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- Faculty Publications (55)
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- 23 Mar 2020
- Research & Ideas
Product Disasters Can Be Fertile Ground for Innovation
incremental and radical innovations that made the devices safer and better. How safe a product is, unlike other features, may be difficult to judge before an event occurs. Often, the producer, the consumer,... View Details
- August 2012 (Revised August 2013)
- Background Note
Competency-Destroying Technology Transitions: Why the Transition to Digital Is Particularly Challenging
By: Willy Shih
Some technology transitions are exceedingly difficult for incumbent firms to execute. The bankruptcy filing by the Eastman Kodak Company highlighted the difficulty companies faced when their core business transitioned from an analog to a digital world. Kodak's business... View Details
Keywords: Technology Transitions; Competency-destroying; Digital; Analog; Digital Transition; Modular; Modularity; Technological Change; Radical Innovation; Incremental Innovation; Architectural Innovation; Modular Innovation; Sustaining Innovation; Competency-enhancing; Noise Propagation; Perfect Copying; Digital Music; Digital Media; Consumer Electronics; Kodak; Sony; Panasonic; Disruptive Innovation; Technology Adoption; Transition; Change Management; Consumer Products Industry; United States
Shih, Willy. "Competency-Destroying Technology Transitions: Why the Transition to Digital Is Particularly Challenging." Harvard Business School Background Note 613-024, August 2012. (Revised August 2013.)
- 12 Sep 2022
- Research & Ideas
When Experts Play It Too Safe: Innovation Lessons from a NASA Experiment
When evaluating whether to invest in a new idea, senior executives often rely on experts. But these advisers often favor ideas that are easy to execute over tough-to-pull-off but potentially groundbreaking plans. The risk for companies: Brilliant View Details
- April 2022 (Revised May 2022)
- Case
Mastercard Labs (A)
When Ajaypal (Ajay) Banga became the CEO of Mastercard in 2010, he shifted the company’s competitive focus from card networks to cash itself. Mastercard’s new vision of a “World Beyond Cash” distilled into a three-pronged framework: Grow the core business, Diversify... View Details
Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Culture; Culture Change; Organizational Adaptation; Organizational Effectiveness; Alignment; Leadership; Leadership Development; Innovation; Innovation Ecosystems; Ecosystem; Diversity; Collaboration; Co-creation; Learning Organizations; Empowerment; Globalization; Agility; Prototype; Experiment; Partnerships; Operating Model; Risk Management; Metrics; Payments; Financial Inclusion; Financial Industry; Ambidexterity; Corporate Innovation; Innovation Lab; Digital Transformation; Digital Strategy; Credit Cards; Innovation Leadership; Organizational Culture
Hill, Linda A., Sunil Gupta, Emily Tedards, and Julia Kelley. "Mastercard Labs (A)." Harvard Business School Case 422-080, April 2022. (Revised May 2022.)
- November 2013
- Article
Organizational Ambidexterity: Past, Present and Future
By: Charles A. O'Reilly III and Michael Tushman
Organizational ambidexterity refers to the ability of an organization to both explore and exploit—to compete in mature technologies and markets where efficiency, control, and incremental improvement are prized and to also compete in new technologies and markets where... View Details
Keywords: Organizational Ambidexterity; Organization Design; Innovation; Leadership; Organizational Design; Innovation and Invention
O'Reilly, Charles A., III, and Michael Tushman. "Organizational Ambidexterity: Past, Present and Future." Academy of Management Perspectives 27, no. 4 (November 2013): 324–338.
- April 2022
- Supplement
Mastercard Labs (B)
When Ajaypal (Ajay) Banga became the CEO of Mastercard in 2010, digital technologies were on the rise, and innovation needed to become a strategic imperative at the company. Banga tasked Garry Lyons, who had joined Mastercard through the 2009 acquisition of Orbiscom,... View Details
Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Culture; Transformation; Organizational Culture; Culture Change; Organizational Adaptation; Organizational Effectiveness; Alignment; Leadership; Leadership Development; Innovation; Innovation Ecosystems; Diversity; Collaboration; Co-creation; Learning Organizations; Empowerment; Ecosystem; Agility; Prototype; Experiment; Partnerships; Operating Model; Risk Management; Digital Transformation; Metrics; Payments; Financial Industry; Financial Inclusion; Ambidexterity; Corporate Innovation; Innovation Lab; Accelerator; Start-up; Fintech
Hill, Linda A., Sunil Gupta, Emily Tedards, and Julia Kelley. "Mastercard Labs (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 422-081, April 2022.
