Publications

2016
Working Paper

Pivoting Isn't Enough: Principled Pragmatism and Strategic Reorientation in New Ventures

By: Rory McDonald and Cheng Gao

New technology ventures often experience deviations from their original plans that oblige them to reorient in pursuit of better fit between their evolving products and target customers. Yet research is largely silent on how entrepreneurs explain and justify their... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Reorientation; Technology Entrepreneurship; Innovation; Product Development Processes; Organizational Adaptation; Qualitative Methods (General); Information Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Communication; Entrepreneurship; Alignment; Innovation and Invention; Product Development

January 2016 (Revised March 2016)
Case

Whither the Weather (Company): Forecasting 2016

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

CEO David Kenny led the transformation of the Weather Company from a television business to a Big Data technology company from 2012 until 2016, when IBM acquired its digital assets. This case discusses major decisions taken by Kenny starting in 2014 as he sought to... View Details

Keywords: Weather Company; IBM; Digital; Technology; David Kenny; Television; Weather Channel; Legacy Business; Mainstream; Newstream; Reorganization; Acquisitions; Transformation; Information Technology; Television Entertainment; Acquisition; Consolidation; Change; Leadership

September 2013
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: General Gale Pollock and Services for the Vision Impaired

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Juliane Calingo Schwetz and Patricia Bissett Higgins

In July 2012, retired United States Army Major General Gale Pollock created Elevivo, a venture that worked on developing a comprehensive disease management software system to support the growing number of visually impaired individuals by providing them with tailored... View Details

Keywords: United States; Health Care; Health Care Education; Insurance Companies; Disease Management; Technology; Military; Leadership Skills; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Education; Insurance; Information Technology; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States

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

May 2015 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Apple Inc. in 2015

By: David B. Yoffie and Eric Baldwin

At the end of 2014, Apple Inc. recorded the most profitable quarter of any firm in history, and its market capitalization soon topped $700 billion. 'Apple Inc in 2015' explores the history of Apple, its successes under Jobs, its continued growth under Tim Cook, and the... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Innovation; Market Positioning; Marketing Implementation; Planning; Products; Strategy; Strategic Positioning; Technology; Information Technology; Strategic Planning; Product Positioning; Leadership; Communication; Competitive Advantage; Product; Innovation and Invention; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry

28 Nov 2016
News

One Obstacle to Curing Cancer

Keywords: cancer; data sharing; precision medicine; healthcare; technology; Ambulatory Health Care Services; Health, Social Assistance

July 2024
Article

Chatbots and Mental Health: Insights into the Safety of Generative AI

By: Julian De Freitas, Ahmet Kaan Uğuralp, Zeliha Uğuralp and Stefano Puntoni

Chatbots are now able to engage in sophisticated conversations with consumers. Due to the ‘black box’ nature of the algorithms, it is impossible to predict in advance how these conversations will unfold. Behavioral research provides little insight into potential safety... View Details

Keywords: Autonomy; Chatbots; New Technology; Brand Crises; Mental Health; Large Language Model; AI and Machine Learning; Behavior; Well-being; Technological Innovation; Ethics

July 2018
Article

Global Collaborative Patents

By: Sari Pekkala Kerr and William R. Kerr

We study the prevalence and traits of global collaborative patents for U.S. public companies, where the inventor team is located both within and outside of the United States. Collaborative patents are frequently observed when a corporation is entering into a new... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Ethnic Networks; Migration; Technology Transfer; Mobility; Information Technology; Globalized Firms and Management; Diasporas; Patents; Ethnicity; Entrepreneurship; Research and Development; Foreign Direct Investment; Innovation and Invention; Globalization; United States

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February 2024
Technical Note

AI Product Development Lifecycle

By: Michael Parzen, Jessie Li and Marily Nika

In this article, we will discuss the concept of AI Products, how they are changing our daily lives, how the field of AI & Product Management is evolving, and the AI Product Development Lifecycle. View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Product Management; Product Life Cycle; Technology; AI and Machine Learning; Product Development

Professor Cash received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Texas Christian University; a Master of Science in Computer Science from Purdue University's Graduate School of Mathematical Sciences; and a Doctor of Philosophy in Management Information... View Details

Keywords: information technology industry; information technology industry; information technology industry; information technology industry; information technology industry; information technology industry; information technology industry

September 2018 (Revised October 2018)
Supplement

Lexoo: Building a Long-Lasting Platform

By: Chiara Farronato and Elena Corsi

Lexoo, a UK-based online marketplace for legal services, was facing the strategic choice of how to grow from early start-up to mature platform. Daniel van Binsbergen, Lexoo's CEO, and web developer Chris O'Sullivan, CTO, had set up Lexoo to help Small and Medium-Sized... View Details

Keywords: Marketplaces; Legal Services; Growth Strategy; Technology Ventures; Pivot; Service Operations; Digital Platforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Small Business; Decision Making; Legal Services Industry

June 2014
Supplement

eBay Partner Network — slide supplement (widescreen)

By: Benjamin Edelman

eBay considers adjustments to the structure and rules of its affiliate marketing program, eBay Partner Network (ePN). In particular, eBay reevaluates affiliate compensation structure, the role of bonuses for especially productive affiliates, and the overall rationale... View Details

Keywords: History; Online Technology; Markets; Negotiation Participants; Marketing; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Internet and the Web; Marketing Channels; Business Processes; Change; Compensation and Benefits; Web Services Industry

2024
Working Paper

Climate Solutions, Transition Risk, and Stock Returns

By: Shirley Lu, Edward J. Riedl, Simon Xu and George Serafeim

Using large language models to measure firms' climate solution products and services, we find that high-climate solution firms exhibit lower stock returns and higher market valuation multiples. Their stock prices respond positively to events signaling increased demand... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Generative Ai; Large Language Models; Climate Finance; Climate Change; Innovation and Invention; Environmental Sustainability; AI and Machine Learning; Investment; Financial Markets

SSRN

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25 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

How Transparency Sped Innovation in a $13 Billion Wireless Sector

Many businesses are loath to share proprietary information with others, fearing it will undercut their long-term financial prospects. They view openness as a threat to innovation. But a new years-long study of the wireless router industry... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald; Technology

Teaching Interest

Overview

Teaching has been a lifelong passion of mine. As the third generation of academics in my family, I see good teaching as a means to give back and to encourage others to share my passion for discovery. I’ve been very lucky to have many teaching opportunities, both as an... View Details

Shunyuan Zhang

Shunyuan Zhang is an associate professor in the Marketing unit at Harvard Business School. She teaches the first-year Marketing course in the MBA required curriculum.

Professor Zhang studies the sharing economy and the marketing problems that... View Details

Keywords: high technology; high technology; high technology

September 2018 (Revised December 2019)
Case

Zebra Medical Vision

By: Shane Greenstein and Sarah Gulick

An Israeli startup founded in 2014, Zebra Medical Vision developed algorithms that produced diagnoses from X-rays, mammograms, and CT-scans. The algorithms used deep learning and digitized radiology scans to create software that could assist doctors in making... View Details

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