Publications

Find at Harvard

23 Nov 2021
Book

What It Takes to Build an Organizational Culture That Wins

Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft who assumed the reigns of the software giant at a juncture when growth had plateaued and ennui enshrouded the mission. Nadella undertook a speedy cultural transformation at the same time he engineered a shift... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

22 Mar 2024
Research & Ideas

Open Source Software: The $9 Trillion Resource Companies Take for Granted

become, illuminating that the products are often the backbone on which many companies build tech operations and the products they sell, Nagle says. “To be able to say, ‘Look, this is no longer small. This is... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Computer; Information Technology; Technology

19 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

15 Podcast Episodes That Grabbed Listeners in 2023

president of engineering and research at Google and the founding managing director of the Google Center in Israel, explains how Google uses AI and machine learning to tackle some of the biggest challenges for climate mitigation and... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

October 1997 (Revised September 2003)
Case

Eli Lilly and Company: Drug Development Strategy (A)

By: Stefan H. Thomke, Ashok Nimgade and Paul Pospisil

Describes how Eli Lilly and Co. tries to accelerate its new drug development process with the aid of "combinatorial chemistry"--a rapidly emerging and revolutionary approach to preclinical drug discovery. The product manager of a potential blockbuster migraine drug... View Details

Keywords: Chemicals; Finance; Innovation and Invention; Time Management; Markets; Product Development; Organizations; Business Processes; Problems and Challenges; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Competition; Pharmaceutical Industry

12 Nov 2013
First Look

First Look: November 12

most recently-precisely the individuals who would recognize it is a gift. The effects of the gift are higher for workers with lower historical wages, and in fact it increases productivity more than it increases cost for this group. Our... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2003 (Revised August 2005)
Case

Reinventing the Automobile: General Motors' AUTOnomy Project

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Kerry Herman

Describes the history of General Motor's attempts to develop a hydrogen fuel-cell powered car. As of 2003, GM developed several prototypes of such a vehicle to demonstrate the viability of the overall concept. Many uncertainties remained, however, with respect to the... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Management; Information Technology; Transition; Competency and Skills; Disruptive Innovation; Machinery and Machining; Auto Industry

02 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 2, 2018

prior art that invalidates the patent being examined, and productivity in the machine learning process technology requires computer science and engineering (CS&E) skills. We discuss implications for... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

14 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: February 14

transactional media marketplace and hoped that two new marketing analytics products would give it a more predictable revenue stream. But sales were behind forecast. DataXu’s large brand and advertising agency clients found the new View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 1986 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Solagen: Process Improvement in the Manufacture of Gelatin at Kodak

By: Dorothy A. Leonard and Brian DeLacey

Kodak must decide whether to make a major investment in a production facility designed around a new technique for producing the gelatin critical to so many film and paper products. Currently, gelatin making is an arcane art, unchanged in 150 years and heavily dependent... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Buildings and Facilities; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Experience and Expertise; Engineering; Investment; Time Management; Production; Research and Development; Semiconductor Industry

18 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

What Happens When Banks Ditch Coal: The Impact Is 'More Than Anyone Thought'

Consumers who are eager to mitigate climate change can take many actions, such as reducing the number of airline flights they take or installing solar panels on their homes. But the planet is in a race against time, and individual action alone won’t help most countries... View Details

Keywords: by Barbara DeLollis; Financial Services; Mining

21 Mar 2019
HBS Case

The Ferrari Way

makers in creating an engine that not only performs well but sounds great to the driver. “They go crazy trying to make a turbo engine sound good,” Thomke says. “Most manufacturers wouldn’t bother. It’s too... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Auto

20 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

The 5 Strategy Rules of Bill Gates, Andy Grove, and Steve Jobs

the most highly valued companies in the world. But how were they able to steer their companies through the volatile ups and downs of decades of changing technologies? What did they have in common? And what can we learn from them about successful strategy? “The notion... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Computer

08 Sep 2014
Research & Ideas

The Strategic Way To Hire a Sales Team

Google and Groupon, for instance, a higher percentage of employees work in sales than engineering or data mining. And at Facebook the salesforce's ability to translate 'likes' into advertisers will make or break that company's valuation... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

05 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 5, 2018

High-skilled immigrants represent an increasing share of the U.S. workforce, particularly in science and engineering fields. These immigrants affect economic growth, patterns of trade, education choices, and the earnings of workers with... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

17 Jan 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Price Coherence and Adverse Intermediation

Keywords: by Benjamin G. Edelman & Julian Wright; Consumer Products

July 2011 (Revised September 2012)
Case

Industrial Metrology: Getting In-Line? (A)

By: Willy Shih

Metrology plays a key role in the manufacture of mechanical components. Traditionally it is used extensively in a pre-process stage where a manufacturer does process planning, design, and ramp-up, and in post-process off-line inspection to establish proof of quality.... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Machinery and Machining; Measurement and Metrics; Product Design; Planning; Quality; Opportunities; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Segmentation; Technology Adoption; Theory; Manufacturing Industry

November 2014
Case

Napalm: From Soldiers Field to Trang Bang

By: Tom Nicholas and Jonas Peter Akins

Napalm is one of the most destructive weapons ever to be invented. Yet, at its original inception it was nothing more than a technical challenge, and it was never intended to be used in indiscriminate antipersonnel warfare. The pathway of its development by a Harvard... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; War; Chemicals; Research and Development; Chemical Industry; Viet Nam; Cambridge; United States