Publications

01 Jun 2015
News

Faculty Q&A: Reemerging Technologies

the world who said this is the only way to listen to music. But today a new generation raised on digital music is also taking notice. Is reemergence a short-lived trend? Reemergent technologies often View Details

Keywords: April White; Apparel Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Printing and Related Support Activities; Manufacturing

May 2022
Article

The Impact of COVID-19 on Digital Communication Patterns

By: Evan DeFilippis, Stephen Michael Impink, Madison Singell, Jeff Polzer and Raffaella Sadun

We explore the impact of COVID-19 on employees’ digital communication patterns through an event study of lockdowns in 16 large metropolitan areas in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Using de-identified, aggregated meeting and email meta-data from 3,143,270... View Details

Keywords: Meetings; Email; COVID-19 Pandemic; Communication Technology; Health Pandemics; Time Management

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November 1995
Case

Communications Revolution, The : 1995

By: Richard S. Tedlow and James Weber

Keywords: Communication; Communication Technology

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July 2010 (Revised November 2011)
Supplement

Zensar: The Future of Vision Communities (B)

By: David A. Garvin and Rachna Tahilyani

Zensar is a rapidly growing, mid-sized Indian IT services company with a collaborative management philosophy and innovative HR policies. One of its practices, Vision Communities, is an inclusive forum for innovation and strategy formulation. As the company grows,... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Leadership Style; Employee Relationship Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Information Technology; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Business or Company Management; Expansion; Information Technology Industry; India

March 2025
Case

Fostering Community at Airbnb (A)

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer, Heather Whiteman and Sarah Mehta

Set in November 2020, this case explores Airbnb’s efforts to foster a culture of belonging, particularly given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the company’s workforce. It details how Airbnb used employee surveys and organizational network analysis (ONA)—a... View Details

Keywords: Change; Communication; Competency and Skills; Human Resources; Information; Information Technology; Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Technology Industry; United States; California

September 1999
Background Note

Revolution in the Communications Switching Industry

By: Jay O. Light, Lynda M. Applegate and Daniel J. Green

As data packet switches threatened the voice circuit switch industry in 1999, major switch and router vendors began paying high premiums to acquire venture-backed switch companies. This note explains what a switch is and suggests why large vendors might be so anxious... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Restructuring; Capital; Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Communications Industry; Communications Industry

2023
Working Paper

Learning to Use: Stack Overflow and Technology Adoption

By: Daniel Jay Brown and Maria P. Roche

In this paper, we examine the potential impact of Q&A websites on the adoption of technologies. Using data from Stack Overflow – one of the most popular Q&A websites worldwide – and implementing an instrumental-variable approach, we find that users whose questions... View Details

Keywords: Technology Adoption; Knowledge Sharing

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Web

Faculty | Information Technology

Creative Cloud Budgeting ChatGPT Edu Computer Upgrades Generative AI Tools at HBS My Requests Information Security Marketing & Communications Templates O365 SharePoint OneDrive O365 Teams Personal Devices Printing Travel Information... View Details

January 1989
Background Note

Managing Information Technology: Communications Networks

By: James I. Cash Jr. and Thomas H. Davenport

Keywords: Management; Information Technology; Information Infrastructure

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September 2020
Teaching Note

Miami's Tech Future (C): Reaching Another Miami

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Joyce J. Kim

The effects of Miami’s startup scene have not reached many “left-behind” lower-income Black communities, which are disproportionately affected by problems such as segregation and racial discrimination, lack of transportation access, crime, education quality, government... View Details

Web

Benefits | Information Technology

the HBS Live Online Classroom production team allows instructors to be completely free of technology responsibilities, so they can focus on discussions and make deep, one-to-one connections. Dynamic case teaching, the way cases were meant... View Details

06 Jan 2014
Research & Ideas

Technology Re-Emergence: Creating New Value for Old Innovations

Out with the old, in with the new! That's the natural path of innovation. PCs killed typewriters, for instance. Smartphones superseded telephones, pocket calculators, and point-and-shoot cameras. Every once in a while, though, an old View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Technology; Technology; Technology

August 2011 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Danielle Marcoux at AdNet2Win Technologies

By: Anthony J. Mayo and Joshua D. Margolis

Danielle Marcoux, Director of Web Design at AdNet2Win Technologies, must decide how best to confront Charles Davide, the Chief Technology Officer and leader of the design team charged with overseeing a major upgrade of the company's proprietary customer loyalty... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Management Teams; Interpersonal Communication; Creativity; Status and Position; Web Services Industry

September 2010
Teaching Note

China Mobile's Rural Communications Strategy (TN)

By: William C. Kirby and F. Warren McFarlan

Teaching Note for 309034. View Details

Keywords: Rural Scope; Investment; Communication Strategy; Information Management; Government and Politics; Governance Controls; China

22 Sep 2008
Research & Ideas

The Silo Lives! Analyzing Coordination and Communication in Multiunit Companies

and 60 million electronic calendar entries over a three-month period. The results provide an unmatched look inside the "black box" that hides what Stuart calls the "soft wiring" of previously invisible social networks. In this Q&A, Stuart says the team was taken... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

June 2023 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Social Media Background Screening at Fama Technologies

By: Joseph Pacelli, Jillian Grennan and Alexis Lefort

Fama Technologies is an online screening company that uses AI to analyze job applicants' publicly available online content for signs of risk and culture fit. The case opens with Ben Mones, founder and CEO, looking to secure funding from venture firms. He is running... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Recruitment; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Organizational Culture; Talent and Talent Management; AI and Machine Learning; Social Media; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; United States

06 Jul 2021
Blog Post

The MS/MBA Technology Showcase: A Celebration of Our Startups

Throughout the year, the MS/MBA: Engineering Sciences cohort frequently bounces between business, engineering, and entrepreneurship endeavors. Our efforts culminate in the annual MS/MBA Technology Showcase, which brings together the View Details

April 2002 (Revised July 2003)
Case

Cisco Systems and its Community Fellowship Program (A)

By: Diana Barrett and Sheila McCarthy

Focuses on the introduction, implementation, and initial evaluation of Cisco Systems Community Fellowship Program. This program provided Cisco employees affected by the layoff the option of working with a nonprofit organization for one year. Instead of a severance... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Compensation and Benefits; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States