Publications

Article

The Growing Problem of Patent Trolling

By: Lauren Cohen, Umit Gurun and Scott Duke Kominers

The last decade has seen a sharp rise in patent litigation in the U.S., with 2015 having one of the highest patent lawsuit counts on record. In theory, this could be a consequence of growth in the commercialization of technology and innovation—patent lawsuits increase... View Details

Keywords: Patent Aggregators; Patent Litigation; Patent Pools; Patent Trolls; Patents; Lawsuits and Litigation; United States

Find at Harvard

We consider a model of technological learning under which people "learn through noticing": they choose which input dimensions to attend to and subsequently learn about from available data. Using this model, we show how people with a great deal of experience may... View Details

31 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

Where Can Digital Transformation Take You? Insights from 1,700 Leaders

but also themselves. Everything is changing and technology is a key driver When we asked executives to join our roundtable conversations about “digital leadership,” they warned us that the term was too... View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards

March 2007
Supplement

Bain & Company, Inc.

In late 2001, the consultancy Bain must decide whether to launch information technology as a practice area within the firm. The senior executives who are Bain's clients have been asking more and more IT-related questions of the firm's partners, who find themselves... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Information Technology; Market Entry and Exit; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

November 1999 (Revised April 2002)
Case

International Business Machines Corporation (B)

By: David F. Hawkins

IBM changes pension plan from a defined benefit plan to a cash-balance plan. Teaching purpose: To understand pension accounting. View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Transformation; Business Earnings; Private Sector; Personal Finance; Cash; Information Infrastructure; Taxation; Computer Industry; Accounting Industry

25 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

10 Reasons Customers Might Resist Windows 8

School, and a leader in the field of change management. "Even in an era where young techies are looking to get the hottest and latest, people are resistant to change," she says. Microsoft's launch of the new operating system... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Computer; Consumer Products

May 2020
Case

M-Lab: Enabling Innovation at Mitsubishi Corporation

By: Krishna Palepu and Allison M. Ciechanover

M-Lab’s founding goals were to infuse an innovation mindset into Mitsubishi Corporation; to catalyze new business opportunities; and to enable a dialogue between Japanese business and Silicon Valley. M-Lab housed representatives from each of Mitsubishi Corporation’s... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Disruption; Transformation; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Multinational Firms and Management; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Japan; United States

19 Jan 2022
In Practice

7 Trends to Watch in 2022

As 2022 gets underway we asked our faculty to highlight some trends worth watching in the coming year. Ariel Stern: A new future for digital health care While 2020 and 2021 were years of rapid innovation and deployment of new health care View Details

Keywords: by HBS News

March 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

C12 Energy

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and James McQuade

C12 aimed to build not only a company, but an entire industry around carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). "You change the world by building a market, and you build a market by building a profitable company that other people copy," said Dawe, C12 Energy's CEO. "In... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Sequestration; Sustainability; Cleantech; Oil And Gas; Business Model; Energy; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; North America

June 1995 (Revised April 1997)
Case

Integron Incorporated: The Integrated Components Division (ICD)

A high-technology manufacturing company was recently given profit-and-loss "stand-alone" status by its parent. No longer a captive supplier, it must seek new markets for its technology and products on the outside world. Describes a benchmarking study by a group of... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Restructuring; Manufacturing Industry

10 Jul 2023
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2023

What books are HBS faculty members reading this summer—and are certain publications especially meaningful to them? Turns out, faculty are interested in a variety of topics, everything from exploring spirituality and confronting climate View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

02 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

10 Trends to Watch in 2024

The lightning-fast ascent of generative AI isn’t the only sea change on the horizon for businesses in the new year. The global economy is in flux as war, climate change, trade issues, and infrastructure problems demand attention. Many companies continue to struggle to... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

July 2023
Case

Crocs: Using Community-Centric Marketing to Make Ugly Iconic

By: Ayelet Israeli and Anne V. Wilson

In 2022, the Crocs Classic Clog was the best-selling item of clothing on Amazon, the brand was one of the fastest growing brands in the U.S., and global net revenue had increased to approximately $3.6 billion. By most accounts, Crocs had become the “it” shoe. Crocs... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Product Development; Growth and Development; Customer Value and Value Chain; Digital Marketing; Digital Strategy; Segmentation; Advertising; Consumer Products Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

Web

Live from Klarman Hall - Alumni

from failure to effectively to thrive in an uncertain world. Video Recording 3 Technologies That Will Change the World. How Will They Affect Your Journey as a Leader? 11:45 a.m.–1:00 p.m. EDT Speaker:... View Details

February 2022 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Sekisui House and the In-Home Early Detection Platform

By: John D. Macomber and Akiko Kanno

To address an aging population and sales declines, a major Japanese homebuilder considers pivoting to provide and support an in-home health detection platform, in competition with tech companies. This case considers the point of view of major builders regarding how... View Details

Keywords: Voice Assistants; Architecture; Smart Home; Aging Society; Digitalization; Real Estate; Home Automation; Sensors; Strategy; Digital Platforms; Health Care and Treatment; Housing; Age; Real Estate Industry; Construction Industry; Health Industry; Japan

April 1999
Teaching Note

Value Networks and the Impetus to Change: Managing Innovation: Overview Teaching Note for Module 1

By: Clayton M. Christensen

Provides instructors with an overview teaching note for the first module of the Managing Innovation course in which the disruptive technology framework is explored and used. Summarizes this framework and provides a brief synopsis of each of the cases used in the... View Details

Keywords: Change; Framework; Disruptive Innovation; Technology; Value