Publications

November 2005 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Trolltech (Norway) - Will Cenapio Steal Christmas?

Describes the creation of an open source software venture in Norway, Australia, and the United States that lands a strategic OEM deal with a leading Japanese manufacturer of embedded devices (PDAs in this instance). Details the evolution of the two companies'... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Conflict and Resolution; Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Open Source Distribution; Information Infrastructure; Entrepreneurship; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Information Technology Industry; Australia; Japan; Norway; United States

November 1990 (Revised May 1994)
Case

Microsoft Corp.: Office Business Unit

By: Marco Iansiti

Describes the development of a new word processing software package, Word for Windows. The major focus is how the development process should be improved to reduce schedule slips and cost overruns. Some of the issues raised are: the use of schedules in managing... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Cost Management; Business or Company Management; Time Management; Product Development; Programs; Projects; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Information Technology Industry

20 Aug 2024
Book

Why Competing With Tech Giants Requires Finding Your Own Edge

private-labeled digital devices at competitive prices. Yang credited Amazon for the company’s success. In addition to Amazon’s established infrastructure that helped it save on retail and logistics costs, “the key to building high quality... View Details

Keywords: by Feng Zhu; Technology; Information Technology

August 2002 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Australia-Japan Cable: Structuring the Project Company

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Carrie Ferman

In late September 1999, representatives from Telstri, Japan Telecom, and Teleglobe met to discuss the structure of the Australia-Japan Cable (AJC) project, a $520 million submarine cable system that would run from Australia to Japan. The sponsors, excited by the... View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Cooperative Ownership; Organizational Structure; Investment; Ownership; Capital; Corporate Governance; Management Teams; Communication Technology; Projects; Compensation and Benefits; Corporate Finance; Telecommunications Industry; Australia; Japan

11 Jul 2017
First Look

First Look at New Ideas and Research, July 11

their worth from their multisided platforms (MSPs), which facilitate interactions or transactions between parties. Many MSPs are more valuable than companies in the same industries that provide only products or services: For instance,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 May 2001
Research & Ideas

From Tigers to Kaleidoscopes: Thinking About Future Leadership

secondary, and higher levels? Do the local community and national culture value entrepreneurship and have the infrastructure to support it? A century ago, Kanter adds, an engineer's slide rule symbolized exciting opportunities for the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

12 Sep 2006
First Look

First Look: September 12, 2006

Periodical:Journal of Law, Economics and Organization (forthcoming) Abstract Strategic alliances are commonplace in the biotechnology sector. We posit that the stock of prior alliances between participants in the biotech industry produces... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2004
Background Note

56K Modem Battle

By: David B. Yoffie and Deborah Freier

Examines the battle to set the standard for the 56K modem. Set in 1996, this case looks at how computers accessed the Internet via a telephone line, or dial-up connection, and a hardware modem. In 1995, there were 18.6 million total modem unit shipments, with market... View Details

Keywords: Announcements; Revenue; Patents; Product Launch; Network Effects; Standards; Competition; Information Infrastructure; Internet and the Web; Technology Industry; Illinois

Find at Harvard

30 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 30

foreign capital may encourage entrepreneurship. We find that entrepreneurial activity is higher in industries that have a large share of foreign firms in vertically linked industries. Second, we find that entrepreneurial activity in View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 9

effective December 31, 1999. The true story of the Canal upends the more conventional tale of U.S. triumphalism and its shepherding of one of the largest infrastructure works ever built. First, the Canal produced great economic dividends... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

18 Feb 2009
First Look

First Look: February 18, 2009

of gaming console industry leadership, how should Sony respond to the overwhelming success of competitor Nintendo's user-friendly Wii over Sony's high-tech PlayStation 3? It was August 2008 and Kazuo Hirai, chief executive of Sony... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2006 (Revised December 2009)
Compilation

Skype

By: Peter A. Coles and Thomas R. Eisenmann

Presents eBay's rationale for its $2.6 billion acquisition in late 2005 of Skype, a fast growing voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) provider. Describes Skype's history, technology, business model, and competition, as well as government regulation of VoIP services. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Communication Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Network Effects; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; Information Infrastructure; Telecommunications Industry

01 Nov 2011
First Look

First Look: Nov. 1

Entrepreneurship in India Authors:Ejaz Ghani, William R. Kerr, and Stephen O'Connell Abstract We analyze the spatial determinants of entrepreneurship in India in the manufacturing and services sectors. Among general district traits, quality of physical View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 1983 (Revised December 1987)
Case

Technical Data Corp.

By: William A. Sahlman

Describes a decision confronting the president of a small company about selling some or all of the shares in his company to another firm. Technical Data Corp. provides analytical services to professional bond market traders over a system of computer terminals operated... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Internet and the Web; Information Infrastructure; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Valuation; Negotiation Tactics; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Strategy; Horizontal Integration; Information Industry; Information Industry

06 Nov 2012
First Look

First Look: November 6

companies can set the right incentives and time horizons for investments and create a robust innovation infrastructure in the process. Buy the book: View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 15

innovations. Ceteris paribus, the share of resources spent on development of general innovations, increases with the stability of the market share of the industry leader. As market shares become less persistent, the model predicts an... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

16 Dec 2011
Research & Ideas

Reintroducing Intellectual Ambition to the Study of Business History

only responded to globalization but also driven and framed it. The study of particular industries over the long term, employing deep archival research on individual firms, has generated unique insights on evolving corporate structures,... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones & Walter Friedman

September 2023 (Revised March 2024)
Case

ReMo Energy: Sizing Up Investors

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Tom Quinn

In 2023, executives with ReMo Energy (founded 2020) were deciding which size ammonia plant to build as their first project. Their innovative model produced ammonia—useful for making fertilizer and for energy storage—from renewable energy, and they had received funding... View Details