Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(4,625)
- Faculty Publications (1,306)
- September 1999 (Revised April 2000)
- Case
Novell: World's Largest Network Software Company
By: Richard L. Nolan
After phenomenal growth and market leadership in networking, founder and CEO Ray Noorda made a frontal assault on Microsoft's core strengths. In 1994, Noorda spend over $1.5 billion acquiring companies such as WordPerfect to combat Microsoft Word, products such as... View Details
- September 1999 (Revised April 2000)
- Case
drugstore.com
By: Richard L. Nolan
On a clear day in August 1999 in the new headquarters of drugstore.com, against a backdrop of the Blue Angels flying in formation over Lake Washington practicing for their hydroplane Seafare Cup performance, Peter Neupert was pleased with his company's IPO performance.... View Details
- September 1999
- Case
Project Dreamcast: Serious Play at Sega Enterprises Ltd. (A)
By: Stefan H. Thomke and Andrew Robertson
Focuses on the ongoing competitive battles in the global home video game market that is estimated to exceed $15 billion by 1999 in the United States and Japan alone. Describes how Sega Enterprises has redesigned its development processes to create a revolutionary... View Details
- September 1999 (Revised February 2004)
- Case
WebSpective Software, Inc. (A)
By: Michael J. Roberts, Joseph B. Lassiter III, John T. Gourville and Sun Ming Wong
Describes the situation at WebSpective, a software company that develops products to help companies manage the network of servers that support their Websites. Describes the use of "concept engineering" tools to interview customers, determine their needs and the... View Details
Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Management Practices and Processes; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Communication Intention and Meaning; Product Development; Product Marketing; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Customer Satisfaction; Marketing Strategy; Information Technology Industry
- August 1999 (Revised October 1999)
- Case
RCA Records: The Digital Revolution
By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis
In 1995, Bertelsmann-owned RCA Records was considered a "tired and old" record label. By 1999, the company represented a number of the "hottest" acts in the music industry. Nevertheless, the company's position (as well as that of the entire music industry) was under... View Details
- August 1999 (Revised February 2000)
- Case
Cisco Systems, Inc.: Acquisition Integration for Manufacturing (A)
By: Steven C. Wheelwright, Charles A. Holloway, Nicole Tempest and Christian G. Kasper
Describes the procedures and processes used by Cisco Systems in its acquisition of high-technology firms. Its goal is to retain key engineering talent and to leverage existing product development efforts, but to quickly merge acquired companies its own systems and... View Details
Keywords: Information Technology; Leveraged Buyouts; Acquisition; Integration; Mergers and Acquisitions; Production; Activity Based Costing and Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Management; Technological Innovation; Talent and Talent Management; Human Resources; Technology Industry; Technology Industry; England
- April 1999
- Teaching Note
Managing Experimentation: Module Overview Note for Managing Product Development(Note for Instructor)
By: Stefan H. Thomke
Describes the conceptual foundations and pedagogy for a module on managing experimentation in the development of products and services. The module has been taught in the second-year elective MBA course Managing Product Development. The purpose of the module is to help... View Details
- March 1999 (Revised May 1999)
- Case
Network Associates: Securing the Internet
By: Debora L. Spar
Follows one company's path through the uncharted terrain of government regulation and the Internet. In March 1998, Network Associates announced it would begin selling powerful encryption software from its Dutch subsidiary. Such a move looked to the U.S. government like... View Details
- February 1999
- Case
Volant Skis
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Matt Verlinden
Volant brought innovation to the ski equipment industry in 1989 by developing a stainless steel ski. He claimed the skis could turn more easily, could hold an edge in icy conditions, and were more stable than aluminum or fiberglass skis. The company's "soft-flex"... View Details
- February 1999 (Revised June 2000)
- Case
Cimetrics Technology (A-1)
By: Lynn S. Paine and Jose Royo
Jim Lee, president of Cimetrics (a young, fast growing, software start-up) is reevaluating his small company's geographically dispersed product development model. To take advantage of talented low-cost labor in Russia, the company has relied on two software engineering... View Details
Keywords: Business Model; Applications and Software; Business or Company Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Labor and Management Relations; Product Development; Performance Evaluation; Information Technology Industry; Russia; Canada; United States
- January 1999 (Revised March 2001)
- Case
MindSpring
In a business environment where Internet Service Providers (ISP) has become increasingly commodity-like, Charles Brewer, founder and CEO of MindSpring, the nation's sixth largest ISP and the recognized leader in customer satisfaction, ponders a proposed merger with... View Details
- January 1999
- Case
State Street Corporation: Leading with Information Technology (B)
By: Stephen P. Bradley and Kelley Porter
With Multi-currency HORIZON, a real-time multi-currency accounting system that replaced the traditional batch-oriented single-currency accounting system, successfully launched, State Street Corp. (State Street) began to focus on growing the scope of its business... View Details
- December 1998
- Case
Pioneer Hi-Bred: Turning Seeds Into Factories
By: F. Warren McFarlan and Melissa Dailey
The agricultural sector is among the preeminent information technology users in our economy," exclaimed an August 1998 Forbes ASAP survey of the U.S. economy's best and worst users of information technology (IT). The survey designated Pioneer Hi-Bred International,... View Details
- December 1998 (Revised February 1999)
- Case
i2 Technologies, Inc.
By: Ananth Raman and Jasjit Singh
Describes the emergence and growth of i2 Technologies and the supply chain planning software industry. In December 1998, i2's market capitalization was in excess of $2 billion; the supply chain planning software industry had annual sales of approximately $1 billion and... View Details
- November 1998 (Revised August 1999)
- Case
Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Home Products Division (C): Lessons from Europe
By: Michael Y. Yoshino and Carin-Isabel Knoop
Supplements the (A) case. View Details
- November 1998 (Revised July 2012)
- Case
Explo Leisure Products
Tim Trowac and Dave Rahall, two former investment bankers, skillfully execute the leveraged buyout of a golf ball recycling company after working intensely on their due diligence, writing a business and financial plan, and developing the investment memorandum. Six... View Details
- November 1998 (Revised February 1999)
- Case
Microsoft Office: Finding the Suite Spot
By: Stefan H. Thomke and Steven Sinofsky
Describes a key decision-making process within Microsoft's Office products division. At a time when the PC software business has a great deal of uncertainty, Microsoft's management has to make a key decision regarding the future of software suites. A strengthening of... View Details
Keywords: Decisions; Applications and Software; Strategic Planning; Organizational Design; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Product Development; Managerial Roles; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk and Uncertainty; Goals and Objectives; Digital Platforms; Innovation and Management; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry
- November 1998 (Revised November 2001)
- Case
BMW AG: The Digital Car Project (A)
By: Stefan H. Thomke and Ashok Nimgade
Describes how the German automotive firm BMW is trying to reduce its development time by half with the aid of computer-aided technologies. To leverage these technologies fully in the very competitive automotive industry, BMW is faced with the challenge of changing its... View Details
- October 1998 (Revised December 1999)
- Case
Gene Research, the Mapping of Life and the Global Economy
By: Ray A. Goldberg and Juan Enriquez-Cabot
A new firm is being created to speed up the process of mapping humans, animals, and plants by combining gene technology with rapid gene identification to improve the health and well being of the human population and the productivity of crops and animals. How does one... View Details
- September 1998 (Revised August 1999)
- Case
IBM's Lotus Development in 1999
By: Stephen P. Bradley and Kelley Porter
Describes Lotus' acquisition by IBM, its movement from proprietary standards to open standards, and its current market position. Microsoft is gaining ground with its Exchange Server, and Lotus has received unfavorable press. View Details