Publications

25 Aug 2016
News

What's Old is New Again

May 2004 (Revised June 2004)
Case

SchmidtCo (A)

John Schmidt's project to convert the information system of his auto parts distribution business is in real trouble, putting his company at risk. He must decide what his decision problem is and set appropriate objectives as well as create a good set of alternatives... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Risk Management; Negotiation; Information Technology; Decision Making; Distribution Industry; Distribution Industry

November 1991 (Revised October 1995)
Case

Calyx & Corolla

By: Walter J. Salmon and David Wylie

Describes a new entry into the $8 billion flower industry in the United States. Combining the use of overnight air freight (Federal Express), information technology, an 800 number, and a catalog, Calyx & Corolla was changing the way flowers had traditionally been... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Transformation; Distribution Channels; Business Startups; Problems and Challenges; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

17 Jul 2006
Lessons from the Classroom

Developing a Strategy for Digital Convergence

Following the dot-com bust at the turn of the century, the technology business went through a gloomy period, 2001-2002, when innovation dried up, MBAs looked for careers in finance, and investors put their funds in a holding pattern.... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Computer; Education

September 1992
Case

International Airlines

A frequent flyer for a large international airline encounters typical but recurring service problems. The marketing management of the company explores the use of information technology in understanding and dealing with the issues involved. Concepts of database... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communications; Information Technology; Customer Focus and Relationships; Air Transportation Industry

21 Jun 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Multi-Sided Platforms: From Microfoundations to Design and Expansion Strategies

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu; Technology

21 Mar 2018
Research & Ideas

Why Artificial Intelligence Isn't a Sure Thing to Increase Productivity

their full promise. And that’s a key piece of information to have as companies consider investing what consulting firm Accenture estimates will be $35 trillion into cognitive technologies in the United... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology; Technology

April 1998
Case

Geffen Records

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

Geffen Records faces new challenges due to emerging technologies, namely, streaming audio and CD-recordable drives. These technologies have the ability to reshape the foundation on which the music industry is founded. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Change Management; Distribution Channels; Music Industry

September 2011
Article

What Drives Innovation?

By: Tom Nicholas

The idea that innovation drives economic growth is incontrovertible, but the factors that, in turn, drive innovation are not fully understood. This paper surveys the recent literature, focusing on three main drivers: intellectual property rights institutions, the... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Economic Growth

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15 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

Growing Pains: Prescriptions for U.S. Health Care

We know the symptoms all too well. We wait months to see a doctor. Office visits end, it seems, just moments after they begin. Managed care firms hold sway over doctors' treatment plans, and health insurance premiums are heading for the stratosphere. While the U.S.... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Health

25 Mar 2016
HBS Seminar

Curtis Keith, Harvard University, Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator

25 Mar 2022
Video

Omobola Johnson

Omobola Johnson, the former Minister of Communication Technology in Nigeria, emphasizes the importance of local content development and ICT skill capacitation in response to the burgeoning tech industry in Nigeria. View Details

May 2016 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Olivia Lum: Wanting to Save the World

By: Geoffrey Jones and Essie Alamsyah

This case considers the entrepreneurial career of Olivia Lum, who founded the Singaporean water company Hyflux in 1989. An orphan born in Malaysia, Lum provides a rare case of an entrepreneurial success in a country whose economic success has primarily rested on... View Details

July 2015 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Horst Dassler, Adidas, and the Commercialization of Sport

By: Geoffrey Jones, Michael Norris and Sophi Kim

The case focuses on the career of Horst Dassler, the son of the founder of the German-based sports shoe manufacturer Adidas. The origins of the firm were in the interwar years, and it rose to public prominence after it provided spikes for Jesse Owens, the famous... View Details

September 1993 (Revised January 2007)
Case

British Satellite Broadcasting versus Sky Television

Describes the rivalry between two competitors who have attempted to become the dominant force in the emerging British satellite television industry. Can be used to examine issues of competitive positioning, technology adoption, and scenario analysis. Helps students... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Technology Adoption; Telecommunications Industry; Great Britain

July 2013
Case

Sample6: Innovating to Make Food Safer

By: Robert F. Higgins and Kirsten Kester

Tim Curran, CEO of Sample6, a start-up biotechnology company developing a novel food safety diagnostics platform, must decide how to partner with food industry players. How can he best convince leaders in this mature industry to adopt a new technology and improve food... View Details

Other Article

Online Discounting: Who is Leading the Race to the Bottom?

By: Ayelet Israeli, Eric Anderson and Anne Coughlan

A short review of the finidings in: Israeli, Ayelet, Eric Anderson, and Anne Coughlan. "Minimum Advertised Pricing: Patterns of Violation in Competitive Retail Markets." Marketing Science 35, no. 4 (July–August 2016): 539–564. View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Price Policies; Pricing Policies; Discounting; Retailing; Retailing Industry; Minimum Advertised Price; Ecommerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Price; Distribution Channels; Distribution; Digital Marketing; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States

01 Dec 2016
Video

Using Data to Explore Uncharted Territories

2009
Working Paper

Breakthrough Inventions and Migrating Clusters of Innovation

By: William R. Kerr

We investigate the speed at which clusters of invention for a technology migrate spatially following breakthrough inventions. We identify breakthrough inventions as the top one percent of US inventions for a technology during 1975-1984 in terms of subsequent citations.... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Immigration; Disruptive Innovation; Technological Innovation; Patents; Industry Clusters; United States