Publications

April 2009 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Linden Lab: Crossing the Chasm

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

In early 2008, managers at Linden Lab, creator of the virtual world Second Life, faced decisions about the company's growth strategy. Despite profound initial skepticism about demand for a user-generated virtual world that was not a traditional game, Second Life had... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Infrastructure; Technology Adoption; Digital Platforms

April 2006 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Apple Computer, 2006

By: David B. Yoffie and Michael Slind

Apple has reaped the benefits of its innovative music player, the iPod. However, its PC and server business continue to hold small market share relative to the worldwide computer over the past few years. Will the iPod lure new users to the Mac? Will Apple be able to... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Product Positioning; Performance Evaluation; Information Infrastructure; Music Entertainment; Time Management; Information Technology Industry

29 Dec 2019
Research & Ideas

Read Our Most Popular Research Stories of 2019

plans for future workforce makeup and training, and its search for opportunities from digital infrastructure and automation. What’s Really Disrupting Business? It’s Not Technology Technology doesn't drive disruption—customers do. The... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

19 Mar 2019
Blog Post

Leadership Fellow Ming Min Hui: Figuring Out Her Mission

Together, they made considerable impact, both for the institution and toward Ming’s maturation as a leader. Within her fellowship year, Ming and her colleagues successfully overhauled the website and the infrastructure behind it,... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit / Government

27 Apr 2017
News

Fellowship Fuels a Passion for a Career in Aviation

fellowship for students from emerging markets interested in careers in infrastructure- or property-related sectors. His second act also includes serving as a senior advisor to Global Infrastructure Partners, a private equity investor in... View Details

03 Apr 2012
News

Just Compensation

a business strategist at Booz & Company (then, Booz, Allen & Hamilton). “I got into executive compensation and performance because incentives are a way to help drive corporate strategy,” she explains. “A lot of governance infrastructure... View Details

Keywords: executives; executive compensation; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

Web

HBS - Financials | From the Chief Financial Officer

expenses. New investments included the build-out of additional hybrid classrooms and conference rooms. These and other infrastructure investments support the School’s adaptive approaches to teaching, learning, and working and prepare HBS... View Details

December 2019
Supplement

Korea Telecom: Building a GiGAtopia (B)

By: Shane Greenstein, Feng Zhu and Susie L. Ma

Keywords: Mobile and Wireless Technology; Infrastructure; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Korean Peninsula

February 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Doing Business in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

By: Karen G. Mills, Allison H. Mnookin, Leonard A. Schlesinger, Shu Lin, Julianne Bliss and Morgane Herculano

Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vice Chairwoman of Vingroup, the largest private conglomerate in Vietnam, and Global CEO of VinFast, Vingroup’s automotive subsidiary established in 2017, was contemplating VinFast’s future strategy. Domestically, the EV market in Vietnam was in its... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Business Conglomerates; Global Strategy; Emerging Markets; Business Strategy; Infrastructure; Competition; Auto Industry; Viet Nam

Summer 2018
Article

Why High-Tech Commoditization Is Accelerating

By: Willy C. Shih

Knowledge embedded within state-of-the-art production and design tools is a powerful force that is leveling the global technology playing field. It democratizes innovation and makes future competition more challenging. This paper describes the knowledge flows through... View Details

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2010
Working Paper

The Mirroring Hypothesis: Theory, Evidence and Exceptions

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

The mirroring hypothesis predicts that the organizational patterns of a development project (e.g. communication links, geographic collocation, team and firm co-membership) will correspond to the technical patterns of dependency in the system under development. Scholars... View Details

Keywords: Infrastructure; Product Design; Organizational Design; Practice; Groups and Teams; Social and Collaborative Networks; Information Technology

December 2006 (Revised April 2014)
Case

J. R. D. Tata

By: Nitin Nohria, Anthony Mayo and Mark Benson

J.R.D Tata, Chairman of the Indian conglomerate Tata & Sons, played a significant role in building India's economic infrastructure. Under his guidance, Tata & Sons built locomotives, steel refineries, airlines, chemical plants, and technology-based enterprises.... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Development Economics; Working Conditions; Leadership; Infrastructure; Personal Development and Career; Business and Government Relations; India