Publications

1997
Chapter

Managing Innovation in the Transnational Corporation

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Sumantra Ghoshal

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Multinational Firms and Management

2015
Chapter

Agglomeration and Innovation

By: Gerald Carlino and William R. Kerr

This chapter reviews academic research on the connections between agglomeration and innovation. We first describe the conceptual distinctions between invention and innovation. We then describe how these factors are frequently measured in the data and some resulting... View Details

Keywords: Industry Clusters; City; Innovation and Invention

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2015
Chapter

Innovation and Business Growth

By: William R. Kerr

Innovation and the pursuit of new business opportunities are essential for growth at the firm level; moreover, they provide the foundation for an economy to achieve new levels of technological prowess, productivity, and ultimately prosperity. This chapter describes... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Economic Growth; Innovation and Invention

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December 2016
Background Note

Reaching Beyond Your Organization: Empowering Innovation

By: William R. Kerr

Forward-thinking established companies utilize new routes for external innovation with start-ups and crowds. The reading reviews strategic partnerships, strategic investments, strategic acquisitions, and crowd-based collaborations. Case examples include Google, SK... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Corporate Innovation; Collaboration; Partnerships; Innovation and Invention; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy

March 1998 (Revised June 1999)
Teaching Note

Linking Strategy and Innovation TN

By: Clayton M. Christensen

An overview note to guide instructors in teaching the third module of the Managing Innovation course. Describes how managers can use aggregate project planning to manage the resource allocation process in new product development. View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Managerial Roles; Resource Allocation; Product Development; Planning; Projects; Strategy

September 2023 (Revised September 2023)
Teaching Note

Roche: Innovation and Access to Healthcare

By: George Serafeim

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 123-075. In May 2022, Roche Group, one of the largest healthcare companies in the world, hosted its first investor event focused exclusively on its efforts to impact access to healthcare. While Roche had recently set an ambitious goal to... View Details

Keywords: ESG; Access To Care; Healthcare; Healthcare Access; Innovation; Social Impact; Affordable; Health Care and Treatment; Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Resource Allocation; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Health Industry

29 Sep 2003
Research & Ideas

Why Managing Innovation is Like Theater

If you don't know where you're going, any map will do.1 This conventional wisdom sounds right to many managers. It highlights the safety of having a clear objective for your management actions. It implies that all View Details

Keywords: by Rob Austin & Lee Devin

19 Nov 2014
News

Build an Innovation Engine in 90 Days

Keywords: innovation strategy; change management

Research Summary

Innovation and Productivity

In this stream of research, Professor Steinwender examines how firms adjust their innovative behavior and productivity in response to changes in the external environment. Analyzing Spanish firm-level data, she finds that two mechanisms proposed in the economic... View Details

January 2018
Supplement

Transformation at ING (B): Innovation

By: William R. Kerr, Federica Gabrieli and Emer Moloney

Supplement to HBS No. 818-077. Together with the agile methodology, innovation at ING was an enabler for the company’s purpose of empowering people to stay a step ahead in life and business. The case explores ING's innovation priorities and strategy as well as the... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Agile; Fintech; Innovation and Invention; Strategy; Technological Innovation; Banking Industry

TeachingInterests

Managing Human Capital

By: Ethan S. Bernstein

The Managing Human Capital course has been specifically designed to teach practical skills for the future general manager (not just the human resource practitioner) who seeks to manage both other people and her or his own career with optimal... View Details

July 2018
Case

Leading Open Innovation at BT

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Jean-François Harvey and Johnathan R. Cromwell

This case focuses on the genesis and development of the open innovation unit at BT, the strategic value of the unit, and its operating model. As the business environment becomes increasingly dynamic and firms are pressured to achieve faster innovation rates, there may... View Details

Keywords: Collaboration; Open Innovation; Inter-organizational Relationships; Organizational Culture; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry; United Kingdom; United States

March 2001
Article

Technological Acquisitions and the Innovation Performance of Acquiring Firms: A Longitudinal Study

By: Gautam Ahuja and Riitta Katila

This paper examines the impact of acquisitions on the subsequent innovation performance of acquiring firms in the chemicals industry. We distinguish between technological acquisitions, acquisitions in which technology is a component of the acquired firm's assets, and... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Acquisitions; Knowledge; Strategy; Knowledge Acquisition; Acquisition; Innovation and Invention; Chemical Industry

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December 1996 (Revised December 1998)
Case

Managing Innovation at Nypro, Inc. (B)

By: Clayton M. Christensen

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing Industry

07 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Innovation Corrupted: How Managers Can Avoid Another Enron

"In the end, Enron was at the center of a truly delinquent society. Once Enron's ethical drift took hold, its collapse was only a matter of time," says HBS professor emeritus Malcolm S. Salter. As he explains in this Q&A and... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Energy; Utilities

May 2012
Background Note

Innovation Magic

By: Stefan Thomke and Jason Randal

Why do certain product and service experiences seem like magic, making them all but destined for success, while other items languish on store shelves? For a better understanding of that, perhaps there's no better place to turn to than the world of magic. Consider that... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Product Differentiation; Experimentation; Personal Strategy ＆ Style; Innovation and Invention; Creativity; Service Operations; Product; Customer Satisfaction