Publications

2019
Working Paper

Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 13 Platform Systems vs. Step Processes—The Value of Options and the Power of Modularity

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

This is the first chapter in Part 3. Its purpose is to contrast the value structure of platform systems with step processes from a technological perspective. I first review the basic technical architecture of computers and argue that every computer is inherently a... View Details

Keywords: Platform Systems; Step Processes; Computer Architecture; Modularity; Information Technology; Digital Platforms

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August 2001
Case

Charmed Technology

By: Youngme E. Moon

Charmed Technology, a California start-up known primarily for its high-profile fashion shows featuring "wearable" computers, has just released its first product. The "CharmIT" is being billed as the world's first affordable, wearable computer for consumers. The key... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Resignation and Termination; Technological Innovation; Marketing Strategy; Product Development; Luxury; Information Infrastructure; Value Creation; Computer Industry; Computer Industry

January 2013 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Microsoft Server & Tools

By: Marco Iansiti and Alain Serels

In 2011, Microsoft's Server & Tools Business (STB) was large, fast growing and highly profitable on the strength of traditional packaged product lines led by the Windows Server operating system. Even as the current packaged business was performing exceptionally well,... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Computing; Enterprise Computing; Servers; Cloud Computing; Microsoft; Technology Evolution; Technological Innovation; Disruptive Innovation; Information Technology; Information Technology Industry

2021
Working Paper

First Law of Motion: Influencer Video Advertising on TikTok

By: Jeremy Yang, Juanjuan Zhang and Yuhan Zhang

This paper engineers an intuitive feature that is predictive of the causal effect of influencer video advertising on product sales. We propose the concept of m-score, a summary statistic that captures the extent to which a product is advertised in the most engaging... View Details

Keywords: Influencer Advertising; Video Advertising; Computer Vision; Machine Learning; Advertising; Online Technology

2024
Working Paper

Computed Tomography (CT)--Beyond Traditional X-Rays: Case Histories of Transformational Advances

By: Amar Bhidé, Srikant M. Datar and Katherine Stebbins

This case history describes how Computed Tomography (CT) scanners - that combine Xrays and computers to image soft tissues of the brain and other organs -- have become a widely used diagnostic tool. Specifically, we chronicle the 1) initial development of CT... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Technological Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Technology Adoption; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Invention; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms

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09 Jul 2024
News

The Critical Computer Science Principles Every Strategic Leader Needs to Know

1971
Book

FORTRAN IV Computing and Applications

By: R. L. Nolan

Keywords: Information Technology; Computer Industry

06 Oct 2011
News

Steve Jobs's Career, Vision for Apple

01 Jun 2000
News

Networked Computers behind IT Payoff

Investments in information technology (IT) are finally beginning to pay off, thanks to the era of the networked computer. So says HBS assistant professor Andrew P. McAfee in an article published in last October's issue of Exec: The... View Details

December 1981 (Revised October 1985)
Case

Computer Retailing at Macy's California

By: Hirotaka Takeuchi

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Marketing; Retail Industry; California

March 2007 (Revised August 2007)
Supplement

Dell Computers (B): The Transition

By: Frances X. Frei and Christine van Keuren

The case presents the outcome of the (A) case and explores challenges in the PC industry up to early 2007. Michael Dell's return as CEO is also discussed. View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Managerial Roles; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Hardware; Technology Industry

2012
Article

A Study of Economic Impact of Cloud Computing

By: Marco Iansiti and Gregory L. Richards

In this paper we find that advances in cloud computing likely will extend the IT induced economic growth in developed economies and foster growth in economies where IT penetration is not yet fully mature. We conclude that governments should work together to take... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Economies and Regions; Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Economic Growth; Cooperation; Government and Politics; Innovation and Invention; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

27 Sep 2015
News

Smaller, Faster, Cheaper, Over: The Future of Computer Chips

April 1982 (Revised July 1986)
Case

Brookfield Corp.'s Personal Computers (A)

By: Walter J. Salmon

Keywords: Information Technology; Information Infrastructure

August 1995
Article

Can Computer Personalities Be Human Personalities?

By: C. I. Nass, Y. Moon, B. J. Fogg, B. Reeves and D. C. Dryer

Keywords: Information Technology; Personal Characteristics

January 2014 (Revised May 2014)
Case

Tech Mahindra and the Acquisition of Satyam Computers (A)

By: Srikant M. Datar, Anjali Raina and Namrata Arora

Set in 2008, the case details Tech Mahindra, an information technology (IT) company within the Mahindra Group, an Indian multi-industry company with a diverse stable of businesses including automotives, farm equipment, and financial services, and its decision to... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Corporate Governance; Computer Industry; India

2025
Working Paper

How to Choose Among Technologies with Learning Curves: Making Better Investment Decisions

By: Christian Kaps and Arielle Anderer

Learning curves, the fact that technologies improve as a function of cumulative experience or investment, are desirable-think inexpensive solar panels or higher performing semiconductors. But, for firms that need to pick one technology among several candidates, such as... View Details

Keywords: Learning Curve; Technology; Innovation; Batteries; Energy Storage; Sequential Decision Making; TELCO; Exploration; Exploitation; Problems and Challenges; Cost vs Benefits; Technology Adoption; Battery Industry

September 2004 (Revised January 2005)
Case

IBM: Ordering Midrange Computers in Europe

IBM Europe is trying to expand business-to-business (B2B) efforts with its large distributors of midrange systems. These efforts aim to automate many transactions and business processes, removing the need for human involvement. IBM has completed an initial project with... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Information Technology; Information Infrastructure; Marketing Channels; Distribution Channels; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Germany; United States

March 1994
Case

Materials Technology Corp.

By: Clayton M. Christensen

Materials Technology Corp. (MTC) is an MIT-based start-up company that identified an initial product market for its advanced materials-processing technology using conventional market research techniques. While pursuing that market--advanced microelectronic... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Technology; Markets; Product Development; Innovation and Management; Computer Industry; Computer Industry; United States