Publications

December 2001 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Synthes

By: John T. Gourville

Synthes is the recognized leader in the U.S. orthopedic implant market, with a 50% market share in the metallic plates, rods, and screws used to fix severe bone fractures. Synthes' marketplace strength lies in the strength of its sales force and in the quality and... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Risk Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Market Entry and Exit; Product Development; Problems and Challenges; Competition; Manufacturing Industry; United States

29 Feb 2016
HBS Case

Bigbelly's Big Bet on the Digital Trash Can

Q: When is a trash can not a trash can? A: When it’s a Wi-Fi hotspot, air-purity monitor, and advertising billboard—all in one. Bigbelly solar-powered trash cans have been street corner fixtures in Philadelphia, Boston, New York, View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Energy

February 1991
Case

Burlington Northern: The ARES Decision (A)

By: Julie H. Hertenstein and Robert S. Kaplan

Burlington Northern's decision whether to invest in ARES, an automated train control system, is a ($350 million) strategic investment in information technology. Although set in a service industry (railroad) the issues around this decision arise in many organizations... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Rail Transportation; Information Technology; Competitive Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Performance Effectiveness; Cost vs Benefits; Technology Adoption; Technological Innovation; Customers; Quality; Rail Industry

November 1, 2019
Article

Companies Think They Want New Ideas. But They Don’t Act Like It

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Leaders say that they want more innovation. But then they trap themselves and their associates inside the structures that keep them stuck–inside the building, so to speak, where ideas get stale fast. That’s dangerous in a world of disruption and change. View Details

Keywords: Silos; Community; Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Change; Perspective; Learning; Attitudes

Register to Read

January 2001 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Rambus, Inc.: Commercializing the Billion Dollar Idea

Rambus, Inc. was founded to develop a new type of high-speed memory chip technology to enable DRAMs to keep up with ever-faster microprocessors. After developing the technology, Rambus chose an unusual licensing approach to commercialize it. This case focuses on the... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Competition; Commercialization; Information Infrastructure; Cooperation; Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

September – October 2011
Article

Manage the Culture Cycle

By: James L. Heskett

Organizational culture—the shared assumptions, values, and behaviors that determine "how we do things around here"—can be measured and shaped. In organizations with large numbers of customer-facing employees, it can account for up to half of the difference in operating... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Value; Behavior; Retention; Customer Focus and Relationships; Change Management; Learning; Innovation and Invention; Labor

25 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

Will Machine Learning Make You a Better Manager?

buy, how we talk, and even how we feel—and use that to make predictions about how we’ll act next. As the field of machine learning (ML) has become increasingly mainstream, says Harvard Business School doctoral student Mike Teodorescu, it... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Information Technology

28 May 2013
Research & Ideas

Can LEGO Snap Together a Future in Asia?

more localized products coupled with licensing agreements linked to specific movie franchises might be an option, but an expensive one. The company also had to consider that "diminishing play time and the threat of a disruptive... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Entertainment & Recreation

October 2000 (Revised September 2002)
Case

NTT DoCoMo (A): The Future of the Wireless Internet?

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Matthew Sandoval

NTT DoCoMo was established in 1992 and became publicly held in 1998. This case tracks how DoCoMo became the number one mobile phone company in Japan and how its i.mode service revolutionized the cellular phone market. View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Information Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Japan

21 May 2001
Research & Ideas

From Tigers to Kaleidoscopes: Thinking About Future Leadership

opportunities for both independence and active engagement of their most talented employees. Since many companies can get their hands on the same technology, the same markets, the same production methods... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

September 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Case

GolfLogix: Measuring the Game of Golf

By: John T. Gourville and Professor Jerry N. Conover

GolfLogix has developed a small, GPS-based device to help golfers track their play. They must decide how best to distribute these devices: 1) sell them directly to golfers through traditional retail channels; 2) sell them to courses, which would then provide them to... View Details

Keywords: Distribution Channels; Product Launch; Brands and Branding; Innovation and Invention; Measurement and Metrics

18 Jan 2021
Book

How Thinking Like a Startup Helps Governments Solve More Problems

first big-city innovation offices in the United States. In April 2013, he helped guide the mayor’s office’s response to the attacks on the Boston Marathon. At HBS, he has helped build the Young American Leaders Program View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

October 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Background Note

Book Publishing in 2010

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Nancy Bartlett

Legacy book publishers wrangled with ebook retailers over royalty rates, release strategy, and distribution rights as customer demand for cheaper ebooks eroded publishers' profitable print formats. E-readers like Kindle, as well as Apple's iPad that invigorated the... View Details

Keywords: Price; Information Publishing; Books; Disruptive Innovation; Demand and Consumers; Distribution; Strategy; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Publishing Industry

June 2024 (Revised December 2024)
Case

Climate Governance at Linde plc (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Suraj Srinivasan, Emilie Billaud and Vincent Dessain

In July 2023, the Linde plc board of directors' sustainability committee convened in London to review the company's environmental performance, with a focus on decarbonization and clean energy. Linde was the world's largest industrial gas supplier, with a workforce of... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Disclosure; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Compensation and Benefits; Innovation Strategy; Leading Change; Goals and Objectives; Business and Shareholder Relations; Chemical Industry; United States; Germany; Europe; North America; London

27 Feb 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

How Following Best Business Practices Can Improve Health Care

accounting have to do with improving patient outcomes in Haiti? HBS faculty members discuss their research and what it means for patients, providers, and industries. A Good Place to Start Clayton Christensen... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Health; Medical Devices & Supplies

January 2008
Article

Where Will We Find Tomorrow's Leaders?

By: Linda A. Hill

Unless we challenge long-held assumptions about how business leaders are supposed to act and where they're supposed to come from, many people who could become effective global leaders will remain invisible, warns Harvard Business School professor Hill. Instead of... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Globalization; Innovation Leadership; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Situation or Environment; Personal Characteristics