Publications

May 2001 (Revised February 2005)
Case

KONE: The MonoSpace Launch in Germany

By: Das Narayandas and Gordon Swartz

Focuses on the launch of a new elevator product in Germany. In 1996, global construction slumps and low differentiation among competitive offerings has led to significant price competition and margin erosion in the elevator industry. In these circumstances, KONE, one... View Details

Keywords: Machinery and Machining; Product Launch; Product Development; Construction Industry; Germany

August 1991
Background Note

Industrial Market Research: Beta Test Site Management

By: Robert J. Dolan

Describes the role of BETA tests in the new product development process and presents guidelines for effective test program development. View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Mathematical Methods; Marketing

May 2009
Case

Who is the Fairest of Them All? Choosing a Leader at Deronde International

By: Nitin Nohria and Martha Spaulding

Alain Deronde, the CEO of a French personal care company, has to choose a successor to head global product development from a diverse set of candidates with different backgrounds, strengths, and weaknesses. The candidates include Elise Bernier, Vice President of... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Management Succession; Diversity; Management Teams; Product Development; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; France

May 2021 (Revised February 2024)
Teaching Note

THE YES: Reimagining the Future of E-Commerce with Artificial Intelligence (AI)

By: Ayelet Israeli and Jill Avery

THE YES, a multi-brand shopping app launched in May 2020 offered a new type of buying experience for women’s fashion, driven by a sophisticated algorithm that used data science and machine learning to create and deliver a personalized store for every shopper, based on... View Details

Keywords: Data; Data Analytics; Artificial Intelligence; AI; AI Algorithms; AI Creativity; Fashion; Retail; Retail Analytics; E-Commerce Strategy; Platform; Platforms; Big Data; Preference Elicitation; Predictive Analytics; App Development; ＂Marketing Analytics＂; Advertising; Mobile App; Mobile Marketing; Apparel; Online Advertising; Referral Rewards; Referrals; Female Ceo; Female Entrepreneur; Female Protagonist; Analytics and Data Science; Analysis; Creativity; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Forecasting and Prediction; Marketing Channels; Digital Marketing; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; AI and Machine Learning; E-commerce; Digital Platforms; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

Sep 2007 - 2007
Conference Presentation

Antecedents of Boundary Spanning in Cross-functional NPD Teams

By: James R. Dillon, Shikhar Sarin and Amy C. Edmondson

Boundary spanning has been shown in prior research to enhance innovativeness and performance of product development teams. In this study, we examine team conditions that foster boundary spanning behavior. We analyze survey data from 207 members of 54 cross-functional... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Innovation and Invention; Groups and Teams; Behavior; Performance Improvement; Boundaries; Leadership Style; Product; Complexity; Integration; Power and Influence

29 Sep 2003
Research & Ideas

Why Managing Innovation is Like Theater

clear objective. If you don't have a good fix on your destination—be it a product or service, a strategic or competitive outcome, or anything else—you may as well not start the journey. For a lot of your work, though, this so-called... View Details

Keywords: by Rob Austin & Lee Devin

January–February 2012
Article

Do You Need a New Product-Development Strategy?

By: Alan MacCormack, W. Crandall, P. Toft and P. Henderson

Many firms rely on a single new-product development process for all projects. But designing new products for different business contexts requires that a firm deploy different new-product development processes. Products designed for stable and mature end-user markets... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Product Development

Find at Harvard

December 2004 (Revised February 2005)
Case

Exporting Spanish Olive Oil to the U.S. Market

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Hal Hogan and Miguel Angel Llano Irusta

Spain is the largest olive oil producer, yet it sells much of its product to Italy, where it is repackaged as Italian olive oil. The decision maker in the case wants to develop Spain as the olive oil leader not just in production but in quality and value added. He... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Trade; Goods and Commodities; Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Brands and Branding; Decisions; Customization and Personalization; Product Design; Product Development; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Spain; United States; Italy

