Publications

October 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Case

1366 Technologies

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Ramana Nanda and David Kiron

Just months after declaring their intent to become a solar cell equipment supplier, van Mierlo and Sachs were again revisiting the issue of what the company should be. Becoming a successful solar cell manufacturer would potentially be much more lucrative than becoming... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Energy Generation; Renewable Energy; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Commercialization; Corporate Strategy; Green Technology Industry

01 Oct 2001
News

David B. Price, Jr.: Aiming High

—it's the challenge of leading a major company in the turbulent global economy. A longtime executive at Monsanto and BFGoodrich, Price believes that the turmoil caused by forces such as consolidation, overcapacity, and technological... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management

January 1989 (Revised March 1991)
Case

General Electric Canada: Designing a New Organization

By: Lynda M. Applegate and James I. Cash Jr.

General Electric Canada used sociotechnical design techniques to restructure its financial, administrative, facilities, and information technology service from a decentralized, hierarchical organization to a centralized organization composed of self-managing,... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Information Technology; Groups and Teams; Change; Communication; Information; Industrial Products Industry; Canada

2020
Case

Brightline: Targeting a Successful Future with High Speed Rail

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

High-speed rail (HSR) is a high-performance transportation technology that is time competitive with airplanes and automobiles, and is an environmentally preferable alternative due to its low carbon dioxide emissions. Brightline is a Florida HSR system in Phase II of... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Marketing Strategy; Segmentation; Transportation Industry

March–April 2025
Article

Getting Value from Digital Technologies

By: Frank Cespedes and Georg Krentzel

Companies need digital technologies in an omni-channel buying world where online and in-person interactions are complements, not either/or substitutes. Multi-channel hybrid sales solutions are required, but what are the key requirements for using the available... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Technology Adoption; Competitive Advantage

Read Now

01 Dec 2000
News

Core Values Keep Airline Flying High

asking how much we can pay employees rather than how little we can pay," stated Southwest's VP and general counsel Jim Parker. As for the changes that technology brings, Southwest has one foot in the future... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley; Air Transportation; Transportation

Web

Generative AI - Alumni

Careers Generative AI Careers Generative AI In today's dynamic job market, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) stands out as a powerful ally for job seekers, offering... View Details

26 May 2009
News

Charlie Bolden and the Boomers, Still Flying High

11 Jun 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

Teaching the Next Generation of Energy Executives

generate and distribute electricity, and that contribute in other important ways in the delivery of energy services. Reinhardt notes a certain similarity in today's rhetoric with media accounts of what was heard during the oil shocks of... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Energy; Utilities

December 2023 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Generative AI and the Future of Work

By: Christopher Stanton, Matt Higgins, Shira Aronson and Meg Shriber

Generative AI seemed poised to reshape the world of work, including the higher-wage, white-collar jobs typically pursued by MBA graduates. Informed by the latest research, this case explores generative AI's potential impacts on work, productivity, value creation, and... View Details

Keywords: AI; Future Of Work; Labor Market; AI and Machine Learning; Labor; Value Creation; Performance Productivity; Technology Industry; United States

02 Apr 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

Making the Move to General Manager

People achieve success in the early years of their career by specializing and becoming functional experts—in essence, they succeed by knowing more and more about less and less, says Benjamin C. Esty, chair of the General Management... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

TeachingInterests

Strategy and Technology (Elective Curriculum)

By: David B. Yoffie

This course explores the unique aspects of creating effective management and investment strategies for technology-intensive businesses. What strategies can win in markets with strong network effects? How can firms leverage technology to build multi-sided platforms?... View Details

January 2003 (Revised August 2003)
Case

General Mills and the Hawthorne Huddle (A)

Examines the role of General Mills in the formation and leadership of the Hawthorne Huddle. The Huddle was in the Hawthorne neighborhood in Northern Minneapolis, which in 1997 was plagued with high crime and poverty. The Huddle served as a forum, held the first... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Management Succession; Social Issues; Consumer Products Industry; Minneapolis

Find at Harvard

Research Summary

Formulating technology commercialization strategies

Even if young organizations succeed in acquiring the specialized talent necessary to further develop a recently-discovered technology, they may face an uncertain path in commercializing the original invention. Initial conceptions of what might constitute a useful... View Details

Teaching Interest

Overview

By: Lynda M. Applegate

I currently teach a module in the HBS Owner President Management (OPM) program that is entitled Innovation @Work. The module is designed to provide a general manager perspective on how to lead innovation and transform organizations, industries, and society. The role... View Details

March 2024
Exercise

'Storrowed': A Generative AI Exercise

By: Mitchell Weiss

"Storrowed" is an exercise to help participants raise their capacity and curiosity for generative AI. It focuses on generative AI for problem understanding and ideation, but can be adapted for use more broadly. Participants use generative AI tools to understand a... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Problems and Challenges

March 2005
Background Note

Home Video Games: Generation Seven

By: Elie Ofek

Discusses the issues facing firms in the seventh generation of home video game platforms. In particular, Sony and Microsoft plan to launch new game consoles in the 2005 to 2006 time frame. Each firm seems to be following a different strategy. Microsoft wants to launch... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Technological Innovation; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry