Publications

January 2010 (Revised March 2010)
Case

Transforming ASUSTeK: Breaking from the Past

By: Willy C. Shih, Ho Howard Yu and Hung-Chang Chiu

What happens when an original design manufacturer (ODM) firm tries to transform itself into a branded goods seller? The case traces the evolution of ASUSTeK from a motherboard supplier, to an ODM of desktop and notebook PCs, through its split into three companies that... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Disruptive Innovation; Brands and Branding; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Computer Industry; Computer Industry; Taiwan

November 2009
Teaching Note

HTC Corp. in 2009 (TN)

By: David B. Yoffie

Teaching Note for [709466]. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Decisions; Brands and Branding; Customer Value and Value Chain; Telecommunications Industry; Taiwan

June 2009 (Revised November 2010)
Case

HTC Corp. in 2009

By: David B. Yoffie and Renee Kim

Taiwan-based HTC Corp. had emerged as the world's fourth largest smartphone manufacturer by 2009. CEO Peter Chou was extremely proud of the remarkable achievements his company had made over the last 12 years since starting off as an unknown manufacturer of PDAs for... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Competitive Advantage; Mobile Technology; Telecommunications Industry; Taiwan

20 Feb 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, February 20, 2018

distill a lifetime of cutting-edge scholarship into short, accessible essays about Chinese identity, culture, environment, society, history, or policy. Can China’s economic growth continue apace? Can China embrace the sacrifices required for a clean environment? Will... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 Feb 2004
Research & Ideas

Where Does Apple Go From Here?

with it. Furthermore, the PC industry operates on much thinner margins, which is why it takes so long to imitate. Dell spends 1 percent (of revenue) on R&D, Apple spends 4 to 5 percent on R&D. Apple... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

06 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

Microsoft vs. Open Source: Who Will Win?

discriminate, and that piracy may even result in higher profits to Microsoft! Finally, the paper investigates the societal welfare consequences of OSS availability by comparing different industry structures (monopoly and duopoly). We find... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Technology

October 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Global Unichip Corporation (A)

By: Willy Shih and Chen-Fu Chien

Global Unichip Corporation (GUC) is a design services company that acts as a front-end to TSMC, the world's largest semiconductor foundry. In so doing, it masked the complexity of the latest process technologies, and reduced the entry barriers for small firms to... View Details

28 Aug 2007
First Look

First Look: August 28, 2007

http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=407128 Intel 2006: Rising to the Graphics Challenge Harvard Business School Case 607-136 Examines the evolution of the PC hardware industry over... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

November 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Supplement

Global Unichip Corporation (B)

By: Willy Shih and Chen-Fu Chien

Jim Lai, President of Global Unichip Corporation (GUC), mapped out the changes he saw coming to the global semiconductor industry. The big question was how many system developers would start coming directly to GUC. View Details

25 Jul 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

The Evolution of Apple

In the context of the computer industry at large, professor David Yoffie explores the ups and downs of a company that's always been a bit different in "Apple Computer, 2006." The case poses this question: Given its 2 percent... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Computer; Technology

September 2008
Teaching Note

Chi Mei Optoelectronics (TN)

By: Willy C. Shih

Teaching Note for [608-123]. View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Information Technology; Market Entry and Exit; Standards; Industry Clusters; Supply Chain; Production; Experience and Expertise; Biotechnology Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Taiwan; Asia; Korean Peninsula; China

20 Nov 2000
Research & Ideas

Moving from Supply Chains to Supply Networks

successful firms. Some firms have completely changed the competitive dynamics of their industries because of the kind of competitive advantage they've been able to gain in the supply chain. Wal-Mart, of course, is the obvious one. The... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

14 Dec 2010
First Look

First Look: Dec. 14

Working PapersThe Influence of Prior Industry Affiliation on Framing in Nascent Industries: The Evolution of Digital Cameras Authors:Mary J. Benner and Mary Tripsas Abstract New industries sparked by... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Jul 2004
Research & Ideas

Radical Change, Entrepreneurial Opportunity

strategies of companies within those industries. In particular, I focus on how an industry gets defined: how consumers and other industry players make sense of, or frame, the industry, and the way that... View Details

Keywords: by Michael J. Roberts; Technology

05 Feb 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 5, 2019

emerge, control and protect one or more strategic bottleneck, and prevent others from gaining control of any system-wide strategic bottleneck. I use this framework to understand how IBM initially succeeded with the PC platform and then... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

06 May 2008
First Look

First Look: May 6, 2008

business model, one that positioned the company simultaneously in the PC industry and the consumer electronics industry. While Apple enjoyed a high market share in digital media players and in online music... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2011
Article

Strategic Change and the Jazz Mindset: Exploring Practices That Enhance Dynamic Capabilities for Organizational Improvisation

By: Ethan S. Bernstein and Frank J. Barrett

How can leaders adopt a mindset that maximizes learning, remains responsive to short-term emergent opportunities, and simultaneously strengthens longer-term dynamic capabilities of the organization? This chapter explores the organizational decisions and practices... View Details

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July 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Formosa Plastics Group: Business Continuity Forever

Wang Yung-ching, legendary Taiwanese businessman and philanthropist, passed away in 2008. He left behind an estate worth US $5.5 billion, but did not leave a will. The case discusses the potential motivation for Wang, and uses it to study succession planning for family... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Governance Controls; Management Succession; Family Ownership; Planning; Motivation and Incentives; Chemical Industry; Taiwan

May 2012
Case

Quietly Brilliant: Transformational Change at HTC

By: Michael L. Tushman and Kerry Herman

The case examines smartphone maker HTC's 2006 decision to become a branded company. The case focuses on the cultural and organizational shifts HTC underwent to successfully make the transition from an ODM, founded in 1997, to a leading branded manufacturer (7% market... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Organizational Structure; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Telecommunications Industry; Taiwan