Publications
Publications
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(2,352)
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- News (474)
- Research (1,578)
- Events (7)
- Multimedia (3)
- Faculty Publications (1,028)
- February 1990 (Revised July 1992)
- Case
Whistler Corp. (A)
By: Gary P. Pisano
Describes the circumstances surrounding Whistler Corp.'s decision whether or not to continue manufacturing operations in the United States. The company had been experiencing severe problems in its domestic manufacturing operations and was thus unable to compete with... View Details
- August 1993 (Revised June 1994)
- Case
21-Speed Gizmos, Inc.
In this hypothetical case, 21-Speed Gizmos, Inc., a manufacturer of electronic bicycle components for the serious cyclist, must decide what price to charge for a new product. Describes the product and includes cost and demand information available for making the... View Details
- March 1994
- Case
Materials Technology Corp.
By: Clayton M. Christensen
Materials Technology Corp. (MTC) is an MIT-based start-up company that identified an initial product market for its advanced materials-processing technology using conventional market research techniques. While pursuing that market--advanced microelectronic... View Details
- February 1992 (Revised January 2002)
- Case
BMW: The 7-Series Project (A)
By: Gary P. Pisano
Explores BMW's decision about how to manufacture prototype vehicles. Historically, BMW's prototypes were handcrafted by highly skilled artisans in the company's shop. A proposal has been made to alter the process so that prototypes are made in a way that can better... View Details
- March 1989
- Background Note
Industrial Distribution Systems
A comprehensive description of industrial distribution systems. Written from the perspective of industrial products manufacturers, concerned about building and managing channels systems for taking products from point of manufacture to point of use. Covers: 1) channels... View Details
- 2001
- Case
Crown Point Cabinetry
By: Vijay Govindarajan, David VanderSchee and Julie Lang
In 1993, Brian Stowell, CEO of a family-owned cabinet manufacturing business, created a vision for his 85 employees that focused on high quality products with less rework and wasted material. Eliminating production line managers and adopting a team-based management... View Details
- March 2016
- Case
N12 Technologies: Building an Organization and Building a Business
By: David A. Garvin and Aldo Sesia
N12 Technologies was a startup founded in 2010 that employed nanotechnology to manufacture a patented material to improve the performance of carbon fiber composites, which were used in a wide variety of products, ranging from bicycles to automobiles to aircraft parts.... View Details
Keywords: Startup; Organizational Structure; Nanotechnology; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Management Systems; Commercialization; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry; United States
- January 1993 (Revised May 2004)
- Case
Laurinburg Precision Engineering
By: William J. Bruns Jr.
A small manufacturer needs additional financing for expansion and production improvements. A bond issue would provide needed funds, and a zero-coupon bond would delay payments until funds provided by operations were available. Present value tables are included. View Details
- March 1994 (Revised November 1994)
- Case
Komatsu Ltd. (A): Target Costing System
Komatsu, a leading manufacturer of construction equipment, seeks to expand aggressively through the 1990s. Key to its competitiveness is a strict adherence to target costs throughout the product development process. Komatsu conducts several design-for-manufacturability... View Details
- October 1995 (Revised March 1996)
- Case
Executive Shirt Company, Inc.
By: Janice H. Hammond and Sylvie Ryckebusch
The Executive Shirt Co. is contemplating a move into custom-made shirts. The company's general manager has charged two of his managers to come up with plans for incorporating production of custom shirts into the existing manufacturing process. View Details
- July – August 2009
- Article
Restoring American Competitiveness
By: Gary P. Pisano and Willy C. Shih
For decades, U.S. companies have been outsourcing manufacturing in the belief that it held no competitive advantage. That's been a disaster, maintain Harvard professors Pisano and Shih, because today's low-value manufacturing operations hold the seeds of tomorrow's... View Details
- April 2006 (Revised September 2009)
- Case
BYD Company, Ltd.
By: Robert S. Huckman and Alan D. MacCormack
Considers whether BYD Co., Ltd., the largest Chinese maker of rechargeable batteries, should enter the Chinese automobile industry by acquiring Qinchuan Auto, a state-owned car manufacturer. Set just after BYD's initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange... View Details
- November 1990 (Revised April 1999)
- Case
General Motors: Packard Electric Division
Packard Electric is the division of General Motors (GM) that does all of the electrical wiring and cabling for GM automobiles. They developed a new approach for passing the cables through the firewall between the engine and passenger compartments. The new technology... View Details
- October 1993 (Revised September 1994)
- Case
Catalina Marketing Corp.
By: David E. Bell, Walter J. Salmon and Dinny Starr
Catalina Marketing is a very successful marketing service firm. Their current customers include major supermarket retailers and consumer products manufacturers nation-wide. Catalina provides a unique way for these clients to distribute coupons for their products via... View Details
- 2008
- Working Paper
Modern Management: Good for the Environment or Just Hot Air?
By: Nicholas Bloom, Christos Genakos, Ralf Martin and Raffaella Sadun
We use an innovative methodology to measure management practices in over 300 manufacturing firms in the UK. We then match this management data to production and energy usage information for establishments owned by these firms. We find that establishments in better... View Details
Restoring American Competitiveness
For decades, U.S. companies have been outsourcing manufacturing in the belief that it held no competitive advantage. That’s been... View Details
- 10 Dec 2012
- News
Apple Mac To Be Made In USA
- August 2006
- Case
Dreyer's Slow Churned(TM) Ice Cream
By: Noel H. Watson, Steven C. Wheelwright and Brian DeLacey
Examines capacity forecasting and planning in a complex new product introduction scenario. The introduction at Dreyer's, a large dairy snack manufacturer, involves not only a new product but a new manufacturing process and product package, thus implying a significant... View Details
- November 1990 (Revised May 2004)
- Case
Mile High Cycles
By: William J. Bruns Jr.
Introduces the concept of cost variances. Looking at a bicycle manufacturer with one product and three departments, the case presents budgeted and actual data for material, labor, and overhead. View Details
- March 2019 (Revised June 2019)
- Case
Global Sourcing at Nike
By: Nien-hê Hsieh, Michael W. Toffel and Olivia Hull
This case explores the evolution of Nike’s global product sourcing strategy, in particular ongoing efforts to improve working conditions at its suppliers’ factories. When the case opens in July 2018, Vice President of Sourcing Amanda Tucker and her colleagues in Nike’s... View Details
Keywords: Sourcing; Factory Conditions; Trade; Geography; Geographic Scope; Globalized Firms and Management; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Governance Compliance; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy; Labor; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Labor and Management Relations; Complexity; Sports Industry; Fashion Industry; Oregon; Portland; Asia; North and Central America