Publications

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March 2017 (Revised August 2021)
Teaching Note

HomeAway: Organizing the Vacation Rental Industry

By: Rory McDonald and Matt Higgins

Teaching Note for HBS No. 615-036. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Technology; Acquisitions; Operations Management

May 1998 (Revised August 2017)
Case

DuPont Kevlar: Commercializing a Miracle Fiber

By: Clayton Christensen and Rory McDonald

Describes Dupont's efforts to build commercial markets for its miracle fiber, Kevlar. Initially, it sought to create a market for Kevlar tire cord, primarily because its existing tire cord business was languishing. This market never developed, even after Dupont spent... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Crisis Management; Product Launch; Emerging Markets; Research and Development; Technology

March 2017 (Revised August 2021)
Teaching Note

chotuKool: 'Little Cool,' Big Opportunity

By: Rory McDonald and Matt Higgins

Teaching Note for HBS No. 616-020. View Details

2017
Working Paper

The Right Mix: Angels, Venture Capitalists, and the Assembly of Entrepreneurial Resources

By: Benjamin Hallen and Rory McDonald

New ventures rely on external relationships for capital, knowledge, and networks. We examine how ventures assemble these resources—and whether they are all accessible from the same sources—in relationships with two types of investors: venture capital firms and angels.... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship

March 2017 (Revised November 2021)
Case

Floodgate: On the Hunt for Thunder Lizards

By: Rory McDonald, Alix Burke, Emma Franking and Nicole Tempest

Founded in 2008, Floodgate pioneered the “micro-VC” category, a new type of investment firm that raised smaller funds and made earlier, smaller investments in technology startups than traditional venture-capital firms. By 2015, Floodgate had raised three funds totaling... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Business Models; Angel Investors; Crowdfunding; Incubators; Accelerators; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Information Technology; Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Strategy

March 2017 (Revised September 2021)
Teaching Note

Floodgate: On the Hunt for Thunder Lizards

By: Rory McDonald and Helena Lyng-Olsen

Teaching Note for HBS No. 617-044. View Details

2016
Working Paper

Pivoting Isn't Enough: Principled Pragmatism and Strategic Reorientation in New Ventures

By: Rory McDonald and Cheng Gao

New technology ventures often experience deviations from their original plans that oblige them to reorient in pursuit of better fit between their evolving products and target customers. Yet research is largely silent on how entrepreneurs explain and justify their... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Reorientation; Technology Entrepreneurship; Innovation; Product Development Processes; Organizational Adaptation; Qualitative Methods (General); Information Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Communication; Entrepreneurship; Alignment; Innovation and Invention; Product Development

December 2019 (Revised April 2021)
Teaching Note

Under Armour

By: Rory McDonald and Matt Higgins

Teaching Note for HBS No. 618-020. View Details

16 Nov 2015
News

What Is Disruptive Innovation?

Article

Managing Political Misfits

By: Y. Sekou Bermiss and Rory McDonald

Not all employees agree with your politics. That's OK. View Details

Keywords: Management; Organizational Culture

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March 1997 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Hospital Equipment Corporation

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Rory McDonald

Hospital Equipment Corp. is a very successful maker of hospital beds. Due to outstanding performance in new product development, it grew to dominate its primary market and is searching for other opportunities to grow through new product development. It discovers that... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Innovation and Management; Opportunities; Business Processes; Product Development; Technological Innovation; Expansion; Markets; Problems and Challenges; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

Article

Mastering Innovation's Toughest Trade-Offs

By: Christopher B. Bingham and Rory M. McDonald

Leaders must answer eight key questions to address the hidden tensions underlying innovation strategies. View Details

Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Innovation Leadership

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Other Article

Entrepreneurship: Every Pivot Needs a Story

By: Rory McDonald and Cheng Gao

31 Jul 2014
News

A Scholarly Crowd Explores Crowdsourcing

March 2022
Case

Managing Innovation at Atrium Health: 'Never Let a Good Crisis Go To Waste'

By: Derek van Bever, Rory McDonald and Anibha Singh