Publications

March 2018
Case

IBM: Watson and the Internet of Things

By: Rajiv Lal and Scott Johnson

IBM has recently launched a business unit devoted to the Internet of Things. The group's leadership team needs to figure out the best way to quickly scale its business in a fragmented and nascent market. View Details

Keywords: IBM; Internet Of Things; Watson; Artificial Intelligence; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Emerging Markets; AI and Machine Learning; Technology Industry

30 May 2018
Research & Ideas

Should Retailers Match Their Own Prices Online and in Stores?

consumers use their mobile devices in store. Surprisingly, also when some undecided consumers look up products and prices on their smartphones while in a store, companies don’t necessarily lose out on... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Retail

2012
Book

Sleeping with Your Smartphone: How to Break the 24-7 Habit and Change the Way you Work

By: Leslie A. Perlow

Does it have to be this way? Can't resist checking your smartphone or mobile device? Sure, all this connectivity keeps you in touch with your team and the office—but at what cost? In "Sleeping with Your Smartphone," Leslie Perlow reveals how you can disconnect and... View Details

Keywords: Time Management; Internet and the Web; Groups and Teams; Performance Productivity; Globalized Firms and Management; Service Industry

August 2005 (Revised August 2006)
Case

PalmSource 2005

By: David B. Yoffie and Barbara Mack

PalmSource is facing stiff competition from handheld, wireless handheld, and smart phone vendors in 2005. In addition, changes in leadership and corporate structure have altered its relationship with its leading customer--PalmOne. Although Palm renews its license with... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Innovation Strategy; Alliances; Software; Market Participation; Wireless Technology; Trends; Working Conditions; Change Management; Information Technology Industry; United States

December 2012
Case

Blink Booking

By: William R. Kerr, Magnus Thor Torfason and Alexis Brownell

Rebeca Minguela hopes to create an arbitrage platform, similar to Rocket Internet, that can bring start-up ideas and opportunities to Spain. However, Blink Booking, her first venture and proof of concept, is rocked by a co-founder's breach of confidence and departure.... View Details

Keywords: Clones; Cloning; Rocket Internet; Start-up; Equity Split; Arbitrage; Incubator; Mobile App; Expansion; Spain; Europe; Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Internet and the Web; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Spain; Europe

17 Oct 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, October 17, 2017

Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53346 November–December 2017 Research-Technology Management Innovation Streams and Executive Leadership By: Tushman, Michael Abstract—Incumbent firms face steep challenges... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2012 (Revised May 2013)
Case

ASUSTeK and the Google Nexus 7 Tablet

By: Willy C. Shih and Jyun-Cheng Wang

Days after Jerry Shen introduced a new tablet computer at the Consumer Electronics Show, a Google meeting convinced him to go with a lower price point and co-branding as the Nexus 7. While his company would have a premier position at launch, companies like Samsung... View Details

January 2021 (Revised March 2021)
Case

THE YES: Reimagining the Future of E-Commerce with Artificial Intelligence (AI)

By: Jill Avery, Ayelet Israeli and Emma von Maur

THE YES, a multi-brand shopping app launched in May 2020 offered a new type of buying experience for women’s fashion, driven by a sophisticated algorithm that used data science and machine learning to create and deliver a personalized store for every shopper, based on... View Details

Keywords: Data; Data Analytics; Artificial Intelligence; AI; AI Algorithms; AI Creativity; Fashion; Retail; Retail Analytics; E-Commerce Strategy; Platform; Platforms; Big Data; Preference Elicitation; Preference Prediction; Predictive Analytics; App Development; ＂Marketing Analytics＂; Advertising; Mobile App; Mobile Marketing; Apparel; Online Advertising; Referral Rewards; Referrals; Female Ceo; Female Entrepreneur; Female Protagonist; Analytics and Data Science; Analysis; Creativity; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Forecasting and Prediction; Marketing Channels; Digital Marketing; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; AI and Machine Learning; E-commerce; Digital Platforms; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

March 2015 (Revised December 2016)
Case

American Well: The DTC Decision

By: Elie Ofek and Natalie Kindred

In late 2013, telehealth company American Well, which developed a digital platform that allowed patients to conduct online medical consultations with physicians, is considering pursuing a direct-to-consumer (DTC) strategy. Founded in 2006, American Well had, to date,... View Details

November 1995 (Revised April 1996)
Case

ENTel and the Privatization of Argentine Telecommunications

By: Willis M. Emmons III

Growing fiscal deficits, persistent economic recession, and underinvestment in the nation's telecommunications infrastructure lead the Argentine government to privatize its state-owned monopoly provider of telecommunications services, ENTel, in late 1990. The... View Details

Keywords: Opportunities; Risk and Uncertainty; Communication Technology; Privatization; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Competition; Development Economics; Policy; Government and Politics; Performance Effectiveness; Telecommunications Industry; Argentina

August 2018 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Hubble Contact Lenses: Data Driven Direct-to-Consumer Marketing

By: Jill Avery and Ayelet Israeli

As its Series A extension round approaches, the founders of Hubble, a subscription-based, social-media fueled, direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand of contact lenses, are reflecting on the marketing strategies that have taken them to a valuation of $200 million and debating... View Details

March 1992 (Revised June 1995)
Case

Introduction of FM Radio (A): Finally, A ""Staticless"" Radio

Describes the evolution of radio technology and business from the initial days of wireless telegraphy to the advent, growth, and establishment of amplitude-modulated (AM) radio manufacturing and broadcasting. Begins and ends with a description of a decision the Radio... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Product Design; Product Development; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

09 May 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas, May 9

adoption of feed-in tariffs, subsidies, and tax credits in the 1980s. However the poor technological capabilities of U.S.-based firms meant that it was Danish and other foreign... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 1995
Case

Northern Telecom and Netas (A): Turkey's Telecommunications Team

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

The Turkish general manager of a successful telecommunications equipment-manufacturing joint venture between the Canadian company Northern Telecom and local partners in Turkey reviews the solutions to a crisis in 1989 and wonders whether the company will be able to... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Crisis Management; Problems and Challenges; Change Management; Developing Countries and Economies; Political Elections; Telecommunications Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Turkey; Canada

20 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

The 5 Strategy Rules of Bill Gates, Andy Grove, and Steve Jobs

If there were a Mount Rushmore for technological innovation, Bill Gates, Andy Grove, and Steve Jobs would be the faces looking outward. The longtime CEOs of Microsoft, Intel, View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Computer

November 2018 (Revised June 2019)
Case

ofo

By: Mitchell Weiss

Dai Wei and his co-founders grew Beijing-based ofo from a school-based startup to a bike-share behemoth in a matter of months, topped an all-out market-share battle fueled with almost $1 billion in venture capital, provided 2 billion bicycle rides, soaked up the... View Details