Publications

04 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

Attention Medical Shoppers: What Health Care Can Learn from Walmart and Amazon

colleagues at Brigham and Women's Hospital worked with safety experts at the aerospace and defense giant Boeing, and developed a checklist for surgeons. Among the heretofore commonly-missed items on the list: making sure everyone in the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

March 2022 (Revised March 2023)
Case

Commercial Space Stations, Chickens and Eggs, and Demand for Activity in Low-Earth Orbit

By: Matthew C. Weinzierl and Brendan L. Rosseau

With the International Space Station set to retire in January 2031, NASA has made clear its desire to transition to commercially-led space stations in low-earth orbit (LEO). But the history of commercial station attempts has been fraught, characterized by a lack of... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Opportunities; Business Model; Aerospace Industry; Aerospace Industry; Aerospace Industry

17 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

Companies Detangle from Legacy Pensions

"Goodbye tension, hello pension!" That used to be the triumphant cry of millions of new retirees. For decades, Americans assumed a good job came with a good pension, guaranteeing them regular monthly payments from their parent company until the day they died.... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Aerospace; Aerospace

July 1996 (Revised June 2001)
Case

Atlantic Corporation-Abridged

By: Thomas R. Piper

A major paper company is considering acquiring the assets of a company that is threatened by a hostile takeover. The acquisition can be evaluated in terms of industry attractiveness, comparative advantage, and cash-flow analysis. View Details

Keywords: Projects; Cash Flow; Interest Rates; Valuation; Mathematical Methods; Horizontal Integration; Acquisition; Competitive Advantage; Aerospace Industry

May 2023
Course Overview Note

Space: Public and Commercial Economics (SPACE)

By: Matthew C. Weinzierl

SPACE is a course with two goals: to use the tools of economics to better understand the rapidly evolving space sector, and to train the next generation of commercial space leaders. We pursue these goals through a systematic study of the growing space economy,... View Details

Keywords: Industry Growth; Aerospace Industry

February 12, 2021
Article

The Commercial Space Age Is Here

By: Matt Weinzierl and Mehak Sarang

In May of 2020, SpaceX made history as the first private company to send humans into space. This marks not only a tremendous technological achievement, but also the first indication that an entirely new “space-for-space” industry—that is, goods and services designed to... View Details

Keywords: Space Economy; New Markets; Emerging Markets; Opportunities; Entrepreneurship; Commercialization; Aerospace Industry

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Article

Dismantling Knowledge Boundaries at NASA: The Critical Role of Professional Identity in Open Innovation

By: Hila Lifshitz - Assaf

Using a longitudinal in-depth field study at NASA, I investigate how the open, or peer-production, innovation model affects R&D professionals, their work, and the locus of innovation. R&D professionals are known for keeping their knowledge work within clearly defined... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Knowledge Boundaries; Boundary Work; Professional Identity; Open Innovation; Identity Work; Technological Change; Nasa; Innovation and Invention; Knowledge; Science; Technology; Engineering; Change; Aerospace Industry; North and Central America

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January 2019 (Revised July 2021)
Case

Analytical Space: The Next Frontier?

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and David Lane

With one satellite aloft and in the midst of beta testing in late 2018, Analytical Space founders Justin Oliveira and Dan Nevius turned to critical questions about the pioneering startup’s go-to-market, pricing, and business development strategy. Analytical Space aimed... View Details

Keywords: Pricing Decisions; Demand Validation; Revenue Model; Business Development; Space Tech; Satellites; Earth Observation; Remote Sensing; Business Startups; Emerging Markets; Growth and Development Strategy; Finance; Selection and Staffing; Business Strategy; Aerospace Industry

June 2005 (Revised May 2018)
Teaching Note

Columbia's Final Mission: A Multimedia Case

By: Michael Roberto, Richard M.J. Bohmer, Amy C. Edmondson and Erika Ferlins

Teaching Note to 305-032. View Details

Keywords: Aerospace Industry

March – April 2008
Article

Identity Incentives as an Engaging Form of Control: Revisiting Leniencies in an Aeronautic Plant

By: Michel Anteby

Research has long shown that organizations shape members' identities. However, the possibility that these identities might also be desired and that members might benefit from this process has only recently been explored. In a qualitative study of a French aeronautic... View Details

Keywords: Governance Controls; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Culture; Identity; Motivation and Incentives; Aerospace Industry; France

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November 1990 (Revised June 1991)
Case

Final Voyage of the Challenger

Provides a summary of technical and organizational details that led to the decision to launch the Challenger Space Shuttle, and to the ensuing accident. Details of design and testing milestones of the Space Shuttle, with a focus on the Solid Rocket Booster, offer... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Risk Management; Ethics; Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Processes; Aerospace Industry; United States

August 1993 (Revised May 1994)
Case

American Airlines' Value Pricing (A)

By: Alvin J. Silk

In April 1992, American Airlines launched "Value Pricing" -- a radical simplification of the complex pricing structure that had evolved over more than a decade following deregulation of the U.S. domestic airline industry. American expected that the new pricing... View Details

Keywords: Price; Marketing Channels; Consumer Behavior; Performance Expectations; Value Creation; Aerospace Industry