Publications

January 2011
Case

Program Management at Wipro Technologies

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Bradley R. Staats and Melissa Valentine

This case examines the execution of one program by Wipro Technologies, an Indian software services provider. The case also explores the evolution of program management at Wipro. View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Problems and Challenges; Leadership Style; Recruitment; Programs; Management; Information Technology Industry; India

March 2005 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Comergent Technologies Inc.: Enterprise E-Commerce

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell

Coming out of the 2001 high-tech industry recession, this venture capital start-up has to come up with a marketing plan to break even and grow. Its innovative e-commerce software provides unique customer relationship management solutions, but it has to convince... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Customer Relationship Management; Financial Crisis; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Software; Information Technology Industry

October 2001
Case

Garage.com (B): Garage Technology Ventures

By: Dorothy A. Leonard and Elizabeth Kind

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology Industry

October 1997
Case

Polaroid Corporation: Digital Imaging Technology in 1997

Focuses on strategic decisions regarding investment in digital imaging technology facing Polaroid Corp., a worldwide leader in the traditional imaging marketplace, in July 1997. New Polaroid CEO Gary DiCamillo must decide how much emphasis to place on digital vs.... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Decision Choices and Conditions; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Products Industry

15 Feb 2000
Lessons from the Classroom

Delivering Information Services: A 30-Year Perspective

As the information economy emerges and technology transforms "business-as-usual," senior-level executives need to understand the "big picture" of how IT impacts their entire... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

Research Summary

New Technologies and the Future of Food and Nutrition

By: Ray A. Goldberg

Ray A. Goldberg has been investigating the impact of new technologies on, and the functioning of, the global agribusiness system in the twenty-first century. He is currently developing a seminar to bring scientists, business leaders, academics, and consumer... View Details

April 2001 (Revised March 2003)
Background Note

Web and IT Hosting Facilities: Technology Note

Introduces students to the data centers where IT infrastructure is increasingly physically housed. These centralized hosting facilities represent in the information age the equivalent of power utilities in the industrial age. Students are introduced to issues of... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Infrastructure; Web Services Industry

Article

Market Interest in Nonfinancial Information

By: R. G. Eccles, Michael P. Krzus and George Serafeim

Market interest in nonfinancial (e.g., Environmental, Social, and Governance [ESG]) information, including data produced by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), is growing. Using data from Bloomberg we analyze this interest from a variety of different perspectives, and... View Details

Keywords: Markets; Analytics and Data Science; Perspective; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Corporate Disclosure; Projects; Interests

July–August 2021
Article

Case Study: Will a Bank's New Technology Help or Hurt Morale?

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger

A case study is presented on the effort to introduce new information technology into a community bank and what impact that process may have on bank employees. View Details

Keywords: Employee Morale; Community Banks; Information Technology; Banks and Banking; Employees; Technology Adoption

January 1989
Background Note

Managing Information Technology: Organization and Leadership

By: James I. Cash Jr. and Thomas H. Davenport

Describes the organizational components of the typical IT organization in a large corporation. Points out common problems and issues for each component of the organization. Also addresses the leadership issues for the IT function, and focuses specifically on the Chief... View Details

Keywords: Information Management; Organizational Design; Leadership; Managerial Roles; Information Technology; Problems and Challenges; Information Technology Industry

April 2006
Background Note

Informing Service Management with Customer Data

By: Frances X. Frei and Dennis Campbell

Taught as the third module in a Harvard Business School course on Managing Service Operations. Explores the role of data analysis in ongoing service management. Describes how to realize the maximum amount of value from analyses and use this information in... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Design; Analytics and Data Science; Service Operations; Mathematical Methods; Value

December 1999 (Revised July 2000)
Case

Cimetrics Technology (B): Russian Perspectives

By: Lynn S. Paine

Presents the perspectives of two Russian software developers working for Cimetrics in Moscow. A central issue from the Russian perspective is whether a more structured and formal arrangement is needed for managing the Russian team. View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Applications and Software; Business or Company Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Labor and Management Relations; Product Development; Performance Evaluation; Information Technology Industry; Russia; Canada; United States

08 Apr 2015
What Do You Think?

Are Technology Companies Ripe for Disruption?

imagination, or has the world of information technology become so inbred that it is losing touch with users, particularly those of a certain age? If it's not my imagination, that's the tech world's problem... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Technology; Technology

1981
Chapter

Diffusion of Energy Conservation Technologies

By: D. A. Leonard

Keywords: Technology Adoption; Energy Conservation; Energy Industry

July 1986 (Revised August 1986)
Case

Frito-Lay, Inc.: Funding for Information Systems

Frito-Lay, Inc., a large snack foods company, has adopted a new method for allocating information systems resources. The method and its rationale are described in detail, along with user reactions. The new scheme is simple, but is it an improvement? Will it be... View Details

Keywords: Resource Allocation; Information Technology; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

April 1989 (Revised May 1993)
Case

Technology Transfer: Anti-Inflammatory Discovery (A)

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

Keywords: Information Technology; Knowledge Dissemination; Health Industry

September 2005
Case

IBM Network Technology (A) (Abridged)

By: Michael L. Tushman

An unconventional manager within IBM leads the creation of a business unit with multibillion-dollar potential, winning over customers and nudging the organization to make the changes needed to achieve dramatic growth. Exemplifies how organizational design and... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Management Teams; Leadership Style; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Employees; Information Technology Industry

1992
Chapter

Technology Challenges to Trade Policy

By: D. B. Yoffie

Keywords: Information Technology; Problems and Challenges; Trade; Policy; Government and Politics; Technology Industry