Publications

19 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Designing Cities for a Sustainable Future

On a June day in Manhattan with temperatures heading into the 90s, a straphanger named Mike is taking his customary subway ride to work. People are grumbling about the heat, but hey, it's summer, it's supposed to be hot, and besides, "Whaddya gonna do?" New Yorkers... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Construction; Real Estate

Web

Dean Srikant Datar’s 2024 Commencement Remarks | About

and Mary are unapologetic about the reality that success in their industry requires it. Yet both also spend many hours mentoring subordinates, setting the next generation of leaders up for success. And they each display deep devotion to... View Details

June 2001 (Revised October 2001)
Case

Netonomy

A new software product enables wireless telcos to offer a self-service customer service solution, lowering costs and improving service levels. Discusses the definition of good self-service. Examines how the company should prioritize its growth opportunities and what... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Service Delivery; Applications and Software; Globalization; Customer Focus and Relationships; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

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May 2014 (Revised July 2016)
Case

RCA: Color Television and the Department of Justice (A)

By: Willy C. Shih and Gregory Dieterich

This case examines the early history of the color television receiver market and the global consequences of an historic 1958 consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice that opened RCA's patents to licensing by domestic competitors royalty-free. This externality... View Details

Keywords: Intellectual Property; Patents; Rights; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Business History; Information Technology; Information Infrastructure; Communications Industry; Communications Industry; Communications Industry; United States; Japan

December 2006 (Revised February 2009)
Case

China Merchants Bank: Here Just For You

By: F. Warren McFarlan, GuoQing Chen, HengYuan Zhu, Bin Yang, Michael Shih-ta Chen, G.A. Donovan, Waishun Lo and Yan Yang

Founded in 1987, China Merchants Bank (CMB) is a pioneer in the use of technical innovation and IT as a competitive tool in the rapidly evolving Chinese banking sector. With a relatively small branch network when compared to its larger competitors, CMB uses an... View Details

Keywords: Credit Cards; Information Technology; Technological Innovation; Innovation Leadership; Competitive Strategy; Initial Public Offering; Emerging Markets; Opportunities; Banking Industry; China; Hong Kong

04 Mar 2002
Research & Ideas

Don’t Lose Money With Customers

at the market level, then translate these into strategies at the market segment level. A paper mill's marketing strategy, for instance, might call for selling newsprint to the publishing industry segment and paperboard to the packaging... View Details

Keywords: by Peter K. Jacobs

01 Dec 1999
News

The Way You See It

single individual has achieved so much in such a short time," with "Microsoft's technology accelerating the world economy." Most influential business leader Bill Gates Jack Welch Henry Ford Alfred P. Sloan Thomas J. Watson The runner-up... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons. Data collection by Ericka Webb.

January 28, 2023
Article

Will We Blame Self-Driving Cars? A New Study Finds That People Are Likely to Hold Autonomous Vehicles Liable for Accidents Even When They’re Not at Fault

By: Julian De Freitas

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Legal Liability; Trust; Perception; Auto Industry

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August 2016 (Revised November 2019)
Supplement

eSig: Growth Analysis

By: Mark N. Roberge and Thomas R. Eisenmann

eSig, an early-stage startup, offers an electronic signature application as a "freemium" product, i.e., users can upgrade from a free basic version to a premium version by paying a subscription fee. Using 9 months of data from 50,000 user activations, available as a... View Details

Keywords: Esignature; Computer Software; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Management; Marketing Channels; Applications and Software; Computer Industry; United States

March 1999
Case

MySoftware Company (A)

By: H. Kent Bowen and Nicole Tempest

In 1997, Gregory Slayton took the position as CEO of MySoftware, which had been experiencing revenue and operating losses for the past two years. Within 90 days, he stabilized the company through a combination of cost cutting, financial discipline, and accountability... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Cost Management; Profit; Employees; Growth and Development Strategy; Operations; Outcome or Result; Partners and Partnerships; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Information Technology Industry

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March 2017 (Revised November 2017)
Case

BlackRock (A): Selling the Systems? (with video links)

By: Ranjay Gulati, Jan W. Rivkin and Kelly McNamara

As the case opens in 1999, several key leaders at BlackRock, Inc., then a relatively small asset management firm, are trying to convince CEO Larry Fink and others that the firm should begin to offer Aladdin—its proprietary analytics and trading platform—to other asset... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Competition; Information Technology; Asset Management; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; United States

2010
Article

Impact of Online Consumer Reviews on Sales: The Moderating Role of Product and Consumer Characteristics

By: Feng Zhu and Michael Zhang

This article examines how product and consumer characteristics moderate the influence of online consumer reviews on product sales using data from the video game industry. The findings indicate that online reviews are more influential for less popular games and games... View Details

Keywords: Internet Marketing; Online Consumer Reviews; Word Of Mouth; Long Tail; Internet and the Web; Marketing Reference Programs; Digital Marketing; Video Game Industry

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19 May 2016
Research Event

Crowdsourcing, Patent Trolls, and Other Research Insights Highlighted at Harvard Business School Symposium

submitted. Seeking answers from the crowd may be more important than ever. Even as the use of data science is expanding, we face a shortage of 1.8 million data scientists. “There’s a lot of competition for data science talent,” Lakhani said, with medical schools,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman & Carmen Nobel

05 Jul 2011
News

Driving Innovation

Stewart: Helping brands navigate the complexities of today’s media. Photo courtesy Bonita Stewart What can a high-flying, high-tech giant learn about marketing from an industry that is about as nuts-and-bolts as you can get? Plenty, if... View Details

Keywords: News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information

01 Mar 2014
News

The Solution to the Global Food Crisis Just Might Come from Nigeria

industries for decades. And even though Mustapha and his sons had earned a reputation as hard workers, there was only so much they could produce within a system that left farmers either chronically undersupplied or dealing with bags of... View Details

Keywords: Francis Storrs; John H. Davis; Michael Halse; Crop Production; Agriculture; Administration of Economic Programs; Government; Food Manufacturing; Manufacturing

May 2001 (Revised December 2002)
Exercise

Alphexo Corporation: Confidential Negotiation Information

By: James K. Sebenius

A two-party, multiple-issue dollar-scoring negotiation exercise dealing with the formation and terms of an IT-industry joint venture. Subordinates have made some progress on several issues but have reached an impasse. Division heads will now attempt to reach a... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Types; Joint Ventures; Conflict Management; Information Technology; Information Technology Industry

August 1986 (Revised June 1987)
Case

Lotus Development Corporation: Entering International Markets

By: David B. Yoffie and John J. Coleman

Lotus 1-2-3 exploded on the American market in the spring of 1983. Nine months later Jim Manzi, vice president of marketing, hired Chuck Digate to develop an international strategy for Lotus. Case explores Lotus' rapid rise to the top of the software market in the... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Applications and Software; Global Strategy; Management Teams; Information Technology Industry; United States