Product Change - Publications - Faculty & Research

09 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 9, 2015

Aligning Strategy and Sales By: Cespedes, Frank V. Abstract— Much current opinion asserts that strategy is less important (and may, in fact, be an impediment) in an era of constant change. This publication discusses why claims about business View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Charles B. Wang

Realizing that most of the software industry’s products were not responsive to the demands of its customers, Wang founded CA in 1976 with the intent to change that. Though Wang has made numerous acquisitions... View Details

Keywords: Services

11 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

Guts and Bliss: The Entrepreneur’s Journey

layoffs, though, only one person among the six panelists had retreated to a traditional consultancy in 2001. The rest—who started everything from a women-centric financial services group to a natural products company that grew from a... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

01 Jun 2011
News

An Economy Undermined

our HBS professors had always warned that if we spent $5,000 today, we would be giving up a fortune ten or twenty years down the road, given the stock market’s rate of return. A famous futurist of the day was predicting that U.S. View Details

Keywords: Jeff Madrick; Finance

18 Sep 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, September 18, 2018

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54955 Assortment Rotation and the Value of Concealment By: Ferreira, Kris, and Joel Goh Abstract—Assortment rotation—the retailing practice of changing the assortment of View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

Web

Strategy in Emerging Economies - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

in Emerging Economies Strategy is important for companies operating in developing and emerging economies. These businesses face distinct challenges and need to adopt a new approach if they want to be successful and stay relevant in today’s global marketplace. This... View Details

01 Dec 1999
News

The Way You See It

manufactured a product that changed the world by dint of its pervasiveness and indispensability. But as some noted, Ford also introduced revolutionary management, workplace, and business innovations that in... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons. Data collection by Ericka Webb.

21 May 2007
Research & Ideas

Fixing the Marketing-CEO Disconnect

In most companies, no one knows and understands your customers and their changing needs better than the marketing department. Certainly that knowledge should be routinely presented and understood by the chief executive and board of... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

06 Nov 2013
What Do You Think?

Is Top-Down Resource Allocation on the Rise?

Summing Up Is Business Agility a Product of Top-Down or Bottom-Up Resource Allocation? Respondents to this month's column provided possible explanations for greater reliance on top-down resource allocation processes (RAPs) while reminding... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

15 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

Rethinking E-Leadership

Two years ago, talking about how the Internet changed absolutely everything was the height of fashion. Today it's hard to conceal a smirk when someone mentions a term like e-leadership. Although it's fine to enjoy a good chuckle at the... View Details

Keywords: by Melissa Raffoni

01 Jun 2017
News

Supercharged

unprofitable—made to satisfy California’s stringent zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) mandate, which stipulates that to sell their products in the state, automakers must commit to making 15.4 percent of their fleets zero-emission by 2025. In... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; illustrations by Tavis Coburn

01 Sep 2012
News

On a Sound Track

office in China to manage sales and marketing. Our revenues have increased by more than 44 percent in the past year. So operationally, the business has changed a lot in a short period of time. What are some of the challenges that come... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; audio accessories; Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, and Book Stores; Retail Trade

01 Jun 2022
News

Ink: Start Small, Rise Above

by so many financial and regulatory systems that can be invisible or unexpected. If we can inspire more small businesses to stand up, identify the obstacles ahead of them, and work together to change them, then I think we could experience... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint

Web

Breaking the Cycle of Intergenerational Poverty | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

been, like I had, on Wall Street, but really wanted to change careers or make social enterprise an integral part of their career. And we accomplished a lot. We grew the summer fellowship so that more and more students tried social... View Details

July 2012 (Revised June 2018)
Case

MC Tool

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Two partners acquired MC Tool in October 2007 for $5 million. The company was a machine shop that manufactured parts for a wide variety of applications in the energy, automotive, and industrial equipment industries. In their first year of ownership, the partners... View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Risk Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Problems and Challenges; Transformation; Production; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; United States

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February 2021
Case

Threadless: The Renewal of an Online Community

By: Shane Greenstein, Karim Lakhani and Christian Godwin

Threadless, an online apparel company and artist community which Jake Nickell founded in 2000, continued to maintain its status as a top company in the online apparel industry during its second decade. From 2010 to 2020, Threadless continued to operate its... View Details

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28 May 2019
News

A More Perfect Union

As wide and fractured as the partisan divide feels right now, the challenges to America’s underlying democratic systems cut deeper still: The productivity of Congress has declined steeply in the past 20 years. The country’s voting rate in... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; illustration by Dan Bejar

01 Dec 2009
News

Robert Goodwin

relationships with the community. These investments can be modest. Just providing safe drinking water can lead to greater productivity and more profit, one of many instances where philanthropy makes good business sense. I get excited by... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Personal Services; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

01 Jun 2014
News

Start Me Up

generated more than $190 million in revenue, launching hundreds of new companies that employ thousands of people. "There's a lot of pessimism out there about the economy and where society's going," says Nigam, "so I love being surrounded by entrepreneurs. With them,... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons

Portrait Project

Kasia Biezychudek

have choices. I don't want to get discouraged. I want to help. I want to make that difference. A phrase by Grace Hansen inspires me: "Don't be afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin." I don't know how my role will View Details

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