Publications

12 Jun 2019
News

Experts Look Beyond the Incumbents: Why Smaller Players are Winning

September 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Managing Knowledge and Learning at NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

By: Dorothy A. Leonard and David Kiron

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) faces a serious loss of knowledge--both because of the "faster, better, cheaper" mandate for Mars missions and from the retirement of key personnel. An extensive knowledge management system for NASA/JPL includes formal knowledge-capture... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Management; Knowledge Dissemination; Leadership Development; Internet and the Web; Risk and Uncertainty; Organizational Culture; Retirement; Human Resources; Human Capital

31 Jan 2017
News

A fair price to pay?

January 2011 (Revised April 2014)
Case

Uptake of Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests

By: Nava Ashraf, Natalie Kindred and Richard Sedlmayr

This case describes barriers to adoption of malaria rapid diagnostic tests in Zambia and highlights the importance of understanding end users in promoting product adoption. Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are simple, easy-to-use tools that provide a relatively reliable,... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Health Pandemics; Technology; Health Care and Treatment; Policy; Behavior; Prejudice and Bias; Health Industry; Zambia

Summer 2014
Article

Delegation in Multi‐Establishment Firms: Adaptation vs. Coordination in I.T. Purchasing Authority

By: Kristina Steffenson McElheran

This paper conducts one of the first large-scale, establishment-level empirical studies of delegation within firms. Recent contributions to a rapidly growing theory literature have focused on the tradeoff between adaptation and coordination in determining... View Details

Keywords: Integration; Leadership; Management Practices and Processes; Information Technology; Organizational Structure; Adaptation

Find at Harvard

Karim R. Lakhani is the Dorothy & Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He specializes in technology management, innovation, digital transformation and artificial... View Details

Keywords: health care; health care; health care; health care; health care; health care; health care; health care; health care; health care

24 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

When Tech Platforms Identify Black-Owned Businesses, White Customers Buy

found that the program increased engagement with Black suppliers. “Technology companies can play a role in working toward racial equity,” explains Luca, who has been probing the role technology can play in creating a more inclusive... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald; Food & Beverage

Research Summary

Overview

I am currently a Principal or Co-Principal Investigator of five field-based randomized controlled trials, each of which examines the management of lay health workers in developing countries, with an eye toward generating theoretical insights and policy guidance on how... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Policy; Health; Human Resources; Africa; India; United States

Research Summary

Overview

I am currently a Principal or Co-Principal Investigator of five field-based randomized controlled trials, each of which examines the management of lay health workers in developing countries, with an eye toward generating theoretical insights and policy guidance on how... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Policy; Health; Human Resources; Africa; India; United States

2015
Working Paper

Expertise vs. Bias in Evaluation: Evidence from the NIH

By: Danielle Li

Evaluators with expertise in a particular field may have an informational advantage in separating good projects from bad. At the same time, they may also have personal preferences that impact their objectivity. This paper develops a framework for separately identifying... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Performance Evaluation; Experience and Expertise

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

2012
Book

The Rate and Direction of Inventive Activity Revisited

By: Josh Lerner and Scott Stern

While the importance of innovation to economic development is widely understood, the conditions conducive to it remain the focus of much attention. This volume offers new theoretical and empirical contributions to fundamental questions relating to the economics of... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Opportunities; Nonprofit Organizations; Resource Allocation; Economic Growth; Research and Development

Find at Harvard

August 2022
Case

Atlanta Ransomware Attack (A)

By: Amit Goldenberg and Julian Zlatev

This case describes the March 2018 Ransomware attack on the information technology (IT) systems of the city of Atlanta and the response by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and her administration. The case includes a brief background on Bottoms and her young administration at... View Details

2011
Teaching Note

China Merchants Bank in Transition (TN)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Guoqing Chen and Ziqian Zhao

This case depicts China Merchants Bank's second strategic transformation. In the 90's, China Merchants Bank creatively introduced an all-in-one-card and an all-in-one-net based on IT systems and network, enabling itself to expand nationwide. By successfully entering... View Details

Keywords: Commercial Banks; Credit Cards; Strategy; Transformations; China; Banking; Information Technology; Banking Industry; China

16 Nov 2010
Lessons from the Classroom

Data.gov: Matching Government Data with Rapid Innovation

may have not ” Joined in class by the Chief Information Office (CIO) of the United States, Vivek Kundra, who oversees Data.gov, Lakhani led the case discussion for 50 technology executives in a weeklong HBS... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Technology

2010
Working Paper

Sustainable Cities: Oxymoron or the Shape of the Future?

By: Annissa Alusi, Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson and Tiona Zuzul

Two trends are likely to define the 21st century: threats to the sustainability of the natural environment and dramatic increases in urbanization. This paper reviews the goals, business models, and partnerships involved in eight early "ecocity" projects to begin to... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Investment; City; Infrastructure; Business and Government Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Urban Development; Information Technology; Green Technology Industry; Real Estate Industry

July 2006 (Revised December 2007)
Case

Strategic Outsourcing at Bharti Airtel Limited

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez, V.G. Narayanan and Michele Jurgens

Faced with exponential growth and a competitive telecom environment, Bharti looks for ways to better manage its capital expenditures for telecommunications and information technology. One option is to hand over management of its telecom and IT networks to its vendors.... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Competitive Advantage; Technology Networks; Telecommunications Industry; India

March 2018
Article

Hospital Budget Systems are Holding Back Innovation

By: Robert S. Kaplan, Michael S. Jellinek and Derek A. Haas

Nearly 800 digital health startups were funded in 2017, an all-time high. Each of the new companies offers the hope of transforming the performance of the U.S. health care system. The audience for such innovation wants to be receptive: A recent American Hospital... View Details