Publications

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Research Summary

Evolution of firm structure in vertical specialized technology supply chains

By: Willy C. Shih

The global market in many everyday products has been transformed by the internationalization of production. In many industries, semiconductors and electronic products in particular, a sequential mode of production has evolved in which goods are produced... View Details

Keywords: Globalization Of Supply Chain; Globalization; Technological Innovation; Manufacturing Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Auto Industry; United States; Asia; China

07 Jun 2004
Research & Ideas

What Drives Supply Chain Behavior?

To err is human, but most research on supply chain management doesn't take psychological, functional, incentive-related, and other biases into account. HBS professors Rogelio Oliva and Noel Watson have devised their latest research to... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Johnston

November 2016
Article

Spatial Organization of Firms and Location Choices Through the Value Chain

By: Juan Alcacer and Mercedes Delgado

We explore the impact of geographically bounded, intra-firm linkages (internal agglomerations) and geographically bounded, inter-firm linkages (external agglomerations) on firms' location strategies. Using data from the Census Bureau's Longitudinal Business Database,... View Details

Keywords: Location Choices; Agglomeration Economies; Value Chain; Organization Theory; Geographic Location; Business Strategy

Research Summary

Supply Chain Inventory Planning

My work studies management decision-making in demand and supply planning contexts with a focus on forecasting and inventory planning decisions. I examine these decision-making processes from both a supply chain (i.e. across firm) and an... View Details

19 Nov 2009
News

Value chain

07 Dec 2011
News

Yelp is Leaving Chains Behind

25 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

The Secret Life of Supply Chains

research rethinks what academics and practitioners have simply called the supply chain—a loose federation of individual suppliers that feed companies with the goods and services necessary to create products for consumers and businesses. But a deeper look reveals... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Manufacturing; Service

28 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

Supply Chain Risk: Deal With It

instability in Third World countries, and last year's shutdown of West Coast shipping docks—have awakened managers as never before to supply chain risks, some of which had been introduced or heightened by the very actions companies had... View Details

Keywords: by David Stauffer

March 1979 (Revised June 1985)
Case

Chain Saw Industry in 1974

By: Michael E. Porter

Describes the structure of the chain saw industry in 1974, when it is on the threshold of a major period of growth. Data are provided on each significant competitor. The discussion should center around strategies in a growing market for differently situated... View Details

Keywords: Industry Growth; Corporate Strategy; Industry Structures; Growth and Development Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

Research Summary

The Food Chain

By: David E. Bell

The world's production of food has been keeping pace with the global population, but needs to step up the pace to meet not only the growing Asian population but also their growing consumption per capita. Through case studies, Bell is examining how farming is... View Details

April 1982 (Revised May 1983)
Case

Chain Saws (A)

By: J. Ronald Fox

April 1982
Case

Chain Saws (B)

By: J. Ronald Fox

4 Apr 2013
Conference Presentation

Greening Supply Chains

By: Michael W. Toffel

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May 2019 (Revised June 2019)
Background Note

Responsibilities in the Supply Chain

By: Nien-hê Hsieh

Companies are increasingly called upon to take responsibility for what occurs in their supply chains. One particular area of debate is a company’s responsibility for working conditions in supplier factories. This note provides a framework for managers to grapple with... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Working Conditions; Safety; Corporate Accountability

April 1982
Case

Chain Saws (C)

By: J. Ronald Fox

August 1995
Teaching Note

Chain Stores TN

By: Richard S. Tedlow

Teaching Note for (9-391-251). View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development; Lawfulness; Retail Industry

March 1999 (Revised December 2001)
Case

Ford Motor Company: Supply Chain Strategy

Describes Ford's examination of its supply chain to evaluate whether the company should "virtually integrate" on the Dell Computers model. View Details

Keywords: Integration; Information Technology; Supply Chain Management; Auto Industry

April 1979 (Revised June 1988)
Case

Chain Saw Industry in 1978

By: Michael E. Porter and David J. Collis

For use on the second day of a two-day sequence on the U.S. chain saw industry. Describes the evolution of the industry since 1974. Illustrates issues in industry evolution, the forces causing evolution, and the strategic issues raised by evolution. The discussion can... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Industry Growth; Manufacturing Industry; United States

July 2023 (Revised July 2023)
Background Note

Generative AI Value Chain

By: Andy Wu and Matt Higgins

Generative AI refers to a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that can create new content (e.g., text, image, or audio) in response to a prompt from a user. ChatGPT, Bard, and Claude are examples of text generating AIs, and DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion are... View Details

Keywords: AI; Artificial Intelligence; Model; Hardware; Data Centers; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Analytics and Data Science; Value