Publications

Find at Harvard

November 2024
Teaching Note

Martine Rothblatt and United Therapeutics: A Series of Implausible Dreams

By: Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 323-039. In 1990, satellite expert and Sirius XM founder Martine Rothblatt was determined to save the life of her seven-year-old daughter, Jenesis, who was diagnosed with a terminal illness called Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH). At... View Details

Keywords: Pharmaceutical Companies; Technological And Scientific Innovation; Organ Donation; Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Development; Pharmaceutical Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States; District of Columbia

October 2022 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Masdar City: Aiming for Sustainable and Profitable Real Estate

By: Boris Vallee and Fares Khrais

Masdar City broke ground in 2008 and was conceived by the Abu Dhabi government to be an international beacon of innovation in sustainable energy and real estate. It was also to be a profitable investment for the government. At first glance, the two goals pulled in... View Details

Research Summary

Workforce Change

By: Sandra J. Sucher

This research encompasses layoffs, furloughs and restructuring, global practices that affect millions of employees and thousands of companies every year. In this work I aim to replace bad practice that damages trust with good (or at least better) practice through... View Details

Keywords: Layoffs; Leadership And Change Management; Global Innovation; Strategic Decision Making; Multinational Corporations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; United States; France; Germany; Hungary; Finland; United Kingdom; Netherlands; China; Japan; Brazil

Summer 2013
Article

Strategic Management of Intellectual Property: An Integrated Approach

By: William W. Fisher III and Felix Oberholzer-Gee

In many organizations, the R&D, strategy, and legal functions are poorly integrated. As a consequence, firms miss opportunities to create and exploit the value of intellectual property. Functional silos are one reason for the lack of integration. More important,... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Management; Strategic Management; Legal Aspects Of Business; Licensing; Law; Innovation and Management; Knowledge Management; Intellectual Property; Business Strategy

Find at Harvard

Andy Wu is the Arjun and Minoo Melwani Family Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School, where he teaches in the MBA and Executive Education programs. He researches, teaches, and advises managers... View Details

Keywords: software; e-commerce industry; venture capital industry; biotechnology; video games

April 2023 (Revised September 2023)
Case

Apple's iPhone Revolution: Pioneering the Circular Economy

By: George Serafeim

When asked to identify an example of a circular economy business model that has generated billions in revenues for a company, ChatGPT, the famous chatbot that in 2022 rocked the world with its ability to perform a variety of tasks, immediately identified and... View Details

Keywords: Iphone; Smartphone; Waste Management; Recycling; Innovation; Product Upgrade; Product Life Cycle; Sustainability; Climate Impact; Digital; Business Model Innovation; Climate Change; Information Technology; Business Model; Electronics Industry; Information Technology Industry

December 2017 (Revised January 2018)
Case

Alltech

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

Alltech was a Lexington, Kentucky–based producer of supplements for animal feed, with revenues of over $2 billion (projected to reach $3 billion in 2018), sales in 120 countries, 5,000 employees, and 100 manufacturing plants worldwide. For nearly four decades, Alltech... View Details

01 Mar 2023
News

The Latest Model

Prysm Group Cofounders Hurder (left) and Barrera: bringing an industry-agnostic approach to helping business leverage emerging technologies Prysm Group cofounders Hurder (left) and Barrera: bringing an industry-agnostic approach to helping business leverage emerging... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; blockchain; cryptocurrency; economic models; innovation; consulting; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

October 2016 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

By: Anita Elberse

In June 2016, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is planning for the upcoming launch of an endeavor that is a first for a Hollywood actor with superstar status—a digital channel. The channel (named “Seven Bucks Digital Studios”) will be a new part of film and television... View Details

September 2012 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption

By: Willy Shih

Ulrich Simon, the head of the Microscopy business group at Carl Zeiss AG knew that his unit was facing a disruptive threat, so he chartered a special team to tackle the industrial segment. Given a high degree of autonomy, the project team developed an understanding of... View Details

Keywords: Modularity; High Technology Products; Emergent Strategy; Product Lines; Corporate Strategy; Digital Platforms; Disruptive Innovation; Technology Industry; Germany

December 2022 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Cann: High Hopes for Cannabis Infused Beverages

By: Ayelet Israeli and Anne V. Wilson

Founded in 2018 by Jake Bullock and Luke Anderson, Cann sold “social tonics,” or cannabis-infused beverages. By 2022, the company had several notable celebrity investors and talent partners, had sold over 10 million beverages to consumers, was distributing in six... View Details

