Publications

Social capital theorists have shown that some people do better than others in part because they enjoy larger, more supportive, or otherwise more useful networks. But why do some people have better networks than others?

Unanticipated Gains argues... View Details

01 Aug 2017
Blog Post

Redefining the Term Networking at HBS

continually push you to achieve more and grow daily. My entire HBS experience was built upon the warmth and encouragement of my fellow students, professors, and program support personnel. So, when people mention an “HBS network,” I become defensive. The term View Details

December 2006 (Revised October 2007)
Course Overview Note

Managing Networked Businesses: Course Overview for Educators

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Provides an overview for educators of concepts covered in the MBA elective course, "Managing Networked Businesses," (MNB). MNB focuses on management challenges in businesses that exhibit network effects. Such businesses comprise a large and growing share of the global... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Business Organization

03 Jun 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Platforms and Limits to Network Effects

Keywords: by Hanna Halaburda & Mikolaj Jan Piskorski

August 1996 (Revised March 2002)
Exercise

Network Assessment Exercise: Abridged MBA Version

Designed to help students identify patterns in their approaches to developing networks of relationships. A "network" refers to the set of relationships that help people to advance professionally, get things done, and more generally, develop personally and... View Details

Keywords: Networks

November 1999
Case

Lucent Technologies: Optical Networking Group

By: Marco Iansiti and Barbara Feinberg

Set in June 1999, this case describes the development of a new platform product, the Wavestar OLS 400G, that responded both to a demand for greater "bandwidth" and aggressive competitors seeking to supply it. The 400G's development process took only 14 months and... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Operations; Product Development; Performance Improvement; Information Technology; Information Infrastructure

July – August 2008
Article

Managing Corporate Social Networks

By: Adam M. Kleinbaum and Michael L. Tushman

Keywords: Management; Business Ventures; Networks

September 2020
Case

Chip and Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Network

By: Anita Elberse and Julia McNicholas

Chip and Joanna Gaines, who have shot to fame as stars of the hit television show Fixer Upper, are preparing to launch their own television network. It is April 2019, a year since the home-renovation show Fixer Upper’s fifth season on cable channel HGTV ended, and more... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Television; Superstars; Innovation; Creative Industries; Talent; General Management; Celebrities; Television Entertainment; Entrepreneurship; Joint Ventures; Innovation and Invention; Marketing; Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

25 Feb 2020
News

Turning Point: Network Effects

nonprofit that develops national networks of volunteer mental health professionals who can provide free, confidential care to individuals experiencing an acute or chronic need for help. Our initial focus was veterans and their families,... View Details

Keywords: Bruce Shuttleworth (MBA 1997)

November 2020 (Revised March 2023)
Case

Zipline: The World's Largest Drone Delivery Network

By: Tarun Khanna and George Gonzalez

Zipline established the world's largest logistics network in Rwanda and Ghana by delivering medical supplies to hospitals via automated drones. The company is now looking to expand in the U.S. and partnered with Walmart to expand into home delivery. Zipline must... View Details

Keywords: Drones; Business Startups; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States; Africa

1998
Conference Presentation

Networks and Firm Capabilities

By: Ranjay Gulati

8 Aug 2008 - 13 Aug 2008
Conference Presentation

Network Evolution and Dynamics

By: Ranjay Gulati

November 2013
Supplement

Danone – Networking Attitude

By: Amy C. Edmondson

May 1989 (Revised March 1991)
Case

Hewlett-Packard: Roseville Networks Division

November 2001 (Revised October 2004)
Case

IBM Network Technology (A)

By: Michael L. Tushman and Robert C Wood

An unconventional manager within IBM leads the creation of a business unit with multibillion-dollar potential, winning over customers and nudging the organization to make the changes needed to achieve dramatic growth. This case provides an example of how organizational... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Leadership; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Change Management; Management Practices and Processes; Business Plan; Organizational Design; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Success; Technology Industry

Mar 28 2019
Testimonial

Cultivating a Valuable Network

July–August 2013
Article

The Network Secrets of Great Change Agents

By: Julie Battilana and Tiziana Casciaro

Change is hard, especially in a large organization. Yet some leaders succeed—often spectacularly—at transforming their workplaces. What makes them able to exert this sort of influence when the vast majority can't? The authors tracked 68 change initiatives in the UK's... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Health Industry