Publications

June 2016
Case

Alnylam: Building a Biotechnology Powerhouse

By: Kevin Schulman

Alnylam is an early stage biomedical technology focused on commercial development of a novel technology platform, siRNA. This technology offered promise to treat rare genetic disorders that could not be treated with other technologies. Alnlyam's development entailed... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Commercialization; Health Disorders; Intellectual Property; Biotechnology Industry

2013
Book

Teaming to Innovate

By: Amy C. Edmondson

Innovation requires teaming. (Put another way, teaming is to innovation what assembly lines are to car production.) This book brings together key insights on teaming, as they pertain to innovation. How do you build a culture of innovation? What does that culture look... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Leadership; Groups and Teams; Organizational Culture

2016
Working Paper

Innovation Adoption and Organizational Identity: Identity Dynamism as a Strategic Resource for Top Management Team Decision Making

By: Ryan Raffaelli, Mary Ann Glynn and Michael Tushman

Organizations continuously face decisions about whether to adopt radical innovations. We examine the relationship between innovation adoption and identity, linking identity with firm strategy to explain innovation adoption over time. We conceptualize identity as... View Details

Keywords: Dynamic Managerial Capabilities; Organizational Identity; Innovation Adoption; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Innovation and Invention; Adoption

2012
Chapter

Knowledge-based Innovation: Emergence and Embedding of New Practice Areas in Management Consulting Firms

By: Heidi K. Gardner, N. Anand and Tim Morris

How do innovative knowledge-based structures emerge and become embedded in organizations? We drew on theories of knowledge-intensive firms, communities of practice, and professional service firms to analyze multiple cases of new practice area creation in management... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Innovation and Invention; Knowledge; Organizations; Practice; Mathematical Methods; Consulting Industry

December 2005 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Polaroid Entering Digital Imaging

Focuses on Polaroid's attempt to respond to the changes to its competitive environment that are entailed by the rise of digital imaging. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Competition; Consumer Products Industry; Technology Industry

November 1996 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Vallourec's Venture into Metal Injection Molding

By: Clayton M. Christensen

Vallourec, a leading maker of seamless tubing, developed a radically new technology that used steel powders to create the tubes. To ensure a supply source, Vallourec ultimately had to acquire its supplier of metal powder, and then, to build the volume required to... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Business Model; Diversification; Innovation and Management; Manufacturing Industry

March 1990
Article

Architectural Innovation: The Reconfiguration of Existing Product Technologies and the Failure of Established Firms

By: R. Henderson and K. B. Clark

Keywords: Design; Innovation and Invention; Failure; Information Technology; Product

24 Apr 2020
News

Spreading the Love

Photos courtesy of Lovepop Photos courtesy of Lovepop When Lovepop cofounders Wombi Rose and John Wise (both MBA 2015) heard Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s entreaty for businesses to assist with sourcing personal protective equipment (PPE), they knew they could... View Details

24 Jul 2020
News

Reimagining Chicago’s Schools

Photo courtesy of Melissa Zaikos Back in 2011, when Melissa Zaikos (MBA 2000) began digging deeply into the standardized test scores of the Chicago Public Schools, she saw some concerning trends. Elementary schools, she thought, seemed to be getting better in the... View Details

04 Apr 2018
News

Rebuilding the Girl Scouts Brand

Mishka Pitter-Armand (MBA 2003) was never a Girl Scout; but she is a go-getter, an innovator, a risk taker, and a leader. “When you bring those four words together,” Pitter-Armand says, “they form the acronym G.I.R.L.” In late 2016, Pitter-Armand, head of brand... View Details

14 Mar 2014
News

Start-up Takes the Legwork out of Shopping

Keywords: fashion; start-up; Personal Services; Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores; Retail Trade

11 Mar 2014
News

3 Ways to Innovate in a Stagnant Environment

01 Sep 2003
News

Books

Experimentation Matters by Stefan H. Thomke Becoming a Manager (second edition) by Linda A. Hill What Really Works by William Joyce, Nitin Nohria, and Bruce Roberson The Innovator’s Solution by Clayton M. Christensen and Michael E. Raynor Experimentation Matters by... View Details

Keywords: Deborah E. Blagg; Margie Kelley; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

01 Jun 2010
News

Powering Up

GILER: A better way, through wireless. Suzanne Kreiter/Boston Globe/Landov Nothing seems to hold back the tech revolution — nothing except all those batteries, wires, cables, and other impedimenta that are always running out of power, getting tripped over, becoming... View Details

Keywords: Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services; Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution; Utilities

August 2021
Case

Orchadio's First Two Split Experiments

By: Iavor I. Bojinov, Marco Iansiti and David Lane

Orchadio, a direct-to-consumer grocery business, needs to conduct its first two A/B tests—one to evaluate the effectiveness and functioning of its newly redesigned website, and one to market-test four versions of a new banner for the website. To do so, it will rely on... View Details

Keywords: Information Management; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Resource Allocation; Marketing; Measurement and Metrics; Customization and Personalization; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Information Technology Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

October 2016 (Revised November 2016)
Case

Innovating Beyond Ochsner

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Olivia Hull

The Ochsner Health System has developed a proprietary software tool designed to treat hypertension. Built into the system’s electronic medical records, the Hypertension Digital Medicine program allows patients to record their blood pressure at home and share readings... View Details

May 2017
Teaching Note

Hilti Fleet Management (A) and (B)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Oliver Gassmann and Roman Sauer

These notes are meant to accompany Hilti Fleet Management (A): Turning a Successful Business Model on Its Head (717-427) and Hilti Fleet Management (B): Towards a New Business Model (717-465).
This case explores the introduction of fleet management in the... View Details