Publications

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May 2012 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Wikipedia: Project Esperanza

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, Andreea Gorbatai and Tiona Zuzul

In October 2006, Wikipedia was the largest volunteer-run on-line encyclopedia which could be freely read and edited by anyone with internet access. Within almost six years of its founding in 2001, the project had attracted hundreds of thousands of editors who had... View Details

Keywords: Web-enabled Application; Internet; Information Publishing; Social and Collaborative Networks; Groups and Teams; Publishing Industry; United States

February 2001 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Extricity Inc.

Extricity provides software that triggers and automates information flows between collaborating businesses. Its products interface with the legacy information systems already in use by customers, extract information from them, and send this information over the... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Information Technology Industry

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30 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Why Evolutionary Software Development Works

industry in which the need for a responsive development process has never been greater. The researchers analyzed data from 29 completed projects and identified the characteristics most associated with the best outcomes. (See "Four... View Details

Keywords: by Alan MacCormack; Technology

24 Sep 2007
Research & Ideas

The FDA: What Will the Next 100 Years Bring?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which was created by the passage of the 1906 Federal Food and Drugs Act, regulates companies and industries accounting for one-quarter of all consumer spending, roughly $1.5 trillion worth of... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Biotechnology; Consumer Products; Food & Beverage; Health

January 1999 (Revised March 2000)
Case

ZEFER: November 1998

By: Paul A. Gompers

ZEFER, a young Internet professional service firm, is considering its expansion options. Organic growth versus growth by acquisition is a central theme. The firm's financing strategy will be determined by its business strategy. View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Financial Strategy; Service Operations; Business Strategy; Expansion; Internet; Service Industry

2007
Working Paper

The Seer of Wellesley Hills: Roger Babson and the Babson Statistical Organization

By: Walter A. Friedman

Roger Babson was a pioneer of the business-forecasting industry in the United States in the early twentieth century. He built the largest private economic forecasting agency in the period and published a great range of economic statistics in his weekly newsletters. As... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Economics; Business History; Newsletters; Personal Development and Career; United States

April 1999
Case

Steve Perlman and WebTV (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Ron Fortgang

The dynamics of a linked series of internal and external negotiations involved in launching, growing, and selling a high-tech, Internet start-up are explored. Steve Perlman unfurled an impressive new technology, recruited a top technical and management team, secured... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Tactics; Alliances; Internet; Communications Industry

23 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Building a Better Buyer-Seller Relationship

Buyers and sellers in mature industrial markets can turn single transactions into long-term beneficial relationships by a deeper understanding of the complex connection between the two, says Harvard Business School professor Narakesari... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

September 2000 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Netflix (2000)

By: E. Scott Mayfield

The CEO of a successful Internet start-up must decide whether to delay the company's initial public offering following a significant decline in the NASDAQ market during the spring of 2000. The company's CFO is asked to reevaluate the company's projected cash flow needs... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Contracts; Initial Public Offering; Cash Flow; Service Delivery; Financial Strategy; Web Services Industry

October 1999 (Revised October 2005)
Case

Autobytel.com

By: Youngme E. Moon

Autobytel enjoys first-mover advantage in the Internet new car buying space. According to a number of metrics, it is the online leader in this category. However, a number of competitors have sprung up, raising questions about the long-term viability of Autobytel's... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Internet and the Web; Marketing Channels; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Competition; Business Model; Service Operations; Budgets and Budgeting; Growth and Development; Auto Industry

15 Feb 2000
Lessons from the Classroom

Delivering Information Services: A 30-Year Perspective

well-established firms such as Walgreen's and Rite Aid. We also look at Amazon.com, another upstart that can claim to be "the biggest book store in the world." By looking closely at these companies' use of the Internet— which I believe is the analog to the... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

May 2004 (Revised May 2006)
Case

AsiaInfo: The IPO Decision

The cofounder and CEO of AsiaInfo, a Chinese system integrator that built 70% of China's Internet backbone, must decide whether to list equity in the United States to fund future growth. Describes the company and the decision. A rewritten version of a previous case. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Initial Public Offering; Growth Management; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Equity; Information Technology Industry; China; United States

Teaching Interest

Transforming Customer Experiences - Executive Education

By: Ryan W. Buell

In today's fast-growing service sector, a new set of frameworks are required to build a robust and competitive service business. Transforming Customer Experiences draws upon the latest research and insights to equip senior managers with a new toolkit for leading... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Customer Satisfaction; Customer Loyalty; Quality; Employees; Service Models; Service Industry

10 May 2016
First Look

May 10, 2016

May 2016 Journal of Accounting Research Gathering Data for Archival, Field, Survey, and Experimental Accounting Research By: Bloomfield, Robert, Mark W. Nelson, and Eugene F. Soltes Abstract—In the published proceedings of the rst Journal... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

October 22, 2015
Article

The Mayo Clinic Model for Running a Value-Improvement Program

By: Robert S. Kaplan, Derek A. Haas, Richard A. Helmers, March Rucci and Meredith Brady

Applying time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) in health care cannot be delegated to the finance function. The most successful implementations have had strong executive support, exceptional clinical leaders, and dedicated, multi-disciplinary project teams. The... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Activity Based Costing and Management; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry

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October 2004 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Langer Lab, The: Commercializing Science

By: H. Kent Bowen, Alex Kazaks, Ayr Muir-Harmony and Bryce LaPierre

Professor Robert Langer's laboratory at MIT is the source of an unusually large number of published papers, patents, and technology licenses to start-up and established companies in the biomedical industry. Explores Langer's leadership and other factors that create a... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Business Startups; Research and Development; Patents; Innovation Leadership; Science-Based Business; Commercialization; Biotechnology Industry; Biotechnology Industry

15 Sep 2015
First Look

September 15, 2015

Shane Greenstein Abstract—We examine the relationship between the diffusion of advanced Internet technology and the geographic concentration of invention, as measured by patents. First, we show that patenting became more concentrated from... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2001 (Revised January 2002)
Case

COSCO

By: F. Warren McFarlan and David Lane

Focuses on the IT challenges facing COSCO, one of the largest shipping companies in the world, as it deals with the Internet and modern information technology. The challenge is to understand what they are trying to do and understand the complexity of the task. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Complexity; Problems and Challenges; Shipping Industry; China