Research Summary

Overview

When information is digitized, it can be aggregated and shared nearly instantly. I am interested in how this acceleration in the aggregation and availability of information, via digitization, affects firms and firm strategy. Platforms have emerged as marketplaces for... View Details

Keywords: Market Platforms; Social Media; Information Disclosure; Platform Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Intellectual Property; Information; Technology Platform; Information Industry; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Web Services Industry

September 2021
Article

Did Technology Contribute to the Housing Boom? Evidence from MERS

By: Stefan Lewellen and Emily Williams

We examine the effects of the Mortgage Electronic Registration System, or MERS, on mortgage origination volumes and foreclosure rates prior to the Great Recession. MERS was introduced in the late 1990s and significantly reduced the cost and time associated with... View Details

Keywords: Credit Supply; Housing Boom; Financial Innovation; Nonbank Lenders; Mortgages; Credit; Expansion; Information Technology; Outcome or Result

Find at Harvard

May 2012 (Revised August 2012)
Case

Apple Inc. in 2012

By: David B. Yoffie and Penelope Rossano

On October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs tragically died of cancer. The recently retired CEO of Apple Inc. was a legend: he had changed Apple from a company near bankruptcy to one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world. Moreover, he had revolutionized several... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Market Positioning; Strategic Planning; Technology; Computer Industry; Strategy Implementation; Consumer Electronics; Telecommunications; Information Infrastructure; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Strategy; Leadership; Product Positioning; Telecommunications Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry

June 2018
Supplement

Amil and the Health Care System in Brazil (B)

By: Regina Herzlinger, Ana Maria Malik, Ruth Costas and Priscilla Zogbi

Brazilian Managed Care Organization Amil faces a series of challenges while trying to redefine the terms of its relationship with hospitals and clinics and to implement a new health care model based on primary care and family medicine. View Details

Keywords: Health Care; Brazil; Managed Care; Innovation; Health Care Industry; Health Care and Treatment; Health; Cost Management; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Strategy; Health Industry; Insurance Industry; Brazil

Research Summary

Overview

By: Goran Calic

What makes some organizations more innovative than others? Innovation follows from strategy and structure. A good strategy allows individuals to impose their own imagination towards organizational goals in a coordinated way. Good structure adds incentives that... View Details

June 2013 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Governance and Sustainability at Nike (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Nien-hê Hsieh and Lara Adamsons

Two members of Nike's executive team must decide what sustainability targets to propose to Nike's CEO and to the corporate responsibility committee of Nike's board of directors. Set in 2012, the case traces the evolution of Nike's approach to environmental and social... View Details

Keywords: Nike; Hannah Jones; Mark Parker; Phil Knight; Philip Knight; Eric Sprunk; Jill Ker Conway; Phyllis Wise; Don Blair; Sustainable Business And Innovation; SB＆I; Flyknit; DyeCoo; Footwear; Athletic Footwear; Apparel; Athletic Apparel; Sustainability; Greenpeace; Detox Campaign; Dirty Laundry; Water; Water Use; Water Pollution; Water Resources; Corporate Responsibility Committee; Judgment; Board Of Directors; Board Committees; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Footwear Industry; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Ethics; Fairness; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance; Alignment; Supply Chain; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Judgments; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Asia; China; United States; Oregon; Portland

14 Aug 2014
News

E-Commerce Is Not Eating Retail

Keywords: e-commerce; bricks and mortar stores; retail industry; sales strategy; Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Retail Trade

2011
Article

Strategic Change and the Jazz Mindset: Exploring Practices That Enhance Dynamic Capabilities for Organizational Improvisation

By: Ethan S. Bernstein and Frank J. Barrett

How can leaders adopt a mindset that maximizes learning, remains responsive to short-term emergent opportunities, and simultaneously strengthens longer-term dynamic capabilities of the organization? This chapter explores the organizational decisions and practices... View Details

Keywords: Dynamic Capabilities; Strategic Change; Jazz; Jazz Mindset; Improvisation; Innovation; Change Management; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Leading Change; Leadership Style; Leadership; Management; Management Style; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizations; Creativity; Strategy; Auto Industry; Banking Industry; Bicycle Industry; Computer Industry; Consulting Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Education Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Financial Services Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Health Industry; Information Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Music Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Retail Industry; Semiconductor Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; United States; Japan; Taiwan; Europe; Asia