Publications

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December 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Case

PlaceWare: Issues in Structuring a Xerox Technology Spinout

Xerox has established a process to spin out technologies it develops that do not fit with its current business needs. To structure these "spinouts," a number of issues arise on how to treat people and intellectual property. PlaceWare is the first technology to go... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Commercialization; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Intellectual Property

Program

Managing Health Care Delivery

your organization's performance Identify and address gaps in your health care delivery organization Evaluate and create flexible strategies for ensuring more effective care Respond to new market forces, payment models, and consumer... View Details

Keywords: Health Care; Health Care

March 1996 (Revised August 2000)
Case

Wildfire Communications, Inc. (A)

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Mary Connor

Founder and CEO Bill Warner is faced with critical decisions regarding the product lines, target markets, and technology platforms that his start-up, Wildfire Communications, Inc., will pursue. In addition to the question of strategic focus across these lines of... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Resource Allocation; Organizational Culture; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Communications Industry; Technology Industry

October 2000 (Revised October 2001)
Case

adM@rt(A)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Carin-Isabel Knoop and David Lane

Describes the complex policy alternatives facing an online Hong Kong grocery company as it tries to apply Webvan-type concepts in the Hong Kong marketplace. Captures the extraordinary process of adaptation the company is going through as it tries to find the right... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Markets; Marketing; Business Strategy; Business Model; Decisions; Problems and Challenges; Retail Industry; Web Services Industry; Hong Kong

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2020
Working Paper

Strategic Foresight as Dynamic Capability: A New Lens on Knightian Uncertainty

By: J. Peter Scoblic

This paper proposes to treat strategic foresight as a dynamic capability, providing a new theoretical lens on managerial judgment. Formulating strategy under uncertainty is a central challenge facing the modern firm. Analogy is thought to help managers make sense of... View Details

Keywords: Foresight; Dynamic Capabilities; Managerial Judgment; Risk and Uncertainty; Management; Strategy

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Program

Leading Professional Service Firms

clients and motivate staff, build a strong vision and implement an effective strategy, and employ the fiscal discipline to maintain a sound bottom line and maximize enterprise value. Details Design and implement effective strategies that... View Details

Keywords: Professional Services; Professional Services

December 2011 (Revised March 2013)
Background Note

The Business Development Manager

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Sarah Dillard, Katharine Nevins and Puja Ramani

Describes the role of business development (BD) managers in technology companies, detailing: 1) BD managers' key responsibilities at each step in the process of creating a partnership agreement; 2) how the nature of the BD function evolves as a technology startup... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Partnerships; High Technology Products; Information Technology; Business or Company Management; Partners and Partnerships; Management Skills; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Technology Industry

April 2003 (Revised March 2009)
Case

Operational Execution at Arrow Electronics

By: Ananth Raman and Zeynep Ton

Distribution center operations (from order taking to order fulfillment) and the importance of attending to process details at Arrow Electronics, a large distributor of electronic components and computer products are described. The case also details the actions the... View Details

Keywords: Information; Distribution; Logistics; Strategy; Electronics Industry

29 May 2014
Research & Ideas

Research Symposium 2014

Speaking up at work; a manager's responsibility to capitalism; a strategy to fix the health care system. These were the presentation topics at the 2014 Faculty Research Symposium. At first blush, they may sound a bit disjointed. But a... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Accounting; Health

17 Jul 2023
Research & Ideas

Money Isn’t Everything: The Dos and Don’ts of Motivating Employees

offers four research-backed strategies leaders should put into place now to create incentive programs that work, and three important pitfalls to avoid. Do: Offer equity ‘with juice’ For senior-level employees, a way to riches has always... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

October 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Bizongo and e-B2B in India

By: Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui and Radhika Kak

Bizongo, an Indian e-B2B platform was co-founded by three college graduates in 2015 with the goal of creating the "Alibaba of India" when the B2B e-commerce landscape was practically non-existent. The founders saw a significant opportunity in connecting mid-sized... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; E-commerce; Business Strategy; India

Research Summary

Research Focus of Chris Gordon

Chris Gordon's main area of interest and expertise is the delivery of complex capital projects. These projects can take the form of government sponsored infrastructure projects such as highways and utilities, private real estate development such as commercial and... View Details

Research Summary

Professor Gilbert's research focuses on the areas of corporate entrepreneurship, discontinuous change, cognitive framing, and strategic resource allocation. Below is an description of his most recent research paper: 'Unbundling the Structure of Interia: Resource vs.... View Details

2011
Book

What to Ask the Person in the Mirror: Critical Questions for Becoming a More Effective Leader and Reaching Your Potential

By: Robert Steven Kaplan

Successful leaders know that leadership is less often about having all the answers-and more often about asking the right questions. The challenge lies in being able to step back, reflect, and ask the key questions that are critical to your performance and your... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Development; Organizational Development; Reaching Your Potential; Career Planning; Management Styles; Interpersonal Communication; Leadership; Performance Effectiveness; Personal Development and Career

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Program

The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports

acquiring and developing creative talent and teams Make optimal business arrangements with talent and talent representatives Respond to advances in digital technology Capitalize on the explosive growth of online distribution channels and social media Develop View Details

Keywords: Media & Entertainment; Media & Entertainment

Web

Live from Klarman Hall - Alumni

changed by AI and the core processes of sciences, like biology and physics, can be accelerated to where we could get a hundred years of development in a decade? What is likely to change? What will remain the same? How should we think... View Details

2003
Article

Closing the Loop: Product Take-back Requirements and their Strategic Implications

By: Michael W. Toffel

In Asia, Europe, and North America, regulators are seeking to reduce waste disposal and develop recycling markets by requiring manufacturers to manage the end-of-life disposition of products they produce. Such policies attempt to "close the loop" for products ranging... View Details

Keywords: Wastes and Waste Processing; Energy Conservation; Product Development; Strategy; Policy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Manufacturing Industry; Asia; Europe; North and Central America

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08 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 8

Business Speaks English: Why You Need a Language Strategy Now Author:Tsedal Neeley Publication:Harvard Business Review 90, no. 5 (May 2012) Abstract An abstract is unavailable at this time. Book:... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

April 2002 (Revised September 2003)
Case

Stephen Brown at John Hancock Financial Services

By: Robin J. Ely

Describes a major organizational transformation process at John Hancock Financial Services in which CEO Stephen Brown takes a series of measured steps to turn the old-line mutual insurance company into a competitive, performance-oriented financial services firm. At the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Leadership; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Alignment; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry