Publications

January 2015 (Revised April 2015)
Case

Zeal: Launching Personalized and Social Learning

By: John J-H Kim and Christine S. An

Set in 2014, this case follows John Danner and his team at Zeal as they consider their product development strategy. In February 2013, serial entrepreneurs John Danner and Sanjay Noronha co-found Zeal, an education technology start up providing a web-based, mobile... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Education Technology; MVP; Product Development; Product Market Fit; Monetization Strategy; SaaS Business Models; Education; Personalized Learning

January 2014 (Revised May 2015)
Case

Open English

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Lisa Mazzanti

Open English, a Miami-based startup offering online English language learning services, had more than 30,000 active students across Latin America in 2012. The company had just closed a $43 million financing round in order to rapidly scale its service to the next level.... View Details

Keywords: Technology Strategy; Product Management; Startup; Online Learning; Digital Platforms; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Technology Industry; Miami; Venezuela

August 2003
Case

Mercury Computer Systems: The Evolution from Integrated Technology to Open Standard

By: Rebecca Henderson and Nancy Confrey

For 20 years, Mercury Computer Systems has thrived, providing products and services that support ultrafast processing of real time data. Now Jay Bertelli, the CEO, faces a critical question: How can the firm compete once the standards on which its products are based... View Details

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Open Source Distribution; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Information Technology; Information Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

1990
Chapter

Implementing New Production Technologies: Exercises in Corporate Learning

By: D. A. Leonard-Barton

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Innovation and Management; Production; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Ventures; Technology Industry; Technology Industry

21 Jun 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Information Technology and Boundary of the Firm: Evidence from Plant-Level Data

Keywords: by Chris Forman & Kristina McElheran

06 Jan 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Mechanisms of Technology Re-Emergence and Identity Change in a Mature Field: Swiss Watchmaking, 1970-2008

Keywords: by Ryan Raffaelli; Consumer Products; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

29 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

Inventing Products is Less Valuable Than Inventing Ideas

the potential for building new products out of their existing inventions." Take Xerox, for example. Its research center, Xerox PARC, famously had invented the graphical user interface, mouse, laser printing, and other View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology

Research Summary

Information Technology and Vertical Integration: Evidence from Plant-level Data (with Chris Forman)

We study the relationship between different margins of information technology (IT) use and vertical integration using plant-level data from the U.S. Census of Manufactures. Focusing on the short-run decision of whether to allocate production output to downstream plants... View Details

08 Feb 2022
Cold Call Podcast

What’s Next for Nigerian Production Studio EbonyLife Media?

Keywords: Re: Andy Wu; Media & Broadcasting

2008
Working Paper

Product Development and Learning in Project Teams: The Challenges are the Benefits

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Ingrid M. Nembhard

The value of teams in new product development (NPD) is undeniable. Both the interdisciplinary nature of the work and industry trends necessitate that professionals from different functions work together on development projects to create the highest quality product in... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Learning; Management Skills; Product Development; Projects; Groups and Teams; Conflict Management; Social and Collaborative Networks

November 2004
Case

The Electronic Product Code: Future Impact on the Global Food System

By: Ray A. Goldberg and James Weber

The Electronic Product Code (EPC) is a successor to the Uniform Product Code and will improve the efficiency and traceability of the global food system. This case focuses on how best to implement this new system and respect the privacy of the ultimate consumer, and the... View Details

Keywords: Information; Rights; Ethics; Consumer Behavior; Management Systems; Technology Adoption; Innovation and Invention; Food and Beverage Industry

May 2011
Supplement

The Morrison Company, Spreadsheet Supplement (Brief Case)

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Paul Myers

Keywords: Quantitative Analysis; Technology; Operations Management; Product Lines; Manufacturing; Capacity Planning; Production Planning; Information Technology; Production; Analysis; Performance Capacity; Product Marketing

26 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

How Electronic Patient Records Can Slow Doctor Productivity

productivity implications from increased information technology. "We often look at systems on the basis of their technical capability, the fact that they can store this many records or process that many requests in this period of time.... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Health

May 2011
Teaching Note

Baria Planning Solutions, Inc.: Fixing the Sales Process (Brief Case)

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and William Schmidt

Teaching Note for 4568. View Details

Keywords: Quantitative Analysis; Technology; Operations Management; Product Lines; Manufacturing; Capacity Planning; Production Planning; Information Technology; Production; Mathematical Methods; Performance Capacity; Product Development; Planning; Manufacturing Industry

November 1996 (Revised June 1999)
Case

Living on Internet Time: Product Development at Netscape, Yahoo!, NetDynamics, and Microsoft

By: Marco Iansiti and Alan D. MacCormack

Describes how four companies in the Internet software market approach product development. Drawing upon short case studies of three recent projects, students are invited to synthesize the common attributes of development practice in turbulent environments. View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Situation or Environment; Volatility; Risk and Uncertainty; Research and Development; Information Technology Industry; United States

09 Jul 2018
Research & Ideas

Overcoming the Challenges of Selling Brand New Technology (Hey, Need a 3-D Printer?)

way of getting the job done.” Because of that, companies must always overcome customers’ “status quo” bias. That’s especially true, says Cespedes, when a company is introducing not just a new product but an entirely new View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology; Technology; Technology; Technology; Technology; Technology; Technology; Technology

02 Mar 2016
What Do You Think?

Is Apple’s Real Privacy Challenge Technology Innovation Itself?

Silicon Valley deceiving itself in thinking that security and privacy in the use of its products can be preserved? Is Apple’s refusal to unlock the phone, as important as it is to its business future, anything more than an effort to delay... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Technology

2019
Working Paper

Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 9 Organizing to Rationalize

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

The purpose of this chapter is to explain what the technologies of flow production with stochastic bottlenecks require and reward in organizations. I argue that organizations successfully implementing these technologies are likely to have unified governance and... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Organizational Design; Management Teams; Business History

Read Now

March 1991
Article

Requirements for Successful Implementation of New Manufacturing Technologies

By: R. H. Hayes and R. Jaikumar

Keywords: Success; Information Technology; Production