Teaching Interest

Technology and Operations Management - MBA Required Curriculum

This course enables students to develop the skills and concepts needed to ensure the ongoing contribution of a firm's operations to its competitive position. It helps them to understand the complex processes underlying the development and manufacture of products as... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Operations Management; Operations

Teaching Interest

Technology and Operations Management - MBA Required Curriculum

This course enables students to develop the skills and concepts needed to ensure the ongoing contribution of a firm's operations to its competitive position. It helps them to understand the complex processes underlying the development and manufacture of products as... View Details

TeachingInterests

Technology and Operations Management - MBA Required Curriculum

By: Edward McFowland III

This course enables students to develop the skills and concepts needed to ensure the ongoing contribution of a firm's... View Details

December 2014 (Revised July 2021)
Case

Discovery Limited

By: Michael E. Porter, Mark R. Kramer and Aldo Sesia

Discovery Ltd. is a South Africa-based insurance company. Started in the early 1990s, Discovery used behavioral economics and data collection to innovate in the health care insurance industry. Its founder Adrian Gore believed that the company's products needed to not... View Details

Keywords: Shared Value; Health Care; Financial Services; Strategy; Value Creation; Health Care and Treatment; Insurance; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Health Industry; Insurance Industry; South Africa

March 2013
Case

Singapore Metals Limited

By: John T. Gourville

Singapore Metals Limited (SML) has declining sales but has developed a new product (curled metal pile driver pads) that, in field tests, delivers customer benefits that are many times SML's manufacturing costs. Jonathan Lee and Alex Tan of SML's Engineered Products... View Details

Keywords: Metals and Minerals; Marketing Strategy; Price; Business Strategy; Product Development; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Singapore

July 1990 (Revised August 1995)
Case

Symantec--1982-90

By: Nitin Nohria

As Symantec grew from a small, upstart software development company to a major player in the software development industry, the channels of information flow and the internal communication needs of the company became more complex. The geographically-dispersed structure... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Communication Technology; Communication; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Employee Relationship Management; Growth and Development; Knowledge Dissemination; Knowledge Sharing; Knowledge Management; Information Technology Industry; United States

04 Oct 2004
What Do You Think?

Does Speed Trump Intellectual Property?

increased sales and margins due to fresher products reflecting customer demand. They found that, among other things, fast competitors froze designs early in the product View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

March 1994
Case

Materials Technology Corp.

By: Clayton M. Christensen

Materials Technology Corp. (MTC) is an MIT-based start-up company that identified an initial product market for its advanced materials-processing technology using conventional market research techniques. While pursuing that market--advanced microelectronic... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Technology; Markets; Product Development; Innovation and Management; Electronics Industry; Computer Industry; United States

September 2020
Case

Drinkworks: Home Bar by Keurig

By: Sunil Gupta, Jonathan Levav and Julia Kelley

In the summer of 2018, Drinkworks CEO Nathaniel Davis needed to make a number of go-to-market decisions ahead of his company’s upcoming product launch. Formed through a joint venture between Keurig Dr. Pepper and Anheuser-Busch InBev, Drinkworks had developed an... View Details

May 2012
Case

BoldFlash: Cross-Functional Challenges in the Mobile Division

By: Michael Beer and Rachel Shelton

Roger Cahill has spent less than a year as head of the Mobile Division of BoldFlash, a flash memory component maker. On the corporate level, BoldFlash has adapted to an evolving and difficult marketplace, but the Mobile Division is struggling. The four groups within... View Details

Keywords: United States; Massachusetts; Morale; Human Resource Management; Technology; Leadership; Opportunities; Organizational Design; Conflict and Resolution; Product Development; Change Management; Information Infrastructure; Business Processes; Manufacturing Industry; Electronics Industry; Massachusetts

July 2000 (Revised April 2011)
Case

Greeley Hard Copy, Portable Scanner Initiative (A)

By: Michael L. Tushman and Daniel Radov

Hewlett-Packard's Greeley Hard Copy Division is the market leader in the production of desktop flatbed scanners for personal computers. The division has been working to develop a portable scanner product for the past five years with mixed results. The new general... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Product Development; Organizational Structure; Hardware; Technology Industry