Publications

February 2014 (Revised August 2014)
Case

3D Systems

By: Karim R. Lakhani and David Lane

In late 2013, Rajeev Kulkarni needed to decide how best to facilitate the emergence of a broad base of users and content to promote the sale of 3D Systems' consumer-focused 3D printers. As yet, neither the company nor users had identified an indispensable application... View Details

Keywords: 3D Printing; Business Ecosystems; 3D Systems; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Copyright; Two-Sided Platforms; Product Development; Customization and Personalization; Manufacturing Industry

July 2005 (Revised July 2006)
Case

Icebreaker: The US Entry Decision

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Dan Heath

Jeremy Moon, CEO of Icebreaker, merino wool, outdoor apparel manufacturer, believed the company could be a big hit in the United States, despite the presence of entrenched rivals. But Icebreaker clearly needed a new distribution approach. One option was to position... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Distribution Channels; Product Launch; Product Development; Brands and Branding; Manufacturing Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry; New Zealand; United States

Keywords: Garry Emmons;Julia Hanna;Roger Thompson; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

01 Apr 2001
News

Big Deals: Project Finance Helps Mitigate Risk in Large-Scale Investments

new geographic markets and for new types of undertakings, combined with an increasing need to finance development in countries with limited resources, suggest that project finance should continue to loom... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Motorola; Air Transportation; Transportation; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services; Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance; Telecommunications; Information

17 Dec 2024
News

Solving the Underemployment Crisis

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify More Skydeck episodes Hi, it’s Dan. Today, we are sharing a brief excerpt from Managing the Future of Work, the critically-acclaimed podcast from my colleagues at Harvard Business School. Each episode, HBS professors Bill Kerr... View Details

07 Nov 2005
What Do You Think?

Is Less Becoming More?

$1,200 Testoni loafers?" Peter Vajda advises, "In our culture, the difference between 'have' and 'happy' is a most difficult lesson to learn indeed, and the psychological impact is great." As for producers, Richard Eckel suggests that "Manufacturers... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Consumer Products

01 Sep 2003
News

Andrea Silbert

coffee, banana, and textile businesses, Silbert developed a strong interest in microenterprise and arrived at Soldiers Field eager to expand her knowledge. “Initially, I had a hard time trying to share my experiences with others,” she... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

29 Jan 2013
Research & Ideas

Creating the Perfect Super Bowl Ad

question whether ads, including the over-the-top Super Bowl spots, have become too entertaining, says Thales S. Teixeira, an assistant professor in the Marketing unit at Harvard Business School. In upcoming research, Why, When and How... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Advertising; Media & Broadcasting

01 Dec 2003
News

An Authentic Leader

everything telescoped down to the short-term earnings. So CEOs became obsessed with the short-term results? We shifted from looking at business fundamentals, like growth in earnings per share, revenue generation, gains in market share,... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

01 Mar 2012
News

Get Creative

we rail against in class is that product development just throws a new product over the wall to marketing and expects them to go sell it. For the last 50 years, innovation theorist Everett Rogers told us... View Details

01 Mar 2014
News

Cutting Edge

and bolts: exiting underperforming adjunct businesses (e.g., pickles and fresh poultry); shaking up the management team; improving the supply chain (thereby increasing plant productivity by 50 percent); and developing a sequenced regional... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing; Food and Beverage Stores; Retail Trade

June 2001 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Spir-It, Inc. (A): Building the Business

Early in February 1934, two and a half months after the end of prohibition, Jack Sindler sat with a friend in Boston's Ritz Hotel bar enjoying a drink. Sindler worked for the Converse Rubber Co., and he was always inventing something. He held several patents for rubber... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Production; Market Entry and Exit; Management Succession; Entrepreneurship; Product Launch; Acquisition; Growth and Development; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry; Boston

Find at Harvard

November 1995 (Revised June 1997)
Case

Northern Telecom (A): AdVantage & DisadVantage

By: Robert J. Dolan and Sylvie Ryckebusch

Mike Ennis, general manager of Northern Telecom's Business Products Division, recommends a new solution for replacing Vantage, an unsuccessful product for Northern Telecom. The case documents in detail the voice of the customer. Students are required to discuss the... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Product Launch; Management Teams; Product Development; Telecommunications Industry; Canada

26 Jan 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Marketplace Scalability and Strategic Use of Platform Investment

Keywords: by Jin Li, Gary P. Pisano, and Feng Zhu

01 Oct 2000
News

Three Promoted to Full Professor

Entrepreneurial Finance elective in the MBA curriculum. In the Executive Education Program, he has developed materials for and served as codirector of courses in Conflict and Evolution in Private Equity, Corporate Venture Capital, and... View Details

01 Dec 2009
News

Losing Our Competitive Edge

critical components of solar panels, among others. How did this happen? A big part of the reason is the outsourcing of development and manufacturing work to companies abroad. The result: a damaging deterioration in the collective... View Details

Keywords: Gary P. Pisano; Manufacturing

01 Jun 2007
News

A Juicy Story

In the context of the computer industry at large, Professor David Yoffie explores the ups and downs of a company that’s always been a bit different in “Apple Computer, 2006.” The case poses this question: Given its 2 percent computer View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

23 Oct 2013 - 24 Oct 2013
Conference Presentation

Key Drivers for Inner City Growth

By: Michael E. Porter

Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) annual ecomonic summit. The 2013 theme: Transforming Urban Ecologies, What Works for Cities View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Industry Clusters; Strategy; Urban Development; Ohio