Publications

May 2022 (Revised July 2022)
Case

The Voice War Continues: Hey Google vs. Alexa vs. Siri in 2022

By: David B. Yoffie and Daniel Fisher

In 2022, after five years of pursuing a new "AI-first" strategy, Google had captured a sizeable share of the American and global markets for voice assistants. Google Assistant was used by hundreds of millions of users around the world, but Amazon retained the largest... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Artificial Intelligence; Deep Learning; Voice Assistants; Smart Home; Market Share; Globalized Markets and Industries; Competitive Strategy; Digital Platforms; AI and Machine Learning; Technology Industry; United States

March 2008 (Revised November 2008)
Case

Sony Digital Entertainment, Japan

By: Anita Elberse

It is late 2007. So-called cell phone ("keitai") novels have turned into an extremely popular form of entertainment-on-the- go in Japan, in particular among young, female readers. In fact, consisting mostly of love stories written by amateurs in short sentences and... View Details

Keywords: Books; Marketing Strategy; Open Source Distribution; Competition; Mobile Technology; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Publishing Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Japan

2024
Working Paper

Appropriate Entrepreneurship? The Rise of China and the Developing World

By: Josh Lerner, Junxi Liu, Jacob Moscona and David Yang

Global innovation and entrepreneurship has traditionally been dominated by a handful of high-income countries, especially the US. This paper investigates the international consequences of the rise of a new hub for innovation, focusing on the dramatic growth of... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Emerging Markets; Economic Growth; China

Read Now

17 Mar 2016
News

What Created Donald Trump? A Leadership Vacuum

01 Sep 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Transaction Cost Economics in the Digital Economy: A Research Agenda

Keywords: by Frank Nagle, Robert Seamans, and Steve Tadelis

2017
Blitz Discussions

Of Margins and Modalities

20 Oct 2014
News

Government subsidies not the key to venture capital

05 Dec 2016
News

Russia, China, and the Third World

2009
Book

Entrepreneurs, Managers, and Leaders: What the Airline Industry Can Teach Us About Leadership

By: Anthony J. Mayo, Nitin Nohria and Mark Rennella

'Entrepreneurs, Managers, and Leaders' examines the role that business leaders play in shaping industries and how the evolving context of industries shapes leaders in turn. This co-evolutionary process of leadership and industry development is told through the story of... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Leadership Development; Managerial Roles; Supply and Industry; Industry Growth; Air Transportation Industry

Find at Harvard

January 1987 (Revised January 1990)
Case

The World VCR Industry

By: David B. Yoffie

In the 1980s Japan dominated the world industry for video cassette recorders. This case looks at the evolution of the technology and competition in VCRs, the battles between VHS and Beta, and the emerging threats to Japanese dominance. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Competition; Technology Industry; Electronics Industry; Japan

30 Jul 2010
News

India Still Finding its Way, Says HBS Dean

March 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Case

Astra/Merck Group

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Marie Bell

Astra/Merck (A/M), originally a joint venture of AB Astra and Merck & Co., is preparing to be an independent company in 1993. Since the company does not engage in basic research and development of drugs, it is essentially a distribution organization. Fundamental to... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Marketing Strategy; Distribution; Performance Evaluation; Research and Development; Risk and Uncertainty; Sales; Competitive Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry

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June 2002 (Revised August 2002)
Case

"One Country, Two Systems"? Italy and the Mezzogiorno (A)

By: Bruce R. Scott and Jamie Matthews

GDP per person in northern Italy caught up with average incomes in Britain, France, and Germany in the 1970s, but incomes in southern Italy (the Mezzogiorno) fell further behind. This was partly due to cultural and societal differences that dated to the Renaissance,... View Details

Keywords: History; Development Economics; Crime and Corruption; Social Issues; Economy; Government and Politics; Macroeconomics; Italy

April 2019
Case

Walmart Update, 2019

By: David B. Yoffie and Daniel Fisher

In 2019 Walmart was still the world's largest company, with over $500 billion in annual revenue and operations around the world. Although it had mostly vanquished its rival discount retailers in the U.S., it was struggling to find the right growth strategy. Facing a... View Details

Keywords: E-Commerce Strategy; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Growth and Development Strategy; Global Range; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; E-commerce; Retail Industry

June 2001
Background Note

Information Technology Management from 1960-2000

By: Richard L. Nolan

Covers the history of IT management from 1960 to the present. Applies the Stages Theory as a basis to trace the evolution of the three dominant IT designs (mainframes, microcomputers, networks) and how companies used and managed IT in each era. View Details

Keywords: Management; Information Technology; Industry Growth

05 Jan 2014
News

China must reform for life after the iron rice bowl

June 1983
Article

A Comparison of Tournaments and Contracts

By: Jerry R. Green and Nancy Stokey

Tournaments, reward structures based on rank order, are compared with individual contracts in a model with one risk-neutral principal and many risk-averse agents. Each agent's output is a stochastic function of his effort level plus an additive shock term that is... View Details

Keywords: Tournaments; Contracts