Filter Results:
(227)
Show Results For
- All HBS Web (295)
- Faculty Publications (138)
Show Results For
- All HBS Web (295)
- Faculty Publications (138)
Sort by
- June 2008
- Case
System on a Chip 2008: Global Unichip Corp.
By: Willy C. Shih, Chintay Shih, Chen-Fu Chien and Yuan-Chieh Chang
Though much of the semiconductor industry has shifted to a horizontal model, complexity driven by technological evolution is driving a shift in the perceived boundaries in the value chain. Global Unichip sees itself as a "virtual integrated device manufacturer," a... View Details
Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Boundaries; Semiconductor Industry
Shih, Willy C., Chintay Shih, Chen-Fu Chien, and Yuan-Chieh Chang. "System on a Chip 2008: Global Unichip Corp." Harvard Business School Case 608-159, June 2008.
- November 2021 (Revised December 2022)
- Case
Farfetch: Digital Transformation for Luxury Brands
By: Sunil Gupta, Jill Avery, Elena Corsi and Federica Gabrieli
Farfetch, a global luxury technology platform and digital marketplace had been surfing the wave of digital transformation in the luxury fashion industry since 2008. While the company’s stock price and market valuation had fluctuated since its IPO in 2018, it had... View Details
Keywords: Digital Marketing; Marketplaces; Retailing; Internet Marketing; E-Commerce Strategy; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Channels; Brands and Branding; Luxury; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Transformation; E-commerce; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; Web Services Industry; Technology Industry; United Kingdom; Europe; Portugal; China
Gupta, Sunil, Jill Avery, Elena Corsi, and Federica Gabrieli. "Farfetch: Digital Transformation for Luxury Brands." Harvard Business School Case 522-051, November 2021. (Revised December 2022.)
- February 2002 (Revised February 2004)
- Case
Brazos Partners: the CoMark LBO
By: Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon
The partners of a new midmarket buyout fund are working on a buyout of a closely held modular building company. Although originally structured as a stock deal, they have realized that an asset deal would be preferable from their point of view and are trying to... View Details
Lerner, Josh, G. Felda Hardymon, and Ann Leamon. "Brazos Partners: the CoMark LBO." Harvard Business School Case 202-090, February 2002. (Revised February 2004.)
- 17 Dec 2013
- First Look
First Look: December 17
management of innovation and conclude with research opportunities. Download working paper: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2362855 Modularity and Intellectual Property Protection By: Baldwin, Carliss Y., and Joachim Henkel Abstract—Modularity is... View Details
Keywords: Carmen Nobel
- February 2008 (Revised December 2023)
- Case
Digital Music: From MP3 to Streaming
By: Willy Shih
The emergence of the MP3 file-based music format not only disrupted the market for portable audio players, it also impacted the business models of major record labels. Modularity, and the commoditization spillover enabled by modularity in the personal computer... View Details
Keywords: Recording; Digital Devices; Digital Media; Digital Music; Digital; Digital Economics; Consumer Electronics; Customer Value and Value Chain; Disruptive Innovation; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Music Industry; Technology Industry; Electronics Industry; United States
Shih, Willy. "Digital Music: From MP3 to Streaming." Harvard Business School Case 608-119, February 2008. (Revised December 2023.)
- 2008
- Working Paper
The Architecture of Platforms: A Unified View
By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and C. Jason Woodard
The central role of "platform" products and services in mediating the activities of disaggregated "clusters" or "ecosystems" of firms has been widely recognized. But platforms and the systems in which they are embedded are very diverse. In particular, platforms may... View Details
Keywords: Digital Platforms; Industry Clusters; Infrastructure; Information Infrastructure; Digital Platforms
Baldwin, Carliss Y., and C. Jason Woodard. "The Architecture of Platforms: A Unified View." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 09-034, September 2008.
- January 2022 (Revised August 2022)
- Case
Geely SEA: New Electric Vehicle Platforms
By: Willy C. Shih and Shu Lin
Kent Bovellan, the Chief Engineer and Head of the Vehicle Architecture Center for Geely Holding, the Hangzhou, China headquartered global automotive group, was debating the platform choice for an upcoming "D" segment midsized battery electric vehicle (BEV). He had led... View Details
Keywords: Product Innovation; Product Architecture; Product Engineering; Platform Design; Platform Strategy; Information Infrastructure; Digital Platforms; Information Technology; Product Design; Product Development; Cost Management; Decision Making; Competitive Strategy; Industry Structures; Auto Industry; China; Sweden
Shih, Willy C., and Shu Lin. "Geely SEA: New Electric Vehicle Platforms." Harvard Business School Case 622-001, January 2022. (Revised August 2022.)
- February 2008 (Revised August 2008)
- Case
Quanta Computer and the One Laptop Per Child Initiative
By: Willy Shih, Chintay Shih and Jyun-Chen Wang
When Quanta Computer, Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of laptop computers, first joined the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative, it faced a challenge trying to balance the cost objectives of a laptop computer targeted at children of the developing world with... View Details
Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Disruptive Innovation; Demand and Consumers; Supply Chain; Partners and Partnerships; Nonprofit Organizations; Hardware
Shih, Willy, Chintay Shih, and Jyun-Chen Wang. "Quanta Computer and the One Laptop Per Child Initiative." Harvard Business School Case 608-102, February 2008. (Revised August 2008.)
- 14 Aug 2012
- First Look
First Look: August 14
entails the risk of becoming dependent on outside owners of IP. To address this tension we propose the concept of "IP modularity." We argue that, by managing a system's modular structure in conjunction with its IP, firms can... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- May 2009
- Case
Tokyo Electron Ltd.
