Publications

28 May 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Monopolistic Competition Between Differentiated Products With Demand For More Than One Variety

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu; Video Game; Web Services

29 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

Inventing Products is Less Valuable Than Inventing Ideas

social network that would allow everyone to share their lives with one another across geographies. "Compared to the value of the global network idea, the value of the actual product of a platform for college kids was much less,"... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology

January 2015 (Revised April 2015)
Case

Zeal: Launching Personalized and Social Learning

By: John J-H Kim and Christine S. An

Set in 2014, this case follows John Danner and his team at Zeal as they consider their product development strategy. In February 2013, serial entrepreneurs John Danner and Sanjay Noronha co-found Zeal, an education technology start up providing a web-based, mobile... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Education Technology; MVP; Product Development; Product Market Fit; Monetization Strategy; SaaS Business Models; Education; Personalized Learning

August 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Supplement

Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (B)

By: Willy Shih

This case explores the very different paths taken by the Ford Motor Company and the General Motors Corporation in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Henry Ford's Model T was a car for the masses. After considerable experimentation, Ford Motor... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Exploration; Dominant Design; Business Growth and Maturation; Business History; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Product Design; Product Development; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Vertical Integration; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Michigan

December 2010
Article

Can Higher Prices Stimulate Product Use? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Zambia

By: Nava Ashraf, James Berry and Jesse M. Shapiro

The controversy over how much to charge for health products in the developing world rests, in part, on whether higher prices can increase use, either by targeting distribution to high-use households (a screening effect), or by stimulating use psychologically through a... View Details

Keywords: Price; Product; Information; Zambia

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02 Apr 2024
Research & Ideas

Employees Out Sick? Inside One Company's Creative Approach to Staying Productive

can’t control absenteeism, and you don’t know when you will receive an order for a very important buyer,” he says. “So how do you execute your strategy?” While studying a factory in India, Tamayo found one efficient way businesses can remain View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Fashion

December 1999
Case

Sun Microsystems, Inc. (A5): Solaris 7: Rich Green on Product Strategy and Culture Change

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Jane Roessner

Solaris, Sun Microsystems' version of the UNIX operating system, was an amorphous collection of capabilities that had accumulated over the years, a product the company vaguely wished it could market and sell better. Developing and marketing Solaris 7 would help... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Applications and Software; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Product Positioning; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Success; Change; Diversification; Technology Industry; Computer Industry

January 2018 (Revised August 2020)
Background Note

Continuous Software Development: Agile's Successor

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Samuel Clemens and Olivia Hull

In recent years, the twin software development methodologies of continuous delivery and continuous deployment have risen to prominence in the start-up world and beyond. These methods have enabled technology companies large and small to accelerate their product... View Details

Research Summary

Putting Patients First: Marketing Strategies for Treating HIV in Developing Nations

It is more than mere coincidence that the highest rates of HIV occur in the world’s poorest countries. Of the over 40 million people currently living with HIV, 95 percent are in the developing world. The first half of this paper explores the economics of HIV and... View Details

October 2015 (Revised October 2016)
Case

Building Watson: Not So Elementary, My Dear! (Abridged)

By: Willy C. Shih

This case is set inside IBM Research's efforts to build a computer that can successfully take on human challengers playing the game show Jeopardy! It opens with the machine named Watson offering the incorrect answer "Toronto" to a seemingly simple question during the... View Details

Keywords: Analytics; Big Data; Business Analytics; Product Development Strategy; Machine Learning; Machine Intelligence; Artificial Intelligence; Product Development; AI and Machine Learning; Information Technology; Analytics and Data Science; Information Technology Industry; United States

18 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Stuck in Commuter Hell? You Can Still Be Productive

employees are in limbo between their home and work roles. This unstructured time gives rise to “role ambiguity,” leaving people with the unpleasant feeling of being unsure what they’re expected to do. Sources: The Organization for Economic Cooperation and View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

20 Oct 2003
Research & Ideas

Gaps in the Historical Record: Development of the Electronics Industry

further investigation into the development of the consumer electronics and computer industries. Here is an excerpt.I have just completed an initial sketch of the evolution of two industries—Inventing the Electronic Century: The Epic Story... View Details

Keywords: by Alfred D. Chandler Jr.; Consumer Products

2006
Casebook

Managing Product and Service Development: Text and Cases

By: Stefan Thomke

Keywords: Management; Product; Growth and Development; Information; Cases

Article

R&D, Marketing, and the Success of Next-Generation Products

By: Elie Ofek and Miklos Sarvary

Keywords: Research and Development; Marketing; Success; Product

1993
Book

Managing New Product and Process Development: Text and Cases

By: K. B. Clark and S. C. Wheelwright

Keywords: Management; Product Development

17 Oct 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Sharing Design Rights: A Commons Approach for Developing Infrastructure

Keywords: by Nuno Gil & Carliss Y. Baldwin

2022
Book

Productive Tensions: How Every Leader Can Tackle Innovation's Toughest Trade-Offs

By: Chris Bingham and Rory McDonald

Why is leading innovation in nascent business environments so distressingly hit-or-miss? More than 90% of high-potential ventures don’t reach their projected targets. Surveys show that 80% of executives consider innovation crucial to their growth strategy, but only 6%... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Innovation and Management; Organizational Culture; Leadership Style; Decision Making

March 2010
Article

Female Empowerment: Further Evidence From a Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines

By: Nava Ashraf, Dean Karlan and Wesley Yin

Female "empowerment" has increasingly become a policy goal, both as an end to itself and as a means to achieving other development goals. Microfinance in particular has often been argued, but not without controversy, to be a tool for empowering women. Here, using a... View Details

Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Product; Microfinance; Decision Making; Policy; Welfare or Wellbeing; Gender; Power and Influence; Philippines

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April 2008
Case

A Day in the Life of Alex Sander: Driving in the Fast Lane at Landon Care Products

By: Larry E. Greiner and Elizabeth Collins

Alex Sander is a new product manager whose drive and talents are attractive to management, but whose intolerant style has alienated employees. This tension is presented against the backdrop of a 360° performance review process. Sander works in the Toiletries Division... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Conflict Management; Behavior; Management Practices and Processes; Talent and Talent Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Problems and Challenges; Consumer Products Industry; United States; Europe