Systems Thinking - Publications - Faculty & Research

10 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

Homers: Secrets on the Factory Floor

when official production demands it. A homer lamp made by a blacksmith © Michel Anteby For those readers familiar with the HBS teaching case called "Slade," homer making functions a lot like the informal punching-out system... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Manufacturing

09 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

Are Management Consulting Firms Failing to Manage Themselves?

of systemic issues that have gradually worsened since the 2007-2008 financial crisis. At the heart of the problem lies the consulting firms’ aggressive pursuit of growth as their primary objective, which has fundamentally reshaped their... View Details

Keywords: by David Fubini; Consulting

17 Apr 2007
First Look

First Look: April 17, 2007

confers a significant first-mover advantage. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/07-063.pdf A Perceptions Framework for Categorizing Inventory Policies in Single-stage Inventory Systems Author:Noel Watson Abstract In this... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

20 Nov 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, November 20, 2018

Abstract—In a survey of the NEJM Catalyst Insights Council in July 2018, 42% of respondents say they think value-based reimbursement models will be the primary revenue model for U.S. health care. Indeed, this transition is already... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

05 Oct 2016
What Do You Think?

Can the US Economy Regain the Growth and Prosperity of the Past?

very proficient in mobilizing capital to stoke innovation and create new industries for sustained growth. It should focus on immense global market opportunities ” Tip Parker suggested what those new global market opportunities might look like: “I View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

10 Apr 2013
Research & Ideas

Learning Curve: Making the Most of Outsourcing

radiologist having experience with that customer. If you're an outsourcing firm, that has implications for how you think about staffing a new client versus one with whom the firm has a longer history." Huckman's future research will look... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Guttry; Health

05 May 2011
Research & Ideas

How ‘Political Voice’ Empowers the Powerless

reported crimes against another disadvantaged social class in India: the Scheduled Castes. The SCs encompass members of the lowest tiers of the Hindu caste system that dominated India's social structure for many years. And like women, SCs... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish

08 Jan 2001
Research & Ideas

Can Japan Compete? [Part Two]

open competition. If you were to divide up the Japanese government's energies between repairing ailing industries and spurring on new ones, how would you do that? Not to be too provocative here, but I would say that this is the wrong way to View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace & Hilah Geer

22 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 22, 2007

explore the use of more distributed institutional forms. In this article, we review the emerging scholarship on the formation and function of self-regulatory institutions. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/07-089.pdf Evolution Analysis of Large-Scale... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

29 Apr 2013
Research & Ideas

Are First-Time Buyers Left Out of Real Estate’s Rebound?

would lessen the incentive for buying a home. Bottom line, the deduction remained, but with one change. Instead of being unlimited, it was capped at a million dollars. As we look back at what happened with the housing market implosion, I View Details

Keywords: Construction; Real Estate

23 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Historically Speaking: A Roundtable at HBS

understand this phenomenon over time and what role companies played in translating a few buyers' initial curiosity into widespread consumer loyalty. Brand New examines these issues by focusing on six outstanding entrepreneurs. Debora Spar: Several incidents led me to... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner

21 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Solving the Marketing Resources Allocation Puzzle

to create a framework to help managers think about their allocation challenges. The result was published in a recent paper, "Allocating Marketing Resources". Brand managers can be confronted with a complex, daunting task, the authors... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

29 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

Get Off the Dime!

was anger—"Why are they shoving this 'uniform' nonsense down my throat?" There was pessimism—"We'll waste a fortune on this software and it will never work well." There was cynicism—"I wonder how much commission the slick guy who sold us the... View Details

Keywords: by John P. Kotter & Dan S. Cohen

09 Aug 2010
Research & Ideas

How to Speed Up Energy Innovation

percent of the carbon out of the energy system in 40 years. I don't know much about energy, although I know much more now than I did when I started this project. But I've spent my life studying innovation, so I thought maybe I could be of... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Energy; Utilities

20 Sep 2012
Research & Ideas

US Competitiveness at Risk

vitality. The first reaction to globalization was often, "It's wonderful that we can relocate anywhere. If we have a skill shortage here in America, we can just go somewhere else. If we can get a better tax deal there, we'll go there." But that View Details

Keywords: Re: Michael E. Porter & Jan W. Rivkin

09 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

Andy Grove: A Biographer’s Tale

previous books: the Watsons of IBM, Sam Walton, for example. What led you to focus this time on Andy Grove? Tedlow: Having looked at CEO's, as you mentioned, in other books, and really having studied the phenomenon of the chief executive officer all my professional... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Computer

08 Mar 2004
Research & Ideas

Secret to Success: Go for “Just Enough”

target of success in their new book Just Enough: Tools for Creating Success in Your Work and Life (Wiley, 2004). After conducting hundreds of interviews with high achievers, they developed a framework for thinking about integrating four... View Details

Keywords: by Laura Nash & Howard Stevenson

29 May 2001
Research & Ideas

Good News, Not Blues, For the Inner City

becoming more competitive and moving up. "We can't expect government to be on the front line," he stated. "We have to step up and demonstrate the power of the market system." Businesspeople should be thinking about the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

29 Jan 2013
Research & Ideas

Creating the Perfect Super Bowl Ad

advantage. To find out what works, Teixeira went directly to consumers, partnering with the MIT Media Lab and Waltham, MA-based Affectiva, which has developed the first online facial tracking system for testing advertising. The research... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Advertising; Media & Broadcasting

23 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

China’s 60-Year Road from Revolution to World Power

simplistic class analysis, that the countryside was the proper place for peasants, the cities for workers, would lead to the system of nationwide household registration and internal passports known as "hukou," which would... View Details

Keywords: by William C. Kirby

Publications