Publications

2003
Working Paper

Dynamic Mixed Duopoly: A Model Motivated by Linux vs. Windows

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pankaj Ghemawat

This paper analyzes a dynamic mixed duopoly in which a profit-maximizing competitor interacts with a competitor that prices at zero (or marginal cost), with the cumulation of output affecting their relative positions over time. The modeling effort is motivated by... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Competition; Open Source Distribution; Balance and Stability; Applications and Software; Network Effects; Duopoly and Oligopoly

Read Now

13 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

Rescuing Products with Stealth Positioning

first, it has to undo the common perception that the product is an intimidating machine for guys. As part of its strategy, in July 2003, Sony introduced a PlayStation product in Europe called EyeToy: Play—a video camera (the EyeToy) and game View Details

Keywords: by Youngme Moon

11 May 2020
Op-Ed

Immigration Policies Threaten American Competitiveness

It is no secret that immigration has reshaped American innovation. Immigrants are the backbone of America’s most innovative industries, provide a quarter of our patent applications, and are numerous among our science and engineering superstars. Taken from World... View Details

Keywords: by William R. Kerr

February 2014
Case

BGI: Data-driven Research

By: Willy Shih and Sen Chai

BGI has the largest installed gene-sequencing capacity in the world, and to Zhang Gengyun, general manager of the Life Sciences Division, this represented an opportunity to apply his training as a plant breeder and his early career work as a biochemist to improving... View Details

15 Sep 2003
Research & Ideas

The Lessons of New-Market Disruption

of a mini refrigerator and stacked on top of other line equipment. Better yet, this tighter integration would greatly reduce the manufacturing costs. The second technology was Windows NT. Teradyne's test systems included various software... View Details

Keywords: by Clark Gilbert; Technology

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

Find at Harvard

23 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

Product Disasters Can Be Fertile Ground for Innovation

Galasso wanted to see if the sustained media attention would have a positive effect on pushing safety-related innovation in diagnostic devices using radiation. To judge that, they examined new patent applications filed after the news of... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health; Medical Devices & Supplies

21 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 21, 2015

from its historical competence in hardware to become a provider of hardware and software for managing transactions across a range of industries and payments methods. Nuti envisioned a world in which consumers would use NCR hardware or... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

10 Feb 2015
First Look

First Look: February 10

the economy to organize production and innovation. We study individual contestant-level data from 2,796 contestants in 774 software algorithm design contests with random assignment. Precisely conforming to theory predictions, the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 Nov 2017
Research & Ideas

How Does a Social Startup Decide to Commercialize? It May Depend on the Founder's Gender

2016 Echoing Green Fellow Christine Su is co-founder and CEO of PastureMap. The for-profit software company helps sustainable ranchers record their grazing practices on mobile devices. (Photo courtesy of Echoing Green.) A division of... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

September 1996
Case

InterSoft of Argentina (C)

By: Linda A. Hill and Stacy Palestrant

Supplements the (A) and (B) cases. Designed to be handed out at the end of class. View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Business Growth and Maturation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Management Teams; Groups and Teams; Partners and Partnerships; Conflict Management; Information Technology Industry; Argentina; Russia

November 2019
Supplement

Innovation at Uber: The Launch of Express POOL

By: Chiara Farronato, Alan MacCormack and Sarah Mehta

This multimedia supplement accompanies the case “Innovation at Uber: the Launch of Express POOL” (case no. 619-003). Set in March 2018, the case follows ride-sharing company Uber as it develops and launches a new product called Express POOL. This multimedia supplement... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Digital Platforms; Technology Industry; California; San Francisco

02 Aug 2021
What Do You Think?

Can Companies with Remote Management Succeed?

each year for team-building events, and the support of the latest and best communications technology. Just how large an organization can get while still being managed remotely in an effective way is a question. But Sid Sijbrandij, CEO of GitLab, an open-source View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

30 Oct 2006
First Look

First Look: October 31, 2006

A.S.—(Norway)—The Cenapio Project Harvard Business School Case 806-090 Describes the creation of an open source software venture in Norway, Australia, and the United States that lands a strategic OEM deal with a leading Japanese... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Aug 2011
Research & Ideas

Immigrant Innovators: Job Stealers or Job Creators?

particular industry—both software engineers and fashion models are considered "specialized"—but 60 percent of the visas go to workers who specialize in science, engineering, and high-tech occupations. Top recipients of H-1B visas include... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Technology

March 2019
Case

HOPI: Turkey's Shopping Companion

By: Sunil Gupta, Donald Ngwe and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in 2017 as Onur Erbay, CEO of HOPI, a multi-vendor loyalty platform, is contemplating a critical decision. The case chronicles the origins of Boyner Group, the parent company of HOPI and a major retailer in Turkey, and development of retail and customer... View Details

Keywords: Loyalty Programs; Multi-vendor Platform; Retail; Big Data; Customer Relationship Management; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Business Model; Analytics and Data Science; Competitive Strategy; Decision Making; Applications and Software; Digital Platforms; Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Turkey

02 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 2

previously used to reveal the hidden internal architectural structure of software applications. The focus of this paper is to test if it can also uncover new facts about the applications and their... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

November 2019 (Revised May 2020)
Case

Collibra

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Jeffrey F. Rayport and Julia Kelley

Founded in 2008 at Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Collibra was a data intelligence company that found product-market fit in the years after the global financial crisis when many companies were under pressure from consumers and governments to improve their data management... View Details