Publications

23 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

The Power of Conversational Leadership

technology." The book provides a quick overview of the social technology that helps global corporate communication mimic personal conversation: internal blogs (in which leaders share their thoughts and employees have a chance to comment),... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

March 2015 (Revised September 2016)
Technical Note

Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent: The Three Kingdoms of the Chinese Internet

By: Feng Zhu and Aaron Smith

This note provides an overview of the Chinese Internet by describing its leading three companies: Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent (BAT). While BAT had previously focused their respective businesses on distinct sectors of the online economy—Baidu for search, Alibaba for... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Internet; Information Technology Industry; China

01 Jun 2024
News

Leveraging Generative AI

Four decades after HBS became the first business school in the country to require the use of personal computers in the MBA Program, the School is undergoing a different kind of technological transformation, one that leverages generative artificial intelligence (GenAI)... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie

07 Jul 2011
What Do You Think?

So We Adapt. What’s the Downside?

point, adaptability is a strength. Ravindra Edirisooriya asserted that "Adaptability is good in the short term since it will allow the use of existing labor, materials, machinery and technology and it is not disruptive. However,... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

12 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

When Design Enables Discrimination: Learning from Anti-Asian Bias on Airbnb

Airbnb hosts of Asian descent had significantly fewer stays early in the COVID-19 pandemic—and the design of the travel site may have inadvertently enabled discrimination that shut Asians out, says new research by Harvard Business Professor Michael Luca. Hosts with... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds; Technology; Technology

September 2016
Case

Hewlett Packard Enterprise: The Dandelion Program

By: Gary P. Pisano and Robert D. Austin

This case describes Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s “Dandelion Program," which has developed a new service offering for the company’s clients by drawing on the special talents of people with autism. The company has deployed “pods” organized around 8 or 9 employees with... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Information Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Talent and Talent Management; Service Operations; Training; Diversity; Innovation and Invention; Technology Industry

September 2006 (Revised October 2007)
Module Note

Platform-Mediated Networks: Definitions and Core Concepts

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Defines platform-mediated networks and introduces concepts central to their study. First, it defines networks and network effects; explains how network effects influence users' willingness-to-pay for network access; describes factors that determine the strength of... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Network Effects; Digital Platforms; Information Technology; Information Infrastructure; Digital Platforms

November 2020
Case

Guild Education: Unlocking Opportunity for America's Workforce

By: William A. Sahlman, Michael D. Smith, Nicole Tempest Keller and Alpana Thapar

Founded in 2015, Guild Education is an education marketplace that connects employers and universities to provide employees with ‘education as a benefit.’ The Denver-based company is transforming traditional tuition assistance programs by facilitating direct payment by... View Details

Keywords: Education; Digital Platforms; Information Technology; Employees; Social Enterprise; Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Colorado

Fall 2018
Article

The Value of Fit Information in Online Retail: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment

By: Santiago Gallino and Antonio Moreno

Online channels generate frictions when selling products with nondigital attributes, such as apparel. Customers may be reluctant to purchase products they have not been able to try on, and those customers who do purchase may return products when they do not fit as... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Information; Fit Uncertainty; Online Retail; Randomized Field Experiment; Virtual Fitting Room; Digital Retail; Customization and Personalization; Internet and the Web; Value; Performance Improvement; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry

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01 Mar 2024
News

Giving All Stakeholders a Voice

For John Wu (MBA 2000), “Web3” means more than technological innovation. “It’s a mindset,” he says of the movement toward a decentralized internet that accelerates innovation and gives end users greater collaboration with businesses. “It’s a transformative shift in... View Details

Keywords: April White

January 2024 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Data-Driven Denim: Financial Forecasting at Levi Strauss

By: Mark Egan

The case examines Levi Strauss’ journey in implementing machine learning and AI into its financial forecasting process. The apparel company partnered with the IT company Wipro in 2017 to develop a machine learning algorithm that could help Levi Strauss forecast its... View Details

Keywords: Investor Relations; Forecasting; Machine Learning; Artificial Intelligence; Apparel; Corporate Finance; Forecasting and Prediction; AI and Machine Learning; Digital Transformation; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

10 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Retailing Revolution: Category Killers on the Brink

square foot have not improved significantly since the depths of the recession—and the decline in ROIC is even more stunning for category killers. “Best Buy and many similar businesses didn't see the bullet coming” The inexorable adoption of View Details

Keywords: by Rajiv Lal & Jose B. Alvarez; Retail

March 2020 (Revised January 2022)
Case

Michelin: Building a Digital Service Platform

By: Sunil Gupta and Christian Godwin

Michelin, a tire company with over a century of experience, attempts to develop a digital service platform for its fleet and dealer customers. The case focuses on the challenges of bringing a large, well-established company into the digital age. Concerned about the... View Details

Keywords: Change; Transformation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Making; Leading Change; Growth and Development; Strategy; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Auto Industry; Travel Industry; Transportation Industry; United States; France

Richard Hamermesh was the MBA Class of 1961 Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School. While at HBS Richard served as co-chair of the HBS Healthcare... View Details

Keywords: health care

Article

Are Self-service Customers Satisfied or Stuck?

By: Ryan W. Buell, Dennis Campbell and Frances X. Frei

This paper investigates the impact of self-service technology (SST) usage on customer satisfaction and retention. Specifically, we disentangle the distinct effects of satisfaction and switching costs as drivers of retention among self-service customers. Our empirical... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Information Technology; Customer Satisfaction; Competition; Cost; Banks and Banking; Behavior; Market Transactions; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques

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March 2022
Case

Unilever: Remote Work in Manufacturing

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury and Susie L. Ma

In December 2021, Unilever—one of the world’s largest producers of consumer goods—was in the midst of a pilot project to digitize its manufacturing facilities and enable remote work for factory employees. This was possible because of an earlier project to retrofit a... View Details

Keywords: Change; Globalization; Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Human Resources; Jobs and Positions; Operations; Education; Training; Manufacturing Industry

2010
Working Paper

Accelerating Energy Innovation: Insights from Multiple Sectors

By: Rebecca Henderson and Richard G. Newell

A combination of concerns about climate change and energy security has recently led to significant increases in public funding for energy R&D. Some commentators are suggesting that these increases need to be sustained, and are advocating for increases of as much as... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Research and Development; Pollutants; Climate Change; Energy Industry