Publications

25 Jan 2022
Cold Call Podcast

How Footwear Startup Allbirds is Decarbonizing Fashion

Keywords: Re: Michael W. Toffel

Research Summary

Overview

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

Rayport focuses his teaching and research on launching and scaling technology ventures, with emphasis on digital media, e-commerce, and multi-channel retail. View Details

25 Sep 2006
Research & Ideas

How Software Platforms Revolutionize Business

Software Platforms Drive Innovation and Transform Industries, available October 4 from MIT Press. Evans is Managing Director of the Global Competitive Policy Practice at LEGC LLC. Hagiu is a professor in the Strategy unit at Harvard... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Video Game; Web Services

12 PM – 1 PM EST, 09 Dec 2015
Webinars: Career

How to Stay Current in the Tech Space

Are you currently working in the tech industry? Or, are you thinking of exploring a new career within the space? In an industry that is constantly changing, it can be difficult to keep up with current trends. Mark Hardie, a product innovator with years of experience... View Details

February 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

What's the Deal with LivingSocial?

By: Michael I. Norton, Luc Wathieu, Betsy Page Sigman and Marco Bertini

Tim O'Shaughnessy, the 29-year-old CEO of LivingSocial, is growing a revolutionary worldwide business of "daily deals"—in which retailers offer a heavily-discounted product or service available for purchase for brief (often 24-hour) windows. The case explores the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Innovation and Invention; Advertising; Brands and Branding; Management; Web Services Industry

May 2010
Article

Modern Management: Good for the Environment or Just Hot Air?

By: Nicholas Bloom, Christos Genakos, Ralf Martin and Raffaella Sadun

We use an innovative methodology to measure management practices in over 300 manufacturing firms in the U.K. We then match this management data to production and energy usage information for establishments owned by these firms. We find that establishments in better... View Details

Keywords: Energy Conservation; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Productivity; Environmental Sustainability; Pollutants; Manufacturing Industry; United Kingdom

March 2012
Article

Does America Really Need Manufacturing?

By: Gary P. Pisano and Willy C. Shih

Too many U.S. companies base decisions about where to locate production largely on narrow financial criteria. They don't consider whether keeping manufacturing at home makes more sense strategically or take into account the impact it might have on their ability to... View Details

Keywords: Production; Geographic Location; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Advantage; Product Design; Risk Management; Manufacturing Industry; United States

May 2005 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Gallardo's Goes to Mexico

By: Clayton M. Christensen

The theories of market segmentation and brand building in Chapter 3, What Products Will Customers Want to Buy? in The Innovator's Solution by Clayton Christensen and Michael Raynor suggest that when companies segment markets and build brands in ways that match how the... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Global Strategy; Brands and Branding; Segmentation; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Mexico

March 2014
Teaching Note

Andrew Sullivan and Faraway Ltd.

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Andrew Sullivan is an entrepreneur with an innovative product and impending sales calls on two important retail buyers. The (A) case provides information about Sullivan, his business, and the economics of his business model. The (B) and (C) cases provide information... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Marketing; Entrepreneurship; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; England

04 Jun 2012
News

Why Not Venture-Capital Philanthropy?

May 2016 (Revised November 2018)
Supplement

Moleskine (B)

By: Ryan Raffaelli, Raffaella Sadun and Kathy Qu

This case discusses the decisions and outcomes of CEO Arrigo Berni and founder Maria Sebregondi that the Moleskine (A) case laid out. View Details

Keywords: Creative Industries; Brand Building; Digital Innovation; Digital Services And Strategy; Process Improvement; Organization Change And Adaptation; Culture; Identity Construction; Growth and Development Strategy; Leadership; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Creativity; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry

Research Summary

Sustainability, Real Estate and the Built Environment

By: John D. Macomber

Research interests include:

Real estate development, design, and construction, notably how design creates value;
Sustainable cities, in particular entrepreneurship and project finance in light of global trends in urbanization and resource... View Details

Keywords: Infrastructure Finance; Sustainability; Urban Development; City Growth

April 1985
Case

SEEQ Technology--1984

By: Kim B. Clark

Examines a decision about product and process technology facing a small, three-year old semiconductor company. The company must decide between pursuing a well-defined technology (N-MOS) with significant short-term advantages or an advanced technology (CMOS) that has... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions; Semiconductor Industry

November 2003 (Revised February 2004)
Case

Richmond Events

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Kristin Lieb

The managers of British business forum planner, Richmond Events, are struggling to expand their conference offerings into new territories. At the same time, they are trying to decide how product managers, who are critical to event success, should be hired, trained,... View Details

Keywords: Conferences; Innovation and Management; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Conflict Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Marketing; Service Industry; United Kingdom; Asia

May 2020 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Valuing Peloton

By: E. Scott Mayfield

Peloton Interactive, a well-known venture-capital-backed unicorn in the connected fitness space, recently had gone public with a market capitalization of over $8.0 billion. However, in the weeks following its public debut, Peloton’s stock price had fallen by over 25%.... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Public Equity; Initial Public Offering; Disruptive Innovation; Business Strategy; Valuation; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

June 2011 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Procter & Gamble: Marketing Capabilities

By: Rebecca M. Henderson and Ryan Johnson

P&G had become known and recognized as a marketing machine. It was the largest advertiser in the world, with 2010 spending of $8.68 billion. From the company's early exploitation of broadcast media (radio and television) for its soap products to more recent experiments... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Change Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Innovation Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Expansion; Consumer Products Industry

Teaching Interest

Overview

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

Technology Entrepreneurship, Marketing Strategy, Service Management View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Strategy Formulation; ＂Marketing Analytics＂; Advertising Technology; Media Content; Media And Broadcasting Industry; Media Businesses; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

18 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

Industrial Decarbonization: Confronting the Hard Challenges of Cement

Cities like Cairo; Chongqing, China; Delhi; and Kinshasa, Congo are experiencing population explosions accompanied by unprecedented demand for homes, offices, factories, and infrastructure. In the United States, the Biden Administration’s policy-driven infrastructure... View Details

Keywords: by by Janelle Conaway; Green Technology; Energy; Industrial Products; Manufacturing

March 2019 (Revised July 2021)
Case

Waymo LLC

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

On December 5, 2018, Waymo LLC, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., launched the United States’ first commercial driverless-car ride-hailing service (Waymo One), based in Phoenix, Arizona. As with other ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft, Waymo One riders... View Details