Operational Disruptions - Publications - Faculty & Research

24 Jul 2007
First Look

First Look: July 24, 2007

provide a home movie service that would do a better job satisfying customers than the traditional retail rental model. But as it encouraged challenges it underwent several major strategy shifts, ultimately developing a business model and an View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Profile

Ruzwana Bashir

fulfilled that entrepreneurial dream before she turned 30. As founder and CEO of Peek, Bashir has gotten the full startup experience in a short time. With Peek.com she is already disrupting the $100 billion global activities market.... View Details

25 Oct 2004
Research & Ideas

Planning for Surprises

independently operating silos and the filtering of information as it passes up through the hierarchies. Political vulnerabilities contribute to predictable surprises when a small number of individuals and organizations are able to... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

23 Sep 2024
Blog Post

2024 Summer Internships in Business & Environment

What are the career opportunities in business and environment? In Summer 2024, over 100 MBA students found internships at the intersection of business and the environment. This post provides a sample of some of the types of companies that students worked at this summer... View Details

13 Oct 2015
Research & Ideas

Does Business Get Done the Same Way in Emerging and Developed Countries?

was level, and he took advantage. Eventually he would build Akfen Holding, today one of the biggest infrastructure construction and operations companies. “As an outsider in the previous era, this was a fantastic opportunity,” says Felix... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

05 Mar 2020
News

Green Light

of tech upgrade the world food system needs given our increasingly insecure ecosystem, says Sonia Lo (MBA 1994), CEO of Crop One Holdings, which owns and operates the FreshBox brand. Sitting in FreshBox’s makeshift conference room—a long... View Details

Keywords: Dan Morrell; photographed by Scott Nobles

01 Mar 2013
News

Making Change

Citizen Year — SEF 2009 honoree Global Citizen Year is disrupting the traditional path to college and creating a new generation of global leaders through a "bridge" year of service learning and leadership training in Africa, Latin... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley; housing; gay rights; diabesity; disability; Construction of Buildings; Construction; Educational Services; Social Assistance; Health, Social Assistance; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information; Real Estate

03 Apr 2006
What Do You Think?

Has Globalization Reached Its Peak?

that globalization has led corporations to outsource too much of their work and, more important, their intellectual capital. This has created a worldwide level of interdependency that increasingly threatens to disrupt supply lines and... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

01 Mar 2018
News

Can a Digital Platform Open Up the Opaque Metals Industry?

not to say the founders don’t realize the challenges ahead. In general, the mining industry is considered to be traditional, capital-intensive, and slow to adopt new technologies. To their knowledge, no one else is trying to disrupt the... View Details

Keywords: Nicole Torres

Web

Winning with Digital Platforms Online Course | HBS Online

Overview Syllabus Enrollment Stories FAQs Enroll Now Key Concepts Define what platforms are and how they create and capture value Understand network effects and how to leverage them to achieve growth Discover how to launch, scale, and maintain a successful platform... View Details

Web

Courses by Faculty Unit - Course Catalog

Operations Management) Suraj Srinivasan Spring 2025 Q4 1.5 Reimagining Capitalism: Business and Big Problems (also listed under General Management and Strategy) Ethan Rouen Fall 2024 Q1Q2 3.0 Risks, Opportunities, And Investments In The... View Details

26 Apr 2011
News

BioMine Strikes Gold

a Boston-based technology financial services company whose mission is to reinvent hedge fund investing through disruptive technology, transparency and liquidity. PhytoTEK supplies a unique biologic solution for the infection-control... View Details

Keywords: Mining (except Oil and Gas); Mining; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

17 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

Who is Boss in the Sharing Economy?

than traditional businesses that employ their workers. And so it seemed until June, when the California Labor Commission disrupted the sharing economy when it declared that an Uber driver was an employee, not an independent contractor.... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Service; Technology

15 Dec 2008
Research & Ideas

The Surprisingly Successful Marriages of Multinationals and Social Brands

systems and capabilities that are needed for going to and operating at scale that would take the social icon years to build. So structured correctly, an acquisition strategy can effectively marry the brand strength and "social... View Details

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

14 Oct 2014
First Look

First Look: October 14

are the emerging clusters of multinational production the rule or the exception? What drives the offshore agglomeration of multinational firms in comparison to the agglomeration of domestic firms? Using a unique worldwide plant-level dataset that reports detailed... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Global Activities 2020-2021 - Global Activities 2021

the central role many Chinese companies play in global supply chains, pandemic-imposed disruptions are being felt around the world. Shih addresses the challenges companies now face in making their global supply chains more resilient... View Details

01 Sep 2003
News

Books

(subtitled How New Managers Master the Challenges of Leadership) includes new material intended to guide fledgling managers through specific operational issues, such as dealing with organizational politics, influencing peers and... View Details

Keywords: Deborah E. Blagg; Margie Kelley; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

21 May 2018
Blog Post

Harnessing The Power of Collaboration to Create Opportunity in Chicago

Operating Officer of Accion Chicago, a nonprofit that helps communities grow by providing capital, coaching and connections to aspiring entrepreneurs who build businesses and generate jobs in their neighborhoods. I spent most of my career... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit / Government

26 May 2015
First Look

First Look: May 26

Publications March 2015 AFP Exchange Well Said: Why Articulating Your Strategy Can Set You Apart. By: Cespedes, Frank V. Abstract—Senior finance managers now operate in an altered c-suite landscape. The executives reporting to the CEO... View Details