Publications

May 1977 (Revised October 1989)
Case

International Business Machines (F): Contracting for the Development and Manufacture of a New Machine

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August 2017 (Revised September 2022)
Case

Fuyao Glass America: Sourcing Decision

By: Willy Shih

In today's global economy, what are the factors that go into production location choice? This case is set in the world's second largest automotive glass producer as it expands from China into the United States. To meet a very aggressive cost target, management is faced... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chains; Globalization Of Supply Chain; Manufacturing Footprint; Manufacturing; Manufacturing Strategy; Global Strategy; Supply Chain; Globalization; Supply Chain Management; Production; Logistics; Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; China

July–August 2016
Article

Stick to the Strategy or Make the Sale?: A Manufacturer of High-tech Streetlights Considers an Exception to Its New Subscription Model

By: Mitchell Weiss

A manufacturer of high-tech streetlights considers an exception to its new subscription model. A fictionalized case study based on the HBS Case 816-005, "Bigbelly," by Mitchell Weiss and Christine Snively. This case is an example of public entrepreneurship. View Details

Keywords: Public Entrepreneurship; Smart Cities; Anything As A Service; Xaas; Bigbelly; Entrepreneurship

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February 1988
Teaching Note

Copeland Corp.: Evolution of a Manufacturing Strategy--1975-82 (A), (B), (C), and (D), Teaching Note

By: David A. Garvin

Teaching Note for (9-686-088), (9-686-089), (9-686-090), and (9-686-091). View Details

Keywords: Sydney

December 2017
Supplement

Data-Driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System

By: Willy C. Shih

This supplementary video shows the Kutesmart System at Redcollar Group. It is an example of a mass customization system that is data-driven, but is predominantly based on manual operations. It is offered as a contrast to highly automated data-driven manufacturing. View Details

Keywords: Data-driven Manufacturing; Clothing; Bespoke Manufacturing; Production; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; China

February 2017
Case

GE Digital

By: Rajiv Lal and Scott Johnson

Known for manufacturing industrial equipment, GE has decided to invest in software and analytics capabilities to become a digital industrial company. They have also created a software platform that they hope will power the Industrial Internet. GE executives forecasted... View Details

Keywords: GE; General Electric; Manufacturing; Industrial Internet; Wind Power; Digital Manufacturing; Renewable Energy; Energy; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Applications and Software; Growth and Development Strategy; Transformation; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; North America

December 2011
Case

Bergerac Systems: The Challenge of Backward Integration

By: David A. Garvin and Sunru Yong

Bergerac Systems is a small, rapidly growing manufacturer of diagnostic instruments used in veterinary practices. The company introduced the OmniVue chemistry analyzer, which enables veterinarians to run a wide range of blood and blood chemistry tests on their animal... View Details

Keywords: Financial Analysis; Manufacturing Strategy; Strategy; Production; Supply Chain Management; Vertical Integration; Performance Capacity; Financial Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

May 1993 (Revised January 1994)
Case

Cummins Engine Company, The: Starting Up "B" Crankshaft Manufacturing at the San Luis Potosi Plant

By: Robert H. Hayes

Cummins Engine Co. is starting up production of diesel engine crankshafts in its plant in central Mexico. This operation requires much tighter tolerances than any product previously produced at the plant, and the young (recent MBA) manager who is in charge of the... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Production; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Emerging Markets; Problems and Challenges; Industrial Products Industry; Mexico; Alabama

November 2005
Column

La industria aeroespacial mexicana despega

By: Roberto Charvel

Keywords: Aerospace; Manufacturing; Production; Aerospace Industry; Latin America

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February 2014 (Revised December 2015)
Supplement

Mara Group (B)

By: Eugene Soltes and Sara Hess

Mara Group is a rapidly growing Pan-African conglomerate run by its entrepreneurial CEO Ashish Thakkar. The case explores Thakkar's decision on which African markets to expand operations into. View Details

Keywords: Telecommunications Manufacturing; Business Ventures; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Pulp and Paper Industry; Real Estate Industry; Shipping Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Africa

2014
Working Paper

Profits and Economic Development

By: Dan Schwab and Eric Werker

Are rents, or excess profits, good for development? Using industry-level manufacturing data, this paper demonstrates a negative effect of rents, measured by the mark-up ratio, on productivity growth. The negative effect is strongest in poor countries, suggesting that... View Details

Keywords: Firm Performance; Rent; Mark-up; Competition; Manufacturing; Development Economics; Profit; Economic Growth; Renting or Rental

SSRN

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November 1995
Teaching Note

The Cummins Engine Company: Starting Up "B" Crankshaft Manufacturing at the San Luis Potosi Plant TN

By: Robert H. Hayes

Teaching Note for (9-693-121). View Details

Keywords: Industrial Products Industry; Mexico; Alabama

July 2019
Case

Instabeat—One More Lap?

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Nicole Tempest Keller and Alpana Thapar

This case follows Lebanese entrepreneur, Hind Hobeika, an engineer and competitive swimmer who spends seven years trying to launch a wearable heartrate monitor and motion sensor to help swimmers track their performance while swimming. While the Beirut-based... View Details

Keywords: Startup; Manufacturing; Prototyping; Female Protagonist; Business Startups; Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Design; Organizational Culture; United States; Lebanon

2015
Working Paper

Can Marshall's Clusters Survive Globalization?

By: Giulio Buciuni and Gary P. Pisano

It is widely presumed that in today's globalized economy, the value of geographic clustering of manufacturing industries is no longer valuable. Manufacturing is represented as a highly mobile "commodity" that can be sourced from anywhere in the world where factor costs... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing; Globalization; Marshall Industrial Clusters; Global Supply Chains; Manufacturing Industry