- April 2022 (Revised May 2022)
- Case
Mastercard Labs (A) (Abridged)
When Ajaypal (Ajay) Banga became the CEO of Mastercard in 2010, he shifted the company’s competitive focus from card networks to cash itself. Mastercard’s new vision of a “World Beyond Cash” distilled into a three-pronged framework: Grow the core business, Diversify... View Details
Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Culture; Organizational Culture; Culture Change; Organizational Adaptation; Organizational Effectiveness; Alignment; Leadership; Leadership Development; Innovation; Innovation Ecosystems; Diversity; Collaboration; Co-creation; Learning Organizations; Empowerment; Ecosystem; Agility; Prototype; Experiment; Partnerships; Operating Model; Risk Management; Metrics; Payments; Financial Inclusion; Financial Industry; Ambidexterity; Corporate Innovation; Innovation Lab; Accelerator; Start-up; Intrapreneurship; Competitive Strategy; Business Model; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Transformation
Hill, Linda A., Sunil Gupta, Emily Tedards, and Julia Kelley. "Mastercard Labs (A) (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 422-082, April 2022. (Revised May 2022.)
- Article
Digital Ubiquity: How Connections, Sensors, and Data Are Revolutionizing Business
By: Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani
When Google bought Nest, a maker of digital thermostats, for $3.2 billion just a few months ago, it was a clear indication that digital transformation and connection are spreading across even the most traditional industrial segments and creating a staggering array of... View Details
Keywords: Digital Innovation; Digitization; Industrial Internet; Technological Innovation; Production; Competitive Strategy; Engineering; Aerospace Industry
Iansiti, Marco, and Karim R. Lakhani. "Digital Ubiquity: How Connections, Sensors, and Data Are Revolutionizing Business." Harvard Business Review 92, no. 11 (November 2014): 90–99.
- June 1994 (Revised March 1995)
- Background Note
New Product Commercialization: Common Mistakes
Addresses the common mistakes made in new product development and launch. Many times customers' and suppliers' perceptions of the degree of product/market innovation do not match. One of them may view the innovations as a "breakthrough," but the other may view it only... View Details
Rangan, V. Kasturi. "New Product Commercialization: Common Mistakes." Harvard Business School Background Note 594-127, June 1994. (Revised March 1995.)
- Article
What Really Motivates Workers
By: Teresa M. Amabile and Steve J. Kramer
This essay appears in "The HBR List: Breakthrough Ideas for 2010," which is compiled by this journal in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. The ten problems and the innovative solutions are discussed in each essay. This particular essay describes research... View Details
Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Innovation and Invention; Research; Performance Improvement; Managerial Roles; Motivation and Incentives; Creativity
Amabile, Teresa M., and Steve J. Kramer. "What Really Motivates Workers." Harvard Business Review 88, nos. 1/2 (January–February 2010): 44–45. (#1 in Breakthrough Ideas for 2010.)
- May 2005 (Revised April 2011)
- Case
Arctic Timber AB: Engineered Woods Division (A)
By: Michael L. Tushman, David Kiron and Wendy Smith
Describes the leadership challenges involved in managing strategic innovation and change in a highly mature business unit. Allows systematic exploration of organizational structures, incentives, competencies, and culture that impede innovation. Pivots on a new leader's... View Details
Keywords: Change Management; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Leadership; Management Teams; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure
Tushman, Michael L., David Kiron, and Wendy Smith. "Arctic Timber AB: Engineered Woods Division (A)." Harvard Business School Case 405-067, May 2005. (Revised April 2011.)
- April 2003
- Article
Exploitation, Exploration, and Process Management: The Productivity Dilemma Revisited
By: Mary J. Benner and Michael L. Tushman
We develop a contingency view of process management's influence on both technological
innovation and organizational adaptation. We argue that while process management
activities are beneficial for organizations in stable contexts, they are fundamentally
inconsistent... View Details
Benner, Mary J., and Michael L. Tushman. "Exploitation, Exploration, and Process Management: The Productivity Dilemma Revisited." Academy of Management Review 28, no. 2 (April 2003): 238–256. (Winner of Academy of Management Review. Best Paper Award. Also the 2013 AMR Decade Award winner.)
- April 1999 (Revised March 2000)
- Background Note
Discovering What Has Already Been Discovered: Why Did Your Customers Hire Your Product?
