Publications

19 Feb 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

Amazoned: Is Any Industry Safe?

Today, Amazon participates in so many industries that it takes a small army of researchers at HBS to track them all: retailing, cloud computing, book stores, grocery stores, digital consumer products, commercial real estate,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

1998
Chapter

Seeing through the Customer's Eyes with Computer Imaging

By: G. Zaltman and L. J. Schuck

Keywords: Information Technology; Perception; Customers; Computer Industry

1998
Chapter

The Converging Worlds of Telecommunications, Computing and Entertainment

By: David J. Collis, Stephen P. Bradley and P. William Bane Jr.

Keywords: Communication Technology; Information Technology; Entertainment; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry

November 1990 (Revised November 1991)
Supplement

Apple Computer (C1): Reorganizing the Human Resource Function

Provides a follow-up to the (C) case. A new organization chosen for the human resource (HR) function is described. Students must compare the design chosen by Apple's HR managers with the one they chose. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Human Resources; Computer Industry; Computer Industry

August 2003
Case

Mercury Computer Systems: The Evolution from Integrated Technology to Open Standard

By: Rebecca Henderson and Nancy Confrey

For 20 years, Mercury Computer Systems has thrived, providing products and services that support ultrafast processing of real time data. Now Jay Bertelli, the CEO, faces a critical question: How can the firm compete once the standards on which its products are based... View Details

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Open Source Distribution; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Information Technology; Information Technology Industry

22 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Bringing ‘Lean’ Principles to Service Industries

Thanks to the pioneering success of Toyota, the concept of a "lean" operating system has been implemented in countless manufacturing companies and even adapted for industries as diverse as insurance and healthcare. With its... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Computer

February 2001
Background Note

National Innovation Systems and Comparative Industry Evolution

Discusses U.S. and Japanese innovation systems. Illustrates these with comparative studies of computer and pharmaceutical industries. Probes effects of labor, capital, and customer market institutions on these sectors in the United States and Japan. View Details

Keywords: Industry Growth; Innovation and Invention; Computer Industry; Computer Industry; Japan; United States

2007
Working Paper

What Causes Industry Agglomeration? Evidence from Coagglomeration Patterns

By: Glenn Ellison, Edward Glaeser and William R. Kerr

Many industries are geographically concentrated. Many mechanisms that could account for such agglomeration have been proposed. We note that these theories make different predictions about which pairs of industries should be coagglomerated. We discuss the measurement of... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Labor; Industry Clusters; Transportation; Manufacturing Industry; United States

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Research Summary

Industrial competitiveness in high tech and science-based businesses

By: Willy C. Shih

How do emerging economies develop industrial and technical capabilities that overtake those of advanced economies? Are there some industrial sectors that are especially susceptible to such targeting? What will it take to restore America’s... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Technology Diffusion; Knowledge Flows; Competitive Advantage; Globalization; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; China; Asia

June 1990 (Revised January 1994)
Case

Desktop Printer Industry in 1990

The desktop printer industry in 1990 is characterized by significant uncertainty about new technologies and about the types of features customers may demand in the next decade. The case looks at the positions of Hewlett-Packard, Canon, Kodak, Xerox, and IBM enabling... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Change Management; Competition; Hardware; Computer Industry

March 1983 (Revised April 1987)
Teaching Note

McGraw-Hill Book Co.: Micro Computer Resource Center, Teaching Note

By: F. Warren McFarlan

Keywords: Information Technology; Publishing Industry

January 1989 (Revised October 1991)
Case

Center for Machine Intelligence: Computer Support for Cooperative Work

By: Lynda M. Applegate

Keywords: Information Technology; Information Technology Industry

November 2008 (Revised June 2009)
Case

Sole-Sourcing the Intel 386: A Company and Industry Transformed

By: Richard S. Tedlow and David Ruben

Intel's precedent-breaking decision not to second-source its groundbreaking 386 microprocessor in 1986 propelled Intel to new heights and fundamentally transformed the computer industry. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Technological Innovation; Production; Information Infrastructure; Transformation; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Computer Industry; United States

February 2008 (Revised June 2008)
Teaching Note

Quanta Computer and the One Laptop Per Child Initiative (TN)

By: Willy Shih

Teaching Note for [608102]. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Behavior; Computer Industry

August 2003
Teaching Note

Computer Associates International Inc.: Governance and Investor Communication Challenge (TN)

By: Paul M. Healy

Teaching Note for (9-103-007). View Details

Keywords: Computer Industry; Computer Industry

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; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry

June 1993
Case

General Dynamics and Computer Sciences Corporation: Outsourcing the IS Function (A) and (B) (Abridged)

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Katherine N. Seger

Describes the largest information systems outsourcing agreement in the industry from the perspectives of both companies involved in the deal. View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Transition; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Contracts; Agreements and Arrangements; Business Strategy; Information Technology