Publications

March 1994 (Revised November 1994)
Case

Komatsu Ltd. (A): Target Costing System

Komatsu, a leading manufacturer of construction equipment, seeks to expand aggressively through the 1990s. Key to its competitiveness is a strict adherence to target costs throughout the product development process. Komatsu conducts several design-for-manufacturability... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Machinery and Machining; Expansion; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry

November 2020 (Revised March 2021)
Case

Amazon: Cult or Culture?

By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott and Tricia Gregg

Amazon was one of the first entrants in e-commerce. Under the leadership of founder Jeff Bezos, Amazon had expanded beyond books to manufacturing and selling a wide range of products and services globally. Bezos had built a customer-centric culture that permeated all... View Details

Keywords: Culture; Technology Companies; Retail; Human Resource Practices; Growth; Founder; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Growth Management; Information Technology; Human Resources; Talent and Talent Management; Retail Industry; Technology Industry

November 1993 (Revised November 1994)
Case

Molding the Impossible: the NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project

By: Clayton M. Christensen

NYPRO, Inc., one of the world's leading manufacturers of plastic injection-molded products, is asked by the Vistakon Division of Johnson & Johnson to manufacture molds that Vistakon will use to produce disposable contact lenses. The required dimensional tolerances for... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Engineering; Management Practices and Processes; Product Development; Production; Groups and Teams; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

February 2009 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Upgrading the Economy: Industrial Policy and Taiwan's Semiconductor Industry

By: Willy C. Shih and Jyun-Cheng Wang

The government-led creation and incubation of the semiconductor industry in Taiwan is a striking success for advocates of strong industrial policy. It has led to the island nation's domination of the global "foundry" business in which firms like Taiwan Semiconductor... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Industry Structures; State Ownership; Business and Government Relations; Competition; Semiconductor Industry; Taiwan

10 Dec 2012
News

Apple Mac To Be Made In USA

September 2005 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Teradyne Corporation: The Jaguar Project

By: Francesca Gino and Gary P. Pisano

Teradyne, a leading manufacturer of semiconductor test equipment, embarked on a multiyear effort to improve its product development capabilities and to implement more formalized project management approaches. Examines the development of a new-generation tester that... View Details

Keywords: Projects; Management; Product Development; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Groups and Teams; Business or Company Management; Research and Development; Problems and Challenges; Semiconductor Industry; United States

2008
Working Paper

Modern Management: Good for the Environment or Just Hot Air?

By: Nicholas Bloom, Christos Genakos, Ralf Martin and Raffaella Sadun

We use an innovative methodology to measure management practices in over 300 manufacturing firms in the UK. We then match this management data to production and energy usage information for establishments owned by these firms. We find that establishments in better... View Details

Keywords: Energy Conservation; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Productivity; Environmental Sustainability; Pollutants; Manufacturing Industry; United Kingdom

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26 Sep 2014
News

Makers, unite

30 Jun 2011
News

Chinese investment in Europe: Streaks of red

December 2000
Case

Daymon Associates

By: Ray A. Goldberg

How does a firm act as a coordinater between the food retailer and manufacturer and satisfy both? View Details

Keywords: Food; Globalized Markets and Industries; Distribution; Production; Sales; Relationships; Food and Beverage Industry

01 Mar 2011
News

Outsourcing the American Dream?

June 2016
Case

Suominen Wipes the Slate Clean

By: Boris Groysberg, Kalle Heikkinen and Michael Norris

In 2016, after successfully turning around Finnish nonwovens manufacturer Suominen, CEO Nina Kopola faces a decision on the company’s strategy moving forward. View Details

Keywords: Nonwovens; Female Protagonist; Turnaround; Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Europe; United States; Finland

September 2009
Case

Intel NBI: Image Components Organization

By: Willy C. Shih and Thomas Thurston

The Image Components Organization (ICO) was an internal venture that was part of Intel's New Business Initiatives. It sought to initially develop and sell a high performance integrated CMOS image sensor module for cellular phones. ICO's opening assumptions were that it... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Product Development; Production; Failure; Diversification; Semiconductor Industry

Find at Harvard

May 2014
Article

Political Reservations and Women's Entrepreneurship in India

By: Ejaz Ghani, William R. Kerr and Stephen D. O'Connell

We quantify the link between the timing of state-level implementations of political reservations for women in India with the role of women in India's manufacturing sector. While overall employment of women in manufacturing does not increase after the reforms, we find... View Details

Keywords: Women; Female; Political Reservations; Development; Informal Sector; Entrepreneurship; Gender; Manufacturing Industry; India; South Asia

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August 2000
Case

Incat

Incat is a cutting-edge manufacturer of high-speed aluminum catamaran ferries. The company has been an entrepreneurial success story, growing to be the largest private employer in its home state of Tasmania, Australia. By 2000, Robert Clifford, the company's dynamic... View Details

Keywords: Production; Ship Transportation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Manufacturing Industry; Australia

December 2007
Case

Ruling the Modern Corporation: The Debate over Limited Liability in Massachusetts

By: David A. Moss and Eugene Kintgen

In 1830, Governor Levi Lincoln, Jr. urged the Massachusetts state legislature to introduce a limited liability regime for manufacturing corporations similar to that adopted in neighboring states. At least since 1809, shareholders in the state's manufacturing... View Details

Keywords: Capital; Debt Securities; Legal Liability; Production; Business and Shareholder Relations; Manufacturing Industry; Massachusetts

July 2014
Case

Paramount Equipment, Inc.

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and Wei Wang

Paramount Equipment, Inc., based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is a large manufacturer of cranes and compact construction equipment, aerial work platforms, and food service equipment. Founded in 1987, Paramount now had manufacturing operations in 24 countries. However, it... View Details