Publications

October 2024
Case

Parexel: Scaling Up and Industry Dynamics

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Ben Creo

Through the lens of biopharmaceutical contract research organization (CRO) PAREXEL, this case traces the evolution of the firm as it reinvents itself in response to the transformation of the CRO sector from a small, secondary cluster of firms into a major player with... View Details

Keywords: Research; Innovation and Invention; Business Model; Transformation; Globalization; Information Technology; Competitive Advantage; Pharmaceutical Industry

Fast Answer

Trade publications: industry research

industry, or profession. They usually provide news of current developments in the field, reviews of past performance or forecasts for the future, as well as descriptions of key companies and personalities in the industry. They can... View Details

Fast Answer

Sustainability in Manufacturing Industry

adoption in production from proof of concept to industrial scale and how governments and civil society can best support the development of a favorable ecosystem for adopting and diffusing technology across... View Details

Aug 2014
Working Paper

Defining Clusters of Related Industries

This paper develops a novel clustering algorithm that systematically generates and assesses sets of cluster definitions (i.e., groups of closely related industries). View Details

August 2000 (Revised January 2003)
Teaching Note

Health Development Corporation TN

By: Richard S. Ruback

Teaching Note for (9-200-049). View Details

Keywords: Health Industry; Boston

November 1988
Case

Honeywell Residential Division: New Product Development

By: Steven C. Wheelwright

Describes three different product development efforts at the Residential Controls division of Honeywell, Inc. Each of the three projects was for a different market and competitive environment. Each was tackled in a somewhat different way within the Honeywell... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Construction; Outcome or Result; Situation or Environment; Business Divisions; Product Design; Change Management; Construction Industry

May 2010 (Revised June 2012)
Case

From Imitation to Innovation: Zongshen Industrial Group

By: Willy Shih and Nancy Hua Dai

As Zuo Zongshen drove the transformation of the Zongshen Industrial Group from an early imitator in the motorcycle business to a company that increasingly focused on innovation as a way to get out of the hyper-competitive commodity business, he continually faced new... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Learning; Investment; Disruptive Innovation; Knowledge Acquisition; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; China

February 2011 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Product Development at OPOWER

By: Thomas Eisenmann and Rob Go

OPOWER, a software startup that helps utilities engage their customers in ways that reduce energy consumption, is scaling rapidly. The company's new head of product management has designed a system to address a point of constant tension: whether to build custom... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Customer Relationship Management; Entrepreneurship; Growth Management; Product Development; Sales; Customization and Personalization; Energy Conservation; Environmental Sustainability; Information Technology Industry; Utilities Industry

October 2009
Case

Medisys Corp.: The IntensCare Product Development Team

By: Anne Donnellon and Joshua D. Margolis

Key topics include designing teams, managing teams, managing conflict, group dynamics, project management, product development, interdepartmental relations, and organizational change. MediSys, a U.S.-based medical equipment maker, has been developing IntensCare, a new... View Details

Keywords: Project Management; Interdepartmental Relations; Organizational Change; Leadership; Conflict Management; Interpersonal Communication; Groups and Teams; Product Design; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Health Care and Treatment; Power and Influence; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

January 1996
Case

Managing Xerox's Multinational Development Center (Abridged)

Describes a manager's role in developing a staff group responsible for enhancing the efficiency of Xerox's worldwide logistics and inventory management systems. Illustrates a range of management strategies for upward and lateral influence in a complex organizational... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Personal Development and Career; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

March 2024 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Bets on Clean Hydrogen

By: Gunnar Trumbull, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI), an engineering manufacturer headquartered in Japan, was aiming to scale up its hydrogen production and establish a global hydrogen supply chain. The initiative was in line with Japan's energy strategy, as the country seeks to transition... View Details

Keywords: Renewable Energy; Demand and Consumers; Competition; Growth and Development Strategy; Infrastructure; Supply Chain; Manufacturing Industry; Energy Industry

2023
Working Paper

Coordinated R&D Programs and the Creation of New Industries

By: Daniel P. Gross and Maria P. Roche

Complex systems technologies—including “deep tech”—are prone to numerous frictions that stymie commercial development. Yet technologies with these features underpin some of the most valuable industries of the past century. We examine how large, mission-oriented... View Details

Keywords: Research and Development; Policy; Business and Government Relations; Technological Innovation; Collaborative Innovation and Invention

SSRN

Read Now

Aug 18 2016
Testimonial

Blazing Trails in the Entertainment Industry

June 1998
Background Note

The Indian Software Industry

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Avnish S. Bajaj, Michael V. Kadyan, Devtosh K Khare and Suvir S Sujan

The increasing focus in the Western World on outsourcing has fueled the growth of the Indian software export industry. This note gives background on this phenomenen. View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Growth and Development; India

April 1991 (Revised October 1993)
Supplement

Cat Fight in the Pet Food Industry (C)

By: David J. Collis

Describes significant developments in the pet food industry in 1987 and 1988, focusing on the competitive interactions among the industry's major players. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Food and Beverage Industry

December 1993 (Revised April 1995)
Case

Hydro-Quebec: Developing Grande Baleine

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

Keywords: Energy Industry; Energy Industry; Canada

Find at Harvard

July 2002
Teaching Note

MAC Development Corporation (TN)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh

Teaching Note for (2-802-140), (9-806-703), and (9-806-706). View Details

Keywords: Construction Industry; Chicago

Research Summary

Industrial competitiveness in high tech and science-based businesses

By: Willy C. Shih

How do emerging economies develop industrial and technical capabilities that overtake those of advanced economies? Are there some industrial sectors that are especially susceptible to such targeting? What will it take to restore America’s... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Technology Diffusion; Knowledge Flows; Competitive Advantage; Globalization; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; China; Asia

Summer 2021
Article

The Origin and Development of Firm Management

By: Michela Giorcelli

This paper examines the historical origin and diffusion of management practices. Despite their centrality in the modern world, the concepts of ‘management’ developed fairly recently. Only with the Industrial Revolution, due to the increased firm size, owners needed a... View Details

Keywords: Productivity; Kaizen; Management; Management Practices and Processes; History; Performance Productivity; Technology