fads - Publications - Faculty & Research

Research Summary

Informing Brand Marketing Practice

Susan M. Fournier is involved with several projects relating more generally to brand managment issues. These include boardroom-level projects (with Professors Thomas Madden and Franke Fehle of the University of South Carolina, and sponsored by Interbrand) on the... View Details

20 Aug 2014
Research & Ideas

Why the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a Social Media Blockbuster

increasingly by individuals. People who use Facebook and Twitter are for all practical purposes running little media houses, and face the problem of their much larger brethren, where will the next story come from? Originality is too time-consuming: emulation is... View Details

Keywords: by John Deighton

12 Dec 2011
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Clocky, the Runaway Alarm Clock

had to be careful to focus on function as well as fun, lest Clocky be relegated to fad status along with past products like Sony's now-discontinued robotic pet dog, the AIBO. “Apple succeeds because in addition to providing an appealing... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Consumer Products

09 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

Six Keys to Building New Markets by Unleashing Disruptive Innovation

driven by the fad of the day. During the 1960s, everyone thought IBM's integration was an unassailable point of competitive advantage. Because IBM controlled such a wide swath of the industry's value chain, it could make better products... View Details

Keywords: by Clayton M. Christensen, Michael E. Raynor & Scott D. Anthony

16 May 2000
Research & Ideas

The Simple Economics of Open Source

finally, can open source projects expect to live longer than commercial ones? The jury remains out on that question too, write Lerner and Tirole. Since open source code is freely available, programs can probably live so long as people are attracted to their inherent... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Technology

30 Apr 2019
News

Founder of Hinge Has Some Thoughts on Your Dating Profile

mother would describe me..." or "Worst fad I participated in..." Potential matches can then leave comments on their answers, and let the sharing begin. In the article, McLeod also offers some suggestions on making the most of app... View Details

Keywords: News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information

01 Sep 2009
News

Of Value and Values

they thought the firm’s approach was a fad or the wave of the future, the results reversed: one-third thought it was a passing fancy, while two-thirds did not. So, despite their reservations, a majority seemed to feel they were witnessing... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Finance; Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices; Management

01 Oct 1997
News

Theory & Practice

predictability, Stevenson writes, the management fads often invoked in response to these changes actually undermine predictability. In Do Lunch or Be Lunch, Stevenson discusses techniques for honing predictive power, making decisions, and... View Details

01 Dec 2011
News

Ticktock

Roomba turned out to be a gadget, a fad item, because after a while it was a hassle to use and provided little results, even if it was always fun to have it running around the house,” Nanda states. “After seeing its product in the field... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel; viral marketing; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

24 Jun 2014
News

The First Five Years: Beau D'Arcy (MBA 2010)

successful and I found them interesting, but I didn't realize until launching Breakwater Chicago what it feels like to truly 'love' what you're working on. I would suggest that students take time to think about that and not just jump to whatever the View Details

Keywords: Arts, Entertainment

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Building Competitive Advantage Through Operations

organizations? Upton: Popular strategies fall short partly because they are fads that happen to work well in one company but do not transfer well into others, or because they are misunderstood, misapplied, or not well-implemented. Rather... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

05 Mar 2025
News

Uncertain Terms

opportunities for businesses amid the data-driven artificial intelligence boom we’re in now? The AI stampede creates opportunities in other directions where there is much less competition. You could be the cool-headed person who says, let's not waste our time and money... View Details

01 Dec 2002
News

Building a Network for Social Enterprise in Latin America

social change in Latin America, the SEKN expects the organization to create a long-term forum for ideas between partner universities. “We're facilitators,” Reficco says. “We want to show that social enterprise can work — that this is not just a passing View Details

Profile

Beau D'Arcy

that I thought could be successful and I found them interesting, but I didn't realize until launching Breakwater Chicago what it feels like to truly 'love' what you're working on. I would suggest that students take time to think about that and not just jump to whatever... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Entertainment / Media

06 Aug 2014
What Do You Think?

What Is Warren Bennis’s Legacy?

who had an opportunity to work with his Global Institute for Leadership Development, commented that "What struck me about him was his gentle and focused message. He was clear that leadership was about relationships, first and foremost. To start anywhere else or... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Education

25 Jul 2005
Research & Ideas

An Organization Your Customers Understand

of the R&D division, and the marketing department is a customer of manufacturing. In some accounts, employees are customers of management. Although people may like being called customers—to foster their sense of importance and self-worth—following this... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

03 May 2004
Research & Ideas

Business History around the World

of family-owned and-managed firms. It may sound a simplistic conclusion that there has never been "one best way" of achieving business success. However, this historical experience stands as a powerful corrective to over-simplistic management View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

12 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

Facing the New World Order

wealthy. Depending on where you are, your priorities are different. And there's a tendency in governments to kind of pursue the fad of the day, in terms of what kind of economic reform is the "correct economic reform." What we... View Details