Publications

Web

From Concept to Product | Baker Library

Concept to Product draws on the extensive holdings of the Polaroid Corporation Collection at Baker Library, Harvard Business School. This remarkably comprehensive collection includes correspondence and... View Details

March–April 2013
Article

Unlocking Innovation Through Business Experimentation

By: Stefan Thomke

There is a downside to businesses that focus heavily on standardization, optimization, and driving out variability: Such organizations leave themselves vulnerable to underinvesting in experimentation and variation, which are the lifeblood of innovation. Good... View Details

Keywords: Experimentation; Innovation Management; Learning And Development; Research; Innovation and Management; Business Processes

29 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

Inventing Products is Less Valuable Than Inventing Ideas

more important than the physical aspect." “Companies don't fully exploit the latest ideas that their product has created” In a paper published last year in the Academy of Management Review called "The Second Face of... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology

2022
Book

Productive Tensions: How Every Leader Can Tackle Innovation's Toughest Trade-Offs

By: Chris Bingham and Rory McDonald

Why is leading innovation in nascent business environments so distressingly hit-or-miss? More than 90% of high-potential ventures don’t reach their projected targets. Surveys show that 80% of executives consider innovation crucial to their growth strategy, but only 6%... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Innovation and Management; Organizational Culture; Leadership Style; Decision Making

12 PM – 1:30 PM EDT, 02 May 2025
Webinars: Career

Establishing Your Professional Identity: How to Develop Your Unique Personal Brand

Whether you're looking for career direction, in career transition, or seeking a promotion, a strong personal brand can build your confidence, your focus, and accelerate your career trajectory. In this workshop led by executive communication coach Andrea Wojnicki (HBS... View Details

September 2012 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption

By: Willy Shih

Ulrich Simon, the head of the Microscopy business group at Carl Zeiss AG knew that his unit was facing a disruptive threat, so he chartered a special team to tackle the industrial segment. Given a high degree of autonomy, the project team developed an understanding of... View Details

Keywords: Modularity; High Technology Products; Emergent Strategy; Product Lines; Corporate Strategy; Digital Platforms; Disruptive Innovation; Technology Industry; Germany

Educators

18 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Stuck in Commuter Hell? You Can Still Be Productive

employees are in limbo between their home and work roles. This unstructured time gives rise to “role ambiguity,” leaving people with the unpleasant feeling of being unsure what they’re expected to do. Sources: The Organization for... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

1967
Other Unpublished Work

TFX (B) - Developing an Air Force/Navy Aircraft - HBS Analysis and Decision Case

By: J. Ronald Fox

Keywords: Air Transportation; Government and Politics; National Security; Product Development; Decision Making

March 2010
Article

Female Empowerment: Further Evidence From a Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines

By: Nava Ashraf, Dean Karlan and Wesley Yin

Female "empowerment" has increasingly become a policy goal, both as an end to itself and as a means to achieving other development goals. Microfinance in particular has often been argued, but not without controversy, to be a tool for empowering women. Here, using a... View Details

Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Product; Microfinance; Decision Making; Policy; Welfare or Wellbeing; Gender; Power and Influence; Philippines

December 2010
Article

Can Higher Prices Stimulate Product Use? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Zambia

By: Nava Ashraf, James Berry and Jesse M. Shapiro

The controversy over how much to charge for health products in the developing world rests, in part, on whether higher prices can increase use, either by targeting distribution to high-use households (a screening effect), or by stimulating use psychologically through a... View Details

Keywords: Price; Product; Information; Zambia

September 2009
Article

Spousal Control and Intra-Household Decision Making: An Experimental Study in the Philippines

By: Nava Ashraf

Using an experimental design I elicit causal effects of spousal observability and communication on financial choices of married individuals in the Philippines. Making choices public moves men from putting money into their own account to consumption; communication with... View Details

Keywords: Intra-household; Bargaining; Experiments; Economic Development; Saving; Governance Controls; Decision Choices and Conditions; Personal Finance; Family and Family Relationships; Household; Gender

Article

The Perils of Excellence: Barriers to Effective Process Improvement in Product-Driven Firms

By: Rebecca M. Henderson, Jesus del Alamo, Todd Becker, James Lawton, Peter Moran, Saul Shapiro and Dean Vlasak

Keywords: Product; Performance Improvement

Research Summary

"On design of operations & production management technology-base and performance database for empowerment of global/local industries in the international business environment"

His current research interests are in the reinforcement of continuous improvement schemes such as TPM, its global transfer and road-mapping for empowerment of industries. One of his aims while at Harvard TOM Unit is to establish infrastructure which enables... View Details

Research Summary

Sustainability, Real Estate and the Built Environment

By: John D. Macomber

Research interests include:

Real estate development, design, and construction, notably how design creates value;
Sustainable cities, in particular entrepreneurship and project finance in light of global trends in urbanization and resource... View Details

Keywords: Infrastructure Finance; Sustainability; Urban Development; City Growth

July 2018 (Revised June 2020)
Case

The Boston Cranberry Company

By: Alan MacCormack

This case describes the operations of a fictitious company that processes Cranberries. The case contains data that allows students to calculate the bottleneck stage in production, and to evaluate alternative investment options for increasing cranberry processing... View Details

Keywords: Process Analysis; Plant Management; Operations; Production; Management; Analysis; Performance Capacity; Investment

Educators

June 2014
Teaching Note

Doing Deals and Leading Teams at XAF Partners

By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott and Robin Abrahams

Private equity firm XAF Partners had grown steadily over the last decade, establishing offices across Asia. At the end of their day-long partners' retreat, several firm partners discuss the challenges they face as "producing managers." These include collaboration and... View Details

Keywords: Management; Time Management; Development; Competency and Skills; Talent and Talent Management; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Business or Company Management; Management Practices and Processes; Financial Services Industry; China

April 2012
Case

Pret A Manger

By: Frances X. Frei, Rick Goldberg and Stephanie van Sice

Pret A Manger, a London-based chain of sandwich shops, was known for its fast, genuine service and pre-packaged sandwiches prepared on-site daily. Instructed by its board to grow at 15 percent per year, Pret considered opening "twin" shops in locations too small to... View Details

Keywords: Customer Service Excellence; Growth Planning And Management; Employee Performance Management; Information Management; Production Planning; Employee Attitude Development And Empowerment; Employee Retention; Leadership Development And Career Planning; Service Delivery; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Employees; Performance; London

Educators