by Willy C. Shih - Publications - Faculty & Research

22 Aug 2024
Blog Post

LM Wind Power Test and Validation Center

In January 2024, Professors Willy Shih and Mike Toffel led 45 HBS MBA students on site visits to witness the energy transition and innovative sustainable production activities throughout Denmark and the... View Details

May 2008
Teaching Note

Radical Collaboration: IBM Microelectronics Joint Development Alliances (TN)

By: Willy C. Shih and Andrew A. King

Teaching Note for [608121]. View Details

Keywords: Semiconductor Industry

Citation

Purchase

01 Jun 2005
News

Christensen Center: Open for Business

Technology at work: Willis Emmons and Assistant Professor Li Jin review a video of Jin teaching. Every day at HBS, several professors bring their unique teaching skills to the same material in the required MBA curriculum. So View Details

Keywords: Chris Christensen; Christensen Center; case teaching; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

March 2012
Article

Does America Really Need Manufacturing?

By: Gary P. Pisano and Willy C. Shih

Too many U.S. companies base decisions about where to locate production largely on narrow financial criteria. They don't consider whether keeping manufacturing at home makes more sense strategically or take into account the impact it might have on their ability to... View Details

Keywords: Production; Geographic Location; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Advantage; Product Design; Risk Management; Manufacturing Industry; United States

Citation

Purchase

June 2020 (Revised May 2022)
Case

Vanguard Retail Operations (A)

By: Willy C. Shih and Antonio Moreno

The first two cases in this series are set in the financial services industry, and explore whether it is better for back-office workers to be generalists who provide the flexibility of being able to handle the complete range of transactions that the company faces or... View Details

Keywords: Pooling; Generalist Model; Specialist Model; Operations; Service Operations; Management; Job Design and Levels; Financial Services Industry; United States

Citation

Educators

Purchase

August 2009 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Intel NBI: Radio-Frequency Identification

By: Willy C. Shih and Thomas Thurston

The Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) group was a start-up that was part of Intel's New Business Initiatives. It sought initially to develop and sell a high performance Rf fast read rate module targeted at fixed position readers that might be found in loading docks... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Organizational Structure; Failure; Diversification; Integration; Semiconductor Industry

Citation

Find at Harvard

July 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Background Note

Horizontal Specialization and Modularity in the Semiconductor Industry

By: Willy C. Shih, Chintay Shih and Chen-Fu Chien

Well-codified interfaces have enabled horizontal specialization in the global semiconductor industry. This Technical Note describes the modern integrated circuit value chain, and the motivation for the reuse of blocks of intellectual property in modern IC designs. It... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Intellectual Property; Industry Structures; Horizontal Integration; Semiconductor Industry

Citation

Educators

Purchase

17 Jul 2012
First Look

First Look: July 17

and the Automotive Microcontroller Supply Chain (A) Willy Shih and Margaret PiersonHarvard Business School Case 612-071 The magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck Japan in March 2011 caused extensive damage to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Sep 2024
Blog Post

District Heating in Denmark: How Fjernvarme Fyn fuels an integrated and sustainable future

In January 2024, Professors Willy Shih and Mike Toffel led 45 HBS MBA students on site visits to witness the energy transition and innovative sustainable production activities throughout Denmark and the... View Details

January 2025 (Revised February 2025)
Teaching Note

Vanguard Retail Operations

By: Antonio Moreno, Willy C. Shih and Margaret Underwood

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 620-104. View Details

Citation

Purchase

13 Dec 2011
News

Harvard Business School Launches US Competitiveness Project

Management; Robert Z. Lawrence, Harvard Kennedy School; Josh Lerner, HBS; David A. Moss, HBS; Gary P. Pisano, HBS; Jan W. Rivkin, HBS; Michael E. Porter, HBS; William A. Sahlman, HBS; David S. Scharfstein, HBS; Willy View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

21 Nov 2013
News

Case Study: BlackBerry and Thorsten Heins

phones, and focused the company on the critical launch of its next iteration of handsets, BlackBerry 10. The phones came in two versions: first launched was a touch-screen phone designed to attract mass-market consumers, followed by... View Details

Keywords: Telecommunications; Information; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management

10 Oct 2024
Blog Post

High-Tech Greenhouse Innovations in The Netherlands

In January 2024, Professors Willy Shih and Mike Toffel led 45 HBS MBA students on site visits to witness the energy transition and innovative sustainable production activities throughout Denmark and the... View Details

01 Mar 2011
News

The Path to Economic Revival

create high-tech products essential for future prosperity is on the decline, argue Gary Pisano, the Harry E. Figgie Jr. Professor of Business Administration, and Professor of Management Practice Willy Shih. They won the prestigious... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Manufacturing

01 Mar 2018
News

‘We were just doing what needed to be done’

Edited by Jennifer Gillespie FOUR FOUNDERS From left: Clifford Darden, Lillian Lincoln Lambert, Theodore Lewis, and Leroy Willis (photos courtesy of HBS Archives) Just over 50 years ago, at the end of a... View Details

15 Nov 2020
News

Exploring China’s Belt & Road Initiative

preparation with the unique perspective that comes from on-the-ground observations and interactions. The students spent two weeks in China, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka in January. Led by Meg Rithmire, the F. Warren McFarlan Associate Professor... View Details

01 Jun 2008
News

A Binary Formula

strategic thinking in terms of how you manage these types of projects, how you manage investors’ expectations, and how you manage partners. “I see a lot of great research going on within HBS,” Shih continues. “I’m struck View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; science; research; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Management

November 2016
Supplement

United Airlines Operations

By: Ryan W. Buell, Willy C. Shih and Michael W. Toffel

This video is a collection of clips that highlight aspects of United Airlines' operations View Details

Keywords: Service; Service Delivery; Service Management; Service Operations; Service Quality; Operating Systems; Operational Complexity; Operational Disruptions; Operational Effectiveness; Operational Efficiency; Air Transportation; Operations; Air Transportation Industry

Citation

Purchase

August 2008
Case

System on a Chip 2008: Ardentec Corporation

By: Willy C. Shih, Chen-Fu Chien, Chintay Shih and Ting-Chen Chen

Ardentec Corporation is a specialist in "wafer probing," a highly specialized niche sandwiched between the "front-end" and the "back-end" of semiconductor manufacturing. Because the semiconductor industry uses modular processes and has standard containers for the... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Structures; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Manufacturing Industry; Semiconductor Industry

Citation

Find at Harvard