Publications

May 25, 2016
Comment

How Consumers and Businesses are Reshaping Public Health

By: John A. Quelch

Healthcare and education are two issues in which citizens around the world, rich and poor, are passionately interested. It has long been appreciated that the way that a society treats its youngest and oldest members says much about its moral maturity. Economic... View Details

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14 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Breaking the Smartphone Addiction

concerted effort to disconnect from their devices for a few predetermined hours every week—and how they became more productive as a result. The following excerpt from the book describes how the scheduled disconnecting process, dubbed... View Details

Keywords: by Leslie A. Perlow

October 2007
Case

iPhone vs. Cell Phone

By: David B. Yoffie and Michael Slind

The launch of Apple's iPhone marked a pivotal new chapter in the story of mobile music (the uniting of digital music players with mobile phones). The iPhone combined an iPod music player, a cell phone, and a mobile Internet device, along with a camera and other... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Music Entertainment; Product Launch; Partners and Partnerships; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Communications Industry; Music Industry

March 2015 (Revised September 2016)
Technical Note

Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent: The Three Kingdoms of the Chinese Internet

By: Feng Zhu and Aaron Smith

This note provides an overview of the Chinese Internet by describing its leading three companies: Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent (BAT). While BAT had previously focused their respective businesses on distinct sectors of the online economy—Baidu for search, Alibaba for... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Internet; Information Technology Industry; China

August 2010 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Developing an App for That

By: Hanna Halaburda, Joshua Gans and Nathaniel Burbank

At a time when ever-rising smartphone sales are driven as much by demand for devices that run must-have third-party "apps" as by the quality of traditional voice and data services, there is a myriad of challenges facing the software developer who is looking to choose... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Competitive Strategy; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Digital Platforms; Banking Industry; Information Technology Industry

June 2004
Case

Medical Technology Industry and Japan (A), The

In a five-year effort, the Health Industry Manufacturers Association (HIMA) tried to influence government health policy in Japan. In 1993, HIMA mobilized in response to fears the Japanese government was planning to target the U.S. medical devices industry. The case... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Policy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Government and Politics; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Japan; United States

July 2005 (Revised August 2006)
Case

Amagansett Funds (A)

Amagansett Funds has had a troubled history with its customer relationship management (CRM) system. Sales agents feel that they derive no value from it and that it is a "tax on their jobs." Amagansett is investigating whether CRM can be improved by making its data... View Details

Keywords: Management; Customer Relationship Management; Information Technology; Financial Services Industry

July 2008 (Revised September 2009)
Case

ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Eee PC (A)

By: Willy C. Shih, Chintay Shih, Hung-Chang Chiu, Yi-Ching Hsieh and Ho Howard Yu

ASUSTek Computer was the world's largest manufacture of PC motherboards, yet when it tried to launch its new sub-notebook Eee PC, the organization faced challenges in doing things outside of its established processes. Though many of the team members had worked together... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Disruptive Innovation; Product Launch; Groups and Teams; Information Infrastructure; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Technology Industry

June 2012
Case

Innovating at AT&T: Partnering to Lead the Broadband Revolution

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Phillip Andrews and Kerry Herman

In 2010, the U.S. retail market value for next-generation non-handset wirelessly-enabled devices was just over $1 billion. By 2011 it had grown 1,141% to $13.2 billion and was forecast to reach $24.7 billion in 2015. At the same time, user demand for data was surging... View Details

Keywords: Innovation ＆ Entrepreneurship; Team Leadership; Emerging Technologies; Business Models; Business To Business; Corporate Vision; Growth Strategy; Corporate Culture; Innovation and Invention; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Partners and Partnerships; Leadership; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Business Model; Technology Industry; United States

September 2012 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Videogames: Clouds on the Horizon?

By: Andrei Hagiu and Kerry Herman

Since the creation of the first videogame systems in the 1970s, the videogame industry has undergone numerous transformations as new technologies and market entrants fundamentally changed the gaming experience of customers. In the early 21st century, customers began... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Strategy; Industry Growth; Video Game Industry

12 Mar 2013
First Look

First Look: March 12

of entrepreneurs supported. Paper: http://www.people.hbs.edu/wkerr/121212-Female1_Spatial.pdf For Mobile Devices, Think Apps, Not Ads Authors:Gupta, Sunil Publication:Harvard Business Review Abstract Many companies envision View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2022
Article

Impacts of Micromobility on Car Displacement with Evidence from a Natural Experiment and Geofencing Policy

By: Omar Isaac Asensio, Camila Apablaza, M. Cade Lawson, Edward W Chen and Savannah J Horner

Micromobility, such as electric scooters and electric bikes—an estimated US$300 billion global market by 2030—will accelerate electrification efforts and fundamentally change urban mobility patterns. However, the impacts of micromobility adoption on traffic congestion... View Details

Keywords: City; Policy; Transportation; Sustainable Cities

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January 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Liulishuo: AI English Teacher

By: John J-H Kim and Shu Lin

Educators and entrepreneurs alike are excited about the potential for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to change the way learning will look like in the future. There is a confluence of factors such as the availability of large sources of rich,... View Details

Keywords: AI; Artificial Intelligence; Education Technology; Information Technology; Education; Entrepreneurship; AI and Machine Learning; Education Industry; China

02 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

Digital Initiative Summit: Big Messages, Small Screens, Many Choices

In the land of the digitally connected, the mobile device is king. The majority of digital media consumption happens on mobile devices, with smartphone and tablet activity... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising

March 2010 (Revised January 2011)
Case

Carrot or Stick? Getting Paid for Innovation at Tessera Technologies

By: Willy C. Shih

Tessera Technologies has been very successful developing technologies for the semiconductor and mobile device industry, and then licensing them broadly to manufacturers. In addition to licensing patents, it also supplies know-how to help manufacturers move into... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Innovation Strategy; Patents; Courts and Trials; Rights; Mobile Technology; Semiconductor Industry; California

June 2009 (Revised November 2010)
Case

HTC Corp. in 2009

By: David B. Yoffie and Renee Kim

Taiwan-based HTC Corp. had emerged as the world's fourth largest smartphone manufacturer by 2009. CEO Peter Chou was extremely proud of the remarkable achievements his company had made over the last 12 years since starting off as an unknown manufacturer of PDAs for... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Competitive Advantage; Mobile Technology; Telecommunications Industry; Taiwan

April 2017 (Revised May 2022)
Case

King Digital Entertainment

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Davide Sola, Federica Gabrieli and Elena Corsi

Riccardo Zacconi was the co-founder and CEO of King Digital Entertainment, the video game company that had quickly established itself as the world’s leading maker of casual games for mobile devices after the sensational success of its game “Candy Crush Saga.” Zacconi... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Information Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure; Acquisition; Decision Choices and Conditions; Video Game Industry; Europe; Sweden

June 2012 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Best Buy in Crisis

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In June 2012, Best Buy was in crisis. In 1996, Best Buy overtook Circuit City as the world's leader in consumer electronics retailing; however, 18 years later, Best Buy now found this position threatened. With $51 billion in revenues, it was still the biggest CE... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Forecasting and Prediction; Competitive Strategy; Ethics; Management Teams; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry; Retail Industry