Publications

20 Jul 2009
Research & Ideas

Markets or Communities? The Best Ways to Manage Outside Innovation

nature of the innovation problem at hand, the motivation of the external developers, and the firm's platform business model. Depending on these factors, the outside innovation might be fed and managed either by creating collaborative communities (think of the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Technology

06 Aug 2001
Research & Ideas

Go Global—or No? Can You Make the Case?

being." Tom frowned but, feeling that Susan had the momentum, decided to hold his fire. After lunch, it was Group B's turn. They suggested using autonomous software distributors in each country. That would help DataClear keep a tight... View Details

Keywords: by Walter Kuemmerle

8 Aug 2008
Conference Presentation

Where Will Open Development Communities Prevail?

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

Keywords: Product Development; Applications and Software; Civil Society or Community

September 2001 (Revised August 2005)
Case

Microsoft in 2002

By: Michael G. Rukstad, David B. Yoffie, Carl Johnston and Tyrell Levine

Examines Microsoft's strategy and competitive position as it prepares to launch Windows XP. The discussion explores how Microsoft builds and sustains its competitive edge. View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Applications and Software; Product Launch; Information Technology Industry; Computer Industry; United States

May 2024
Article

The Health Risks of Generative AI-Based Wellness Apps

By: Julian De Freitas and G. Cohen

Artifcial intelligence (AI)-enabled chatbots are increasingly being used to help people manage their mental health. Chatbots for mental health and particularly ‘wellness’ applications currently exist in a regulatory ‘gray area’. Indeed, most generative AI-powered... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Well-being; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Applications and Software

March 2017 (Revised February 2018)
Case

VMware and the Public Cloud

By: Raffaella Sadun and Christine Snively

In 2015, VMware, a pioneer in server and network virtualization and a member of parent company EMC’s “federation” of companies, had set its sights on becoming a leading public cloud provider. Two years prior, VMware first entered the public cloud market with its vCloud... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Growth and Development Strategy; Internet and the Web; Computer Industry; Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

January 2024
Case

Flashfood: The Magic of Commitment

By: Reza Satchu and Patrick Sanguineti

Josh Domingues had accomplished what countless young entrepreneurs long to achieve: founding a promising company that aspires to make the world a tangibly better place. Shocked to learn that international food waste cumulatively amounted to the world’s third largest... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneur; Founder; Startup; Business Model; Business Startups; Food; Applications and Software; Mission and Purpose; Environmental Sustainability; Canada

2023
Working Paper

Dynamic Pricing, Intertemporal Spillovers, and Efficiency

By: Alexander J. MacKay, Dennis Svartbäck and Anders G. Ekholm

Pricing technology that allows firms to rapidly adjust prices has two potential benefits. Time-varying prices can respond to high-frequency demand shocks to generate greater revenues, and they can also be used to smooth out demand to reduce costs. Using data... View Details

Keywords: Price; Consumer Behavior; Applications and Software; Volatility

SSRN

17 Jul 2006
Lessons from the Classroom

Developing a Strategy for Digital Convergence

course returns to the classroom in the 2006-2007 academic year with several new cases. "These range from the very technical—VMWare, which develops software for virtualization on servers, and SAP, which develops View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Computer; Education

18 Jun 2001
Research & Ideas

Caught in the Cogs: When Manufacturing and IT Meet

their IT problems, Upton explained, managers are faced with a "spectrum of solutions." At one end is packaged software available off-the-shelf to all comers, including your competitors. Trouble is, when the same product is in... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner

13 Oct 2003
Research & Ideas

How to Pick Managers for Disruptive Growth

venture between Intel and SAP that was launched in 1997 to create a new-market disruption selling enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to small businesses. Intel and SAP hand-picked some of their most successful, tried-and-true... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Raynor

18 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 18

approximately welfare neutral. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/10-011.pdf Diversity in Experience and Team Familiarity: Evidence from Software Development (revised) Authors:Robert S. Huckman and Bradley R. Staats... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

03 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 3

goal of residency training. The Confederacy of Heterogeneous Software Organizations and Heterogeneous Developers: Field Experimental Evidence on Sorting and Worker Effort Authors:Kevin J. Boudreau and Karim R. Lakhani Publication:In The... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

2023
Article

Dynamic HTA for Digital Health Solutions: Opportunities and Challenges for Patient-Centered Evaluation

By: Jan B. Brönneke, Annika Herr, Simon Reif and Ariel D. Stern

Germany’s 2019 Digital Healthcare Act (Digitale-Versorgung-Gesetz, or DVG) created a number of opportunities for the digital transformation of the health care delivery system. Key among these was the creation of a reimbursement pathway for patient-centered digital... View Details

Keywords: Digital Transformation; Applications and Software; Product Development; Insurance; Policy; Health Industry; Germany

February 1997 (Revised July 1997)
Case

Vermeer Technologies (A): A Company Is Born

By: Ashish Nanda

Charles Ferguson has just heard from a venture capital (VC) consortium that it is willing to finance Vermeer Technologies, a company he has cofounded for developing Internet software. The funds are sorely needed, but the VCs have imposed some onerous conditions,... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Selection and Staffing; Applications and Software; Entrepreneurship; Information Technology Industry

06 Aug 2018
Research & Ideas

Supersmart Manufacturing Tools are Lowering Prices on TVs, Bulbs, and Solar Panels

tough challenge. As the tools get better and cheaper, it’s not enough to just crank out products with them. You have to add value in other ways, maybe with differentiating software or wrap-around services, or you have to move upstream to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Manufacturing; Electronics

29 Sep 2003
Research & Ideas

Why Managing Innovation is Like Theater

"Get it right the first time." On the other hand, some software development processes are designed nowadays so that they can be reconfigured cheaply and quickly. Developers generate new versions of a View Details

Keywords: by Rob Austin & Lee Devin

February 2022
Teaching Note

Borusan CAT: Monetizing Prediction in the Age of AI

By: Navid Mojir

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 521-053. View Details

Keywords: Monetization Strategy; Artificial Intelligence; Forecasting and Prediction; Applications and Software; Technological Innovation; Marketing; Segmentation; AI and Machine Learning; Construction Industry; Turkey

July 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Case

Microsoft: Multimedia Publications (B)

By: Marco Iansiti and Ellen Stein

Microsoft is about to release an apparently successful CD-ROM baseball product. The company is trying to determine what product(s) should be developed next, how it should organize itself, and what role it should play in the development of such products. View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Applications and Software; Product Design; Organizational Structure; Product Launch; Business Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Information Technology Industry; Washington (state, US)