Publications

April 2023
Article

The Real Exchange Rate, Innovation and Productivity

By: Laura Alfaro, Alejandro Cuñat, Harald Fadinger and Yanping Liu

We evaluate manufacturing firms' responses to changes in the real exchange rate (RER) using detailed firm-level data for a large set of countries for the period 2001-2010. We uncover the following stylized facts about regional variation of manufacturing firms'... View Details

Keywords: Real Exchange Rate; Firm Level Data; Innovation; Productivity; Exporting; Importing; Credit Constraints; Currency Exchange Rate; Innovation and Invention; Performance Productivity

October 2016
Technical Note

Product Development Fundamentals

By: Marco Iansiti, Michael Toffel, Kerry Herman and Julia Kelley

This note introduces key managerial issues in new product development. It describes the product development funnel and alternative approaches to structuring product development teams including functional, lightweight, heavyweight, and autonomous/dedicated teams, which... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Groups and Teams; Operations; Management

2008
Dictionary Entry

Total Factor Productivity

By: Diego Comin

Total Factor Productivity (TFP) is the portion of output not explained by the amount of inputs used in production. The following definition describes the measurement and importance of TFP for growth, fluctuations and development as well as likely future directions of... View Details

Keywords: Business Cycles; Economic Growth; Measurement and Metrics; Production; Performance Productivity; Research

12 PM – 1 PM EST, 05 Nov 2015
Webinars: Trending@HBS

Product Management 101

A growing number of HBS graduates are product managers. Among MBA Class of 2013 and 2014 alumni, an estimated 5% work in product management in tech companies; another 6% are founders of tech startups who typically spend a majority of their time on product development.... View Details

2019
Chapter

Product Market Strategy

By: Anoop Menon and Dennis Yao

Product market strategy is the collection of choices, actions and activities of a firm that determines how it positions itself in its product markets, and allows it to achieve and maintain a COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE. This article examines product market strategy from the... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Competitive Advantage

2013
Article

The Impact of Electronic Health Record Use on Physician Productivity

By: Julia Adler-Milstein and Robert S. Huckman

To examine the impact of the degree of electronic health record (EHR) use and delegation of EHR tasks on clinician productivity in ambulatory settings.
Study Design: We examined EHR use in primary care practices that implemented a web-based EHR from athenahealth... View Details

Keywords: Electronic Health Records; Health Care; Productivity; Healthcare IT; Information Technology; Performance Productivity; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry

March 1989 (Revised August 1994)
Case

Avon Products

Avon Products announced both a change in its business focus and a reduction of its dividend in June 1988. To offset the likely stock price effect of the dividend reduction, Avon announced at the same time an unusual exchange offer, under which it would take up to 25%... View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Capital Markets; Corporate Finance; Consumer Products Industry

October 1978 (Revised August 1985)
Background Note

Product Life Cycle

Introduces the student to the concept of the product life cycle. The meaning and fundamental underpinnings of the product life cycle are presented. Further, the nature of market and competitive forces at different stages in the life cycle, and the implications for... View Details

Keywords: Product

October 2000 (Revised December 2000)
Background Note

Product Policy Decisions

By: Robert J. Dolan

Provides an introduction to key product policy issues. View Details

Keywords: Product Development

May 2011
Article

Extreme Productivity

By: Robert C. Pozen

A veteran top executive at two giant mutual fund companies, the author has also been an attorney, a government official, a law school professor, and a business school professor-sometimes simultaneously. Over the years, he has devised a number of principles and... View Details

Keywords: Managerial Roles; Time Management; Performance Capacity; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Productivity; Personal Development and Career

Research Summary

Selection and Market Reallocation: Productivity Gains from Multinational Production

By: Laura Alfaro

Assessing the productivity gains from multinational production has been a vital topic of economic research and policy debate. Positive aggregate productivity gains are often attributed to within-firm productivity improvement; however, an alternative, less emphasized... View Details

November 1975 (Revised October 1976)
Case

Cross River Products

By: Steven C. Wheelwright

Describes production task of meeting peak seasonal demands in a light manufacturing plant. Information is provided for evaluating the options of overtime, second shift, second production line, and inventory buildup. View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Information; Labor; Demand and Consumers; Production; Supply Chain

How does an entrepreneur, aspiring manager, or CEO become a master of strategy? In this book, we argue that everyone can learn from three of the greatest strategist of modern time, Bill Gates, Andy Grove and Steve Jobs, who also built three of the most valuable... View Details

November 2021
Article

Ratings, Reviews, and the Marketing of New Products

By: Itay P. Fainmesser, Dominique Olié Lauga and Elie Ofek

We study how user-generated content (UGC) about new products impacts a firm's advertising and pricing decisions and the effect on profits and market dynamics. We construct a two-period model where consumers value quality and are heterogeneous in their taste for the new... View Details

Keywords: Online Reviews; Product Ratings; Social Networks; Word Of Mouth; Pricing; User-generated Content; Advertising; Product Marketing; Price; Consumer Behavior; Product Positioning; Social Media

May 2003
Module Note

Managing Product Development

By: Stefan H. Thomke

Introduces students to the managerial aspects critical to conceiving, designing, and developing innovative products and services. Considers the full range of activities required: learning about customer needs, understanding and managing experimentation and problem... View Details

Keywords: Product Design; Product Development; Service Operations; Business or Company Management; Projects; Management Practices and Processes; Experience and Expertise; Customers; Research; Management Skills; Integration

2015
Working Paper

Online Word of Mouth and Product Review Disagreement

By: Frank Nagle and Christoph Riedl

Studies of online word of mouth have frequently posited―but never systematically conceptualized and explored―that the level of disagreement between existing product reviews can impact the volume and the valence of future reviews. In this study we develop a theoretical... View Details

Keywords: Online Word Of Mouth; Online Communities; Viral Marketing; Online Product Reviews; Quality; Internet and the Web; Consumer Behavior; Marketing Reference Programs; Social and Collaborative Networks; Digital Marketing; Analytics and Data Science

SSRN