Publications

January 1996
Case

Outrage in Cyberspace: CompuServe and the GIF Patent

By: Josh Lerner and Benjamin Conway

CompuServe, an online services vendor, informs its software developers that they must enter into a licensing agreement to use the popular GIF compression. CompuServe claims that it is forced to do so because Unisys is enforcing its patent rights in this area. Others... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Technological Innovation; Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; Web Services Industry

January 2021 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Ocado Group: Ready for the Future

By: José B. Alvarez, Damien McLoughlin and Natalie Kindred

Web

Fostering Candor in Teams and Organizations - Recruiting

Insights & Advice 07 Jul 2023 Fostering Candor in Teams and Organizations Becca Carnahan Author HBS Team tag All Industries All Locations Diversity, Inclusion, & Belonging Recruiting Advice Recruiting Strategies Candidates consider many... View Details

July 2001 (Revised December 2001)
Case

American Express Interactive

By: Lynda M. Applegate

Follows the protagonist, Sonia Sharpe, as she and her American Express Interactive Team attempt to develop and market an interactive, on-line, corporate travel service in a highly competitive environment. Looks at the possible resources and partnerships a company needs... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Partners and Partnerships; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Applications and Software; Technological Innovation; Global Strategy; Expansion; Information Technology; Vertical Integration; Financial Services Industry; Travel Industry

Find at Harvard

01 Mar 2012
News

Learning to Speak the Language of Business

Mikitani Main article: Where Innovation Rules Case study: Englishnization at Rakuten From Pinterest to Kobo, how Japan's Rakuten is building a global internet giant (Wired.co.uk) You might call Hiroshi Mikitani (MBA 1993) the Jeff Bezos... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; e-commerce; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management; Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Retail Trade

Web

In The Community | About

to the public Harvard Innovation Labs The Harvard Innovation Labs provide a multitude of in-kind support for local entrepreneurship, health and life sciences, and offer a variety of partner programming and... View Details

April 2017 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Korea Telecom: Building a GiGAtopia (A)

By: Shane Greenstein, Feng Zhu and Kerry Herman

Korea Telecom (KT) has committed $4 billion in investments and R&D to build a GiGAtopia, essentially ushering in the next generation of mobile (5G) and wired infrastructure. CEO Dr. Chang-Gyu Hwang, and his team are considering which areas to prioritize in terms of new... View Details

Keywords: Mobile and Wireless Technology; Technological Innovation; Infrastructure; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Telecommunications Industry

September 2015
Technical Note

The On-Demand Economy

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery, James Weber and Elizabeth Anne Watkins

This note describes the emerging on-demand economy, also referred to as the sharing economy. The note highlights several companies including Uber and Airbnb that exemplify this new mode of competition, a model that threatens to disrupt traditional firms. Uber provides... View Details

Keywords: Regulation; Reform; Disruption; Disruptive Innovation; Strategy; Technological Innovation; Labor; Employment; Working Conditions; Human Capital; Rights; Organizational Design; Social and Collaborative Networks; Service Industry

April 2001 (Revised August 2001)
Case

UNext: Business Education and e-Learning

By: Michael G. Rukstad, David J. Collis and Tyrell Levine

UNEXT has signed agreements with Columbia, Stanford, Chicago, Carnegie Mellon, and the London School of Economics to create online business courses. The company is backed by Michael Milken and Larry Ellison and has four Nobel laureates on its advisory board. Describes... View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Curriculum and Courses; Technological Innovation; Internet and the Web; Competition; Disruptive Innovation; Performance Efficiency; Higher Education; Learning; Education Industry

Find at Harvard

01 Jun 2010
News

Three Profs Win McKinsey Award

automobiles. (The Kindle 2 graphic illustrates their point.) Christensen and his coauthors report the results of a six-year study to uncover the origins of creative business strategies in particularly View Details

Keywords: Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing; Manufacturing

Web

Tough Tech Ventures - Course Catalog

strategies to overcome those challenges and successfully lead these ventures to scale in order to generate financial returns and deliver the intended impact. Key Learning Objectives Understand key founding and funding models for tough... View Details

15 Feb 2023
News

Grand Ambitions in the Great Plains

Kenny (MBA 2019), the director of strategy and projects at Carbon Capture Inc. She's describing the technology at the heart of the young company's ambitious decarbonization efforts. MORE Hear all three episodes of this series Skydeck... View Details

10 Feb 2016
News

Investing in Sustainability

produced in the United States is never eaten; 3.8 million gallons of fuel are wasted everyday from unnecessary idling. The nonprofit’s investment strategy is far less typical. Sustainable America makes direct investments with the goal of... View Details

April 2010 (Revised May 2011)
Case

Emerging Nokia?

By: Juan Alcacer, Tarun Khanna, Mary Furey and Rakeen Mabud

By late 2009, Nokia was grappling with the decision of whether to recover its leading position in the high-profit developed markets, where they were losing market share to the likes of Apple and Samsung, or defend its market leadership in the low-margin, high-volume... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Emerging Markets; Industry Structures; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Telecommunications Industry; Finland

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

July 2006 (Revised December 2007)
Case

Strategic Outsourcing at Bharti Airtel Limited

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez, V.G. Narayanan and Michele Jurgens

Faced with exponential growth and a competitive telecom environment, Bharti looks for ways to better manage its capital expenditures for telecommunications and information technology. One option is to hand over management of its telecom and IT networks to its vendors.... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Competitive Advantage; Technology Networks; Telecommunications Industry; India

08 Jan 2001
What Do You Think?

Have We Extended the Boundaries of the Firm Too Far?

results for those engaged in it. Those organizations thought to be most able to extend their boundaries are those able to work in a "componentized" manner, with "certain pieces of technology or innovation that can be... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

September 1989 (Revised January 1990)
Case

Vinod Khosla and Sun Microsystems (A)

Describes how Vinod Khosla got Sun Microsystems started, and a critical marketing challenge the company faced at the end of the first year. Objective is to illustrate how bold creative thinking can make or break start-ups. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Business Startups; Innovation and Invention; Information Technology Industry; Computer Industry