Publications

November–December 2016
Article

The Impact of Patent Wars on Firm Strategy: Evidence from the Global Smartphone Industry

By: Yongwook Paik and Feng Zhu

Strategy scholars have documented in various empirical settings that firms seek and leverage stronger institutions to mitigate hazards and gain competitive advantage. In this paper, we argue that such “institution-seeking” behavior may not be confined to the pursuit of... View Details

Keywords: Patent Wars; Patent Litigation; Intellectual Property (IP) Enforcement; Institutions; Patent Thicket; Smartphone; Patents; Corporate Strategy; Mobile Technology

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February 2021
Background Note

Jobs to Be Done: A Toolbox

By: Derek C. M. van Bever, Bob Moesta, Iuliana Mogosanu, Shaye Roseman and Katie Zandbergen

The Jobs to Be Done methodology is both a theory and a practical approach for understanding customer behavior and why people make the choices they make. Many practitioners, whether they work for startups or incumbent businesses, find Jobs to Be Done useful because it... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Decision Choices and Conditions; Knowledge Acquisition; Attitudes; Perception; Theory; Behavior; Customer Relationship Management

November 2001 (Revised October 2004)
Case

IBM Network Technology (A)

By: Michael L. Tushman and Robert C Wood

An unconventional manager within IBM leads the creation of a business unit with multibillion-dollar potential, winning over customers and nudging the organization to make the changes needed to achieve dramatic growth. This case provides an example of how organizational... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Leadership; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Change Management; Management Practices and Processes; Business Plan; Organizational Design; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Success; Technology Industry

15 Oct 2012
News

Pay-as-You-Drive Insurance: Big Brother Needs a Makeover

Juan Alcacer

Juan Alcacer is the James J. Hill Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He joined HBS in 2007 and has taught the required MBA strategy course, an elective on Global Strategy and PhD courses in Strategy and International Business. Within... View Details

Keywords: consulting; management consulting; telecommunications

2007
Working Paper

Mental Accounting and Small Windfalls: Evidence from an Online Grocer

By: Katherine L. Milkman, John Beshears, Todd Rogers and Max H. Bazerman

We study the effect of small windfalls on consumer spending decisions by examining the purchasing behavior of a sample of online grocery shoppers over the course of a year. We compare the purchases customers make when redeeming a $10-off coupon they received from their... View Details

Keywords: Spending; Consumer Behavior; Mathematical Methods; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry

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October 2008 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Curled Metal Inc.—Engineered Products Division

By: Benson P. Shapiro and Frank V. Cespedes

Curled Metal Incorporated has declining sales but has developed a new product (curled metal pile driver pads) that, in field tests, deliver customer benefits that are many times CMI's manufacturing costs. Joseph Fernandez and Rajiv Sanwal of CMI's Engineered Products... View Details

Keywords: Price; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Business Strategy

14 Jun 2023
Research & Ideas

Four Steps to Building the Psychological Safety That High-Performing Teams Need

it isn’t. But learning behaviors are usually discretionary, somewhat effortful, and potentially embarrassing. They bring interpersonal risk. Saying, ‘I need help. I’m not sure what to do here,’ is a learning behavior,’” Edmondson... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

February 2005 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Phase Zero: Introducing New Services at IDEO (A)

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Laura Feldman

Focuses on whether world-renowned product design firm IDEO's new customer service fits with the firm's strategic position and organization capabilities. Over the course of IDEO's 13-year history, an increasing share of revenues are a result of "Phase 0"... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Service Operations; Product Design; Infrastructure; Customer Focus and Relationships; Innovation and Invention; Service Industry; Boston; United States

Tiona Zuzul is an Associate Professor in the Strategy Unit. She teaches the MBA elective Making Difficult Decisions, a PhD seminar in Strategy Research Development, and contributes to various executive education programs. Professor Zuzul studies how leaders’... View Details

February 2022
Case

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Tedards

In 2006, the Cleveland Clinic and Mubadala Investment Company partnered with a bold ambition to deliver world class healthcare in the United Arab Emirates. In 2015, after nearly a decade of planning and construction, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi opened its doors. By... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Culture; Alignment; Organizational Effectiveness; Purpose; Impact; Leadership Development; Diversity; Collaboration; Co-creation; Learning Organizations; Empowerment; Teams; Team Dynamics; Teamwork; Team Effectiveness; Trust; Talent; Talent Development And Retention; Psychological Safety; Organizational Evolution; Coaching; Board; Analytics; Innovation; Data; Data Visualization; Digital Technology; Digital; Customer Experience; Experimentation; Change Management; Data-driven Decision-making; Debates; Ecosystem; Partnership; Telemedicine; Sustainability; Global Organizations; Local; Hospital; Healthcare; United Arab Emirates; Health Care and Treatment; Partners and Partnerships; Globalization; Quality; Organizational Culture; Mission and Purpose; Innovation and Management; Information Technology; Joint Ventures; Leadership; Performance Effectiveness; Abu Dhabi; United Arab Emirates

2016
Working Paper

The Impact of Patent Wars on Firm Strategy: Evidence from the Global Smartphone Market

By: Feng Zhu

Strategy scholars have documented in various empirical settings that firms seek and leverage stronger institutions to mitigate hazards and gain competitive advantage. In this paper, we argue that such “institution-seeking” behavior may not be confined to the pursuit of... View Details

Keywords: Patent Wars; Patent Litigation; Intellectual Property (IP) Enforcement; Institutions; Smartphone; Patent Thicket; Digital Platforms; Patents; Lawsuits and Litigation; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business Strategy; Telecommunications Industry

July–August 2023
Article

What Smart Companies Know About Integrating AI

By: Silvio Palumbo and David Edelman

AI has the power to gather, analyze, and utilize enormous volumes of individual customer data to achieve precision and scale in personalization. The experiences of Mercury Financial, CVS Health, and Starbucks debunk the prevailing notion that extracting value from AI... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Customization and Personalization; Integration; Technology Adoption

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14 Feb 2011
Research & Ideas

Clay Christensen’s Milkshake Marketing

price, or dividing the customer base into target demographics, such as age, gender, education, or income level. Unfortunately, neither way works very well, according to Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen, who notes that... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail; Service; Consumer Products; Food & Beverage

01 Dec 2016
HBS Seminar

Erik Snowberg, California Institute of Technology

Ranjay Gulati

Ranjay Gulati is the Paul R. Lawrence MBA Class of 1942 Professor of Business Administration and the former Unit Head of the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School. His pathbreaking research, which focuses on unlocking organizational and unleashing... View Details

Keywords: biotechnology; computer; financial services; industrial goods; information technology industry; pharmaceuticals; professional services; retailing

14 Oct 2019
News

FDA is smashing the status quo for regulatory science

August 2002 (Revised February 2005)
Case

Gillette Company (D): Implementing Change

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

How a strategic change agenda is implemented depends on leaders below the top in every function and geographic region translating the agenda into actions. But those actions do not always unfold as planned. This case examines the first 16 months of a turnaround from the... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Competitive Strategy; Strategic Planning; Change Management; Organizational Design; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Behavior; Leading Change; Retail Industry