Publications

16 Sep 2015
News

Built for Speed

Rogers breaks in. “OK, guys, let’s try and keep the rest of these to about a minute.” He has other calls to make. On the next call, travel options are weighed (Toulouse? Berlin? Paris?) for meetings with a potential European collaborator.... View Details

Keywords: Dan Morrell; Machinery Manufacturing; Manufacturing

Article

Fake AI People Won't Fix Online Dating

By: Scott Duke Kominers

Computer-generated images may inspire even more distrust and surely won’t lead to the love of a lifetime. View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Dating Services; Internet and the Web; Ethics; AI and Machine Learning

Career Coach

Troy Peterson

Troy (HBS’19, West Point ‘08) has 15+ years of experience in technical program management, organizational leadership, and product development & operations. Troy has worked in roles across the tech ecosystem from startups/growth... View Details

Article

Assent-maximizing Social Choice

By: Katherine A. Baldiga and Jerry R. Green

We take a decision theoretic approach to the classic social choice problem, using data on the frequency of choice problems to compute social choice functions. We define a family of social choice rules that depend on the population's preferences and on the probability... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Theory; Measurement and Metrics; Mathematical Methods; Society

Find at Harvard

06 Aug 2018
Research & Ideas

Supersmart Manufacturing Tools are Lowering Prices on TVs, Bulbs, and Solar Panels

something into mechanisms within that machine that allow the process to become routine and repeatable. Let’s use an example. Many of us have seen glassblowers who manipulate a glowing hot lump View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Manufacturing; Electronics

March 2003
Background Note

A Short Note on the AccuFlow Excel Model

By: Jay O. Light

Describes an Excel spreadsheet workbook that facilitates the analysis of AccuFlow, Inc. View Details

Keywords: History; Analytics and Data Science; Cost of Capital; Negotiation; Capital; Business Model; Economic Systems; Machinery and Machining; Leveraged Buyouts; Business Startups; Equity

Educators

15 Nov 2016
News

China IFC: Global Access, Global Perspective

their customers.” “Our goal is to give students an experience that bridges the intersection of theory and practice,” says Shih. “That was possible,” Kirby adds, “because of the... View Details

27 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

Gen AI Marketing: How Some 'Gibberish' Code Can Give Products an Edge

their products listed on top, is that a good thing or a bad thing? It just depends on which side you’re looking from,” says Lakkaraju. The coffee machine experiment The study involves a hypothetical search for an “affordable” new coffee... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Technology

December 1992 (Revised May 1993)
Case

Porsche AG

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Describes the financial management of the research and development departments of an automobile manufacturer and technology supplier. Existing cost systems measure accurately the costs incurred by department and by project. But little formal information is provided... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Cost Accounting; Research and Development; Machinery and Machining; Auto Industry; Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

March 1994 (Revised November 1994)
Case

Komatsu Ltd. (A): Target Costing System

Komatsu, a leading manufacturer of construction equipment, seeks to expand aggressively through the 1990s. Key to its competitiveness is a strict adherence to target costs throughout the product development process. Komatsu conducts several design-for-manufacturability... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Machinery and Machining; Expansion; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry

Educators

2020
Working Paper

Collusion in Brokered Markets

By: John William Hatfield, Scott Duke Kominers and Richard Lowery

The U.S. residential real estate agency market presents a puzzle for economic theory: commissions on real estate transactions have remained high for decades even though entry is frequent and costs are low. We model the real estate agency market, and other brokered... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; ＂Repeated Games＂; Collusion; Antitrust; Brokered Markets; Game Theory; Real Estate Industry

SSRN

18 Jul 2024
Blog Post

Harvard Business School Announces Its 2024-2025 Blavatnik Fellows

and CEO of KiraGen Bio, a biotech company that utilizes machine learning-driven multiplex gene editing to engineer CAR-T cells that can resist the immunosuppressive effects of... View Details

30 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 30

Baldwin, and Christopher L. Magee Abstract Hierarchy is a generic structure in which levels are asymmetrically ordered. In an industry setting, classic supply chains display strict hierarchy, whereas clusters of firms have linkages going... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2025
Article

Reducing Prejudice with Counter-stereotypical AI

By: Erik Hermann, Julian De Freitas and Stefano Puntoni

Based on a review of relevant literature, we propose that the proliferation of AI with human-like and social features presents an unprecedented opportunity to address the underlying cognitive and affective drivers of prejudice. An approach informed by the psychology of... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; AI and Machine Learning; Interpersonal Communication; Social and Collaborative Networks

2007
Case

Continuous Process Improvement at Deere & Company

By: Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble

After decades of tense relationships with the United Auto Workers, Deere & Company broke through with a landmark agreement that built an expectation of continuous improvement into the compensation plan. The company then built a set of management forums and processes to... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Machinery and Machining; Agreements and Arrangements; Management Practices and Processes; Labor Unions; Compensation and Benefits; Auto Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

August 2001
Case

Finnigan Corporation

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and Barbara Feinberg

Finnigan Corp., headquartered in San Jose, CA, was the world's leading producer of mass spectrometers, holding a 45% market share of instruments used for chemical analysis in pharmaceutical product development, environmental testing, genetic testing, and other... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Financial Crisis; Machinery and Machining; Technology Industry; San Jose

Find at Harvard

26 Feb 2001
Research & Ideas

David, Goliath, and Disruption

into a disruptee. Learning To Chicken-scratch If a technology is to succeed, in theory at least, it should not require people to radically change their behavior. Instead, companies that promote the technology should hope for a gradual... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

July 2024
Case

The Voice Wars Continues 2024: Hey Google vs. Alexa vs. Siri vs. ChatGPT

By: David B. Yoffie and Sarah von Bargen

In 2024, the Voice War was transforming from a relatively simple index-based technology system, which relied on a list of commands and answers, to a generative AI system, which offered the promise to enable free flowing conversations between people and machines. The... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Competition; Technological Innovation; Technology Industry

Educators