Publications

Gary Pisano is the Harry E. Figgie, Jr. Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School where he has been on the faculty since 1988. From 2018-2023, Pisano was Harvard Business School’s Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Promotion and... View Details

Keywords: biotechnology; electronics; health care; manufacturing; pharmaceuticals

27 Aug 2007
Op-Ed

Mattel: Getting a Toy Recall Right

word out about the recall. Among other methods, the company is using bold red ads on high-traffic Internet sites such as Yahoo.com to find owners of View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Consumer Products

01 Feb 1997
News

Mexico on the Brink: A Conversation with Juan Enriquez-Cabot (MBA '86)

love Chiapas; it's one of the most magical places in the world. I wrote an HBS case about it ten years ago. It's a mirror of what Mexico is and can become, in terms of both... View Details

April 2015 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Comcast Corporation (A)

By: Sunil Gupta, Henry McGee, Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Margaret L. Rodriguez

In March 2015, the U.S. television industry received a major wake-up call. HBO, a premium cable channel with over 30 million subscribers, had announced it would begin offering a standalone streaming service. This new service would allow customers to bypass the cable... View Details

Keywords: Cable Television; HBO; Industry Evolution; Television Entertainment; Disruption; Business Model; Competitive Strategy; Media and Broadcasting Industry

04 Nov 2015
News

Why Organizations Need to Make Learning Hard

Research Summary

Securities Industry

By: D. Quinn Mills

I have recently published two books about the bull market of the 1990s. The first deals with the internet bubble; the second deals with the large company financial reporting scandals. Both books consider the events, causes (including matters of ethics) , and what... View Details

April 2001
Exercise

Selecting a Hosting Provider

Asks students to develop criteria for selecting a Web hosting company, then to select one of three profiled in case exhibits. In choosing a hosting vendor, students represent one of two companies: one a start-up, the other an industrial-age manufacturer. By assigning... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Partners and Partnerships; Internet

July 1996
Case

Edmund's--www.edmunds.com

Edmund's publishes an automobile price guide in books (600,000 units per year) and over the Internet (16,000 users a day and growing). The site can be visited at www.edmunds.com. In the marketplace, it makes money selling books. In the marketspace, they make their... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Information Publishing; Information Industry; Auto Industry

05 Aug 2010
News

Harvard Business School Names 2010 Social Entrepreneurship Fellows

Teaching Interest

Product Management 101 & 102

By: Julia B. Austin

Julia previously taught Product Management 101 & 102 (PM 101/102). This is a two-semester project-based course that uses a learning-by-doing approach to build basic product management skills. Students evaluate user needs and specify functional requirements... View Details

July 2000 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Cisco Systems: Are You Ready? (A)

By: James L. Heskett and John P. Morgridge

An Internet service provider, INS, in which Cisco Systems has a minority ownership stake, receives an offer of $3.1 billion from Cisco's rival Lucent. Cisco's management has to decide whether to act on a request from INS management that Cisco make a counteroffer. The... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Ownership Stake; Strategic Planning; Innovation and Management; Technology; Web Services Industry; Web Services Industry

March 1996 (Revised November 1997)
Case

Dewar's (C): Exploring New Media Opportunities

By: Alvin J. Silk and Lisa Klein Pearo

Dewar's is considering employing new media options. The company had committed resources to a new CD-ROM magazine, Launch, in 1994, as its first experiment with new media. During 1994, a number of additional opportunities have been presented to both Leo Burnett and S&S... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Cost Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Market Entry and Exit; Media; Corporate Strategy

December 2000
Background Note

Networked Utility Providers

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alastair Brown

Defines and describes ways to categorize networked utilities, software "applets" such as RealNetwork's RealPlayer, Macromedia's Shockwave, and AOL's ICQ that are downloaded via the Internet. Networked utilities extend basic Web browser capability to allow users to... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Software; Web Services Industry

Find at Harvard

Research Summary

Using IT to Leverage Human Resources in Services

Discussion of the Internet and IT to date concentrates on how they will replace, rather than support, human service providers. While this approach is appropriate for a few firms, it is inadequate for many. The Internet and other information technology... View Details

September 2016 (Revised February 2019)
Case

KaBOOM!: Play at Scale (A)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Sarah Appleby

A case on scaling social impact for nonprofits. Founded in 1995, KaBOOM! quickly became a nationally recognized nonprofit in building playgrounds with strong corporate partnerships and volunteer-organizing capabilities. Over the years, KaBOOM! developed new programs,... View Details

Keywords: Scaling Social Impact; Scaling; Nonprofit Scaling; Nonprofit Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Enterprise; Growth and Development Strategy; United States

23 Oct 2014
News

Why We Need to Outsmart Our Smart Devices

August 2012 (Revised October 2015)
Case

LinkedIn Corporation, 2012

By: David Yoffie and Liz Kind

Since its inception in 2003, LinkedIn had become a leading Silicon Valley institution with a brand name that was recognizable throughout the U.S. and in many countries overseas. As of March 2012, LinkedIn was the world's largest professional network on the Internet... View Details

Keywords: Social Networking; Media; Technology; Strategy; Growth Management; Internet and the Web; Corporate Strategy; Social and Collaborative Networks; Brands and Branding; Social Media; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; California

September 2016 (Revised October 2017)
Case

KaBOOM!: Play at Scale (Abridged)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Sarah Appleby

A case on scaling social impact for nonprofits. Founded in 1995, KaBOOM! quickly became a nationally recognized nonprofit in building playgrounds with strong corporate partnerships and volunteer-organizing capabilities. Over the years, KaBOOM! developed new programs,... View Details

Keywords: Scaling Social Enterprise; Scaling Social Impact; Nonprofit Scaling; Nonprofit; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Enterprise; Social Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; United States

November 2000 (Revised July 2001)
Case

Intuit QuickBooks

By: Rajiv Lal and Punima P Kochikar

Internet QuickBooks, a successful product with a strong brand and an 85% share of retail sales, was faced with the challenge of meeting market growth expectations in a mature, slowing market segment. Generating recurring revenues by providing value-added online... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Decisions; Growth and Development; Brands and Branding; Market Participation; Problems and Challenges; Internet and the Web; Value; Web Services Industry