Publications

December 2005 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Polaroid Entering Digital Imaging

Focuses on Polaroid's attempt to respond to the changes to its competitive environment that are entailed by the rise of digital imaging. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Competition; Consumer Products Industry; Technology Industry

Educators

November 1996 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Vallourec's Venture into Metal Injection Molding

By: Clayton M. Christensen

Vallourec, a leading maker of seamless tubing, developed a radically new technology that used steel powders to create the tubes. To ensure a supply source, Vallourec ultimately had to acquire its supplier of metal powder, and then, to build the volume required to... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Business Model; Diversification; Innovation and Management; Manufacturing Industry

March 1990
Article

Architectural Innovation: The Reconfiguration of Existing Product Technologies and the Failure of Established Firms

By: R. Henderson and K. B. Clark

Keywords: Design; Innovation and Invention; Failure; Information Technology; Product

24 Apr 2020
News

Spreading the Love

Photos courtesy of Lovepop Photos courtesy of Lovepop When Lovepop cofounders Wombi Rose and John Wise (both MBA 2015) heard Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s entreaty for businesses to assist with sourcing personal protective equipment (PPE), they knew they could... View Details

24 Jul 2020
News

Reimagining Chicago’s Schools

Photo courtesy of Melissa Zaikos Back in 2011, when Melissa Zaikos (MBA 2000) began digging deeply into the standardized test scores of the Chicago Public Schools, she saw some concerning trends. Elementary schools, she thought, seemed to be getting better in the... View Details

04 Apr 2018
News

Rebuilding the Girl Scouts Brand

Mishka Pitter-Armand (MBA 2003) was never a Girl Scout; but she is a go-getter, an innovator, a risk taker, and a leader. “When you bring those four words together,” Pitter-Armand says, “they form the acronym G.I.R.L.” In late 2016, Pitter-Armand, head of brand... View Details

14 Mar 2014
News

Start-up Takes the Legwork out of Shopping

Keywords: fashion; start-up; Personal Services; Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores; Retail Trade

11 Mar 2014
News

3 Ways to Innovate in a Stagnant Environment

01 Sep 2003
News

Books

Experimentation Matters by Stefan H. Thomke Becoming a Manager (second edition) by Linda A. Hill What Really Works by William Joyce, Nitin Nohria, and Bruce Roberson The Innovator’s Solution by Clayton M. Christensen and Michael E. Raynor Experimentation Matters by... View Details

Keywords: Deborah E. Blagg; Margie Kelley; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

01 Jun 2010
News

Powering Up

GILER: A better way, through wireless. Suzanne Kreiter/Boston Globe/Landov Nothing seems to hold back the tech revolution — nothing except all those batteries, wires, cables, and other impedimenta that are always running out of power, getting tripped over, becoming... View Details

Keywords: Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services; Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution; Utilities

23 Mar 2020
Working Paper Summaries

The Effects of Hierarchy on Learning and Performance in Business Experimentation

Keywords: by Sourobh Ghosh, Stefan H. Thomke, and Hazjier Pourkhalkhali

11 Feb 2019
Working Paper Summaries

The IBM PC

Keywords: by Carliss Y. Baldwin; Computer

27 Aug 2012
Research & Ideas

Employee-Suggestion Programs That Work

Bumping up against accepted theories in process improvement, a new research paper from Harvard Business School questions the value of prioritizing problems identified by frontline employees. Citing a hospital safety improvement program based on employee suggestions,... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Guttry

February 2011
Article

The Culture and Discourse of Climate Skepticism

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

Keywords: Climate Change; Public Opinion; Policy; Technological Innovation; Behavior

February 23, 2022
Article

Can WEB3 Bring Back Competition to Digital Platforms?

By: Christian Catalini and Scott Duke Kominers

Like the early Internet, blockchain and Web3 applications promise a new wave of decentralization and competition—yet at the same time, it is unclear which of the dynamics that drove concentration in online platforms and services will remain in force under the Web3... View Details

Keywords: Web3; Blockchain; Interoperability; Internet and the Web; Technological Innovation; Competition; Digital Platforms

Read Now

October 18, 2017
Editorial

Why We Must Embrace, Not Fear, the Technology That Is Revolutionising Education and Jobs

By: Peter Tufano

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Technology Adoption; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Change

Read Now

September 2020 (Revised January 2021)
Case

Catalys Pacific

By: Joshua Lev Krieger

In 2019, BT Slingsby founds Catalys Pacific, the first biotech “venture creation” fund in Tokyo. After convincing some of the biggest Japanese pharmaceutical firms to invest, BT hopes the fund can make a big splash and transform biotechnology innovation in Japan. After... View Details

Keywords: Pharmaceutical Companies; Biotech; Health Care; Entrepreneur; Innovation; International Business; Entrepreneurial Finance; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Innovation Strategy; Venture Capital; Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Tokyo

Educators

March 2019 (Revised October 2020)
Case

GENTERA: Facing the Digital Age

By: Michael Chu and Carla Larangeira

After long dominating Mexican microfinance, Compartamos Banco faces the emergence of fintech, just as for the first time its loan portfolio and clients have declined. Enrique Majós, CEO of GENTERA, the bank´s parent company, is keenly aware of the profound changes... View Details

Keywords: Micro Finance; Base Of The Pyramid; Fintech; Microfinance; Disruption; Innovation and Management; Competitive Strategy; North America; Mexico

Educators

July–September 2020
Article

Innovation Contest: Effect of Perceived Support for Learning on Participation

By: Olivia Jung, Andrea Blasco and Karim R. Lakhani

Background: Frontline staff are well positioned to conceive improvement opportunities based on first-hand knowledge of what works and does not work. The innovation contest may be a relevant and useful vehicle to elicit staff ideas. However, the success of the... View Details

Keywords: Contest; Innovation; Employee Engagement; Organizational Learning; Health Care; Health Care Delivery; Innovation and Invention; Organizations; Learning; Employees; Perception; Health Care and Treatment