Publications

01 Jul 2010
News

A Message from the Dean

October 2002 (Revised May 2004)
Case

Starbucks and Conservation International

By: James E. Austin and Cate Reavis

Starbucks, the world's leading specialty coffee company, developed a strategic alliance with Conservation International, a major international environmental nonprofit organization. The purpose of the alliance was to promote coffee-growing practices of small farms that... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Growth and Development Strategy; Markets; Demand and Consumers; Production; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Cooperative Ownership; Performance Efficiency; Alliances; Nonprofit Organizations; Food and Beverage Industry; Mexico

Research Summary

Works in Progress

"Hunkering Down and Venturing Out: Network Activation in Response to the Uncertainty of Organizational Restructuring." Under Review. Awarded Best Paper in Organizational Behavior: 2011 Trans-Atlantic... View Details

2025
Working Paper

Incentive-Compatible Recovery from Manipulated Signals, with Applications to Decentralized Physical Infrastructure

By: Jason Milionis, Jens Ernstberger, Joseph Bonneau, Scott Duke Kominers and Tim Roughgarden

We introduce the first formal model capturing the elicitation of unverifiable information from a party (the "source") with implicit signals derived by other players (the "observers"). Our model is motivated in part by applications in decentralized physical... View Details

Keywords: Mathematical Methods; Infrastructure; Information Infrastructure

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Article

Neither a Bazaar nor a Cathedral: The Interplay between Structure and Agency in Wikipedia's Role System.

By: Ofer Arazy, Hila Lifshitz - Assaf and Adam Balila

Roles provide a key coordination mechanism in peer-production. Whereas one stream in the literature has focused on the structural responsibilities associated with roles, the another has stressed the emergent nature of work. To date, these streams have proceeded largely... View Details

Keywords: Wikipedia; Knowledge Work; Organizational Structure; Knowledge; Information Publishing

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June 1996 (Revised January 1999)
Case

XcelleNet, Inc. (A)

By: Stephen P. Bradley, Richard L. Nolan and James Leonard

XcelleNet, a $35 million system software company based in Atlanta, was founded in 1986 to address the computing needs of a class of remote and mobile users and data that were rarely connected to a network. Though the clear first mover and leader in the remote... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Opportunities; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Technology Networks; Computer Industry; Atlanta

Research Summary

Overview

My research examines the dynamics of cross-cultural collaboration. As organizations, teams, and networks become more global, understanding cross-border collaboration is becoming increasingly crucial. I explore the fascinating and consequential dynamics that emerge when... View Details

November 2021 (Revised January 2022)
Case

Scott Tucker (A): Race to the Top

By: Aiyesha Dey and Amram Migdal

The case tells the story of the rise and fall of Scott Tucker, an entrepreneur, businessman, passionate race car driver, competitor, and owner of a professional racing team. From 1997 to 2012, Tucker built a nationwide network of payday lending businesses, becoming a... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Fairness; Financing and Loans; Personal Finance; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Governance Compliance; Governance Controls; Financial Services Industry; United States

30 Jun 2016
Working Paper Summaries

The Dyadic Ties of Managers and Financial Analysts and Their Externality on a Firm's Information Environment

Keywords: by Zengquan Li, T.J. Wong, and Gwen Yu; Financial Services

July 2001 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc., The

By: Andre F. Perold and Austin K Scee

NASDAQ's mission "to facilitate capital formation" is threatened by the emergence of Electronic Communication Networks, which are not as heavily regulated by the SEC. This case reviews the development of NASDAQ and its evolution from a loose network of broker-dealers... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Stocks; Financial Markets; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Innovation Strategy; Performance Efficiency; Perspective

September 2016
Case

Ekal Vidyalaya: Education for Rural India

By: David Drake, Namrata Bhattacharya, Pooja Godbole and Amrita Saigal

By examining Ekal Vidyalaya (Ekal), a nonprofit network of schools in India, this case focuses on the classic challenge faced by organizations that grow through replication (e.g., McDonald's, Starbucks, Walmart, Whole Foods): How can they continue to drive growth when... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Early Childhood Education; India

March 2022 (Revised April 2022)
Teaching Note

Spotify's Audio-First Strategy: Leading the Podcasting Market

By: Hong Luo and Carol Lin

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 721-439. Within 15 years, CEO Daniel Ek had led Spotify from an ambitious startup to a multi-billion dollar company that had transformed the music industry. As part of Spotify’s next phase of growth, the platform would invest heavily in... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Divisions; Customer Relationship Management; Revenue; Music Industry

15 May 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Mobile Money Services-Design and Development for Financial Inclusion

Keywords: by Rajiv Lal & Ishan Sachdev; Banking

2009
Other Unpublished Work

Heterogeneous Technology Diffusion and Ricardian Trade Patterns

By: William R. Kerr

This study tests the importance of Ricardian technology differences for international trade. The developed panel includes both emerging and advanced economies, and particular attention is devoted to the variation exploited in empirical tests. The elasticity of export... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Immigration; Competitive Advantage; Integration; Technology; United States

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Teaching Interest

Driving Organizational Agility - Virtual

By: Ranjay Gulati

Today's businesses must be alert to changes in the external environment, develop competitive strategies quickly—and adapt the organization to execute. In this virtual program, you'll explore organizational structures and processes that have enabled businesses to... View Details

August 2006 (Revised March 2008)
Case

iPod vs. Cell Phone: A Mobile Music Revolution?

By: David B. Yoffie, Travis D. Merrill and Michael Slind

In 2006, a nascent market for music-enabled mobile phones was emerging to challenge Apple Computer's dominant position in the digital music industry. Through its iPod line of portable digital music devices and its iTunes Music Store, Apple controlled more than half of... View Details

Keywords: Music Entertainment; Emerging Markets; Brands and Branding; Sales; Opportunities; Price; Business Model; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Digital Platforms; Service Delivery; Communications Industry; Music Industry

Other Article

Leadership, Innovation, and Strategic Change: A Conversation with Michael Tushman

By: Michael L. Tushman, Sorah Seong, Yeongsu Kim and Gabriel Szulanski

Continuing the emerging tradition of the Knowledge and Innovation (K&I) Interest Group at the Strategic Management Society (SMS) Conference to interview foundational scholars in strategic management, we invited Professor Michael Tushman from Harvard Business School... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Technological Change; Management Education; Technological Innovation; Leadership; Change Management; Business Education

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November 2018
Case

Swissgrid: Enterprise Risk Management in a Digital Age

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Anette Mikes

Kurt Meyer, chief risk officer of Swissgrid, the Swiss national electricity transmission system operator, reflects on the risk management system he installed after the deregulation and liberalization of the European energy market. With 41 connections to other European... View Details

Keywords: Enterprise Risk Management; Energy Transmission; Risk and Uncertainty; Risk Management; Energy; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry; Switzerland