Complex Technical Systems - Publications - Faculty & Research

05 Sep 2018
Research & Ideas

The Hidden Benefit of Giving Back to Open Source Software

pixelfit Companies that contribute to open source software and use it in their own IT systems and applications can gain a competitive advantage—even though they may be helping their competitors in the short run. Open source software is... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Computer

28 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Coronavirus Could Create a 'Bankruptcy Pandemic'

to “flatten the curve” and reduce the number of bankruptcy filings, at least by enough to allow the existing system to function effectively. Massive financial support available to distressed businesses under the CARES Act and various... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Financial Services; Banking

02 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Not All M&As Are Alike—and That Matters

acquired 62 companies, as it races to dominate the Internet server and communication equipment fields. From the target company's point of view, an acquisition is often desirable, since it takes a massive amount of money to build a sustainable company in View Details

Keywords: by Joseph L. Bower

16 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Getting the Message: How the Internet is Changing Advertising

for Russell Reynolds. "Strategic thinking and a real grasp of the creative side have always been important in advertising, but now a new element—understanding the complex technology-related issues—has been added to the mix."... View Details

Keywords: by Susan Young

08 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

A Balanced Scorecard Approach To Measure Customer Profitability

to customers. Many companies, however, have tried ABC at some time during the past twenty years and abandoned it because it did not capture the complexity of their operations, took too long to implement, and was too expensive to build and... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan

04 Aug 2011
What Do You Think?

How Dangerous Is Common Sense to Managers?

served or failed us. Most felt that common sense had its place in combination with formal systems of knowledge, research, and planning. As Michael Aschenbach put it, "If you get lost in the woods, it is good to have survival... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

04 Feb 2010
What Do You Think?

What’s the Best Way to Make Careful Decisions?

from previous decisions is clear and where cause-and-effect relationships can be identified. Unfortunately, in his view these conditions are more and more rare. As he puts it, "intuition is losing relevance in an increasingly complex... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

17 Aug 2021
Research & Ideas

Can Autonomous Vehicles Drive with Common Sense?

Consider, for example, the outrage Mercedes caused five years ago when, in an effort to allay the fears of its drivers, it announced that its AVs would be programmed to protect the lives of their occupants, even if it meant sacrificing any pedestrians in their path.... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Auto

02 Oct 2017
What Do You Think?

Do Bitcoin and Digital Currency Have a Future?

for market manipulation (and) used as payment method for online crime.” Bitcoin does not have a future as a currency, Turnbull said, because of the cost of operating sufficient computers to collectively document every single transaction. “When (digital) mining becomes... View Details

Keywords: by James L. Heskett; Financial Services

27 Nov 2006
What Do You Think?

What’s to Be Done About Performance Reviews?

Summing Up The topic of performance reviews triggers a wide range of complex responses. The fact that most of their strongest critics elected to reply anonymously to this month's column suggests that there are also political overtones to... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

14 Aug 2012
First Look

First Look: August 14

the more complex the legislation, the more difficulty the market has in assessing the impact of these bills. Consistent with the legislator incentive mechanism, the more concentrated the legislator's interest in the industry, the more... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

20 Oct 2003
Research & Ideas

Gaps in the Historical Record: Development of the Electronics Industry

successful strategy of commercializing new technologies by using the learning and income from the previous set of successful innovations. Matsushita's story is different and unique. In 1952, Matsushita arranged to acquire the technical... View Details

Keywords: by Alfred D. Chandler Jr.; Consumer Products

18 Dec 2012
First Look

First Look: December 18

puts the increasingly complex job of Chief Executive in a very real context. It serves as a practical guide by allowing you to walk alongside Jim as he takes on his new role and all its attendant challenges. Jim's story-developed in... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

20 Oct 2010
Op-Ed

Export Competitiveness: Reversing the Logic

level of productivity that companies can achieve in a location given the full breadth of conditions that affect their activities there. It is the structured approach towards organizing these conditions and the systemic relationships... View Details

Keywords: by Christian Ketels

29 Nov 2017
Research & Ideas

How to Succeed in Business (According to a 15th Century Trade Merchant)

culture of Renaissance Italy and its emphasis on cultivating the whole person. “It wasn’t just about pursuing a noble ideal, either,” Roscini adds, “if you followed this path, you would be more successful.” With that said, the art of trade also requires a strong base... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

13 Sep 2021
Research & Ideas

Science: The Unlikely Frontier for New Business Ideas

insights into marketable products, resulting in patents with little or no value. A tale of two storage systems All told, the most science intense patents were worth approximately $15.8 million, compared with $8.7 million for inventions... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

26 Jun 2017
Research & Ideas

How Cellophane Changed the Way We Shop for Food

development of self-service merchandising systems in American grocery stores, but also revealing how cellophane manufacturers tried to control the narrative of how women buy food. “Cellophane changed how people shopped,” says Ai Hisano,... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Food & Beverage; Retail; Advertising

27 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

Want a Happy Customer? Coordinate Sales and Marketing

small number of large major accounts, some mid-sized ones (the previous focus of the field sales force), and often a bunch of little ones. And, accounts are complex collections of diffuse buying teams involving different customer... View Details

Keywords: by Benson Shapiro

03 May 2010
Research & Ideas

What Is the Future of MBA Education?

I am also looking at how incentive systems can be designed to promote long-run performance. Excerpt From rethinking The Mba: Business Education At A Crossroads By Srikant M. Datar, David A. Garvin, and Patrick G. Cullen Voices from the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Education

01 May 2019
What Do You Think?

What Should the Leadership of YouTube Do?

of their teams ” David Wittenberg would have YouTube look to its users for a solution to the dilemma. As he put it, ‘My preferred solution errs on the side of personal liberty and adds the element of information. I'd institute a rating View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Entertainment & Recreation; Media & Broadcasting

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