Publications

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The public release of Large Language Models (LLMs) has sparked tremendous interest in how humans will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to accomplish a variety of tasks. In our study conducted with Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm, we examine... View Details

August 2021
Article

Information Seeding and Knowledge Production in Online Communities: Evidence from OpenStreetMap

By: Abhishek Nagaraj

The wild success of a few online communities (like Wikipedia) has obscured the fact that most attempts at forming such communities fail. This study evaluates information seeding, an early-stage intervention to bootstrap online communities that enables contributors to... View Details

Keywords: Online Communities; Knowledge Production; Crowdsourcing; Innovation; Digitization; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Social and Collaborative Networks; Analytics and Data Science; Knowledge Dissemination

Find at Harvard

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18 Nov 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Financial Development and Technology Diffusion

Keywords: by Diego Comin & Ramana Nanda

December 2011 (Revised March 2013)
Background Note

The Business Development Manager

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Sarah Dillard, Katharine Nevins and Puja Ramani

Describes the role of business development (BD) managers in technology companies, detailing: 1) BD managers' key responsibilities at each step in the process of creating a partnership agreement; 2) how the nature of the BD function evolves as a technology startup... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Partnerships; High Technology Products; Information Technology; Business or Company Management; Partners and Partnerships; Management Skills; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Technology Industry

January 2018
Case

Environmental Technology Fund Partners and E-Leather

By: Vikram S. Gandhi and Aldo Sesia

It is 2014 and Environmental Technologies Fund (ETF) Partners, a UK-based venture capital firm, has an opportunity to invest in a privately held UK company that manufactured engineered composition leather extracted from waste leather using an environmentally friendly... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Venture Capital; Investment Strategy; Investment; Strategy; Ownership; Valuation; Energy Conservation; Equity; Technological Innovation; Environmental Sustainability; Performance Efficiency; Manufacturing Industry; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom

05 Dec 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Heterogeneous Technology Diffusion and Ricardian Trade Patterns

Keywords: by William R. Kerr

January 2017 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Sales Razor Technologies

By: Paul Gompers and Noam Wasserman

Describes the issues facing a founder-CEO regarding building a board of directors, assembling an executive team, managing tension between co-founders, and outsourcing system development work. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Conflict Management; Governing and Advisory Boards; Employees; Management Teams; Product Development; Technology Industry

November 1998 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Explo Leisure Products

By: Richard G. Hamermesh

Tim Trowac and Dave Rahall, two former investment bankers, skillfully execute the leveraged buyout of a golf ball recycling company after working intensely on their due diligence, writing a business and financial plan, and developing the investment memorandum. Six... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Leveraged Buyouts; Business Plan; Performance; Management Teams; Business Strategy; Financial Strategy; Business and Shareholder Relations; Green Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry

Teaching Interest

Technology and Operations Management - MBA Required Curriculum

This course enables students to develop the skills and concepts needed to ensure the ongoing contribution of a firm's operations to its competitive position. It helps them to understand the complex processes underlying the development and manufacture of products as... View Details

28 Jul 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Technology Reemergence: Creating New Value for Old Technologies in Swiss Mechanical Watchmaking, 1970–2008

Keywords: by Ryan Raffaelli; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

02 Mar 2016
News

Coveted Job Title for M.B.A.s: Product Manager

December 2023
Case

Santa Elena: Table Grape Production in Chile’s Water-Challenged Regions

By: Forest Reinhardt, Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago and Mariana Cal

In the fiscal year ending in September 2022, Santa Elena, Chile’s fifth-ranking table grape exporter, a grape producer and exporter since 1980, had exported around 3.5 million boxes (18-pound each). But, due to a 13-year-long drought that plagued table grape-growing... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Climate Change; Environmental Regulation; Environmental Sustainability; Natural Resources; Food; Environmental Law; Problems and Challenges; Weather; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Chile; South America; Latin America

04 Jun 2014
What Do You Think?

Does Internet Technology Threaten Brand Loyalty?

Summing Up Is the Potential Negative Impact of New Information Technologies on Customer Loyalties Overstated? Customers will remain loyal to brands that meet their needs, regardless of the effects of new information View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Consumer Products; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

07 Nov 2014
News

How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition

January 2011
Case

Clean Edge Razor: Splitting Hairs in Product Positioning

By: John A. Quelch and Heather Beckham

After three years of development, Paramount Health and Beauty Company is preparing to launch a new technologically advanced vibrating razor called Clean Edge. The innovative new design of Clean Edge provides superior performance by stimulating the hair follicles to... View Details

Keywords: Project Management; Interdepartmental Relations; Organizational Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Conflict Management; Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Relationships; Product Development; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

24 Jul 2017
Blog Post

Transitioning to Product Management at HBS

project 15% yoy growth in excel’ kind of way). In researching a role that might be best fit for me, I more or less stumbled upon product management, and once I had a rudimentary understanding of how multi-faceted the role can be, I was... View Details

March 1992 (Revised June 1992)
Background Note

Strategic Industry Model: Emergent Technologies

By: Robert J. Dolan

Describes computer model and output from conjoint analysis and perceptual mapping for product line planning. View Details

Keywords: Mathematical Methods; Product Marketing

December 2021
Case

Burning Glass Technologies: From Data to Product

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Amy Klopfenstein

In May 2021, Matt Sigelman, CEO of Burning Glass Technologies, a company that provided labor market analytics for a variety of markets, navigates his company’s transition from data company to product company. Burning Glass originated as a service that used artificial... View Details