Publications

March 2015
Case

BOLT: Seed Venture Capital Firm

By: William A. Sahlman and Robert F. White

BOLT is a different kind of seed venture capital firm built to serve the needs of early-stage startups at the intersection of hardware and software.

In the past decade, the cost of entrepreneurial experimentation has dropped dramatically, particularly in web... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Accelerator; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Venture Capital; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Strategy

08 Jan 2014
What Do You Think?

Do Productivity Increases Contribute to Social Inequality?

democracy may be a requirement of mandatory service-social service, infrastructure construction, teaching/mentoring or military according to individual talents and interests A couple years contributed in the late teens or early twenties... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

21 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Missing the Wave in Ship Transport

"ensured that the increase in [shipping] rates was very limited." “When everyone is ordering ships is the time you should be selling.” The industry's largest boom, however, began early in 2003, driven by demand for iron ore to fuel China's View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Transportation

16 May 2005
Research & Ideas

Confronting the Reality of Web Services

Big companies have the power to convince or compel their partners to participate, and to shortcut negotiations by simply dictating terms. Amazon and eBay have both done brilliant work with Web services to open up their IT infrastructures... View Details

Keywords: by Sara Grant

17 Jul 2017
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: As America Recedes from Global Leadership, Its CEOs are Stepping Up

G19 + 1. For business leaders, the early optimism following Trump’s election that corporate taxes would be reduced, America’s infrastructure would be improved, and an improved healthcare system would be created has faded away. Many... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

30 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 30, 2015

provision of public infrastructure appropriate for a basic good like water? The case also investigates the allocation of water supply and usage in California and the environmental impacts of running this plant on electricity drawn from... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

06 Nov 2017
Research Event

Who is Responsible for the Future of Cities?

Nigerian instant noodle company, Tolaram Industries, which built its own transportation system and power plants to support its operations without having to depend on the unreliable municipal power grid. “They took noodles, and they developed a set of View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

September 2004 (Revised June 2005)
Case

Otis Elevator: Accelerating Business Transformation with IT

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Brian DeLacey

Focuses on a major transformation of Otis Elevator's infrastructure. Led by the CEO, this transformation represents a remarkable long-term reengineering of all the processes of the firm to drive its operating costs down and service image up. The transformation is the... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Cost Management; Infrastructure; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Information Technology

February 2011 (Revised May 2012)
Teaching Note

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (TN)

By: William E. Fruhan

Teaching Note for 211-067. View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Business and Shareholder Relations; Value Creation; Opportunities; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Governance; Executive Compensation; Balance and Stability; Manufacturing Industry

October 2013
Case

Rhythm & Blues

By: Willy Shih

The bankruptcy filing of Rhythm & Hues, who received an Oscar for the arresting visual effects in Life of Pi, raised questions about the challenges faced by the firms like it as well as the broader post-production industry. The rapid pace of technology certainly... View Details

Keywords: Post-production; Visual Effects; Digital; Entertainment; Animation Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Los Angeles

April 2025
Case

Techint: Strategic Choices for Community Impact

By: Lauren Cohen, Virak Prum, Kenneth Charman, Pedro Levindo and Mariana Cal

In early 2024 Erika Bienek, Chief Community Relations Officer at Techint, had to decide whether to invest in a new company-owned and operated technical school in Veracruz, Mexico, or invest instead in strengthening the city’s public education system. Techint, a global... View Details

Keywords: Technical Institutes; Community Relations; Social Impact; Argentina; Mexico; Brazil; Conglomerate; Stakeholder Management; Government And Business; Community Impact; Philanthropy; Business Conglomerates; Business Subsidiaries; Business Headquarters; Family Business; Decision Making; Private Sector; Public Sector; Education; Curriculum and Courses; Middle School Education; Secondary Education; Teaching; Training; Learning; Energy; Engineering; Construction; Values and Beliefs; Geography; Global Range; Local Range; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Government Legislation; Recruitment; Innovation and Invention; Disruptive Innovation; Knowledge; Resource Allocation; Industry Clusters; Infrastructure; Family Ownership; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Business and Community Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Business and Government Relations; Creativity; Reputation; Social and Collaborative Networks; Civil Society or Community; Social Issues; Poverty; Strategy; Construction Industry; Education Industry; Energy Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Steel Industry; Europe; Italy; Latin America; North and Central America; Mexico; North America; United States; South America; Argentina; Buenos Aires; Brazil

14 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

The High Cost of the Slow COVID Vaccine Rollout

officials took steps to speed vaccine development last year, the United States and other countries could have paid to build manufacturing infrastructure and shore up the supply chain needed to produce vaccines at higher capacity. That... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health

15 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

Funding the Design of Livable Cities

sustainability. “Private investors will need to fund not only real estate development, but also the supporting urban infrastructure systems” In his multiple roles as a member of the HBS faculty teaching courses in Real Estate Development... View Details

Keywords: by Lisa Chase; Construction; Real Estate; Energy; Utilities

December 2012
Supplement

Jefferson County (D): February of 2008

By: Daniel Bergstresser and Randolph B. Cohen

Jefferson County, Alabama, faces an EPA mandate requiring sewer system upgrades. How will they finance the upgrades? What consequences will follow? View Details

Keywords: Local Government; Political Process; Bankruptcy; Debt Management; Financial Planning; Urban Development; Environmental Sustainability; Infrastructure; Government and Politics; Borrowing and Debt; Alabama

September 1991 (Revised May 1994)
Background Note

Note on the PC Network Software Industry--1990

By: David B. Yoffie

Examines the economics, technology, customer segments, and competitors of the PC networking software industry. View Details

Keywords: Customers; Economics; Competition; Applications and Software; Technology Adoption; Information Infrastructure

2024
Working Paper

Content Moderation with Opaque Policies

By: Scott Duke Kominers and Jesse M. Shapiro

A sender sends a signal about a state to a receiver who takes an action that determines a payoff. A moderator can block some or all of the sender's signal before it reaches the receiver. When the moderator's policy is transparent to the receiver, the moderator can... View Details

Keywords: Market Design; Communication; Knowledge Sharing; Information Infrastructure; Media

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June 2006 (Revised September 2006)
Case

Tech Data Corporation

Tech Data is a global supplier of logistics management services and one of the world's largest distributors of information technology equipment. Operational execution is key for the company, which has gross margins in the 5% range. At the end of 2005, the company had... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Information Infrastructure; Operations; Growth and Development Strategy

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January 2018 (Revised August 2020)
Background Note

Continuous Software Development: Agile's Successor

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Samuel Clemens and Olivia Hull

In recent years, the twin software development methodologies of continuous delivery and continuous deployment have risen to prominence in the start-up world and beyond. These methods have enabled technology companies large and small to accelerate their product... View Details

October 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Supplement

Dulcie Madden (B)—A Difficult Choice

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

This is part of a three-case series that follows Dulcie Madden's journey as a founder over five years. Case (A) is about managing growth and cash flow; Case (B) is about the exit decision and conditions on a sale; Case (C) shows Madden dealing with adversity and the... View Details