By: Willy C. Shih and Andrew A. King
Tokyo Electron Ltd. operates in a constrained innovation environment, defined by modular boundaries that are long standing in the industry that it serves, the global semiconductor manufacturing industry. While the original motivation for these boundaries was division... View Details
Keywords: Globalized Markets and Industries; Governance Controls; Technological Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Boundaries; Manufacturing Industry; Semiconductor Industry
Shih, Willy C., and Andrew A. King. "Tokyo Electron Ltd." Harvard Business School Case 609-096, May 2009.
- October 2010 (Revised May 2012)
- Background Note
Reverse Engineering, Learning, and Innovation
By: Willy C. Shih
This background reading looks at reverse engineering in the context of piracy and knock-offs in emerging markets like China. It first considers legal aspects of reverse engineering in strong property rights regimes like the United States as a way of unpacking the legal... View Details
Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Learning; Engineering; Innovation and Invention; Intellectual Property; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Emerging Markets; China; United States
Shih, Willy C. "Reverse Engineering, Learning, and Innovation." Harvard Business School Background Note 611-039, October 2010. (Revised May 2012.)
- November 2012 (Revised May 2013)
- Case
ASUSTeK and the Google Nexus 7 Tablet
By: Willy C. Shih and Jyun-Cheng Wang
Days after Jerry Shen introduced a new tablet computer at the Consumer Electronics Show, a Google meeting convinced him to go with a lower price point and co-branding as the Nexus 7. While his company would have a premier position at launch, companies like Samsung... View Details
Keywords: Nexus; Google; ASUSTeK; Android; Tablet; Kindle; Kindle Fire; Notebook Computers; ODM; Apple; Price Point; App Store; Ecosystem; Open Handset Alliance; Reference Design; iPad; EMS; Electronic Manufacturing Services; Smartphone; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Product Marketing; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Industry Structures; Product Design; Product Development; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Digital Platforms; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Computer Industry; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Taiwan; United States
Shih, Willy C., and Jyun-Cheng Wang. "ASUSTeK and the Google Nexus 7 Tablet." Harvard Business School Case 613-056, November 2012. (Revised May 2013.)
- 2017
- Working Paper
Explaining the Vertical-to-Horizontal Transition in the Computer Industry
This paper seeks to explain the technological forces that led to the rise of vertically integrated corporations in the late 19th century and the opposing forces that led to a vertical-to-horizontal transition in the computer industry 100 years later. I first model the... View Details
Keywords: Organizational Design; Business History; Vertical Integration; Horizontal Integration; Digital Platforms; Computer Industry
Baldwin, Carliss Y. "Explaining the Vertical-to-Horizontal Transition in the Computer Industry." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 17-084, March 2017.
- May 2010 (Revised August 2013)
- Case
Delta Electronics Hybrid Power Train
By: Willy C. Shih and Jyun-Cheng Wang
Delta Electronics, the world's largest manufacturer of switching power supplies, hoped to enter the market for gasoline-electric hybrid power trains for automobiles by being a major component and subsystem supplier. While most public awareness of hybrid vehicles fell... View Details
Keywords: Investment Return; Intellectual Property; Emerging Markets; Industry Clusters; Partners and Partnerships; Electronics Industry; China
Shih, Willy C., and Jyun-Cheng Wang. "Delta Electronics Hybrid Power Train." Harvard Business School Case 610-098, May 2010. (Revised August 2013.)
- 15 Jan 2008
- First Look
First Look: January 15, 2008
Working PapersCompetition in Modular Clusters Authors:Carliss Y. Baldwin and C. Jason Woodard Abstract The last twenty years have witnessed the rise of disaggregated "clusters," "networks," or "ecosystems"... View Details
Keywords: Martha Lagace
- November 2023
- Teaching Plan
Geely SEA: New Electric Vehicle Platforms
By: Willy Shih
Teaching Plan for HBS Case No. 622-001. Kent Bovellan, the Chief Engineer and Head of the Vehicle Architecture Center for Geely Holding, the Hangzhou, China headquartered global automotive group, was debating the platform choice for an upcoming "D" segment midsized... View Details
- 2019
- Working Paper
Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 15 The IBM PC
The IBM PC was the first digital computer platform that was open by as a matter of strategy, not necessity. The purpose of this chapter is to understand the IBM PC as a technical system and set of organization choices in light of the theory of how technology shapes... View Details
Baldwin, Carliss Y. "Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 15 The IBM PC." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-074, January 2019.
- 27 Mar 2008
- Working Paper Summaries
Exploring the Duality between Product and Organizational Architectures: A Test of the Mirroring Hypothesis
- Teaching Interest
General Management Program (GMP)
By: Stefan H. Thomke
As global business challenges become more complex, companies are turning to exceptional general managers who can take on greater cross-functional responsibilities and contribute to corporate growth on a more strategic level. Moving beyond your field of expertise,... View Details
- March 2021
- Article
Increasing the Level of Abstraction as a Strategy for Accelerating the Adoption of Complex Technologies
By: Willy C. Shih
Many new technologies are complex and embody high levels of technical sophistication, and applying them should require significant knowledge and experience. Yet, the rapid adoption and incorporation of these technologies into other innovations seems inconsistent with... View Details
Keywords: Abstraction; Technological And Scientific Innovation; Technological Progress; Diffusion Of Innovation; Technology Adoption; Technological Innovation; Complexity; Information Technology; Strategy
Shih, Willy C. "Increasing the Level of Abstraction as a Strategy for Accelerating the Adoption of Complex Technologies." Strategy Science 6, no. 1 (March 2021): 54–61. (ISSN 2333-2050 (print), ISSN 2333-2077 (online))