Publications

01 Dec 2018
News

Competencies and Credentials

pace of technological change, the emergence of a gig economy, and shifting global and labor markets. As faculty co-chairs of the Managing the Future of Work project, William Kerr and Joseph Fuller are leading efforts to prepare leaders... View Details

June 2001 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Alibris (B)

Takes place more than two years after the (A) case. Alibris has weathered the storms and has built a popular, growing business. As the Christmas season of 2000 approaches, the company is confronted with two IT projects that both seem urgent and important. The first is... View Details

Keywords: Resource Allocation; Information Technology; Service Operations; Competitive Advantage; Information Management; Service Industry

01 Sep 2014
News

Afghanistan’s Hope and Light

operators exist in the countries where Roshan is staking its claim. But it will focus in part on the rural areas that have the lowest service penetration and the fewest social services, a strategy that fits well with the company’s dual... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna

02 Oct 2013
What Do You Think?

Is Leadership an Increasingly Difficult Balancing Act?

one with fewer answers? Those were the questions implied by this month's column. The predominance of responses suggested that the answers to the questions are "yes, yes, and maybe." Adam Hartung commented that "As View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

January 2010 (Revised March 2013)
Case

foursquare

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and David Chen

Co-founders of foursquare are deciding how to respond to competitive threats and scale up the organization. Foursquare was a location-based online service that allowed users to "check in" to a location using an application on a smartphone. Foursquare kept track of a... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Competitive Advantage; Web Services Industry; United States

March 2023
Case

Azenta Life Sciences: The Road to Transformation

By: Gary P. Pisano and Catherine Piner

When the Board brought Steve Schwartz in as President of Brooks Automation in 2010, they gave him a clear mission: strengthen the company’s core semiconductor equipment business and find a new industry to enter. Over the course of the next decade, Schwartz and the... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Market Entry and Exit; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Segmentation; Technology Industry

15 Dec 2015
News

The Year in Ideas 2015

communication technology that works with the same cellular spectrums that telecommunications companies use. Since that first experiment four years ago, Project Loon has improved balloon steerability, connectivity, and stamina—the balloons... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna, Christine Lejeune, Dan Morrell, and April White

06 May 2015
What Do You Think?

Are You Ready for Personalized Predictive Analytics?

factors will be mitigated (by) leaders who are short on ethics and morality ." Others, most of whom assumed that the technologies would successfully be applied, were less sanguine about the results, expanding on Levine's concerns.... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

May 2024
Case

Pernod Ricard: Uncorking Digital Transformation

By: Iavor Bojinov, Edward McFowland III, François Candelon, Nikolina Jonsson and Emer Moloney

This case study explores the opportunities and challenges of the digital transformation journey of French wine and spirits company Pernod Ricard. As part of the transformation, the company launched four key digital programs (KDPs) aimed at using data and artificial... View Details

Keywords: Business Organization; Business Divisions; Talent and Talent Management; Global Strategy; AI and Machine Learning; Analytics and Data Science; Digital Transformation; Digital Strategy; Advertising; Sales; Organizational Culture; Product Development; Decision Making; Technology Adoption; Alignment; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry; France; Europe

July 2011 (Revised September 2012)
Case

Industrial Metrology: Getting In-Line? (A)

By: Willy Shih

Metrology plays a key role in the manufacture of mechanical components. Traditionally it is used extensively in a pre-process stage where a manufacturer does process planning, design, and ramp-up, and in post-process off-line inspection to establish proof of quality.... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Machinery and Machining; Measurement and Metrics; Product Design; Planning; Quality; Opportunities; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Segmentation; Technology Adoption; Theory; Manufacturing Industry

March 2000
Case

Aspect Medical Systems

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Naomi Atkins

Entrepreneur Nassib Chamoun has created an innovative anesthesiology device that monitors patients' consciousness levels during surgery. This case tracks how Chamoun and his executive team built the infrastructure of the company and actively managed the adoption... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Independent Innovation and Invention; Infrastructure; Product Design; Product Development; Problems and Challenges; Adoption; Competitive Strategy; Technology Industry

01 Sep 2014
News

Feedback

percent. Screen Saver Re: AMC Theatres’ quest for a third place Very interesting story of what brick-and-mortar can do to compete in a tough video entertainment market. The puzzle is if this is a strategy of building better mousetraps or... View Details

October 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Case

AI and Brand Management: Promises and Perils

By: Julian De Freitas and Elie Ofek

As AI gains traction across industries, companies anticipate that AI will revolutionize both backend processes and customer-facing interactions—with brands eager to leverage AI for tailored marketing materials and automated consumer engagements. Yet, despite a dramatic... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Brands and Branding; Reputation; Technology Adoption; Competitive Advantage

Web

2022 Symposium - Race, Gender & Equity

“master’s tools” can be turned toward liberatory ends, powerful new strategies and technologies are reshaping work and life in potentially emancipatory ways. Many of these redeployments and innovations are... View Details

May 2017 (Revised May 2019)
Supplement

Intuit: QuickBooks (B)

By: David Yoffie and Nicole Tempest Keller

This short case updates the earlier Intuit case on transitioning from a product company into a platform company. In addition to providing information on the recent successes and challenges of the business, it also explores a new challenge of building a platform with a... View Details

Keywords: Platform; Strategic Transition; Strategy; Digital Platforms; Transition