Publications

The purpose of this chapter is to use the theory of bottlenecks laid out in previous chapters to better understand the dynamics of an open standards-based platform. I describe how the Wintel platform evolved from 1990 through 2000 under joint sponsorship of Intel and... View Details

Keywords: Open Platforms; Bottlenecks; Wintel Platform; Disintermediation; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Business History; Digital Platforms; Computer Industry

03 Feb 2015
First Look

First Look: February 3

MacCormack, Alan, Robert Lagerstrom, and Carliss Y. Baldwin Abstract—We propose a network-based methodology for operationalizing enterprise architecture. Our methodology is... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

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

2008
Working Paper

Exploring the Duality between Product and Organizational Architectures: A Test of the Mirroring Hypothesis

By: Alan D. MacCormack, John Rusnak and Carliss Y. Baldwin

A variety of academic studies argue that a relationship exists between the structure of an organization and the design of the products that this organization produces. Specifically, products tend to "mirror" the architectures of the organizations in which they are... View Details

Keywords: Open Source Distribution; Product Design; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Performance Effectiveness; Information Technology Industry

Research Summary

Distributed Innovation in Open Systems—The Role of Modularity

Distributed innovation in open systems is an important trend in the modern global economy. As education levels rise and communication costs fall, more people have the means and motivation to innovate. Supply chains now stretch around the world as firms outsource... View Details

24 Sep 2013
First Look

First Look: September 24

By: Gil, Nuno, and Carliss Y. Baldwin Abstract—We argue that a design commons can be an advantageous organizational form under two salient conditions: 1) high... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2018
Working Paper

Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 5 Complementarity

The purpose of this chapter is to relate the theory of task networks and technology set forth in previous chapters to theories of firm boundaries from economics and management. Complementary goods have more value when used together than separately. Complementarity may... View Details

Keywords: Complementarity

04 Apr 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, April 4

Industry By: Baldwin, Carliss Y. Abstract—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... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2007
Working Paper

The Impact of Component Modularity on Design Evolution: Evidence from the Software Industry

By: Alan MacCormack, John Rusnak and Carliss Y. Baldwin

Much academic work asserts a relationship between the design of a complex system and the manner in which this system evolves over time. In particular, designs which are modular in nature are argued to be more "evolvable," in that these designs facilitate making... View Details

Keywords: Product Design; Adaptation; Software; Information Technology Industry

22 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 22

they evolved in response to macroeconomic shocks that affected the Brazilian economy during this period. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/10-109.pdf The Mirroring Hypothesis: Theory, Evidence and Exceptions (revised) Authors:Lyra Colfer and View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

June 2001 (Revised September 2011)
Case

PepsiCo's Bid for Quaker Oats (A)

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and Leonid P Sudakov

Throughout 1999, PepsiCo closely tracked several potential strategic acquisitions. In the fall of 2000, it appeared that the right moment for an equity-financed acquisition had arrived. At this time, PepsiCo management decided to initiate confidential discussions with... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Stock Shares; Negotiation; Strategy; Valuation; Food and Beverage Industry

Educators

Purchase

September 1986
Supplement

Eastern Electric Apparatus Repair Co. (B)

Keywords: Service Industry

Find at Harvard

July 1983
Background Note

Risk and Return in the Capital Markets

Find at Harvard

2020
Working Paper

Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 7 The Value Structure of Technologies, Part 2: Strategy without Numbers

Functional analysis as set forth in the last chapter decomposes a technical system into functional components that do things to advance the system’s purpose and the goals of its designers. Functional analysis in turn can be used to construct value structure maps... View Details

Keywords: Modularity; Value Structure Mapping; Value Capture; Information Technology; Organizations; Strategy; Value Creation

2019
Working Paper

Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 14 Introducing Open Platforms and Ecosystems

The purpose of this chapter is to lay the groundwork for a comprehensive theoretical investigation of open platform systems. To do this, we must first recognize that, although there is a strong family resemblance among all platform systems, there are different types of... View Details

Keywords: Open Platforms; Business Ecosystems; Information Technology; Organizational Design; Industry Structures; Digital Platforms

1986
Chapter

The Capital Factor: Competing for Capital in a Global Environment

Keywords: Capital; Competitive Advantage

2012
Working Paper

Modularity and Organizations