Publications
Publications
Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(2,908)
- Faculty Publications (612)
- 2007
- Working Paper
The Impact of Component Modularity on Design Evolution: Evidence from the Software Industry
By: Alan MacCormack, John Rusnak and Carliss Y. Baldwin
Much academic work asserts a relationship between the design of a complex system and the manner in which this system evolves over time. In particular, designs which are modular in nature are argued to be more "evolvable," in that these designs facilitate making... View Details
- October 2007 (Revised March 2008)
- Case
Dove: Evolution of a Brand
By: John A. Deighton
Examines the evolution of Dove from functional brand to a brand with a point of view after Unilever designated it as a masterbrand, and expanded its portfolio to cover entries into a number of sectors beyond the original bath soap category. The development causes the... View Details
- September 2007 (Revised November 2007)
- Case
Bunge: Food, Fuel, and World Markets
By: Tarun Khanna, Santiago Mingo and Jonathan West
In 2007, Bunge, an agribusiness company, had over $26 billion in worldwide sales and was considered, along with Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), one of three very integrated worldwide agribusiness companies. Headquartered in White Plains, NY, the company has... View Details
- August 2007 (Revised September 2008)
- Case
Marketing the "$100 Laptop" (A)
By: John A. Quelch and Carin-Isabel Knoop
In 2002, Professor Nicholas Negroponte, a successful venture capitalist, author, and co-founder and chairman emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, announced his intention to build a PC so cheap as to make it possible to provide... View Details
Keywords: Venture Capital; Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Product Development; Technological Innovation; Nonprofit Organizations; Marketing Strategy; Information Infrastructure; Developing Countries and Economies; Manufacturing Industry; Information Technology Industry; Computer Industry; Cambridge
- July 2007 (Revised May 2008)
- Case
Central Bank: The ChexSystemsSM QualiFile® Decision
By: Dennis Campbell, Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez, Peter Tufano and Emily McClintock
The "Central Bank" series analyzes the use of information and product design for managing the counterparty risk of newly acquired customers. Central Bank, a mid-sized regional U.S. bank, was attempting to grow its customer base by increasing the number of new checking... View Details
- June 2007 (Revised October 2007)
- Case
Information Technology and Clinical Operations at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
By: Richard M.J. Bohmer, F. Warren McFarlan and Julia Rose Adler-Milstein
Describes the history of clinical computing at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital and the development, since the 1996 merger to form the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, of an information system designed to support the delivery of patient care. The hospitals' CIO, John... View Details
- December 2006 (Revised October 2007)
- Case
Monsanto: Realizing Biotech Value in Brazil
By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman
In 2003, Monsanto's patented "Roundup Ready" technology was used illegally on 70-80% of the soybean area in southern Brazil. Under pressure from U.S. soybean growers, who were paying to license the technology, the firm implemented an innovative delivery-based... View Details
- 2006
- Book
Design-Inspired Innovation
By: James Utterback, Bengt–Arne Vedin, Eduardo Alvarez, Sten Ekman, Susan Walsh Sanderson, Bruce Tether and Roberto Verganti
When an innovation is inspired by design, it transcends technology and utility. The design delights the user, seamlessly integrating the physical object, a service, and its use into something whole. A design-inspired innovation is so simple that it becomes an extension... View Details
- October 2006 (Revised August 2007)
- Case
RKS Guitars
By: Elie Ofek, Thomas J. Steenburgh, Michael I. Norton and Kerry Herman
RKS has designed a revolutionary electric guitar and needs to decide how to best market their innovation. The iconic status of existing electric guitars, and the lack of any recent radical innovations in the category, pose challenges in securing consumer adoption. If... View Details
- July 2006 (Revised October 2006)
- Case
Lenovo: Building A Global Brand
By: John A. Quelch and Carin-Isabel Knoop
Announced in December 2004, the $1.75 billion acquisition of IBM's PC division by Lenovo, China's largest PC maker, made headlines around the world. A relative upstart in the business, Lenovo acquired the division of IBM that invented the PC in 1981. While Lenovo was... View Details
- 11 Jun 2006 - 13 Jun 2006
- Conference Presentation
Exploring the Links Between Product and Organizational Architectures: An Empirical Study of Open and Closed Source Software
By: Alan MacCormack
- May 2006 (Revised February 2012)
- Case
General Electric's 20th Century CEOs (Abridged)
By: Nitin Nohria, Anthony J. Mayo and Mark Benson
General Electric thrived in every decade of the 20th century. Since its founding in 1892, GE has placed a high value on picking and training the best people. Staff members worked with other scientists in the company's research lab to design and manufacture new and... View Details
- 28 Apr 2006 - 1 May 2006
- Conference Presentation
Exploring the Relationship between Product Architecture and Organizational Form: A Test of "Conway's Law"
By: Alan MacCormack
- March 2006
- Module Note
Managing Innovation in an Uncertain World
Describes the second module of the 30-session Harvard Business School elective course Managing Innovation in an Uncertain World. The course helps students understand the challenges that uncertainty implies for innovation and how to overcome these challenges. The course... View Details
- January 2006 (Revised December 2006)
- Module Note
Introduction to International Strategy
By: David J. Collis and Jordan I. Siegel
Provides an overview framework for understanding international strategy. Observes that international strategy draws on much of the same theory as corporate strategy. The same tests that can be applied to justify expansion across businesses--the better off and ownership... View Details
- January 2006 (Revised April 2007)
- Case
General Electric Healthcare, 2006
By: Tarun Khanna and Elizabeth Raabe
In January 2006, Joe Hogan, head of General Electric (GE) Healthcare Technologies, prepared to step into William Castell's shoes as CEO of GE Healthcare, the world's leading manufacturer of diagnostic imaging equipment. In 2004, former CEO Jeff Immelt acquired Amersham... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Cost vs Benefits; Growth and Development Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Machinery and Machining; Global Range; Multinational Firms and Management; Product Design; Technological Innovation; Expansion; Value Creation; Business Subsidiaries; Health Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry
- December 2005 (Revised April 2011)
- Case
General Electric's 20th Century CEOs
By: Nitin Nohria, Anthony Mayo and Mark Benson
General Electric thrived in every decade of the 20th century. Since its founding in 1892, GE has placed a high value on picking and training the best people. Staff members worked with other scientists in the company's research lab to design and manufacture new and... View Details
- November 2005 (Revised September 2007)
- Case
Beijing Hualian
By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman
China's fifth largest domestic retailer faced intensifying competition from Wal-Mart and Carrefour with the opening of China's fast-growing retail market in January 2005. In response, Beijing Hualian developed a new "Family Store" format targeted at the nation's... View Details
- 5 Nov 2005 - 8 Nov 2005
- Conference Presentation
Exploring the Architecture of Complex Software Products
By: Alan MacCormack
- November 2005
- Case
Inventec Corporation
By: Krishna G. Palepu and Ingrid Vargas
Inventec Corp., with $4.5 billion in annual revenues, was one of Taiwan's leading original design manufacturers (ODMs). Inventec designed and manufactured electronic products such as computers, servers, MP3 players, PDAs, and cellular telephones for client companies... View Details