Publications

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November 2016 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Formlabs: Selling a New 3D Printer

By: Frank V. Cespedes, Olivia Hull and Amram Migdal

Headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts, Formlabs manufactures 3D printers used to print everything from prototypes and models to jewelry, dental, and sculpture molds. As Formlabs prepares to ship its latest model, the Form 2, Head of Customer Development and... View Details

14 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

The Widening Rift Between Corporations and Society

adversarialism, relationships in place of transactions. They want to take their lives in their own hands and they are willing to pay for what we call the deep support that will enable them to do so. These new markets for deep support are an important force in the shift... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

January 2020
Case

Terra Nova: A Social Business Trying to Unlock Land Rights for the Urban Poor in Brazil

By: Julie Battilana, Ruth Costas, Marissa Kimsey and Priscilla Zogbi

Brothers André and Daniel Albuquerque founded the company Terra Nova in 2001 to mediate land disputes between poor families illegally living in urban areas and the official landowners—with the aspiration to improve the lives of the poor. A business-led approach to the... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Entrepreneurship; Negotiation; Power and Influence; Social Issues; Conflict and Resolution; Business and Government Relations; Infrastructure; Urban Development; Real Estate Industry; Brazil; Latin America

20 Jul 2009
Research & Ideas

Markets or Communities? The Best Ways to Manage Outside Innovation

Gamble and IBM have learned to do this—others can learn as well. In a similar way there is concern about loss of secrecy. The reality in most industries is that most firms have a reasonably good idea about the core products, services, and... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Technology

September 1998 (Revised March 1999)
Case

Sun Microsystems and the N-tier Architecture

By: Richard L. Nolan and Kelley Porter

Sun Microsystems is a pioneer in networking computing. Sun's servers maintain a large market share and are considered highly scaleable. The case describes the n-tier architecture for building and managing large networks in which thousands of workers and customers are... View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Technological Innovation; Business Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Information Technology Industry

16 Aug 2024
In Practice

Election 2024: What's at Stake for Business and the Workplace?

would benefit both firms and consumers to increase the cap on unskilled immigrants in specific industries such as hospitality, nursing homes, and agriculture. Here, foreign-born workers can work in jobs that native-born workers are... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

June 2003
Case

Rise and Fall (?) of Palm Computing in Handheld Operating Systems,The

Describes the evolution of the handheld operating system market. Describes the rise to dominance of Palm's operating system and the significant challenge to that dominance posed by Microsoft's Windows CE. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Network Effects; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

06 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Consumers Blame Business for Global Health Problems. Can Business Become the Solution?

is genuine and whether they are leading by example. Allocating time, even if limited, on all meeting agendas can remind everyone that health and well-being are a priority that is integral to business operations. Simultaneously, leadership can set up an internal View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Health

February 2022 (Revised April 2022)
Case

BUA Group

By: John D. Macomber, Pippa Tubman Armerding and Wale Lawal

BUA Group must decide between investments in cement, road building, power generation, or sugar. Private businesses are important to economic development in Africa. Students must assess the competitive nature of each of these industries, the magnitude of capital... View Details

Keywords: Investing; Transportation; Strategy; Project Finance; Agribusiness; Construction; Infrastructure; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Nigeria; Africa

10 Sep 2013
First Look

First Look: September 10

of physical infrastructure and workforce education are the strongest predictors of entry, with labor laws and household banking quality also playing important roles. Looking at the district-industry level, we find extensive evidence of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Nov 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas: November 14, 2017

Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53507 forthcoming Journal of Financial Economics Bubbles for Fama By: Greenwood, Robin, Andrei Shleifer, and Yang You Abstract—We evaluate Eugene Fama's claim that stock prices do not exhibit price... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

September 2012 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Reinventing Brainlab (A)

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Vincent Dessain and Karol Misztal

The management of Germany's Brainlab AG, a leading provider of software-driven oncology and surgery solutions, needs to evaluate strategic options for proceeding without an exclusive hardware partner in its most profitable business segment. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Medical Specialties; Health Care and Treatment; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Germany

19 Sep 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, September 19

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53199 forthcoming Industrial and Corporate Change Toward a Prescriptive Theory of Dynamic Capabilities: Connecting Strategic Choice, Learning, and Competition By: Pisano, Gary P. Abstract—The... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2023
Teaching Note

Connecting Students in Chattanooga (A) and (B)

By: Jan W. Rivkin

Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 722-449 and 722-451. As this case opens, it is the spring of 2020 in Chattanooga. COVID-19 has hit, public schools have closed their buildings, remote learning has begun, and more than 28,000 schoolkids lack the high-quality Internet... View Details

Keywords: K-12 Education; Pandemic; COVID-19; Accessibility; Education; Urban Development; Wealth and Poverty; Internet and the Web; Information Infrastructure; Education Industry; Tennessee

17 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 17

enable efficient response; and an infrastructure for daily management and continuous improvement of the chain's performance. Furthermore, we find that employees on the service delivery unit spent 12% of their day compensating for internal... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

September 2004 (Revised January 2005)
Case

IBM: Ordering Midrange Computers in Europe

IBM Europe is trying to expand business-to-business (B2B) efforts with its large distributors of midrange systems. These efforts aim to automate many transactions and business processes, removing the need for human involvement. IBM has completed an initial project with... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Information Technology; Information Infrastructure; Marketing Channels; Distribution Channels; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Germany; United States

March 2005
Background Note

Home Video Games: Generation Seven

By: Elie Ofek

Discusses the issues facing firms in the seventh generation of home video game platforms. In particular, Sony and Microsoft plan to launch new game consoles in the 2005 to 2006 time frame. Each firm seems to be following a different strategy. Microsoft wants to launch... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Technological Innovation; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

February 1995 (Revised October 1995)
Case

Doing Business in a Distributed World: Clients, Servers, and the Stuff in Between

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Geoffrey Bock

Examines business computing as it is evolving in the 1990s. Compares the highly centralized and tightly controlled systems of the past with today's flexible, networked, client/server technology. Serves as an introduction to client/server terminology and technology. View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Performance Improvement; Transformation; Technological Innovation; Business Strategy; Adoption; Information Technology Industry