Publications

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August 2016 (Revised March 2019)
Case

Tom Kalil: Leading Technology & Innovation at the White House

By: Linda A. Hill and Allison J. Wigen

This case explores the role of Tom Kalil as Deputy Director for Technology & Innovation at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. With the end of President Obama's Administration drawing near, Kalil and his team of "policy entrepreneurs" must work to... View Details

May 2017
Supplement

ATH Technologies (B)

By: Robert Simons and Jennifer Packard

Supplements the (A) case. Designed as an in-class handout. View Details

Keywords: Strategy And Execution; Management Control Systems; Performance Management; Balancing Innovation And Control; Management Systems; Performance; Health Industry

January 2004
Article

Cross-country Technological Adoption: Making the Theories Face the Facts

By: Diego Comin and Bart Hobijn

We examine the diffusion of more than twenty technologies across twenty-three of the world's leading industrial economies. Our evidence covers major technology classes such as textile production, steel manufacture, communications, information technology,... View Details

Keywords: Technology Adoption; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Development Economics; Human Capital; Government and Politics; Trade; Production; Information Technology; Steel Industry; Steel Industry

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01 Jun 2015
News

Faculty Q&A: Reemerging Technologies

Your research examines industries that once seemed doomed but have experienced a comeback. How does this happen? I did my dissertation work on the Swiss watch industry, and I looked at what it takes for a View Details

Keywords: April White; Apparel Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Printing and Related Support Activities; Manufacturing

March 2009 (Revised January 2010)
Background Note

The Newspaper Industry in Crisis

By: David J. Collis, Peter W. Olson and Mary Furey

This note is a primer on the newspaper industry, which has been in decline in the U.S. and Western Europe. The 19th century business model whereby news and editorial content was packaged and delivered to homes daily and paid for by national advertisers has been... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business History; Newspapers; Disruptive Innovation; Consumer Behavior; Business Strategy; Internet; Journalism and News Industry; Journalism and News Industry; Europe; United States

22 Mar 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Platform Competition under Asymmetric Information

Keywords: by Hanna Halaburda & Yaron Yehezkel; Technology

November 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

Corning, Inc.: Technology Strategy in 2003

By: Rebecca Henderson

Corning, Inc. has a 150-year history of building a strategy around innovation. Founded as a glass manufacturer in 1851, the company quickly established itself as a maker of specialty glass products and over the next 100 years diversified into light bulbs, television,... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Situation or Environment; Research and Development; Consumer Products Industry; United States

November 2000
Case

University Technology Ventures: October 2000

By: Josh Lerner

The founders of University Technology Ventures, a fund of funds designed for university professors, face numerous challenges in raising their first fund. The role, economics, and structure of funds-of-funds are examined in the course of examining the partners' dilemma. View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Problems and Challenges; Partners and Partnerships; Financial Services Industry

February 1994 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Competitive Information Policy at Pratt & Whitney

By: Lynn S. Paine

Officials at United Technologies Corp. (UTC) must decide on an ethics policy to govern competitive intelligence gathering. The flow of competitor information into the Pratt & Whitney division has declined sharply since adoption of UTC's code of ethics. A rewritten... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Corporate Governance; Ethics; Competition; Information Management; Business or Company Management; Law

05 Jul 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Information Dispersion and Auction Prices

Keywords: by Pai-Ling Yin; Technology; Technology

September 2016 (Revised March 2017)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 3: Using Information for Performance Measurement and Control

By: Robert Simons

This module reading explains how managers use information to control critical business processes and outcomes. The analysis begins by illustrating how managers use information to communicate goals and track performance. Then the focus turns to the choices that managers... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Strategy Execution; Organization Process; Feedback Model; Innovation; Uses Of Information; Big Data; Benchmarking; Decision Making; Information; Performance Evaluation; Analytics and Data Science

September 1999 (Revised November 2002)
Background Note

Indian Software Industry in 2002, The

The Indian software industry, growing at more than 50% per annum and largely dependent on exports of services and products, is one of the few industries in that country considered to be globally competitive. This note allows a discussion of the uses and limits of... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Competition; Applications and Software; Globalization; Information Technology Industry; India

October 2024
Case

Parexel: Scaling Up and Industry Dynamics

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Ben Creo

Through the lens of biopharmaceutical contract research organization (CRO) PAREXEL, this case traces the evolution of the firm as it reinvents itself in response to the transformation of the CRO sector from a small, secondary cluster of firms into a major player with... View Details

Keywords: Research; Innovation and Invention; Business Model; Transformation; Globalization; Information Technology; Competitive Advantage; Pharmaceutical Industry

September 2006 (Revised July 2007)
Case

SAP: Industry Transformation

By: Andrei Hagiu, Pai-Ling Yin, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Vincent Marie Dessain

SAP seeks growth in the small- and medium-sized enterprise market. To do so, it has created a platform strategy with SAP Netweaver. What are the advantages and challenges for an incumbent entering a new market? What are the benefits and challenges of implementing a... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Strategy; Digital Platforms

01 Jun 2012
News

What Industrial Policy?

need something to sell in return. And one look at the trade deficit ($558 billion in 2011) clearly indicates we don’t have as much as our foreign competitors to sell in return. To make up the difference, we just borrow. Sure, with improvements in View Details

Keywords: Gary P. Pisano; Agriculture; Construction of Buildings; Construction; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Finance; Health, Social Assistance; Manufacturing

March–April 2025
Article

Getting Value from Digital Technologies

By: Frank Cespedes and Georg Krentzel

Companies need digital technologies in an omni-channel buying world where online and in-person interactions are complements, not either/or substitutes. Multi-channel hybrid sales solutions are required, but what are the key requirements for using the available... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Technology Adoption; Competitive Advantage

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02 Apr 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Monitoring and the Portability of Soft Information

Keywords: by Dennis Campbell & Maria Loumioti; Banking

May 2010 (Revised June 2012)
Case

From Imitation to Innovation: Zongshen Industrial Group

By: Willy Shih and Nancy Hua Dai

As Zuo Zongshen drove the transformation of the Zongshen Industrial Group from an early imitator in the motorcycle business to a company that increasingly focused on innovation as a way to get out of the hyper-competitive commodity business, he continually faced new... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Learning; Investment; Disruptive Innovation; Knowledge Acquisition; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; China