Tong Guang Electronics (A1): Getting to Know Each Other

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Pamela A. Yatsko

In its second year of operation, the joint venture between Northern Telecom (Nortel) of Canada and Tong Guang Electronics of China to manufacture telecommunications equipment in China has hit a crisis. The Chinese partner has asked Northern Telecom to replace its... View Details

Keywords: Mobile and Wireless Technology; Joint Ventures; Change Management; Organizational Culture; Crisis Management; Financial Crisis; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Leadership; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Canada; China

Find at Harvard

January 1999
Case

Bell Atlantic and the Union City Schools (D): Results and Replication

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Ellen Pruyne

The last in a five-part series about Bell Atlantic Corp.'s technology-in-education partnership with the Union City, New Jersey school system. Reviews the various outcomes of the partnership called Project Explore, from the perspective of Bell Atlantic managers and... View Details

Keywords: Mobile and Wireless Technology; Strategic Planning; Change Management; Leadership Development; Outcome or Result; Horizontal Integration; Partners and Partnerships; Trends; Education; Technological Innovation; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; New Jersey

January 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Private 5G Networks

By: Andy Wu and Maggie Yang

In the late 2010’s, 5G emerged as a new standard in communication technology. 5G was designed to enable ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC), massive machine-type communication (MMTC), and enhanced mobile broadband (EMBB) (see Exhibit 1 for a detailed... View Details

Keywords: 5G; Communication Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Technological Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Telecommunications Industry

March 2010 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Major League Baseball Advanced Media: America's Pastime Goes Digital

By: Anita Elberse and Brett Laffel

In January 2010, Bob Bowman, chief executive officer of Major League Baseball Advanced Media -- MLB's digital arm -- is facing a number of decisions related to its 'app' for Apple's new iPad. What are the best name, price, and set of features for MLBAM's iPad app? The... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Sports Industry

October 2017 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Snap Inc. Goes Public (A)

By: Lynn Sharp Paine and Will Hurwitz

Snap Inc.’s chairman must decide how to address investor concerns about the company’s unprecedented plans to issue only non-voting shares in its upcoming IPO. The case is set in early 2017 following the public availability of Snap’s IPO filing with the U.S. Securities... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Capital Structure; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Going Public; Business and Shareholder Relations; Leadership; Management; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Venture Capital; Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Technology Industry; United States; California

01 Sep 2009
News

E Ink’s Wild Ride

prices could be changed in real time, wirelessly, to pitch a particular brand or model. “There was this scary moment of telling the scientists, ‘Guess what? We’re going to use your brilliant invention to sell sneakers.’ But they got into it, and we began a large... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; e-books; e-reading; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

July 2021
Case

A Close Shave at Squire

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Zoë B. Cullen, William R. Kerr, Benjamin N. Roth and Michael Norris

In 2020, just after closing a $34 million Series B financing round, Dave Salvant and Songe LaRon consider how to adjust their business, Squire Technologies, to the new realities posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Their barbershop technology, including tools to run a shop... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Growth and Development Strategy; Health Pandemics; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; New York (city, NY); San Francisco

July 2021 (Revised July 2022)
Case

Brigham & Women's Hospital: Using Patient Reported Outcomes to Improve Breast Cancer Care

By: Robert S. Kaplan, Navraj S. Nagra and Syed S. Shehab

Dr. Andrea Pusic, breast cancer reconstruction surgeon, wants to extend outcomes measurement beyond traditional surgical metrics of infections, complications, and survival rates. The case describes her development of a new mobile phone app, which collects patients’... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Outcome or Result; Cost Management; Activity Based Costing and Management; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Health Testing and Trials; Surveys; Health Industry; Boston

January 2013 (Revised February 2013)
Case

EverTrue: Mobile Technology Development (A)

By: William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

Brent Grinna is evaluating different options for the technology development of his start-up's iPhone app, including hiring local programmers, finding a CTO, or outsourcing. He only has a little over two months before he presents his alumni networking app to Brown... View Details

Keywords: Start-up; Mobile App; oDesk; Outsourcing; CTO; Minimum Viable Product; App Development; Business Startups; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Intellectual Property; Product Development; Globalization; Technology Industry; Massachusetts; Boston; India

01 Apr 2001
News

Beyond the Rim: New Paths to Success in Asia

entrepreneurship in its state-owned enterprises; the Japanese government is challenging its own telecom monopolies; and wireless technology in South Korea and elsewhere on the Pacific Rim has leapfrogged U.S. advances. In this dynamic... View Details

Keywords: Alejandro Reyes and Deborah Blagg; David Lane; Educational Services

July 2017 (Revised November 2017)
Case

Propel

By: Mitchell Weiss and Sarah McAra

In 2014, Jimmy Chen, a former product manager at Facebook, founded the start-up Propel to build software for low-income Americans. After conducting in-depth behavioral research, Chen and his small team in New York City began to develop technology to address the... View Details

October 1996 (Revised January 1998)
Case

Sony Corporation: Car Navigation Systems

By: John A. Quelch

In the summer of 1996, Masao Morita, president of Sony Personal Mobile Communication Co., contemplated how to formulate its multinational marketing strategy for the fast-changing car navigation systems market. Morita needed to resolve the conflicting views within his... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Standards; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Conflict and Resolution; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Japan