Publications

October 2005 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Strategic Inflection: TiVo in 2005

By: David B. Yoffie, Pai-Ling Yin and Barbara Mack

In the late 1990s, TiVo pioneered the digital video recorder (DVR), a new consumer electronics category. By 2005, the company was the clear leader in technology and installed base. It had also built extraordinary loyalty among its customers. However, TiVo lost a half... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Competition; Partners and Partnerships; Information Infrastructure; Television Entertainment; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry

June 2004 (Revised January 2005)
Case

Rambus Inc., 2004

By: David B. Yoffie and Deborah Freier

Examines the role of technology licensing in strategies for high-technology companies. In the 1990s, Rambus developed a revolutionary memory technology that would improve the ability of DRAMs to keep pace with ever-faster microprocessors. To commercialize the... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Lawsuits and Litigation; Strategic Planning; Relationships; Commercialization; Competition; Technology Adoption; Value; Semiconductor Industry

October 2000 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Cisco Systems: Web-enablement

By: Richard L. Nolan, Kelley Porter and Christina Akers

Describes how Cisco web-enabled their ERP systems and developed the "front office" systems to electronically link to their customers and suppliers. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Technological Innovation; Internet and the Web; Service Operations; Information Technology Industry

May 1990 (Revised August 1990)
Case

Campbell Soup Co.

By: Steven C. Wheelwright

Describes the engineering effort at Campbell Soup Co. to develop a microwavable package and product for the growing convenience segment. Focuses on the role of engineering services in developing the production process, acquiring and installing equipment, and getting... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Production; Engineering; Strategy; Business Processes; Innovation and Management; Planning; Competitive Advantage; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry

March 1996 (Revised April 1996)
Case

Andy Chew at Siemens Nixdorf: Change from the Middle

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and John F. McGuire

Andy Chew, a British manager reassigned to Germany by a large German computer company, is in the middle of carrying out a project as a designated "change agent" in a program to reshape the culture toward one that is more entrepreneurial for success as a nimble global... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Organizational Culture; Information Technology; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Projects; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; Germany

24 Feb 2023
News

Dean Datar Meets with Alumni in Palm Beach

Starting this past fall and continuing through the coming year, Dean Srikant Datar is traveling to meet with alumni around the world. On Thursday, February 23, more than 60 alumni and guests gathered in Florida to celebrate and connect with each other at "HBS in Palm... View Details

01 Jun 2020
News

All Hands on Deck

In the past few months, HBS has mobilized, adapted, innovated, and collaborated to support MBA students during a very turbulent time. As the economic consequences of the pandemic took hold, students found themselves facing a very different job market. “Students who... View Details

Keywords: Jen Mele

10 Aug 2017
News

Into the Light

More than 1.2 billion people worldwide live without access to electricity. Another 2 billion have limited electricity, just a few hours of often unreliable power a day. “It’s really hard for most of us to imagine a life without electricity,” explains Nicole Poindexter... View Details

Keywords: April White; Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution; Utilities

16 Oct 2014
News

Innovating for International Aid

It’s no secret HBS graduates are a hard-charging bunch who sometimes find it hard to take time off. Most eventually learn how to do this so they can recharge to do even harder charging—spending time at a beach, playing golf, climbing mountains, or the like. But Scott... View Details

Keywords: Constantine von Hoffman

15 Sep 2010
News

A Model for Free Schools in Britain

Keywords: charter schools; Elementary and Secondary Schools; Educational Services

26 Jul 2012
News

An Avenue for Chasing Dreams

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Personal Services

December 2023 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Research In Motion: Launching and Scaling the World's First Smartphone Empire (A)

By: Tatiana Sandino and Samuel Grad

In 2005, Research In Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry smartphone was a sensation. After its launch in 1999, the groundbreaking BlackBerry had captured the hearts and minds of corporate America through its secure wireless email service. The device was so addictive and... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Innovation and Management; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Management Style; Product Development; Managerial Roles; Growth and Development Strategy; Technology Industry; United States; Canada

18 Nov 2014
First Look

First Look: November 18

major technologies, looking across 55 countries, from 1870 to 2000. We find that greater depth in financial markets leads to faster technology diffusion for more capital-intensive technologies, but only in periods closer to the invention... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

Entrepreneurship and Multinationals Drive Globalization

the making of the global world over the last two centuries. Individual entrepreneurs and managers invented new products and shaped consumer demand. Firms created and diffused technologies and products, alongside the values in which they... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Beauty & Cosmetics; Manufacturing; Consumer Products; Pharmaceutical

01 Mar 2010
News

Lords of Strategy

Boston Consulting Group in 1963. It was BCG that would invent the strategy revolution’s key concept: “the experience curve,” a formulation with the power “to discipline a company’s thinking around the imperative to cut costs incessantly,”... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

September 2023
Teaching Note

Nexleaf Analytics: Saving the World Using the Internet of Things

By: Frank Nagle

Teaching Note for HBS Case 722-414. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Nonprofit Organizations; Competitive Strategy; Patents; Expansion; Information Technology; Health Industry; Information Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Technology Industry