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Research Summary

Overview

By: Willy C. Shih

Willy's research interests reflect the 28 years he spent in industry, during which he logged many questions on firm performance, relative competitiveness, and firm culture as an impediment to change. His primary interests today are in the drivers of industrial... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Technology; Competitiveness; Competitive Dynamics; Supply Chains; Production; Operations; Product Development; Supply Chain Management; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Asia; Europe

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Connect with Clubs - Recruiting

may require yearly sponsorship. Aerospace & Defense Club Co-Presidents James Sorensen jsorensen@mba2026.hbs.edu Ryan Holte rholte@mba2027.hbs.edu Bethany Russell brussell@mba2026.hbs.edu Club Email aero@studentclubs.hbs.edu Africa... View Details

June 2025
Case

Larry Culp at General Electric: Rebuilding an American Icon

By: Nitin Nohria, Kayti Stanley, Ashka Stephen and Drew Goydan

As he takes over as CEO of the iconic industrial giant General Electric, Larry Culp faces a range of urgent issues as the company is delisted from the DJIA and is seen by many as heading towards bankruptcy. Culp steers GE through a series of carefully thought-out moves... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Restructuring; Financial Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Performance Improvement; Business and Shareholder Relations; Perception; Corporate Strategy; Value; Health Industry; Health Industry; Health Industry; Health Industry; North America; Europe

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Sample Student Projects - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

Design Cluster (2007) Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic Tourism Cluster (2012) Tourism in the Dominican Republic (2007) Egypt The Textile Cluster in Egypt (2012) The Offshoring Cluster in Egypt (2009) France France's Competitiveness in AI (2017) Toulouse View Details

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Biography - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

His research has received numerous awards, and he is the most cited scholar today in economics and business. While Michael Porter is at the core a scholar, his work has achieved remarkable acceptance by practitioners across multiple fields. Dr. Porter’s initial... View Details

18 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

The Best Person to Lead Your Company Doesn't Work There—Yet

isn’t necessary when looking for the right top executive; industry expertise often counts more. Many of these leaders have previous public-company management experience, and they deliver outsized returns for themselves and the PE-backed... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

03 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

The Truck Driver Who Reinvented Shipping

Malcolm P. McLean, a truck driver, fundamentally transformed the centuries-old shipping industry, an industry that had long decided that it had no incentive to change. By developing the first safe, reliable, and cost effective approach to... View Details

Keywords: by Anthony J. Mayo & Nitin Nohria; Aerospace; Aerospace; Aerospace

February 12, 2021
Article

The Commercial Space Age Is Here

By: Matt Weinzierl and Mehak Sarang

In May of 2020, SpaceX made history as the first private company to send humans into space. This marks not only a tremendous technological achievement, but also the first indication that an entirely new “space-for-space” industry—that is, goods and services designed to... View Details

Keywords: Space Economy; New Markets; Emerging Markets; Opportunities; Entrepreneurship; Commercialization; Aerospace Industry

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November 2019 (Revised April 2021)
Case

United Technologies: Are the Parts Worth More Than the Whole?

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

After spending more than 50 years creating a diversified industrial conglomerate that Fortune magazine described as “arguably the most profitable conglomerate in America” in 2014, UTC’s CEO Greg Hayes was under pressure from activist investors (Dan Loeb and Bill... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Business Conglomerates; Financial Management; Corporate Governance; Organizational Structure; Investment Funds; Value Creation; Aerospace Industry; Aerospace Industry; Aerospace Industry; United States

Jerry R. Green

David A. Wells Professor of Political Economy

John Leverett Professor in the University

Harvard University

Jerry Green is the John Leverett Professor in the University and the David A. Wells... View Details

Keywords: aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace

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Leadership - Faculty & Research

Leadership ; Health Industry ; Aerospace Industry ; Industrial Products Industry ; Financial Services View Details

November 2019
Supplement

United Technologies Corp.: Are the Parts Worth More Than the Whole?

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

After spending more than 50 years creating a diversified industrial conglomerate that Fortune Magazine described as “arguably the most profitable conglomerate in America” in 2014, UTC’s CEO Greg Hayes was under pressure from activist investors (Dan Loeb and Bill... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Business Conglomerates; Financial Management; Corporate Governance; Organizational Structure; Diversification; Valuation; Investment Activism; Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Value Creation; Aerospace Industry; Aerospace Industry; Aerospace Industry; United States

April 2020 (Revised October 2021)
Case

SpaceX, Economies of Scale, and a Revolution in Space Access

By: Matthew C. Weinzierl, Kylie Lucas and Mehak Sarang

From the time he transformed the world of online banking, Elon Musk established himself as a bold innovator. After selling X.com to PayPal in 2002, he founded a series of revolutionary start-ups, starting with Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX). Hoping to "make... View Details

Keywords: Space Tech; Space Access; Vision; Economies Of Scale; Technological Innovation; Emerging Markets; Commercialization; Finance; Aerospace Industry

Stefan Thomke (sthomke@hbs.edu), an authority on the management of innovation, is the William Barclay Harding Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He has worked with firms on product, process, and... View Details

Keywords: aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace

2014
Article

An Analysis of the Competitive Advantage of the United States of America in Commercial Human Orbital Spaceflight Markets

By: Greg Autry, Laura Huang and Jeff Foust

The “Public/Private Human Access to Space” / Human Orbital Markets (HOM) study group of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) has established a framework for the identification and analysis of relevant factors and structures that support a global human... View Details

Keywords: Air Transportation; Infrastructure; Emerging Markets; Analysis; Competitive Advantage; Aerospace Industry; United States

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MBA Class of 1960 Professor of Management, Paul W. Marshall, is affiliated with the Entrepreneurial Management Unit and teaches The Entrepreneurial Manager in the Turnaround Environment. This Elective Curriculum course focuses on the role of... View Details

Keywords: aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace; aerospace

October 2002 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Group Process in the Challenger Launch Decision (A)

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Laura Feldman

The night before the launch of the Challenger shuttle, officials from Morton Thiokol (Solid Rocket Booster manufacturer) and NASA participated in a teleconference to discuss whether to postpone the shuttle launch due to predicted low temperatures at Kennedy Space... View Details

Keywords: Process Analysis; Problems and Challenges; Groups and Teams; Engineering; Risk Management; Analysis; Decision Making; Aerospace Industry; United States

March 2005 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Columbia's Final Mission

By: Michael Roberto, Amy C. Edmondson, Richard M.J. Bohmer, Laura Feldman and Erika Ferlins

On February 1, 2003, the Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, and the seven astronauts onboard lost their lives. Explores Columbia's final mission from the perspective of six key managers and engineers associated with NASA's Space... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Leadership; Crisis Management; Management Teams; Organizational Culture; Aerospace Industry

April 2004 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Columbia's Final Mission

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer, Amy C. Edmondson, Michael Roberto, Laura Feldman and Erika Ferlins

Describes the 16-day final mission of the space shuttle Columbia in January 2003 in which seven astronauts died. Includes background on NASA and the creation of the human space flight program, including the 1970 Apollo 13 crisis and 1986 Challenger disaster. Examines... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Crisis Management; Management Skills; Organizational Culture; Groups and Teams; Behavior; Aerospace Industry