Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(565)
- Faculty Publications (240)
- July 2011 (Revised September 2012)
- Case
Industrial Metrology: Getting In-Line? (A)
By: Willy Shih
Metrology plays a key role in the manufacture of mechanical components. Traditionally it is used extensively in a pre-process stage where a manufacturer does process planning, design, and ramp-up, and in post-process off-line inspection to establish proof of quality.... View Details
- June 2011 (Revised October 2012)
- Case
IBM China Development Lab Shanghai: Capability by Design
By: Willy Shih, Kamen Bliznashki and Fan Zhao
When IBM shifted from a traditional territory-based multinational organization to what it called a globally integrated enterprise, it established its headquarters for "Growth Markets" in Shanghai and "Established Markets" in New York. This positioned its China... View Details
- June 2011 (Revised November 2014)
- Case
Vehbi Koç and the Making of Turkey's Largest Business Group
By: Asli M. Colpan and Geoffrey Jones
The case describes the creation of Turkey's largest business group by Vehbi Koç. The foundation of this group in the interwar years, and its subsequent diversification into many industries, including automobiles, household goods, and services, is analysed. The case... View Details
- February 2011 (Revised July 2013)
- Case
A123 Systems: Power. Safety. Life.
A123 Systems, the largest manufacturer of lithium ion batteries in North America, is producing and selling batteries for electric vehicles in China and electric buses in Europe and America. It just opened two plants in Michigan, partially funded by a grant from... View Details
- 2011
- Case
Founder's Group Diversification
By: F. Warren McFarlan, Donghong Li and Chuanjiang Mao
Founder Group's Chairman of the Board, Wei Xin, made adjustments to the company portfolio in 2010. Established in the mid-1980s, Founder is the industry leader for Chinese laser typesetting systems and was once the second largest PC manufacturer in China. It is also... View Details
- January 2011
- Supplement
Vodafone in Japan (C)
By: Juan Alcacer, Mary Furey and Mayuka Yamazaki
An update to Vodafone cases A and B, describing Softbank's acquisition of Vodafone and its performance in Japan. View Details
- January 2011
- Case
AIC Netbooks: Optimizing Product Assembly
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Sunru Yong
AIC Systems, located in Taichung, Taiwan, is a manufacturer of printed circuit boards, primarily for motherboards and video cards for personal computers. The firm is considered an original design manufacturer (ODM) and takes an active role in innovating and designing... View Details
- December 2010 (Revised February 2012)
- Case
Vodafone in Japan (A)
By: Juan Alcacer, Mary Furey and Mayuka Yamazaki
Despite a rough start in the Japanese telecom market, by late 2003, Vodafone seemed to have weathered the storm, largely based on the strength of their mobile phone unit. But was it simply the calm before the storm? View Details
- December 2010 (Revised January 2012)
- Supplement
Vodafone in Japan (B)
By: Juan Alcacer, Mary Furey and Mayuka Yamazaki
By 2005, Vodafone Group was losing its footing in the sophisticated Japanese telecom market. What were they doing wrong? Should they cut their losses and leave Japan, or could they learn from mistakes and turn things around? View Details
- September 2010 (Revised May 2012)
- Case
Windward Investment Management
By: Luis M. Viceira and Ricardo Alberto De Armas
Windward Investment Management has experienced rapid growth in assets under management in just ten years, from under $30 million at year-end 1999 to $3.6 billion in 2010. Windward is one of the leading firms in the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) industry that... View Details
- April 2010
- Module Note
Balancing Specialization and Diversification in Operations
This note describes a module—taught as part of Operations Strategy, a second–year MBA elective at Harvard Business School—that helps students understand and manage the tradeoff between specialization and diversification in operations. The module introduces students to... View Details
- October 2009 (Revised March 2011)
- Case
Qualcomm Incorporated 2009
By: David B. Yoffie, Andrei Hagiu and Elizabeth A. Kind
Paul Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated, smiled as he reflected on the success of Qualcomm's code division multiple access (CDMA) technology. By the summer of 2009, CDMA was the basis for all third generation technologies available for cellular... View Details
- September 2009
- Case
Intel NBI: Image Components Organization
By: Willy C. Shih and Thomas Thurston
The Image Components Organization (ICO) was an internal venture that was part of Intel's New Business Initiatives. It sought to initially develop and sell a high performance integrated CMOS image sensor module for cellular phones. ICO's opening assumptions were that it... View Details
- August 2009 (Revised August 2009)
- Case
Intel NBI: Radio-Frequency Identification
By: Willy C. Shih and Thomas Thurston
The Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) group was a start-up that was part of Intel's New Business Initiatives. It sought initially to develop and sell a high performance Rf fast read rate module targeted at fixed position readers that might be found in loading docks... View Details
- August 2009
- Case
Intel NBI: Vivonic
By: Willy C. Shih and Thomas Thurston
Vivonic was a start-up that was part of Intel's New Business Initiatives that sought to develop and sell personal health monitoring hardware and software. When it was first funded, Intel was in the midst of record growth and was seeking diversification. But the company... View Details
- August 2009 (Revised September 2009)
- Case
Tenova: Mining for Growth in an Economic Crisis
By: Gary P. Pisano, Elena Corsi and Elisa Farri
In December 2008, Gianluigi Nova, CEO of Tenova SpA, a technology and equipment supplier to the metals and mining industry, had to choose between two options. The first was to continue growing in the company's core business: equipment for the steel production. The... View Details
- June 2009
- Journal Article
Taxes, Institutions and Foreign Diversification Opportunities
By: Mihir Desai and Dhammika Dharmapala
Investors can access foreign diversification opportunities through either foreign portfolio investment (FPI) or foreign direct investment (FDI). The worldwide tax regime employed by the U.S. potentially distorts this choice by penalizing FDI, relative to FPI, in... View Details
- 2009
- Working Paper
Broadening Focus: Spillovers, Complementarities and Specialization in the Hospital Industry
By: Jonathan R. Clark and Robert S. Huckman
The long-standing argument that focused operations outperform others stands in contrast to claims about the benefits of broader operational scope. The performance benefits of focus are typically attributed to reduced complexity, lower uncertainty, and the development... View Details
- April 2009
- Article
Sovereign Wealth in Abu Dhabi
By: Rawi Abdelal
By the turn of the century, oil had already made the tiny emirate of Abu Dhabi rich beyond anyone's wildest dreams. A sovereign wealth fund, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), has invested extra oil revenues abroad for more than thirty years and amassed a... View Details
- March 2009 (Revised May 2011)
- Case
Addleshaw-Goddard LLP
By: Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson and James Weber
Addleshaw-Goddard (AG), the 15th largest law firm in the U.K., is seeking ways to serve larger clients on more important legal matters. Part of this strategy involves its "Client Development Centre (CDC)," an innovative idea and set of services launched by Dr. Jim... View Details