Publications

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08 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

The Critical Computer Science Principles Every Strategic Leader Needs to Know

place in the actions underneath. “Today, it is fair to say that Chrome is both: an application capable of running on most operating systems, and an operating system that runs the Chrome suite of software and... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Technology; Information Technology

01 Dec 2000
News

Vivek Ranadivé

software bus and plug applications into that." As simple as it sounds, this insight had a dramatic impact on the financial services institutions that were among Ranadivé's first customers. (TIBCO is an... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Telecommunications; Information; Air Transportation; Transportation

February 2022
Case

NFX Capital and Moov Technologies

By: Scott Duke Kominers and Nicole Tempest Keller

In July 2019, James Currier, a general partner at San Francisco-based NFX Ventures, was considering a seed stage investment of $1.5 million in Moov Technologies, a B2B marketplace for used industrial equipment. NFX was a venture capital firm focused on seed-stage... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Network Effects; Marketplace Matching; Digital Platforms; Market Design; Applications and Software; Semiconductor Industry; Financial Services Industry; San Francisco

03 Dec 2001
What Do You Think?

What Happens When the Sumo Master Learns Judo?

the Government) really care whether it could enhance its chances in the post desktop world? Do today's information technology industries really require a different approach to government regulation? What do you think? Original Article It's probably a good idea to be... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

June 2019
Teaching Note

Zebra Medical Vision

By: Shane Greenstein and Sarah Gulick

Teaching note is meant to accompany Zebra Medical Vision case, which offers a look at a company’s decisions as a small startup competing with other startups and major technology companies. It also demonstrates the challenges faced by a machine learning company working... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Science-Based Business; Applications and Software; Patents; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Technology Industry; Israel

2018
Article

Threat of Platform-Owner Entry and Complementor Responses: Evidence from the Mobile App Market

By: Wen Wen and Feng Zhu

We examine how app developers on the Android mobile platform adjust their innovation efforts (rate and direction) and value-capture strategies in response to Google’s entry threat and actual entry into their markets. We find that, after Google’s entry threat increases,... View Details

Keywords: Platform-owner Entry; Entry Threat; Innovation; Complementors; Mobile App Industry; Digital Platforms; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Market Entry and Exit; Price; Innovation and Invention; Applications and Software

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20 Jul 2009
Research & Ideas

Markets or Communities? The Best Ways to Manage Outside Innovation

was "jail broken"—allowing developers to create homegrown tools for writing applications for the iPhone—it became quite apparent that there was a significant untapped need among thousands of developers to create applications. Apple... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Technology

24 Apr 2014
News

Mobile robots revolutionize order fulfillment

orders. Kiva’s distribution center automation technology simplifies operations and reduces costs while increasing flexibility. When orders are received, hundreds of autonomous mobile robots are directed by a complex software View Details

March 2002 (Revised August 2002)
Case

Microsoft.NET

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Kerry Herman

Set in the summer of 2000, following the unveiling of Microsoft's .NET initiative to the public. Three of the key figures in .NET's development are considering the next steps they would have to take to keep the initiative moving forward. Specifically, the challenges... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Growth and Development Strategy; Change Management; Talent and Talent Management; Policy; Business Model; Computer Industry; Web Services Industry

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23 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Strategy for Small Fish

departments easily embracing the Web. In the software industry, for example, we have witnessed how the emergence of loosely coupled interfaces has enabled the majority of application companies to leverage... View Details

Keywords: by Marco Iansiti & Roy Levien

November 2022
Case

Para: Pay Transparency and Gig Drivers' Rights

By: Christopher Stanton and George Gonzalez

The case presents the founding vision and early days of a young startup that seeks to empower delivery drivers with tools and transparency. The company's flagship mobile app has been taken up by tens of thousands of delivery drivers across major U.S. cities who use it... View Details

Keywords: Gig Workers; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Applications and Software; Disruptive Innovation; Compensation and Benefits; Technology Industry; San Francisco

February 2014
Technical Note

Mobile Broadband and the Telecommunications Industry in 2011

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Kerry Herman and Christine Snively

Mobile broadband carriers provide network access to the Internet for a range of devices (typically portable or mobile), including consumer devices such as smartphones, tablets and E-Readers, but also a host of new emerging devices. Mobile broadband networks enable data... View Details

Keywords: Telecommunications; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Digital Platforms; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Telecommunications Industry; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Communications Industry

Web

Cynthia Chen | MBA

technology. Tech areas of interest: AI Interpretability, Data Engineering, Data Visualization, Enterprise ML Formative experience at the intersection of technology and business: As a software intern at Scale AI, I had the unique... View Details

November 2021 (Revised December 2024)
Case

Kermit PPI

By: Kyle Myers, Matt Grennan and Sarah Mehta

Launched in 2011, Kermit PPI helped hospitals save money on expensive orthopedic implants and devices by enabling them to renegotiate their contracts with device manufacturers and better monitor compliance. In 2021, as they look to grow, they are entertaining two... View Details

Keywords: Health; Health Care and Treatment; Strategy; Expansion; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Contracts; Health Industry; Technology Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States; Maryland

July 2011 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Game Time Decision for AppDirect

By: Andrei Hagiu, Laura Arjona and Emily Zhang

AppDirect is a start-up that offers small businesses software-as-a-service solutions through a business app marketplace and portal. Daniel Saks, co-founder and co-CEO, is faced with the key question of deciding distribution strategy: should AppDirect find channel... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Distribution; Applications and Software; Innovation Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Business Growth and Maturation; Competitive Strategy; Information Technology Industry; United States

December 1996 (Revised June 1998)
Case

Midnight Networks, Inc.

By: H. Kent Bowen and Marilyn Matis

Midnight Networks, Inc., is a small computer network validation company. This case describes how the five founders built their business from operations earnings and how they established "best practices" operational processes to run their firm successfully. Operational... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Operations; Organizational Culture; Applications and Software; Business Startups; Business Growth and Maturation; Information Technology Industry; Massachusetts