Publications

01 Sep 2011
News

The Innovation Imperative

relentless about innovating at Harvard Business School. That’s what Bill Kirby’s history teaches us.” Nohria was quick to point out that innovation does not come at the expense of what made HBS a world... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

01 Dec 2023
News

A Continuum of Innovation

As senior associate dean and chair of the MBA Program, Matt Weinzierl has a running list of questions that he and Jana P. Kierstead, the executive director of MBA and Doctoral programs, always keep in mind. They range from the curricular (How can we ensure that the MBA... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie

01 Dec 2018
News

Innovation Outside the Boundaries

Kent Thiry and Denise O’Leary (both MBA 1983) Noting the accelerated pace of change in society today, venture capital private investor Denise O’Leary (MBA 1983) calls innovation in the MBA curriculum “the flywheel that drives View Details

2016
Book

Revolutionizing Innovation: Users, Communities, and Open Innovation

By: Dietmar Harhoff and Karim R. Lakhani

The last two decades have witnessed an extraordinary growth of new models of managing and organizing the innovation process, which emphasize users over producers. Large parts of the knowledge economy now routinely rely on users, communities, and open innovation... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Transformation; Collaborative Innovation and Invention

Find at Harvard

07 May 2020
Research & Ideas

The One Good Thing Caused by COVID-19: Innovation

workers have continued working remotely as these companies started to resume normal operations, and flexible work-from-home arrangements are likely to become a permanent policy after the crisis. Consistent with past research, this forced... View Details

Keywords: by Hong Luo and Alberto Galasso

June 2017 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Becton Dickinson: Innovation and Growth (A)

By: Raffaella Sadun, Michael Beer and James Weber

In late 2015, CEO Vince Forlenza was reviewing Becton Dickinson’s transformation efforts designed to enable the company to innovate and grow in a changing environment. Becton Dickinson had been a successful medical device company for over 100 years. In recent years,... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Change Management; Innovation Leadership; Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Health Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States

The last two decades have witnessed an extraordinary growth of new models of managing and organizing the innovation process that emphasizes users over producers. Large parts of the knowledge economy now routinely rely on users, communities, and open innovation... View Details

January 1995
Case

3M: Profile of an Innovating Company

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Afroze A Mohammed

Traces the birth and development of 3M Corp., focusing in particular on the origins of its entrepreneurially-based ability to innovate. In particular, it highlights the role of CEO William L. McKnight in creating a unique set of values, policies, and structures to... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Competitive Advantage; Organizational Culture

01 Jun 2009
Lessons from the Classroom

The Challenges of Investing in Science-Based Innovation

"Bank of America is interested in accessing innovative digital technologies that will help it redefine how banking is done," Sato says. "The bank sees this as an opportunity to fuel its View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Banking; Auto; Pharmaceutical

March 2017 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Edwin Land: The Art and Science of Innovation

By: Tom Nicholas, Christopher T. Stanton and Matthew G. Preble

Throughout the second half of the 20th century, Polaroid first invented—and then continuously reinvented—the field of instant photography. Under the leadership of its mercurial founder Edwin Land, the company regularly released new instant cameras and films, often... View Details

Keywords: Instant Photography; Company History; Change Management; Disruption; Forecasting and Prediction; Entrepreneurship; Business History; Innovation Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation and Management; Intellectual Property; Patents; Product Marketing; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Product Development; Chemical Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

07 Jul 2023
Blog Post

Harvard Innovation Labs: Where Passion and Purpose Meet

future? The Harvard Innovation Labs have had an incredible first decade being in Allston. Going forward, I think we will continue to be a big tent for innovation for any... View Details

August 2024
Case

Sky Therapeutics: Innovating in Digital Therapeutics

By: Satish Tadikonda, Olivia Reszczynski and William Marks

Shad Faraz and Alex Youssef were intrigued by the opportunities in the relatively new area of Digital Therapeutics. Despite initial successes, early entrants had struggled with reimbursement and revenue-predictability challenges. However, venture investors still... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Mission and Purpose; Health Care and Treatment; Technological Innovation; Business Strategy; Health Industry; Technology Industry