By: Clayton M. Christensen
Describes a methodology for identifying markets for new technologies and for defining the highest value attributes of new products or services. It helps innovators escape the trap of incremental improvements to established product concepts by asking a straightforward... View Details
Christensen, Clayton M. "Discovering What Has Already Been Discovered: Why Did Your Customers Hire Your Product?" Harvard Business School Background Note 699-029, April 1999. (Revised March 2000.)
- 04 Aug 2010
- Working Paper Summaries
The Effect of Market Leadership in Business Process Innovation: The Case(s) of E-Business Adoption
- August 1, 2015
- Article
New Product Development Flexibility in a Competitive Environment
By: Janne Kettunen, Yael Grushka-Cockayne, Zeger Degraeve and Bert De Reyck
Managerial flexibility can have a significant impact on the value of new product development projects. We investigate how the market environment in which a firm operates influences the value and use of development flexibility. We characterize the market environment... View Details
Keywords: Product Development; Projects; Management Style; Situation or Environment; Innovation and Invention; Competition
Kettunen, Janne, Yael Grushka-Cockayne, Zeger Degraeve, and Bert De Reyck. "New Product Development Flexibility in a Competitive Environment." European Journal of Operational Research 244, no. 3 (August 1, 2015): 892–904.
- June 1989
- Background Note
Mastering the Art of Change: Managing Convergence and Upheaval
Outlines the differences between convergent change, which is a process of incremental innovation and continuous improvement, and divergent change, which involves revolutionary changes. Discusses how to manage each type of change and the consequences associated with... View Details
Kanter, Rosabeth M., and Leonard A. Schlesinger. "Mastering the Art of Change: Managing Convergence and Upheaval." Harvard Business School Background Note 389-168, June 1989.
- 2023
- Working Paper
Achieving Universal Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: Addressing Market Failures or Providing a Social Floor?
By: Katherine Baicker, Amitabh Chandra and Mark Shepard
The United States spends substantially more on health care than most developed countries, yet leaves a greater share of the population uninsured. We suggest that incremental insurance expansions focused on addressing market failures will propagate inefficiencies and... View Details
Baicker, Katherine, Amitabh Chandra, and Mark Shepard. "Achieving Universal Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: Addressing Market Failures or Providing a Social Floor?" NBER Working Paper Series, No. 30854, January 2023.
- November 2008
- Article
Chartering New Territory: Diversification, Legitimacy and Practice Area Creation in Professional Service Firms
By: Heidi Gardner, N. Anand and Timothy Morris
Diversification into innovative domains through new practice area creation is a critical imperative for professional services firms. Using theories of organizational territoriality and corporate charters, we conceptualize professional firms as federations of distinct... View Details
Keywords: Diversification; Lawfulness; Code Law; Management Practices and Processes; Service Operations; Innovation and Invention; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques
Gardner, Heidi, N. Anand, and Timothy Morris. "Chartering New Territory: Diversification, Legitimacy and Practice Area Creation in Professional Service Firms." Special Issue on Professional Service Firms: Where Organization Theory and Organizational Behavior Might Meet, edited by Roy Suddaby, Royston Greenwood, and Celeste Wilderom Journal of Organizational Behavior 29, no. 8 (November 2008).
- November 1991 (Revised April 1994)
- Case
Taco Bell Corp.
By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Roger H. Hallowell
John Martin, Taco Bell CEO, brings the company into line with its competitors through incremental change during the 1980s. In the early 1990s, he adopts breakthrough approaches to improve service levels while reducing prices, providing a distinct competitive advantage.... View Details
Keywords: Change Management; Food; Competitive Advantage; Innovation and Management; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States
Schlesinger, Leonard A., and Roger H. Hallowell. "Taco Bell Corp." Harvard Business School Case 692-058, November 1991. (Revised April 1994.)
- 2024
- Working Paper
Gastrointestinal Endoscopy--Without Cutting In: Case Histories of Transformational Advances
By: Amar Bhidé, Srikant M. Datar and Katherine Stebbins
This case history describes how endoscopy transformed the diagnosis of ulcers, cancerous polyps, and other alimentary canal diseases and enabled “minimally invasive” surgeries to treat such diseases. Specifically, we chronicle how: 1) flexible glass fiber endoscopes... View Details
Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Technological Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Technology Adoption; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Invention; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms
Bhidé, Amar, Srikant M. Datar, and Katherine Stebbins. "Gastrointestinal Endoscopy--Without Cutting In: Case Histories of Transformational Advances." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-005, July 2019. (Revised May 2024.)