Publications

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12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Rapid Response: Inside the Retailing Revolution

knowledge of what sells and what doesn't, flexible manufacturing capabilities that can respond appropriately to demand, lean rather than fat and costly inventories, View Details

Keywords: by James E. Aisner; Consumer Products; Consumer Products; Consumer Products; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

29 Jan 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, January 29, 2019

in others and show that all these definitions are equivalent. We then introduce a new class of substitutable preferences that allows us to model intermediaries with production capacity. We also prove that... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

November 2017
Teaching Note

Amazon.com, 2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Teaching Note for HBS No. 716-402. On January 28, 2016, Amazon announced record 2015 operating profits of $2.2 billion on $107 billion of sales, and the markets responded with cautious optimism. For years, founder and CEO Jeffrey Bezos had prioritized growth and... View Details

12 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 12, 2018

agents over eight weeks to examine how differing types of guidance and training impact the agents' inventory management. We find agents who are trained in person and receive an explicit, personalized, daily... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

April 2001
Case

Technology Legend in China, A

Describes the sources of Legend's surge to dominance of the Chinese computer market and the subsequent split of distribution and manufacturing into Digital China and Legend Computing. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Production; Distribution; Competitive Strategy; Computer Industry; China

29 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

Whence IT Value?

During the past few years inventory turns among U.S. manufacturers have climbed steadily, and it appears as if productivity has improved nicely. One explanation for these happy... View Details

Keywords: by Andrew McAfee

02 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 2, 2018

prior art that invalidates the patent being examined, and productivity in the machine learning process technology requires computer science and... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

27 Jun 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, June 27

products are developed. This article introduces a fundamental tension between incentives and improvement in the provision of feedback. Using a sample of 4,294 commercial logo design tournaments, I show that... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 1998 (Revised December 1998)
Case

Palm Computing: The Pilot Organizer

Palm Computing appears to be the first to have gotten it "right" in the PDA (personal digital assistant) market. Palm Computing has designed a radically new product which will appeal to certain market segments. However, it is unclear how Palm Computing will fare... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Competition; Product Launch; Electronics Industry

November 1990 (Revised October 1991)
Case

John Crane UK Ltd.: The CAD-CAM Link

Describes the improvement of manufacturing performance in a job shop through the application of a variety of techniques such as group technology, manufacturing cells, and CAD-CAM. As well as exploring the limitations and merits of these methods, the case explores the... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Production; Information Technology; Performance Improvement; Manufacturing Industry; United Kingdom

17 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 17, 2018

introduction of a very general class of unobserved heterogeneity on agents' preferences. Under minimal assumptions, we show existence and uniqueness of equilibrium. We provide two algorithms to compute the... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

August 2000 (Revised December 2003)
Case

Dell's Working Capital

By: Richard S. Ruback and Aldo Sesia

Dell Computer Corp. manufactures, sells, and services personal computers. The company markets its computers directly to its customers and builds computers after receiving a customer order. This build-to-order model enables Dell to have much smaller investment in... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Working Capital; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

05 Dec 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, December 5, 2017

forthcoming New York: Dey Street Books Rebel Talent: Why It Pays to Break the Rules at Work and Life By: Gino, F. Abstract—The world’s best chef. An airline captain who brought his flight to safety in a daring water landing. A magician... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2024
Background Note

The Semiconductor Industry

By: Andy Wu, Steve Blank and Matt Higgins

The semiconductor industry powers modern technology, from consumer electronics to data centers. This background note explores the layers of the semiconductor inudstry value chain, including Integrated Device Manufacturers (IDMs), fabless companies, and foundries, while... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Supply Chain; Product Design; Customer Value and Value Chain; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; China; Taiwan

20 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

The 5 Strategy Rules of Bill Gates, Andy Grove, and Steve Jobs

integrated computer industry, and was able to specialize in creating the core component of computing—the microprocessor. And then he championed that silicon part with the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Computer

30 May 2018
Research & Ideas

Should Retailers Match Their Own Prices Online and in Stores?

let me order the costume on the store’s computer and get free shipping. Sold! For multichannel retailers—those who sell both in physical stores and online—pricing is a... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Retail

23 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Partnering and the Balanced Scorecard

assets, including customer relationships; innovative products and services; high-quality and responsive operating processes; skills and knowledge... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton

November 1997 (Revised May 2002)
Case

MicroAge, Inc.: Orchestrating the Information Technology Value Chain

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Kirk A. Goldman

MicroAge, Inc. started as a storefront in Tempe, AZ in 1976 selling personal computer kits to hobbyists. During their first year of operation, founders Jeff McKeever and Alan Hald sold $1.5 million worth of computer kits, priced at under $1,000 each. Twenty years... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Growth Management; Risk Management; Product; Opportunities; Horizontal Integration; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Technology Industry; Arizona

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December 2016 (Revised December 2017)
Case

Faber-Castell

By: Ryan Raffaelli and Christine Snively

By 2016, Count Anton-Wolfgang von Faber-Castell had led the 255-year-old pencil manufacturer Faber-Castell through waves of technological change. The pocket calculator decimated Faber-Castell’s slide rule business in the 1970s, and computer aided design technology... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Leading Change; Family Ownership; Manufacturing Industry; Germany