Publications

03 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

Why Fierce Competitors Apple and Amazon Became ’Frenemies’ Over eReaders

its proprietary MS Office software available on Apple's iPad—after all, the software was one of the major selling points of Microsoft's competing tablet Surface. "That was one of the reasons people bought... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Information; Publishing; Technology

September 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Case

Walnut Venture Associates (C): RBS Due Diligence--Market Size

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Business Plan; Research; Applications and Software; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Information Technology Industry

30 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Computer Security is For Managers, Too

operations tell their materials suppliers exactly what specifications to meet. Similarly, companies should demand reasonable levels of security from software vendors. Look at the wording of this contract between General Electric and View Details

Keywords: by Robert D. Austin & Christopher A.R. Darby

29 May 2001
Research & Ideas

How Technological Disruption Changes Everything

to do the work of the US Department of Justice. Already the software powerhouse's dominant position is being eaten away by thousands of companies who are faster, more responsive, and offer a level of customization that Bill Gates' crew... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Health

11 Dec 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 11, 2018

investors. Purchase this case:https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/818097-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 818-055 Continuous Software Development: Agile's Successor In recent years, the twin software... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

July 2019
Article

Challenges and Opportunities in Software-Driven Medical Devices

By: William J. Gordon and Ariel Dora Stern

The safety and security of medical devices driven by software, the software-development processes, and the need for data collection and privacy, all offer challenges and opportunities for device regulation and clinical care. View Details

Keywords: Medical Devices; Healthcare; Health Care; Health Care and Treatment; Applications and Software; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

Find at Harvard

02 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 2, 2019

source software (OSS) over proprietary software in an attempt to reduce costs creating an unexpected demand shock for OSS. Analysis using the rest of the EU as controls via difference-in-differences and... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

June 2000 (Revised June 2000)
Case

Microsoft Office 2000

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Kerry Herman

Describes the history of Microsoft's Office product suite. Discusses evolution of the Office 2000 project. Set at the end of the project when Steven Sinofsky, Office vice president, must decide upon the direction for the next version of Office, as well as make changes... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Product Development; Risk and Uncertainty; Change; Innovation and Management; Information Technology Industry

September 1998 (Revised August 1999)
Case

Walnut Venture Associates (B): RBS Due Diligence--Customers

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Business Plan; Research; Entrepreneurship; Applications and Software; Business Startups; Information Technology Industry

May 1997 (Revised July 1997)
Case

Vermeer Technologies (D): Making Transitions

By: Ashish Nanda

Microsoft has acquired Vermeer, and Vermeer executives are both excited and concerned as they prepare to move to Redmond. Even though the acquisition has been financially rewarding, the Vermeer engineers worry how well they will adapt to their new home. Meanwhile,... View Details

Keywords: Horizontal Integration; Value Creation; Applications and Software; Acquisition; Product Development; Information Technology Industry

2022
Working Paper

Human-Computer Interactions in Demand Forecasting and Labor Scheduling Decisions

By: Caleb Kwon, Ananth Raman and Jorge Tamayo

We empirically analyze how managerial overrides to a commercial algorithm that forecasts demand and schedules labor affect store performance. We analyze administrative data from a large grocery retailer that utilizes a commercial algorithm to forecast demand and... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Human Capital; Performance; Applications and Software; Management Skills; Management Practices and Processes; Retail Industry

SSRN

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26 Jan 2010
First Look

First Look: Jan. 26

forthcoming Abstract Discussions of the economic impact of open source software often generate more heat than light. Advocates passionately assert the benefits of open source, while critics decry its effects. Missing from the debate is... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

29 Feb 2016
HBS Case

Bigbelly's Big Bet on the Digital Trash Can

cities” field. “I wanted to explore the opportunities and challenges of selling to government in a company that is moving from selling hardware in big chunks to selling software as a service,” says Weiss, the MBA Class of 1961 Senior... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Energy

15 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

In the Virtual Dressing Room Returns Are A Real Problem

that are easier to specify: computer software (offline-to-online ratio $0.99); health and beauty products ($0.93); music/video products ($0.83); and books ($0.68). 3 Ample evidence suggests that current B2C sites are unable to... View Details

Keywords: by Jan Hammond & Kristin Kohler; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Consumer Products; Manufacturing; Retail

11 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

Adding Time to Activity-Based Costing

McKinsey to found Acorn Systems where he developed software to incorporate time equations into ABC. The software modeled how, for example, the time to process a customer order would vary depending on whether... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

15 Sep 2003
Research & Ideas

The Lessons of New-Market Disruption

of a mini refrigerator and stacked on top of other line equipment. Better yet, this tighter integration would greatly reduce the manufacturing costs. The second technology was Windows NT. Teradyne's test systems included various software... View Details

Keywords: by Clark Gilbert; Technology

03 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

The Tricky Business of Managing Web Advertising Affiliates

programs? What management practices work best? Catching Affiliate Fraud Edelman and Brandi, admitted computer geeks, developed software that allowed them to observe management structures within companies using affiliate branding. Edelman,... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Advertising; Publishing

July 15, 2020
Article

How to Get People to Actually Use Contact-Tracing Apps

By: Chiara Farronato, Marco Iansiti, Marcin Bartosiak, Stefano Denicolai, Luca Ferretti and Roberto Fontana

The broad adoption of contact-tracing apps would greatly help combat the spread of COVID-19. But a number of barriers—especially privacy concerns—have hindered progress in many countries that can’t or won’t mandate adoption. A solution is to start with small... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Contact Tracing; Apps; Privacy; Health Pandemics; Behavior; Technology Adoption; Applications and Software