Publications

16 Sep 2008
First Look

First Look: September 16, 2008

Evaluation Framework for Product Take-Back Policies Authors:Michael W. Toffel, Antoinette Stein, and Katharine L. Lee Abstract Manufacturers are increasingly being required to adhere to product take-back regulations that require them to... View Details

June 1998 (Revised April 2000)
Case

GM Powertrain

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Mikelle Eastley

Discusses a young MBA plant manager who is improving the operations of a small General Motors components plant in Fredericksburg, Virginia. At 29 years old, Joe Hinrichs is the youngest plant manager at GM, and in his new assignment, he is faced with the daunting... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Labor Unions; Problems and Challenges; Technological Innovation; Change Management; Machinery and Machining; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States

Web

Video Clips - Creating Emerging Markets

Suresh Krishna Suresh Krishna Base Of The Pyramid Suresh Krishna, founder of the largest manufacturer of industrial fasteners for the auto industry in India, explains his “dharma of business”: to lift as many people out of poverty as he... View Details

Research Summary

Bodies at Risk: Chemicals Testing in the United States and Europe

This book project examines environmental regulation comparatively between the United States and Europe, with a focus on testing programs and controls on the manufacture of commodity and specialty chemicals. Findings thus far indicate that different relations among... View Details

September–October 2020
Article

The Past, Present, and (Near) Future of Gene Therapy and Gene Editing

By: Julia Pian, Amitabh Chandra and Ariel Dora Stern

Emerging gene therapy and gene-editing technologies will have a growing impact on patient lives and health-care delivery. We analyzed a decade of data on clinical trials and venture capital investments to understand the likely trajectory of genetically focused... View Details

Keywords: Gene Therapy; Gene Editing; Impact; Health Care and Treatment; Technological Innovation; Health Testing and Trials; Venture Capital; Change

Read Now

May 2011 (Revised July 2011)
Case

Fiat-Chrysler Alliance: Launching the Cinquecento in North America

By: Gary P. Pisano, Phillip Andrews and Alessandro Di Fiore

Fiat ended its 27-year absence in the North American automobile market when the first Cinquecento (500)—a very small, iconic Italian car that had strong sales in Europe—was delivered on March 10, 2011. The Italian automaker re-entered the market through an alliance... View Details

Keywords: Product Launch; Product Positioning; Mergers and Acquisitions; Partners and Partnerships; Globalization; Operations; Growth and Development Strategy; Integration; Auto Industry; North America; Europe

May 2004
Background Note

56K Modem Battle

By: David B. Yoffie and Deborah Freier

Examines the battle to set the standard for the 56K modem. Set in 1996, this case looks at how computers accessed the Internet via a telephone line, or dial-up connection, and a hardware modem. In 1995, there were 18.6 million total modem unit shipments, with market... View Details

Keywords: Announcements; Revenue; Patents; Product Launch; Network Effects; Standards; Competition; Information Infrastructure; Internet and the Web; Technology Industry; Illinois

August 2008
Article

Ethnic Scientific Communities and International Technology Diffusion

By: William R. Kerr

This study explores the importance of knowledge transfer for international technology diffusion by examining ethnic scientific and entrepreneurial communities in the US and their ties to their home countries. US ethnic research communities are quantified by applying an... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Ethnicity; Production; Integration; Knowledge Sharing; Patents; Employment; Performance Productivity; Entrepreneurship; Change; Developing Countries and Economies; Immigration; China; United States

Read Now

April 2025
Case

The CHIPS Program Office (Abridged)

By: Mitch Weiss and Sebastian Negron-Reichard

In February 2023, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo weighed signing off on a Notice of Funding Opportunity (“NOFO”) with at least one unconventional provision: a pre-application (“pre-app”) to the actual application for parts of $39 billion in direct semiconductor... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Public Sector; Government Administration; Government Legislation; Motivation and Incentives; Semiconductor Industry; Public Administration Industry; United States

Article

Coming to America: IPOs from Emerging Market Issuers

By: Robert Bruner, Susan Chaplinsky and Latha Ramchand

We compare the issue costs of 299 companies from emerging and developed market countries making initial public offerings (IPOs) in the United States between 1991 and 2001. Our results indicate that IPOs from emerging markets experience the same costs on average as IPOs... View Details

Read Now

March 2014 (Revised November 2020)
Case

The Novartis Malaria Initiative

By: Michael Chu, Vincent Marie Dessain and Emilie Billaud

The Novartis Malaria Initiative was designed, as a result of a precedent–setting agreement with the World Health Organization in 2001, to provide a breakthrough treatment for malaria—"at no profit"—for public health systems. What had begun as an exemplary act of... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Product Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Enterprise; Pharmaceutical Industry; Switzerland; Africa; Nigeria

March 2002 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Microsoft: Positioning the Tablet PC

By: Youngme E. Moon and Christina L. Darwall

Microsoft is preparing for the launch of the Tablet PC, which allows users to use a pen (stylus) to run Windows and Windows applications, annotate documents, and create handwritten documents for later reference or even conversion to text. Microsoft's original equipment... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Product Positioning; Market Entry and Exit; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Computer Industry

April 1998
Case

Jim Sharpe: Extrusion Technology, Inc. (C)

By: H. Kent Bowen and Barbara Feinberg

Jim Sharpe, president of Extrusion Technology, describes the first five years at the aluminum extrusion company he purchased. He begins with day one as he introduced himself to the employees in 1987 and assured them of the company's continuity. Over the next two years,... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Forecasting and Prediction; Cost Management; Profit; Innovation Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Mining Industry

We explore the impact of geographically bounded intra-firm spillovers (internal agglomeration economies) and geographically bounded inter-firm spillovers (external agglomeration economies) on firms’ location strategies. Using data from the Census Bureau’s Longitudinal... View Details

Rosabeth M. Kanter

Rosabeth Moss Kanter holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at Harvard Business School, specializing in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change. Her strategic and practical insights guide leaders worldwide through teaching, writing, and direct... View Details

March 2024 (Revised April 2024)
Supplement

From "BIG" Ideas to Sustainable Impact at ICL Group (B)

By: Linda A. Hill and Lydia Begag

In August 2023, Raviv Zoller, CEO of ICL Group, discussed his upcoming business trip to St. Louis with Eduard Croitoru, VP of ICL Corporate Initiatives, to commemorate the construction of ICL's new $400 million advanced manufacturing facility. In preparation for the... View Details