Publications

Program

Managing Innovation

Reevaluate your portfolio of products and services as market conditions evolve Design a strategy for deciding which projects to pursue Bring new offerings to market faster and more efficiently Create new... View Details

June 2017 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Becton Dickinson: Innovation and Growth (A)

By: Raffaella Sadun, Michael Beer and James Weber

In late 2015, CEO Vince Forlenza was reviewing Becton Dickinson’s transformation efforts designed to enable the company to innovate and grow in a changing environment. Becton Dickinson had been a successful medical device company for over 100 years. In recent years,... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Change Management; Innovation Leadership; Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Health Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States

08 Nov 2023
Blog Post

Zone Defense: These self-driving, AI-powered drones do recon so soldiers don’t have to

deployed, couldn’t understand why the military would design a high-tech armored suit for a person when artificial intelligence could do the job with significantly less risk. “Why wouldn’t they just put in a computer to control the suit?”... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Entrepreneurship

26 Aug 2019
Research & Ideas

Lipstick Tips: How Influencers Are Making Over Beauty Marketing

this product.” During the video’s 12-plus minutes of step-by-step instructions, Hughes holds up product after product close to the camera so viewers can get a good look at each brand name. Because, after... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

Program

Agribusiness Seminar

constraints Leverage data and technology to improve decision making, operating efficiency, and responsiveness to customers Defend against commodification and drive profitability through product and marketing innovation View Details

Keywords: Agriculture; Agriculture

28 Jan 2002
Research & Ideas

Read All About It! Newspapers Lose Web War

Many newspapers saw the emergence of the Internet as an attack on their core business, and responded with online products of their own. Unfortunately, says HBS professor Clark Gilbert, the papers failed to take advantage of the Web as a... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Entertainment & Recreation; Information; Publishing

Program

Transforming Customer Experiences

Summary Superior customer service can differentiate your business in the marketplace—if you design the right offerings and execute flawlessly. Led by HBS thought leaders who are experts in customer experience management, this program... View Details

01 Apr 2024
In Practice

Navigating the Mood of Customers Weary of Price Hikes

the Digital, Data, and Design Institute. Chiara Farronato: Dig into data to find regional and product differences When I think of prices, I think of data, lots of data. We often look at aggregate price data,... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

September 2009 (Revised December 2009)
Case

The Future of Iraq Project (A)

By: Noel Maurer and Sogomon Tarontsi

In March 2009, the government of Iraq decided to hold its first oil field auctions. The auctions were for service contracts on the country's southern oil fields; the winner would obtain the right to produce oil above a certain target for a fixed fee. The bidders... View Details

Keywords: Non-Renewable Energy; Foreign Direct Investment; Policy; Auctions; Production; Business and Government Relations; Energy Industry; Iraq

February 2019
Teaching Note

Haier in the U.S.: Transforming GE Appliances

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

Chinese appliance company Haier's 2016 acquisition of iconic GE Appliances ushered in strategic and structural changes to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship at the U.S. company, and to help it grow. Haier, which had a model designed to bring the company closer... View Details

Keywords: Iconic Brands; Appliances; Digital; Innovation; Entrepreneur; Microenterprise; Management; Entrepreneurship; Transformation; Innovation and Management; Acquisition; Consumer Products Industry; United States; China

Program

Launching New Ventures

managerial skills needed to make sound investment decisions, manage rapid change, and ensure the success of your new enterprise throughout its lifecycle. Details Conceive, launch, and grow a successful new venture Analyze, prioritize, and determine the feasibility of... View Details

Web

Accounting & Management - Faculty & Research

120-year-old, family-controlled firm or hand the reins to new management. Over 26 years he has turned TITAN from a domestic player into an internationally diversified group and championed an AI-driven productivity leap, even while... View Details

2008
Working Paper

Finding Missing Markets (and a disturbing epilogue): Evidence from an Export Crop Adoption and Marketing Intervention in Kenya

By: Nava Ashraf, Xavier Gine and Dean Karlan

In much of the developing world, many farmers grow crops for local or personal consumption despite export options which appear to be more profitable. Thus many conjecture that one or several markets are missing. We report here on a randomized controlled trial conducted... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Developing Countries and Economies; Trade; Profit; Product Marketing; Standards; Failure; Risk and Uncertainty; Non-Governmental Organizations; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Service Industry; Kenya; Europe

Read Now

November 2016 (Revised November 2016)
Case

Radial Analytics Probes Post-Acute Care

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Olivia Hull

Thaddeus Fulford-Jones and Eric Weiss, founders of healthcare technology startup Radial Analytics, have been busy developing a software program designed to save hospitals money and improve patient outcomes by producing customized care plans for patients leaving the... View Details

Keywords: Electronic Medical Records; Electronic Health Records; Data Science; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Business Model; Business Startups; Innovation and Invention; Growth Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Science-Based Business; Business Strategy; Health Industry; Technology Industry; Cambridge; Massachusetts

03 Feb 2015
First Look

First Look: February 3

hamburger. A previous iteration of this product had been taste-tested live, with good results, and Sergey Brin, a cofounder of Google, had provided Post with much of the funding to make the burgers. The next step was to form an... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Jan 2003
Research & Ideas

The Subconscious Mind of the Consumer (And How To Reach It)

communications device or even a personal care product invokes deep thoughts and feelings about social bonding can be very helpful to R&D experts. In the case of a communications device, this suggests that tactile experiences of social... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Mahoney

05 Feb 2007
Research & Ideas

Business and the Global Poor

undertaking traditional value creation activities—from sourcing to engaging the poor in production to distribution and sales—in low-income markets. To the degree that these ventures empower the poor—either by improving their quality of... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

April 2011 (Revised April 2011)
Exercise

Raptor Oil Company: An Exercise

The exercise, which adapts a famous experiment by experimental psychologist Thomas Gilovich, is designed to show both the ubiquity of analogy or associative thinking more generally and its potential perils. Students are presented with a scenario in which an oil company... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Cognition and Thinking; Prejudice and Bias; Strategy

Find at Harvard

December 1998
Case

Pioneer Hi-Bred: Turning Seeds Into Factories

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Melissa Dailey

The agricultural sector is among the preeminent information technology users in our economy," exclaimed an August 1998 Forbes ASAP survey of the U.S. economy's best and worst users of information technology (IT). The survey designated Pioneer Hi-Bred International,... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Multinational Firms and Management; Information Management; Infrastructure; Business Strategy; Information Technology; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Iowa