Publications

11 Apr 2000
Research & Ideas

Financial Services 24/7

housed its two data centers twenty miles apart—in different power grids—outside Phoenix. "A software failure could easily put the whole enterprise at risk," explains McFarlan. Disruptive Technologies One... View Details

Keywords: by Susan Young

January 2021 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Ocado Group: Ready for the Future

By: José B. Alvarez, Damien McLoughlin and Natalie Kindred

10 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Cable TV: From Community Antennas to Wired Cities

in the rural areas where cable got started. By the end of the 1950s, however, cable technology had improved to the point where 12-channel systems were commonplace. 4 Cable entrepreneurs used these additional channels along with microwave... View Details

Keywords: by Thomas R. Eisenmann; Media & Broadcasting; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation

05 Mar 2014
What Do You Think?

When Will the Next Dot.com Bubble Burst?

bring any innovation on the table. Disrupting through economic bubbles all the time would never establish the stable foundation that is necessary for the functioning economy." The question is, "how can they (be) made stable and... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Publishing; Retail

05 Feb 2001
What Do You Think?

Do MBA Programs Face “The Innovator’s Dilemma”?

business. Christensen cites IBM and Merrill Lynch as examples of companies exposed to disruptive technologies. The disruptive technology for IBM is Dell's use of direct... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

25 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

10 Reasons Customers Might Resist Windows 8

Disappointment of 2007.) "Microsoft has had problems in the past," Kanter says. "The company tries so hard to do something disruptive, but then all it accomplishes is getting disruptive to users." 10. Sometimes the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Computer; Consumer Products

17 Dec 2001
Research & Ideas

Risks and Rewards of the Intrapreneur

levels of the company, particularly from the CEO. Evaluate the company's other start-up efforts and how it handled projects that failed in some regard, said Jim Barron, vice president of Innosight L.L.C., a consulting firm specializing in View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

29 Dec 2019
Research & Ideas

Read Our Most Popular Research Stories of 2019

plans for future workforce makeup and training, and its search for opportunities from digital infrastructure and automation. What’s Really Disrupting Business? It’s Not Technology View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

10 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 10, 2018

In this article Gompers and Kovvali describe the research and provide recommendations for reaping the business benefits of diversity. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54692 July–August 2018 Harvard Business Review When View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

September 2014
Supplement

Netflix: Designing the Netflix Prize (B)

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Wesley M. Cohen, Kynon Ingram, Tushar Kothalkar, Maxim Kuzemchenko, Santosh Malik, Cynthia Meyn, Stephanie Healy Pokrywa and Greta Friar

This supplemental case follows up on the Netflix Prize Contest described in Netflix: Designing the Netflix Prize (A). In the A case, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings must decide how to organize a crowdsourcing contest to improve the algorithms for Netflix's movie... View Details

Keywords: Crowdsourcing; Prizes; Digitization; Algorithms; Recommendation Software; Disruption; Transformation; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Sharing; Applications and Software

December 2019 (Revised July 2020)
Case

Ray White

By: Boris Groysberg and Tricia Gregg

Ray White is an Australian real estate business that has been owned and operated by the White family for four generations. The business has expanded and prospered. However, as the industry faces new challenges and opportunities, how should the White family respond?... View Details

Keywords: Crisis; COVID-19; Pandemic; Family Business; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Disruption; Information Technology; Health Pandemics; Crisis Management; Real Estate Industry; Australia

March 2011
Supplement

Cree, Inc.: An Update

By: David J. Collis and Mary Furey

An update to "Cree Inc.: Which Bright Future?" View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Consumer Behavior; Strategy; Technology Adoption; Electronics Industry

March 2014 (Revised January 2015)
Case

Prodigy Network: Democratizing Real Estate Design and Financing

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Katja Hutter and Greta Friar

This case follows Rodrigo Nino, founder and CEO of commercial real estate development company Prodigy Network, as he develops an equity-based crowdfunding model for small investors to access commercial real estate in Colombia, then tries out the model in the U.S. U.S.... View Details

10 Jan 2011
Research & Ideas

Is Groupon Good for Retailers?

full price? A: We've seen two main effects. First, some discount voucher services send users to merchants en masse. The day after a Groupon is released, hundreds of buyers tend to swamp a small business unprepared for the rush. That barrage of customers can View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Technology; Technology

October 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Background Note

Book Publishing in 2010

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Nancy Bartlett

Legacy book publishers wrangled with ebook retailers over royalty rates, release strategy, and distribution rights as customer demand for cheaper ebooks eroded publishers' profitable print formats. E-readers like Kindle, as well as Apple's iPad that invigorated the... View Details

Keywords: Price; Information Publishing; Books; Disruptive Innovation; Demand and Consumers; Distribution; Strategy; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Publishing Industry