Publications

11 Apr 2000
Research & Ideas

Financial Services 24/7

housed its two data centers twenty miles apart—in different power grids—outside Phoenix. "A software failure could easily put the whole enterprise at risk," explains McFarlan. Disruptive Technologies One... View Details

Keywords: by Susan Young

Web

Energy - Course Catalog

economy work, and how fast can it change? How are entrepreneurial start-ups disrupting the energy economy? How are corporations across sectors navigating and potentially driving the energy transition—or not? How are new policies being... View Details

December 2019 (Revised July 2020)
Case

Ray White

By: Boris Groysberg and Tricia Gregg

Ray White is an Australian real estate business that has been owned and operated by the White family for four generations. The business has expanded and prospered. However, as the industry faces new challenges and opportunities, how should the White family respond?... View Details

Keywords: Crisis; COVID-19; Pandemic; Family Business; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Disruption; Information Technology; Health Pandemics; Crisis Management; Real Estate Industry; Australia

01 May 2020
In Practice

COVID-19’s Hard Lessons Might Prepare Business for Climate Change

The coronavirus pandemic caught the business world by surprise, but the catastrophe might force companies to face a crisis that has been unfolding in plain sight: climate change. We asked faculty members affiliated with the Business and Environment Initiative at... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

28 Feb 2022
News

Equal Partner

realized she could do more to disrupt the traditional investment model from the outside. At the time, Aditya was already working with Republic, an online investing platform. The company, which launched in 2016, offers investment... View Details

29 Jun 2016
News

The Latest Local Motor: A Self-Driving Bus

first storefront and future site of another microfactory. “We’re not going to disrupt the automotive industry without a serious breakout success.” What does that look like? “I want to be the first company to put a production autonomous... View Details

31 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 31, 2018

largest insurance program. To meet this target, the government will rely on technology to effectively scale services, monitor quality, and ensure accountability. While India has seen great strides in informational View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

01 Dec 2019
News

From Das’s Desk

written and the insights and lessons they offer. The Disruptive Voice – A series that looks at examples of disruptive innovation being explored by academics, researchers, and practitioners who were inspired... View Details

Keywords: podcasts; lifelong learning; alumni; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

January 2020 (Revised March 2020)
Case

LOLA: Do You Know What's in Your Tampon?

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Aldo Sesia

LOLA is a direct-to-consumer (DTC) business launched in 2015. What started as a company to provide women with organic and transparent material-labeled tampons via a subscription model, had, by 2019 evolved to include additional menstrual and sexual wellness products.... View Details

Keywords: Direct-to-consumer; Channels; Disruption; Business Model; Brands and Branding; Internet and the Web; Strategy; Retail Industry; United States; Canada

01 Sep 2003
News

Books

Technologies for Innovation, Thomke argues that many companies are not yet making the best use of breakthrough technologies for experimentation — including simulation and computer modeling — to generate and... View Details

Keywords: Deborah E. Blagg; Margie Kelley; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

28 Nov 2023
Blog Post

Hiring at HBS: How Summer Interns Make an Impact at Duolingo

are able to push back. They think outside of the box and can be disruptors, in a good way.” And for a company committed to making language education universally accessible, that good kind of disruption is a powerful way to make it happen. View Details

Keywords: Technology

05 Mar 2020
News

Green Light

hockey-stick returns. “We believe that in every technological disruption you have to have hand-in-hand capital model disruption and business model View Details

Keywords: Dan Morrell; photographed by Scott Nobles

Web

Managing and Innovating in Financial Services - Course Catalog

industry that has seen as much disruption – both good (innovation) and bad (crisis) – as financial services. In Managing and Innovating in Financial Services , we examine the challenges and opportunities faced in financial services as... View Details

01 Jun 2020
News

Vital Signs

Halle Tecco (MBA 2011) Halle Tecco (MBA 2011) Halle Tecco (MBA 2011) has been a health care investor since she graduated from HBS. Her fascination with the massive disruptions underway in the industry led her to found the Rock Health... View Details

Keywords: Jen Mele; COVID-19; Ambulatory Health Care Services; Health, Social Assistance

25 Aug 2022
News

Labs Enable Large-scale Research

systems, the influence of cryptography tools and big data on financial services, the deployment of different forms of capital into Web3 startups, and the ways in which blockchain technology will disrupt... View Details

29 Dec 2019
Research & Ideas

Read Our Most Popular Research Stories of 2019

plans for future workforce makeup and training, and its search for opportunities from digital infrastructure and automation. What’s Really Disrupting Business? It’s Not Technology View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

February 2000 (Revised August 2000)
Case

Priceline WebHouse Club

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Jon K Rust

Priceline empowered consumers to "name their own price" for airline tickets and hotel rooms; then it shopped these offers to marketers. Priceline's founder Jay Walker described the resulting transactions as a new ecosystem, that helped consumers realize lower prices... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Retail Industry

December 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Boll & Branch

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Mel Martin

Boll & Branch is a direct-to-consumer (DTC) business launched in 2015. It was the first Fair-Trade Certified manufacturer of linens. The case provides background on the company, its start, business model, and evolution through 2019. View Details

Keywords: Direct-to-consumer; Channels; Disruption; Business Model; Brands and Branding; Internet and the Web; Strategy; Retail Industry; United States; Canada

October 2006 (Revised October 2007)
Case

Google Advertising

By: Youngme E. Moon and David Chen

In mid-2006, Google is the number one search engine in America with 99% of its revenues deriving from its simple, text-only advertising services. It is on track to bring in roughly $9.5 billion in advertising revenue in 2006, which would place it fourth among American... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Disruptive Innovation; Media; Expansion; Internet and the Web; Advertising Industry; United States