software - Publications - Faculty & Research

03 Dec 2001
What Do You Think?

What Happens When the Sumo Master Learns Judo?

small can outsmart the large. Exhibit A is the story of Intuit, the financial software provider. Intuit has continued to dominate Microsoft in its niche through intensifying focus, defining the competitive space, listening to customers... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

24 Mar 2016
Blog Post

Learning to Code at Business School

consultant at Boston Consulting Group. Why did you want to take CS50? Samuel: I wanted to learn the language of computer science, so I actually knew what software engineers were talking about. Sloan: I took CS50 because I've always had... View Details

19 Oct 2023
Blog Post

New Venture Competition 2023: Business and Environment Ventures

Using a novel bacteria, Coryntech is developing low-cost, high-purity enzymes to help unlock the $4 trillion bio-economy revolution. Greentopia - Aishwaya Amuda (MBA 2024) - B2B carbon accounting and emission mitigation software platform... View Details

29 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

Get Off the Dime!

articles had been sent to the execs about the good and the bad aspects of the existing systems. A small team of people had focused carefully on the economic analysis, looking closely at our current software programs, in particular. At the... View Details

Keywords: by John P. Kotter & Dan S. Cohen

01 Dec 2014
News

Five Degrees of Doriot

also played a role in launching the world’s largest software maker: Microsoft founders Paul Allen and Bill Gates wrote their first PC software using a DEC computer. (Library of Congress) Body armor While... View Details

Keywords: Dan Morrell; George Doriot; Educational Services

22 Jun 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Iterative Coordination and Innovation

Keywords: by Sourobh Ghosh and Andy Wu

December 2018 (Revised March 2019)
Case

Camber Creek & Measurabl Inc.

By: Marco Di Maggio and Lauren G. Pickle

In late 2017, Camber Creek, a real estate technology focused venture capital firm, had to evaluate a potential investment in Measurabl Inc. which provides real estate companies of all sized with a full SaaS solution for sustainability data. View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Venture Capital; Investment; Decision Making; Applications and Software; Environmental Sustainability

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23 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 23

Developing Software through Crowdsourcing Karim R. Lakhani, David A. Garvin, and Eric LonsteinHarvard Business School Case 610-032 TopCoder's crowdsourcing-based business model, in which software is... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2023
Article

Dynamic HTA for Digital Health Solutions: Opportunities and Challenges for Patient-Centered Evaluation

By: Jan B. Brönneke, Annika Herr, Simon Reif and Ariel D. Stern

Germany’s 2019 Digital Healthcare Act (Digitale-Versorgung-Gesetz, or DVG) created a number of opportunities for the digital transformation of the health care delivery system. Key among these was the creation of a reimbursement pathway for patient-centered digital... View Details

Keywords: Digital Transformation; Applications and Software; Product Development; Insurance; Policy; Health Industry; Germany

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February 1997 (Revised July 1997)
Case

Vermeer Technologies (A): A Company Is Born

By: Ashish Nanda

Charles Ferguson has just heard from a venture capital (VC) consortium that it is willing to finance Vermeer Technologies, a company he has cofounded for developing Internet software. The funds are sorely needed, but the VCs have imposed some onerous conditions,... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Selection and Staffing; Applications and Software; Entrepreneurship; Information Technology Industry

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01 Dec 2006
News

Faculty Books

dynamics and strategies used by firms that recognize the transformative power of these “invisible engines.” Shorter discussions of Internet-based software platforms offer glimpses into a future in which the way we buy, pay, watch, listen,... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

July 15, 2020
Article

How to Get People to Actually Use Contact-Tracing Apps

By: Chiara Farronato, Marco Iansiti, Marcin Bartosiak, Stefano Denicolai, Luca Ferretti and Roberto Fontana

The broad adoption of contact-tracing apps would greatly help combat the spread of COVID-19. But a number of barriers—especially privacy concerns—have hindered progress in many countries that can’t or won’t mandate adoption. A solution is to start with small... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Contact Tracing; Apps; Privacy; Health Pandemics; Behavior; Technology Adoption; Applications and Software

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Research & Data Services for HBS Faculty & Doctoral Students | Baker Library

for faculty is charged to faculty research budgets at a rate of $40/hour. We are based in Baker Library | Bloomberg Center 130, a space that houses PC workstations with specialized software and resources available to faculty, research... View Details

24 Apr 2014
News

A wild ride from adventure travel to social media marketing

When Victoria Ransom (MBA 2008) wanted to promote her travel company by giving away a trip on Facebook, she couldn’t find the software to do so. Ransom solved the problem, creating an app, and in the process saw the opportunity to develop... View Details

Ralph Folz

Ralph is a serial entrepreneur, board director and angel investor with deep experience building software companies. In his most recent role, he spent 7 years as WordStream's CEO through its sale to Gannett in 2018. The company achieved 6... View Details

Keywords: Advertising;#20;#Ecommerce;#53;#Media & Publishing;#64;#Software/App;#60;#Services;#75;#Venture Capital

29 Feb 2016
HBS Case

Bigbelly's Big Bet on the Digital Trash Can

cities” field. “I wanted to explore the opportunities and challenges of selling to government in a company that is moving from selling hardware in big chunks to selling software as a service,” says Weiss, the MBA Class of 1961 Senior... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Energy

15 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

In the Virtual Dressing Room Returns Are A Real Problem

that are easier to specify: computer software (offline-to-online ratio $0.99); health and beauty products ($0.93); music/video products ($0.83); and books ($0.68). 3 Ample evidence suggests that current B2C sites are unable to... View Details

Keywords: by Jan Hammond & Kristin Kohler; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Consumer Products; Manufacturing; Retail

01 Jun 2003
News

Up Against The Firewall

used software to launch their attacks. “Under the press of business and getting a product to market, some commercial software manufacturers have indulged in a ‘good–enough’ standard,” says Langstaff. “They... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Robert Austin; Corporate Services; Computer Systems Design and Related Services; Professional Services

10 May 2017
Research & Ideas

Amazon Web Services Changed the Way VCs Fund Startups

cloud-based software and service companies, which could take advantage of AWS to decrease costs, versus others like biotechs that were less impacted by the new technologies. “The goal was to try and understand whether VCs were allocating... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Banking; Financial Services; Information Technology

November 2022
Case

Para: Pay Transparency and Gig Drivers' Rights

By: Christopher Stanton and George Gonzalez

The case presents the founding vision and early days of a young startup that seeks to empower delivery drivers with tools and transparency. The company's flagship mobile app has been taken up by tens of thousands of delivery drivers across major U.S. cities who use it... View Details

Keywords: Gig Workers; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Applications and Software; Disruptive Innovation; Compensation and Benefits; Technology Industry; San Francisco

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