Publications

September 1994
Case

American Airlines: Object Oriented Flight Dispatching Systems

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Espen Andersen

American Airlines Describes has organized and developed their Systems Operation Control (SOC) center in Dallas, from which the day-to-day running of the airline takes place. This case details the decision support system used by the flight dispatchers, and the... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Product Development; Programs; Complexity; Technology Adoption; Air Transportation; Air Transportation Industry; United States

August 2001 (Revised October 2001)
Case

What a Great Idea

By: Myra M. Hart and Susan Harmeling

Charles "Chic" Thompson has created a successful business as a professional speaker, consultant, and author of two books on creativity. He is challenged to institutionalize his knowledge and brand in an organization that will outlive his involvement. This case examines... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Management; Entrepreneurship; Management Teams; Organizational Design; Technological Innovation; Technology Adoption; Service Industry; Education Industry

13 Jul 2023
News

How to Develop A Go-to-Market Strategy for Your Tech Venture

19 Jun 2014
News

Turning "Black Gold" to Green

carbon neutral," he says. The entire process is a major technological undertaking—one Dawe says he probably wouldn't be involved with if he and C12 Energy cofounder Kurt Zenz House hadn't been introduced to each other by a Harvard... View Details

Keywords: Ralph Ranalli; Oil and Gas Extraction; Mining

Article

How to Launch Your Digital Platform: A Playbook for Strategists

By: Benjamin Edelman

The ubiquity of Internet access has caused a sharp rise in the number of businesses offering platforms that connect users for communication or commerce. Entrepreneurs are particularly drawn to these platforms because they create significant value and have modest... View Details

Keywords: Platforms; Launch; Mobilization Strategy; Two-Sided Platforms; Network Effects; Adoption; Entrepreneurship; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

Read Now

Web

The Green Industrial Strategy Project | Institute for Business in Global Society

central problems that companies face in scaling markets for clean technologies? Analysts widely assume the cost of clean technologies and services is the main barrier to market penetration. We examine the role of coordination and... View Details

William W. Prince

Prince took over the estate of his adopted father upon his death and concentrated his efforts on improving Armour, one of Chicago Stock Yards' subsidiaries. When Prince took over Armour, its principal business, meatpacking, was not... View Details

Keywords: Food & Tobacco

01 Jun 2005
News

Ideas: Books

examines August Thyssen and the management of his Thyssen & Co., Thyssen-Konzern, and Vereinigte Stahlwerke (United Steel Works) from 1871 to 1936. He disproves the idea that German business management was backward and rigid until it View Details

Keywords: Alfred D. Chandler Jr.; Chandler

17 Jul 2007
First Look

First Look: July 17, 2007

puzzles including, most significantly, evidence of strong employment growth following adoption of dismissal protections. In light of these puzzles, we read our findings as suggestive but tentative. Ethnic Scientific Communities and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 2024
Supplement

gWorks (A)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

In January of 2019, Joe Heieck, CEO of gWorks, was deciding whether to proceed with his acquisition of Data Tech, that was a business roughly the same size as gWorks. gWorks, which provided geospatial software to small city and rural county governments, was acquired by... View Details

March 2017 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Flashion: Art vs. Science in Fashion Retailing

By: Kris Ferreira and Karim R. Lakhani

Kate Wilson, retail analytics manager at Flashion, a fashion flash-sale site, is tasked with developing analytics to optimize pricing for first-exposure products on the site. Many in the industry have relied on years of experience and intuition to determine pricing—can... View Details

Keywords: Analytics; Pricing; Data; Service Operations; Forecasting and Prediction; Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption; Mathematical Methods; Decision Making; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry; United States

December 2000
Case

CellFor, Inc.

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop, Frantz Edward Alphonse and Laure Mougeot Stroock

A new private company has developed a process to clone and multiply seeds for the forestry industry. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Transition; Technological Innovation; Private Ownership; Research and Development; Science-Based Business; Technology Adoption; Forestry Industry

01 Jul 2021
News

Quantum Computing and Cybersecurity

Keywords: Quantum computing

2024
Working Paper

The New Digital Divide

By: Mayana Pereira, Shane Greenstein, Raffaella Sadun, Prasanna Tambe, Lucia Ronchi Darre, Tammy Glazer, Allen Kim, Rahul Dodhia and Juan Lavista Ferres

We build and analyze new metrics of digital usage that leverage telemetry data collected by Microsoft during operating system updates across forty million Windows devices in U.S. households. These measures of US household digital usage are much more comprehensive than... View Details

Keywords: Mathematical Methods; Measurement and Metrics; Geographic Location; Behavior; Technology Adoption; Demographics

Register to Read

August 2014
Case

Four Products: Predicting Diffusion (2014)

By: John Gourville

An updated "Four Products" case. This 2014 version includes: raw lobster meat, electric-powered Formula One race cars, a 3D printer for cosmetics, and a "smart" tennis racket. These four products form the basis to assess the drivers of new product adoption. In... View Details

Keywords: Product Diffusion; Innovation and Invention; Product Launch; Marketing; Demand and Consumers; Technology Adoption

16 Jun 2020
News

How to recalibrate work dynamics and embrace digital transformation in a post-pandemic workplace

26 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

How Electronic Patient Records Can Slow Doctor Productivity

new information technology as a way of categorizing and accessing information in an attempt to streamline a process that already exists. Adopting these systems can have significant implications for how... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Health

August 10, 2019
Editorial

E-Commerce Promised the World. Are We Happy With Our Purchase?

By: Louis Hyman and Kwelina Thompson

It has been 25 years since the first online transaction, but we are still struggling with the balance between convenience and security. View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Technology Adoption; E-commerce; Consumer Behavior; Internet and the Web

Register to Read

October 2004
Case

World Wide Licenses Ltd.: From Disney to Polaroid

World Wide Licenses (WWL) was a low-technology firm that licensed famous brands, which it then applied to timepieces, stationery, and back-to-school products. It transformed into a digital imaging company and landed worldwide rights to the Polaroid brand name. Explores... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership Development; Brands and Branding; Technology Adoption; Technological Innovation; Transformation