Publications

01 Jan 2004
News

18 Dec 2006
Lessons from the Classroom

Grooming Next-Generation Leaders

Finding and nurturing future leadership talent is a primary concern for most organizations. How can they identify top people, train them, and—here's the catch—retain them? And do so in the face of ever-increasing global challenges?... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

December 2000 (Revised March 2001)
Case

DoubleTwist, Inc.

By: Joseph L. Bower and Christina L. Darwall

John Couch, CEO of DoubleTwist, has transformed a software products company into an Internet application service provider, racing to provide databases and tools for those working to explore the human genome. Crafting strategy and building organizational capability are... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Information Technology Industry

April 2015 (Revised December 2018)
Case

Steve Jobs: Leader Strategist

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery and David B. Yoffie

Strategically, Steve Jobs got it brilliantly right some times and terribly wrong other times. This case examines Jobs' development as a leader strategist over the course of his entire career. The successes and failures of Apple, NeXT, and Pixar are used to probe the... View Details

Keywords: Strategist; Steve Jobs; Apple; Leadership; Competitive Advantage; Personal Development and Career; Strategy

June 2016 (Revised January 2018)
Case

World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Jordan Mitchell

Nearly all environmental organizations have a similar aim: to stop the degradation of the natural environment. However, the strategies that environmental organizations choose to employ are sometimes starkly different. This case compares the models of two dissimilar... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Non-Governmental Organizations; Business Strategy

01 Jan 2002
News

26 Mar 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Managed Ecosystems and Translucent Institutional Logics: Engaging Communities

Keywords: by Elizabeth J. Altman, Frank Nagle, and Michael Tushman

October 2017
Case

Shift Technologies, Inc.

By: Thomas Eisenmann and Nicole Tempest Keller

In 2017, management at Shift, an online marketplace that uses a “high touch,” concierge approach to buy and sell used cars, was formulating plans for the San Francisco–based startup’s next phase of expansion. One option was to preserve Shift’s current business model... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Market Design; Multi-Sided Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Growth and Development Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Auto Industry; Retail Industry; United States

January 2016
Case

SAP SE: Autism at Work

By: Gary P. Pisano and Robert D. Austin

This case describes SAP's "Autism at Work" program, which integrates people with autism into the company's workforce. The company has a stated objective of making 1% of its workforce people with autism by 2020. SAP's rationale for the program is based on the belief... View Details

Keywords: Software; Human Resource Management; Diversity Management; Germany; Selection and Staffing; Innovation and Management; Applications and Software; Recruitment; Diversity; Information Technology Industry; Germany

May 6, 2020
Editorial

Separated by a Common Infection

By: Amar Bhide and Leif Pagrotsky

Unprecedented lockdowns and quarantines to combat the COVID-19 pandemic have evoked emotional disagreements, both between and within different countries. Yet, the consequences of this or any future pandemic depend as much on responses and capabilities on the front... View Details

Keywords: Coronavirus; Coronavirus Pandemic; Governance; Policy; Health Pandemics

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April 2006 (Revised September 2009)
Case

BYD Company, Ltd.

By: Robert S. Huckman and Alan D. MacCormack

Considers whether BYD Co., Ltd., the largest Chinese maker of rechargeable batteries, should enter the Chinese automobile industry by acquiring Qinchuan Auto, a state-owned car manufacturer. Set just after BYD's initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Labor; Production; Competitive Advantage; Diversification; Auto Industry; Battery Industry; Manufacturing Industry; China

For years—even decades—in response to intensifying global competition, American companies decided to outsource their manufacturing operations in order to reduce costs. But we are now seeing the alarming long-term effect of those choices: in... View Details

April 1993 (Revised December 1993)
Case

NEC

By: Marco Iansiti

Investigates product development practices at NEC. The company provides an intriguing example of how to build capability through a stream of product development projects. Focuses in detail on an engineering group that develops the core component of its line of... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Product Design; Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Information Technology; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Information Technology Industry

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March 1990 (Revised July 1991)
Case

Digital Equipment Corp.: Complex Order Management

By: Janice H. Hammond

Describes the proposed creation of a low end 3000 configuration workstation using Digital's competitive advantage of offering a la carte configuration capability and ability to build different options for customers. Disadvantages of this 3000 configuration workstation... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Cost; Management Practices and Processes; Distribution; Competitive Advantage

Find at Harvard

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; Service Industry