Publications

May 2010
Column

Block-by-Blockbuster Innovation

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Executives often find themselves debating the merits of incremental innovations versus game-changers, but that's a false dichotomy, says HBR columnist Rosabeth Moss Kanter. Even if a company is lucky enough to come up with the next Kindle, Swiffer, or smartphone,... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Resource Allocation; Product; Business Processes; Risk and Uncertainty

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2008
Working Paper

The Agglomeration of U.S. Ethnic Inventors

By: William R. Kerr

The ethnic composition of US inventors is undergoing a significant transformation—with deep impacts for the overall agglomeration of US innovation. This study applies an ethnic-name database to individual US patent records to explore these trends with greater detail.... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Geographic Location; Patents; Ethnicity; City; Innovation and Invention; United States

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July 2006 (Revised December 2007)
Case

Strategic Outsourcing at Bharti Airtel Limited

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez, V.G. Narayanan and Michele Jurgens

Faced with exponential growth and a competitive telecom environment, Bharti looks for ways to better manage its capital expenditures for telecommunications and information technology. One option is to hand over management of its telecom and IT networks to its vendors.... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Competitive Advantage; Technology Networks; Telecommunications Industry; India

January 2014
Case

The Weather Company

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

New CEO David Kenny transformed The Weather Company in less than two years from a primary identity as a cable television channel to a multi-platform digital company innovating in the uses of weather data. He assesses progress and considers strategic choices and... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Strategy; Strategic Change; Change Management; Expansion; Weather; Growth and Development Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Technology Industry

25 Aug 2022
News

A New Platform for Alumni Engagement

Kenneth Salas (MBA 2015), pictured In January, 50 HBS MBA students and 200 alumni and other business leaders gathered to discuss the business of artificial intelligence (AI). Over the course of four days, the hybrid global cohort analyzed cases, quizzed sector experts,... View Details

Keywords: April White

01 Mar 2012
News

Where Innovation Rules

Kiva Systems Intuit Angie’s List Rakuten athenahealth Pandora Bloomingdale's and Gilt Groupe Social Finance Innovation is the real business of Harvard Business School. It begins with the School’s bias toward action, as embodied in its intellectual cornerstone, the case... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg;Garry Emmons;Julia Hanna;Roger Thompson; Corporate Services; Educational Services; Management

05 Feb 2021
News

Why Is It So Hard to Become a Data-Driven Company?

01 May 2020
News

How Everlywell Pulled Off Its COVID-19 Pivot in Two Weeks

15 Nov 2018
News

Don’t Be Afraid of AI

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on SoundCloud More Skydeck episodes Terminator 3 clip: Warner Bros. Pictures © 2003. Dan Morrell: I think one of the biggest mainstream crossovers that artificial intelligence has had on the modern era is the Terminator movies. For those... View Details

Keywords: Computer Systems Design and Related Services; Professional Services

March 2013 (Revised April 2014)
Case

Barnes & Noble: Managing the E-Book Revolution

By: Alan MacCormack, Brian Kimball Dunn and Chris F. Kemerer

The case describes competition in the market for E-Books, and Barnes & Noble's Strategy in this industry. As a traditional retailer, B&N was challenged by the introduction of digital technologies that allow books to be published, distributed and sold to consumers... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Technology Strategy; Platform Competition; Innovation Strategy; Information Technology; Product Development; Digital Platforms; Standards; Disruptive Innovation; Retail Industry; Publishing Industry; North America

01 Mar 2007
News

Microsoft’s Ballmer Makes His Pitch

BALLMER: Microsoft plans to remain on the cutting edge of digital media technology. If you think that the last decade produced a torrent of consumer high-tech innovation — notably personal computers, broadband Internet access, cell phones, and digital cameras — expect... View Details

Keywords: News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

05 Nov 2009
News

What Makes Boston Special?

Keywords: Jeff Bussgang, MBA '95; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services; Management

Research Summary

Overview

By: Goran Calic

What makes some organizations more innovative than others? Innovation follows from strategy and structure. A good strategy allows individuals to impose their own imagination towards organizational goals in a coordinated way. Good structure adds incentives that... View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Renewable Energy; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Innovation and Management; Resource Allocation; Strategy; Energy Industry; Green Technology Industry; Canada; United States; Europe; Croatia; Serbia and Montenegro

July 1997 (Revised June 2001)
Case

H.E. Butt Grocery Company: A Leader in ECR Implementation (B) (Abridged)

By: Robert D. Austin and F. Warren McFarlan

H.E. Butt Grocery Co. led the grocery industry in adopting many innovations, including category management, electronic data interchange, and continuous replenishment. They have also moved aggressively and profitably into newer applications such as Scanner-based payment... View Details

Keywords: Information Management; Independent Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Invention; Business Organization; Risk and Uncertainty; Science-Based Business; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Risk Management; Electronics Industry; Computer Industry