Disruptive Technology - Publications - Faculty & Research

28 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Six Lessons from Mobile Money Ventures in Developing Countries

customer’s money is safe. Operators also need to think of themselves as more than technology companies and take responsibility for their agents’ actions. “Imagine what kind of trust is needed between the customer and the [unknown] agent... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Financial Services; Telecommunications

02 Jan 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, January 3, 2018

investments to become the top SBA lender in New England in the midst of the Great Recession, when other banks were pulling back. But with technology threatening to disrupt Eastern’s relationship banking... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

23 Apr 2014
HBS Case

Are Electronic Cigarettes a Public Good or Health Hazard?

percent of high school students have tried them, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and a growing percentage of middle school students are joining the list. In 2012, Goldman Sachs declared electronic cigarettes one of the top 10 View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage; Advertising

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

January 2025
Case

Shifting Winds: DEI in Corporate America

By: Clayton S. Rose, Maisie Wiltshire-Gordon and David Lane

In the 2020s, intense and conflicting social and political pressures challenged organizational leaders around the world. Prominent among these were powerful competing views on workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion programs (DEI) in the United States. Public... View Details

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30 May 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, May 30

2017 Advances in Strategic Management Geography, Location, and Strategy By: Alcácer, Juan, Bruce Kogut, Catherine Thomas, and Bernard Yin Yeung, eds. Abstract—Changes in both technology and global political economy have vastly accelerated... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

22 Apr 2020
Research Event

How Investors Are Sizing Up Climate Change’s Risks—and Opportunities

effects of climate change—as well as many, varied government policies trying to mitigate its effects—are also inspiring technological innovations that will give rise to new products, services, and business models in the coming years. How... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Financial Services

December 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Boll & Branch

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Mel Martin

Boll & Branch is a direct-to-consumer (DTC) business launched in 2015. It was the first Fair-Trade Certified manufacturer of linens. The case provides background on the company, its start, business model, and evolution through 2019. View Details

Keywords: Direct-to-consumer; Channels; Disruption; Business Model; Brands and Branding; Internet and the Web; Strategy; Retail Industry; United States; Canada

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October 2006 (Revised October 2007)
Case

Google Advertising

By: Youngme E. Moon and David Chen

In mid-2006, Google is the number one search engine in America with 99% of its revenues deriving from its simple, text-only advertising services. It is on track to bring in roughly $9.5 billion in advertising revenue in 2006, which would place it fourth among American... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Disruptive Innovation; Media; Expansion; Internet and the Web; Advertising Industry; United States

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30 Jun 2020
Book

Capitalism Is More at Risk Than Ever

updating the 10 disruptive forces identified in the first edition, showing how managers can address these challenges, and describing how public confidence in the market system could be rebuilt. The revised edition includes examples of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

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

15 Dec 2008
Research & Ideas

The Surprisingly Successful Marriages of Multinationals and Social Brands

defined, more traditional innovations. So, while it is not impossible, it is less likely that large and successful companies will be the setting for the development of the kinds of novel combinations of business and social ideas that constitute the special social View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Consumer Products; Food & Beverage

February 2009 (Revised December 2009)
Case

eReading: Amazon's Kindle

By: Bharat N. Anand, Peter W. Olson Esq. and Mary Tripsas

In November 2007, Amazon introduced the Kindle, the first electronic reader with wireless functionality. The case describes the launch of the Kindle and provides information on representative players in the industry (or broader ecosystem) who are likely to be affected... View Details

Keywords: Books; Disruptive Innovation; Technological Innovation; Industry Structures; Standards; Distribution Channels; Competitive Strategy; Publishing Industry

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October 2006 (Revised February 2007)
Background Note

How Media Choices are Changing Online Advertising

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Nancy Bartlett

What is the response by advertisers as media consumption moves to the digital medium? Provides an overview of online advertising in mid-2006 and discusses the impact of an increasingly fractured media landscape and its accompanying expanding advertising options. View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; News; Media; Emerging Markets; Internet and the Web; Perspective; Disruption; Journalism and News Industry

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27 Apr 2009
Research & Ideas

Building Businesses in Turbulent Times

crisis as a disrupter to the status quo and look for areas of pain. In fact, cost cutting and restructuring are simply the first steps in repositioning and leading your company and industry through the crisis and in defining how business... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

05 Jul 2006
First Look

First Look: July 5, 2006

Software 806-121 Black Duck Software involves a venture-backed start-up that converted software developers' concerns about violating copyright licensing agreements or open source protocols into an opportunity to help firms use technology... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Apr 2010
First Look

First Look: April 13

and Tiona ZuzulHarvard Business School Case 410-081 Living PlanIT is a start-up company that has developed a new, innovative business model for sustainable urbanization. This model reflects the software and technology backgrounds of its... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 2019 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Walmart's Workforce of the Future

By: William R. Kerr and Jordan Bach-Lombardo

Faced with intense competition from Amazon, Walmart began a transformation of its operations and workforce in 2015. The goal was to create an omnichannel retail experience for customers that seamlessly joined online and offline shopping. This case explores Walmart's... View Details

Keywords: Walmart; Managing The Future Of Work; Workforce; Automation; Ecommerce; Omnichannel Retail; Operations; Transformation; Employees; Training; Information Technology; Infrastructure; Disruption; Competitive Strategy; E-commerce; Information Infrastructure; Retail Industry

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March 2022
Case

DealShare: Social E-Commerce for the Indian Mass Market

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Malini Sen

Launched in September 2018, e-retail startup DealShare has created a tech-enabled model for the Indian mass market that allows customers to buy together, save money on good quality goods, and at the same time have fun. It targets customers who are still getting used to... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Disruption; Trends; Talent and Talent Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Value; Cost vs Benefits; Value Creation; Internet and the Web; India

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January 2010 (Revised October 2010)
Background Note

News in the Digital World: Who Pays?

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Nancy Bartlett

Models to monetizing news in the digital landscape, which is real-time, searchable, sharable, multi-sourced, anytime, and any screen, were emerging in 2010. Could content creators get people to pay for what they watched, read, listened to, and shared online? Were news... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Newspapers; Disruptive Innovation; Technological Innovation; Online Technology; Journalism and News Industry; Publishing Industry

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