generativity - Publications - Faculty & Research

September 2011 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Building Watson: Not So Elementary, My Dear!

This case is set inside IBM Research's efforts to build a computer that can successfully take on human challengers playing the game show Jeopardy! It opens with the machine named Watson offering the incorrect answer "Toronto" to a seemingly simple question during the... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Standards; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mathematical Methods; Research and Development; Information Technology

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November 2007 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Mubadala: Forging Development in Abu Dhabi

By: Rawi E. Abdelal and Irina Tarsis

In 2007, Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, the CEO of Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala), had every reason to be optimistic about the future of his home, Abu Dhabi, one of the emirates comprising the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The tiny, sandy, and dry emirate with a... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Economy; Non-Renewable Energy; Globalization; Leading Change; State Ownership; Diversification; Abu Dhabi

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Research Summary

Overview

By: Joshua Lev Krieger

In examining the competitive dynamics of R&D strategy, Josh has become particularly interested in how the introduction of new knowledge generated by rivals impacts the direction of R&D efforts. Understanding how new information alters project portfolio decisions is... View Details

08 Sep 2008
HBS Case

The Value of Environmental Activists

There are many methods, most financial, to measure the success of companies in meeting goals. But the question becomes a lot harder at Harvard Business School when MBAs are challenged to measure the efforts of environmental organizations like Greenpeace and the World... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Energy; Utilities

10 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

Globalization: The Strategy of Differences

markets. This two-track approach turned out to be problematic. The branded business grew to significant volumes but continued to generate losses because the competitive environment was particularly tough for a late mover. Meanwhile,... View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat

01 Nov 2019
What Do You Think?

Should Non-Compete Clauses Be Abolished?

being terminated. Globally, India allows the use of such clauses only when it is judged to be in support of trade and commerce. European countries generally allow them for certain time periods (two or three years) and limited geography.... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

23 Jan 2013
Research & Ideas

Three-Dimensional Strategy: Winning the Multisided Platform

When start-up thredUP launched its peer-to-peer online exchange for used children's clothes two and a half years ago, its creators were the latest generation of entrepreneurs competing online as multi-sided platforms (MSPs), alongside... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

08 Sep 2020
Blog Post

2+2 Where Are They Now Spotlight: Ashley Zumwalt-Forbes (MBA 2017)

supporting the Vaca Muerta in Neuquén, Argentina (although also working China, Qatar, Siberia, and Colombia). Due to the exploratory nature of our projects, my group was generally the first group in country and our team was quite lean, so... View Details

26 Nov 2001
Op-Ed

Why Corporate Budgeting Needs To Be Fixed

changing accruals, for example—the adverse impact on company value is probably small. But rarely is the activity so benign. Usually, the shuffling of dollars results from decisions that change the operating characteristics of a company, and it View Details

Keywords: by Michael C. Jensen

04 Apr 2023
Blog Post

Maersk’s Journey to Decarbonize Shipping

ability to charge higher rates generated historic ocean shipping revenue of $48 billion and earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $18 billion, for a margin of 37%. This was in contrast to the traditional low-margin nature of the... View Details

25 Aug 2014
News

Jonathan M. Nelson, MBA 1983

companies, VoiceStream Wireless (now called T-Mobile USA), and also launched Hulu and the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (although Nelson admits to being an avid Red Sox fan). By following his passion, Jonathan Nelson has achieved extraordinary success. He... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

04 Aug 2011
What Do You Think?

How Dangerous Is Common Sense to Managers?

Tharian, for example, said "common sense is quite often related to wisdom (from accumulated experience vs. the knowledge that the younger generation acquires so rapidly through social networks)." Noting that Webster's Dictionary... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

10 Jul 2007
What Do You Think?

How Much of Leadership Is About Control, Delegation, or Theater?

image of General George S. Patton stepping in front of a huge American flag to deliver a stirring speech, whether it really happened or not, is carefully staged theater. When he was commissioner of the New York City Police Department,... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

16 Sep 2019
Research & Ideas

Crowdsourcing Is Helping Hollywood Reduce the Risk of Movie-Making

Black-Listed scripts were twice as likely to be made into films, with 30 percent of them produced, compared to 15 percent of non-listed scripts. What’s more, they also did better at theaters, with movies of the same budget generating 90... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Motion Pictures & Video

17 Oct 2018
Research & Ideas

Pro Basketball Coaches Display Racial Bias When Selecting Lineups

players tend to be the same race.” The data does show that those preferences generally go away after three years, as a coach has repeated contact with a player. That effect, however, only applies to that particular player, and not to... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Sports

25 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

The Secret Life of Supply Chains

providers.” An industry such as breakfast cereals, for example, sells more than 90 percent of its output to households; semiconductors and cloud computing sell almost 100 percent to businesses. “When those inputs go into other industries, it can transform them and... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Manufacturing; Service

18 Oct 2011
First Look

First Look: October 18

environmentally beneficial functions: it diverts waste from landfill and it produces renewable energy. At the same time, the waste-to-energy firm serves and collects revenue from two types of customers: waste generators who pay for waste... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

26 May 2003
Research & Ideas

When Silence Spells Trouble at Work

employees in organizations ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 corporations to government bureaucracies reveal that silence can exact a high psychological price on individuals, generating feelings of humiliation, pernicious... View Details

Keywords: by Leslie A. Perlow

04 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

When Founders Recruit Friends and Family as Investors

becoming one, you should read this book," Shah wrote.) Jeff Bussgang, a general partner at the early-stage venture capital firm Flybridge Capital Partners, blogged, "Rather than having [founding] decisions happen by chance,... View Details

Keywords: by Noam Wasserman

23 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Five Ways to Make Your Company More Innovative

among your customers as you could ever hope to generate within your own boundaries. Accept the reality that they collectively know more than you do about whatever it is your company makes, that technology has almost completely... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons, Julia Hanna & Roger Thompson

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