Publications

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Research Summary

Overview

By: Andy Wu

How can technology entrepreneurs build competitive advantage from the ground up? Professor Andy Wu conducts scholarly research and develops course materials that document how technology entrepreneurs can (1) organize for innovation to create new market opportunities... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Growth Management; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Technology Platform; Technological Innovation; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States; China; Southeast Asia; South Asia

14 May 2008
Research & Ideas

Getting Down to the Business of Creativity

in the market research labs don't necessarily see," she says. "Montague wanted a real bicycle that would fold—something to use for serious cycling that was sturdier than available folding models. He designed View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Entertainment & Recreation

June 2001 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Spir-It, Inc. (A): Building the Business

Early in February 1934, two and a half months after the end of prohibition, Jack Sindler sat with a friend in Boston's Ritz Hotel bar enjoying a drink. Sindler worked for the Converse Rubber Co., and he was always inventing something. He held several patents for rubber... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Production; Market Entry and Exit; Management Succession; Entrepreneurship; Product Launch; Acquisition; Growth and Development; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry; Boston

Find at Harvard

01 Feb 2002
News

Replicating Toyota's Success

likely a company is not going to get a design perfect on the first try," notes Spear. "It needs to have the people within its system capable of making improvements." Spear has now helped apply Toyota's principles to much of Alcoa's... View Details

Keywords: Machinery Manufacturing; Machinery Manufacturing; Machinery Manufacturing; Machinery Manufacturing

August 1989 (Revised October 2003)
Case

Fan Pier

By: William J. Poorvu and Katherine Sweetman

The owner of the Fan Pier site in South Boston has been found legally responsible for blocking the efforts of his development partner in attaining the approval necessary to build the $800 million megaproject they had planned together. It was believed that the owner... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Law; Projects; Design; Organizational Design; Marketing Strategy; Government and Politics; Property; Real Estate Industry; Boston

18 Jun 2013
First Look

First Look: June 18

mid-2012 Lit Motors had created both engineering and design prototypes and conducted initial customer tests on less than $750,000 of investment. Lit Motors' founder, Daniel... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

November 2007 (Revised March 2009)
Case

Allston: Brand vs. Architecture

By: Andre F. Perold, Arthur I Segel and Christopher M. Gordon

Harvard President Lawrence Summers had presided over the final interviews of world-renowned architects being considered for the science complex planned for Harvard's expanded campus in Allston. The selection process had absorbed nine months in 2005 and amplified the... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Brands and Branding; Design; Urban Development; Selection and Staffing; Construction Industry; Boston

March 1999 (Revised August 1999)
Case

SCORE! Educational Centers (A)

Describes the start-up, strategy, organizational design, and operations of SCORE! Educational Centers, an after-school tutoring enterprise. Alan Tripp, founder and CEO, is faced with growing organizational stresses and a looming venture capital deadline. Examines... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Management Style; Leadership; Organizational Design; Teaching; Entrepreneurship; Education Industry; United States

August 2023
Case

Salma Qarnain: Spaceships to Broadway

By: Leslie Perlow, Mel Martin and Hannah Weisman

Salma Qarnain, daughter of Pakistani Muslim immigrants, is an engineer trained at Stanford and MIT. She began her career building spacecrafts but 30 years later finds herself pursuing her calling, acting on Broadway. The case explores Qarnain’s career path, family... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Job Search; Job Design and Levels; Happiness; Identity; Well-being; Work-Life Balance; Family and Family Relationships; Theater Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Talent and Talent Management; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States; New York (city, NY); Boston; California

September 1999
Supplement

Jollibee Foods Corporation: International Expansion

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Presents interviews with CEO Tony Tan Caktiong and international division VP, Noli Tingzon, elaborating on issues and raising new issues on Jollibee's global strategy and organization. View Details

Keywords: Managerial Roles; Globalized Firms and Management; Global Strategy; Organizational Design; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry

April 2021
Teaching Note

Drinkworks: Home Bar by Keurig

By: Sunil Gupta and Jonathan Levav

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 521-010. 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... View Details

Research Summary

Overview

I am a field researcher studying the relational nature of work. Organizations are inherently social institutions and provide myriad opportunities for relationship formation. My work begins with the simple insight that all relationships are not equal: interpersonal... View Details

Keywords: Prosocial Motivation; Feedback; Personal Development; Needs; Organizational Design; Performance Productivity; Social and Collaborative Networks; Networks; Groups and Teams; Family and Family Relationships; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

May 2017
Supplement

Betfair (C)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, John Heilbron and Neil Campbell

Prompted by a takeover bid from CVC, Betfair reassesses the strengths and weaknesses of the exchange model. View Details

Keywords: Betfair; Exchange; Betting; Betting Markets; Diversification; Market Design; Business Model; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Europe

Profile

Jessey Jin

you most looking forward to in your career? I am going to join a leading global technology and manufacturing conglomerate. I expect to experience something different from the professional service sector I... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Manufacturing

October 2024 (Revised June 2025)
Case

Nvidia

By: Andy Wu and Matt Higgins

This case study examines Nvidia's strategic pivot from gaming GPUs to becoming a leader in general-purpose computing and AI. It explores how Nvidia leveraged its GPU architecture to dominate the growing fields of data center acceleration and AI training, outpacing... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Technological Innovation; AI and Machine Learning; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; China; Taiwan

01 Sep 2010
News

Start-Ups Make Their Pitch

their start-up pitches to a panel of judges in late April. To his surprise, Mahesh, representing the HBS Club of India, took top honors and was awarded a $25,000 cash prize for his plan to manufacture... View Details

Keywords: awards; Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing; Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing

January 11, 2024
Article

Understanding the Tradeoffs of the Amazon Antitrust Case

By: Chiara Farronato, Andrey Fradkin, Andrei Hagiu and Dionne Lomax

Regulators in the United States and Europe have been taking on Big Tech, challenging what they say are the companies’ anti-competitive and predatory strategies that harm consumers and third-party users of their platforms. This article examines the FTC’s case against... View Details

Keywords: Monopoly; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Market Design; Lawsuits and Litigation