Publications

2004
Working Paper

Mergers and Acquisitions: An Experimental Analysis of Synergies Externalities and Dynamics

By: Rachel Croson, Armando Gomes, Kathleen L. McGinn and Markus Nöth

August 2004 (Revised June 2005)
Case

Fate of the Vasa, The

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Richard Mason

In 1628, the royal warship Vasa was launched. It was Sweden's most expensive naval vessel ever built, costing over 5% of GNP. On its maiden voyage, the ship sailed 1,400 yards in its own harbor, heeled over to the side, and then sank. One third of the 150 crew and... View Details

Keywords: History; Risk and Uncertainty; Technological Innovation; Ship Transportation; Product Design; Technology Adoption; Failure; Business and Government Relations; Product Development; Sweden

August 2004
Article

Auctions of Homogeneous Goods with Increasing Returns: Experimental Comparison of Alternative "Dutch" Auctions

By: Elena Katok and A. E. Roth

Keywords: Auctions; Goods and Commodities; Profit

Article

The Mixed Effects of Inconsistency on Experimentation in Organizations

By: Fiona Lee, Amy C. Edmondson, Stefan Thomke and Monica Worline

Keywords: Organizations

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2004
Article

Mergers and Acquisitions: An Experimental Analysis of Synergies, Externalities and Dynamics

By: R. Croson, A. Gomes, K. L. McGinn and M. Nöth

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Theory

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September 2003 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Best Buy Co., Inc. (A): An Innovator's Journey

By: Dorothy A. Leonard and Brian DeLacey

The CEO of Best Buy, a hugely successful retailing company, has hired consulting firm Strategos to imbue the company with an improved innovative capability. The six-month program of experimental learning yields new business ideas and also trains Best Buy employees as... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Management Teams; Creativity; Adoption; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Employees; Learning; Training; Programs; Retail Industry; United States

2003
Book

Experimentation Matters: Unlocking the Potential of New Technologies for Innovation

By: Stefan Thomke

Keywords: Information Technology; Innovation and Invention

May 2003
Module Note

Building Capabilities for Experimentation, Learning, and Prototyping

Describes the conceptual foundations and pedagogy for a module on managing experimentation, learning, and prototyping in the development of products and services. Can also be used as part of a more general course on Managing Technology and Innovation. Shows how... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Product Development; Learning; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Management

May 2003
Module Note

Managing Product Development

Introduces students to the managerial aspects critical to conceiving, designing, and developing innovative products and services. Considers the full range of activities required: learning about customer needs, understanding and managing experimentation and problem... View Details

Keywords: Product Design; Product Development; Service Operations; Business or Company Management; Projects; Management Practices and Processes; Experience and Expertise; Customers; Research; Management Skills; Integration

May 2003
Module Note

Product Development Process Design and Improvement

Describes the conceptual foundations and pedagogy for a module on the design and improvement of processes for the development of products and services. Can also be used as part of a more general course on Managing Technology and Innovation. Central to Managing Product... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Design; Performance Improvement; Innovation and Management; Information Technology; Customers; Information Management; Business Processes; Learning; Transformation; Service Operations

September 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Bank of America (A)

By: Stefan H. Thomke and Ashok Nimgade

Describes how Bank of America is creating a system for product and service innovation in its retail banking business. Emphasis is placed on the role of experimentation in some two-dozen real-life "laboratories" that serve as fully operating banking branches and as... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Problems and Challenges; Innovation and Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Change; Failure; Banks and Banking; Learning; Banking Industry

July 2002
Article

The Economist As Engineer: Game Theory, Experimental Economics and Computation As Tools of Design Economics

By: Alvin E Roth

Keywords: Game Theory; Economics; Mathematical Methods; Design

June 2001
Article

Form and Function in Experimental Design

By: A. E. Roth

Keywords: Design

April 2001 (Revised July 2001)
Case

Zaplet, Inc.

By: Dorothy A. Leonard and Brian DeLacey

Start-up Zaplet, Inc., has radical software, prestigious venture capital funding, and a multitude of business opportunities. New CEO Alan Baratz must select a strategy and redesign the organization to deliver. This case describes the roles and philosophies of the... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Information Technology; Organizational Design; Venture Capital; Valuation; Business Strategy; Restructuring; Expansion; Product Development; Innovation Strategy; Human Resources; Information Technology Industry; California

2001
Working Paper

Promoting Experimentation in Organizational Knowledge Creation: Effects of Status, Values and Rewards

By: Fiona Lee, Amy C. Edmondson, Stefan Thomke and Monica Worline

2001
Chapter

The Impact of Technology on Knowledge Creation: A Study of Experimentation in Integrated Circuit Design

By: Stefan Thomke

June 2000 (Revised October 2017)
Case

IDEO

By: Stefan Thomke and Ashok Nimgade

Describes IDEO, the world's leading product design firm, and its innovation culture and process. Emphasis is placed on the important role of prototyping and experimentation in general, and in the design of the very successful Palm V handheld computer in particular. A... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Innovation Strategy; Business or Company Management; Time Management; Product Design; Product Development; Business Processes; Organizational Culture; Practice; Problems and Challenges; Creativity; Hardware

May 1999
Article

The Effect of Adding a Constant to All Payoffs: Experimental Investigation, and a Reinforcement Learning Model with Self-Adjusting Speed of Learning

By: Ido Erev, Yoella Bereby-Meyer and Alvin E. Roth

Keywords: Learning; Information

April 1999
Teaching Note

Managing Experimentation: Module Overview Note for Managing Product Development(Note for Instructor)

Describes the conceptual foundations and pedagogy for a module on managing experimentation in the development of products and services. The module has been taught in the second-year elective MBA course Managing Product Development. The purpose of the module is to help... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Business or Company Management; Product Development; Personal Development and Career; Science; Technology Adoption