Publications

February 2011
Case

Chegg: Textbook Rental Takes Flight

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, William A. Sahlman and Evan W. Richardson

In late 2010, Silicon Valley-based Chegg, the leading online college textbook rental company, is scaling rapidly. The case recounts Chegg's history from its origins as a distant competitor to Craigslist in college classified listings through a pivot into textbook... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Higher Education; Entrepreneurship; Books; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Service Operations; Renting or Rental; Online Technology; Education Industry; Education Industry; California

15 May 2024
Research & Ideas

A Major Roadblock for Autonomous Cars: Motorists Believe They Drive Better

matter of how they view the technology in a vacuum, but it's how they view it in relation to themselves.” The pursuit of vehicle automation isn’t just a technological or financial quest by automakers, it’s... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Transportation; Auto

12 Jul 2016
First Look

July 12, 2016

estimates can inform ongoing policy discussions on both sides of the Atlantic about the economic implications of biosimilar policies. Harvard Business School Case 715-413 edX: Strategies for Higher Education In May 2012, Harvard... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2010 (Revised June 2012)
Case

From Imitation to Innovation: Zongshen Industrial Group

By: Willy Shih and Nancy Hua Dai

As Zuo Zongshen drove the transformation of the Zongshen Industrial Group from an early imitator in the motorcycle business to a company that increasingly focused on innovation as a way to get out of the hyper-competitive commodity business, he continually faced new... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Learning; Investment; Disruptive Innovation; Knowledge Acquisition; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Motorcycle Industry; China

September 2014
Teaching Plan

Linden Lab: Crossing the Chasm

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

In early 2009, managers at Linden Lab, creator of the virtual world Second Life, faced decisions about the company's growth strategy. Despite profound initial skepticism about demand for a user-generated virtual world that was not a traditional game, Second Life was... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Technology Industry

April 2009 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Linden Lab: Crossing the Chasm

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

In early 2008, managers at Linden Lab, creator of the virtual world Second Life, faced decisions about the company's growth strategy. Despite profound initial skepticism about demand for a user-generated virtual world that was not a traditional game, Second Life had... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Infrastructure; Technology Adoption; Digital Platforms

27 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

Asian and American Leadership Styles: How Are They Unique?

investment concern. It then was an early entrant into China's telecom and IT wave of the early 1990s, and became a market leader. Li is a man who seeks to establish a positive legacy. He created a foundation in 1980 to help young Chinese students have the View Details

Keywords: by D. Quinn Mills

July 2002 (Revised August 2002)
Case

Washington Hospital Center (C): Progress and Prospects, 1995-2001

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Michelle Heskett

Dr. Craig Feied and Dr. Mark Smith have already transformed a "worst-in-area" emergency medicine department into the best in the area. Industry-wide and hospital system-specific challenges remain, including their newest project of national importance--creating an... View Details

Keywords: History; Higher Education; Organizational Culture; Medical Specialties; Technological Innovation; Change Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Expansion; Crisis Management; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; District of Columbia

2024
Working Paper

An Anatomy of Performance Monitoring

By: Achyuta Adhvaryu, Anant Nyshadham and Jorge Tamayo

Does better monitoring improve firm performance? We study the introduction of a technology that enabled managers to track the progress of drive-thru orders in a large quick-service restaurant chain. Sales initially increased by 5%, driven by managerial training inputs,... View Details

Keywords: Performance Monitoring; Worker Skills; Skill Depreciation; Managerial Inattention; On-the-job Training; Productivity; Multitasking; Quick Serve Restaurants; Performance Evaluation; Employees; Competency and Skills; Training; Performance Productivity; Management; Information Technology; Food and Beverage Industry; Puerto Rico

Read Now

March 2016 (Revised May 2021)
Supplement

IBM and the Reinvention of High School (C): Toward P-TECH's Rapid National Expansion

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Kelsi Stine-Rowe

In early 2016, Stanley Litow, IBM's Vice President of Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs and President of the IBM International Foundation, made his travel arrangements for still another flight from New York to discuss possibilities for application of a new... View Details

Keywords: IBM; P-TECH; Stanley Litow: Robin Willner; Cuomo; Scaling; Innovation; New York State; New York City; Business Model; Innovation Strategy; Innovation Leadership; Education; Business and Community Relations; Change; Growth and Development; Technology Industry; New York (state, US); New York (city, NY)

06 Mar 2012
First Look

First Look: March 6

productive. The authors have studied when 161 countries adopted 104 technologies over the past 200 years, and they conclude that profound economic advantages-as measured by per capita income-accrue to early adopters of technology. Read... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

Digital Transformation: A New Roadmap for Success

the emotional side of digital transformation Digital transformation can be bewildering and exhausting for leaders and employees alike. Emerging digital technologies are disrupting everything from supply chains and manufacturing to selling... View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards

June 2002 (Revised August 2002)
Case

WorldSpace: Digital Radio for the Developing World

By: Debora L. Spar

Describes the evolution of WorldSpace, the world's first major provider of digital radio service to the developing world. The brainchild of Noah Samara, an African-born, American-trained lawyer, WorldSpace has a dual commercial and social mission. Samara wants to... View Details

Keywords: Information; Social Entrepreneurship; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Developing Countries and Economies; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Asia; Latin America; Africa

December 2001
Case

Sarah Vickers-Willis: Career Decisions (A)

By: Myra M. Hart, Lynda M. Applegate, Sarah Harden and Susan Saltrick

Sarah Vickers-Willis, HBS MBA 1999, faces a critical career decision: Does she redirect the Internet start-up she helped found or join in shaping a for-profit firm with a social mission? Sarah, a young Australian business executive, has always strived to "find space"... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Leadership; Internet and the Web; Social Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Gender; Business Startups

14 Jul 2009
First Look

First Look: July 14

difference between both kinds of firms is that OS share their technological advances on the primary good, while P keep their innovations private. The main contribution of the paper is to determine conditions under which OS and P coexist... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2024
Working Paper

The New Digital Divide

By: Mayana Pereira, Shane Greenstein, Raffaella Sadun, Prasanna Tambe, Lucia Ronchi Darre, Tammy Glazer, Allen Kim, Rahul Dodhia and Juan Lavista Ferres

We build and analyze new metrics of digital usage that leverage telemetry data collected by Microsoft during operating system updates across forty million Windows devices in U.S. households. These measures of US household digital usage are much more comprehensive than... View Details

Keywords: Mathematical Methods; Measurement and Metrics; Geographic Location; Behavior; Technology Adoption; Demographics