Publications

Educators

July 2025
Background Note

Ecosystem Disruption: A Multi-Stakeholder View of Disruptive Innovations

By: E. Ofek, Michael Haenlein, Eitan Muller and Roman Welden

The purpose of this note is to offer a more expansive view of how innovations disrupt markets than has been portrayed thus far in the extant literature by taking an ecosystem perspective. This broader outlook allows examining not only the product strategies of the... View Details

Educators

November 2009
Journal Article

A Theory of Growth and Volatility at the Aggregate and Firm Level

By: Diego A. Comin and Sunil Mulani

This paper presents an endogenous growth model that explains the evolution of the first and second moments of productivity growth at the aggregate and firm level during the post-war period. Growth is driven by the development of both (i) idiosyncratic R&D innovations... View Details

Keywords: Volatility; Microeconomics; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development Strategy; Resource Allocation; Performance Productivity; Mathematical Methods; Research and Development

31 Aug 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Innovation through Global Collaboration: A New Source of Competitive Advantage

Keywords: by Alan MacCormack, Theodore Forbath, Peter Brooks & Patrick Kalaher

09 Aug 2010
Research & Ideas

How to Speed Up Energy Innovation

power plant are quite strong. Coming back to innovation, what's striking about chemicals is the role of small, independent engineering firms in transmitting innovation across the industry. So there's an... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Energy; Utilities

June 2012
Case

Innovating at AT&T: Partnering to Lead the Broadband Revolution

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Phillip Andrews and Kerry Herman

In 2010, the U.S. retail market value for next-generation non-handset wirelessly-enabled devices was just over $1 billion. By 2011 it had grown 1,141% to $13.2 billion and was forecast to reach $24.7 billion in 2015. At the same time, user demand for data was surging... View Details

Keywords: Innovation ＆ Entrepreneurship; Team Leadership; Emerging Technologies; Business Models; Business To Business; Corporate Vision; Growth Strategy; Corporate Culture; Innovation and Invention; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Partners and Partnerships; Leadership; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Business Model; Technology Industry; United States

Educators

Research Summary

The Servicification of the U.S. Economy: The Role of Startups versus Incumbent Firms

Over the last few decades, the U.S. economy has exhibited a significant shift from manufacturing towards services. This transition has been particularly prominent in an important subcategory of services industries that drives innovation and employs many high-wage... View Details

April 2011
Article

Private Equity and Long-Run Investment: The Case of Innovation

By: Josh Lerner, Morten Sorensen and Per Stromberg

A long-standing controversy is whether LBOs relieve managers from short-term pressures of dispersed shareholders, or whether LBO funds themselves are driven by short-term profit motives and sacrifice long-term growth to boost short-term performance. We investigate 495... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Private Equity; Leveraged Buyouts; Investment; Innovation and Invention

2013
Working Paper

Did Bank Distress Stifle Innovation During the Great Depression?

By: Ramana Nanda and Tom Nicholas

We find a negative relationship between bank distress and the level, quality and trajectory of firm-level innovation during the Great Depression, particularly for R&D firms operating in capital intensive industries. However, we also show that because a sufficient... View Details

Keywords: Great Depression; R＆D; Bank Distress; Patents; Research and Development; Financial Crisis; Innovation and Invention; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; United States

23 Jul 2001
Research & Ideas

How One Center of Innovation Lost its Spark

tacit knowledge flows. These knowledge flows, in turn, contribute to cumulative incremental innovations in both product and process technology among firms embedded in the cluster. I use the term 'active... View Details

Keywords: by Donald Sull; Manufacturing; Transportation; Auto

28 Sep 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Architectural Innovation and Dynamic Competition: The Smaller “Footprint” Strategy

Keywords: by Carliss Y. Baldwin & Kim B. Clark; Computer

Article

Did Bank Distress Stifle Innovation During the Great Depression?

By: Ramana Nanda and Tom Nicholas

We find a negative relationship between bank distress and the level, quality, and trajectory of firm-level innovation during the Great Depression, particularly for R&D firms operating in capital intensive industries. However, we also show that because a sufficient... View Details

Keywords: Great Depression; R＆D; Bank Distress; Patents; Research and Development; Financial Crisis; Banks and Banking; Innovation and Invention; Banking Industry; United States

09 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

Six Keys to Building New Markets by Unleashing Disruptive Innovation

Managers today have a problem. They know their companies must grow. But growth is hard, especially given today's economic environment where investment capital is difficult to come by and firms are reluctant to take risks. Managers know... View Details

Keywords: by Clayton M. Christensen, Michael E. Raynor & Scott D. Anthony

January 2017
Article

Innovation Under Regulatory Uncertainty: Evidence from Medical Technology

By: Ariel Dora Stern

This paper explores how the regulatory approval process affects innovation incentives in medical technologies. Prior studies have found early mover regulatory advantages for drugs. I find the opposite for medical devices, where pioneer entrants spend 34% (7.2 months)... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

2007
Working Paper

Innovation through Global Collaboration: A New Source of Competitive Advantage

By: Alan MacCormack, Theodore Forbath, Peter Brooks and Patrick Kalaher

Many recent studies highlight the need to rethink the way we manage innovation. Traditional approaches, based on the assumption that the creation and pursuit of new ideas is best accomplished by a centralized and collocated R&D team, are rapidly becoming outdated.... View Details

Keywords: Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Groups and Teams; Research and Development; Performance Improvement; Management Practices and Processes; Partners and Partnerships; Competency and Skills; Framework; Competitive Advantage; Global Strategy; Opportunities; Cost

20 Jul 2009
Research & Ideas

Markets or Communities? The Best Ways to Manage Outside Innovation

market or a community for its suppliers.” More practically, working with outside innovators does not mean that all the "keys to the kingdom" have to be given away. Instead, firms can become intelligent about... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Technology

1991
Chapter

Innovation Processes in Multinational Corporations

By: S. Ghoshal and C. A. Bartlett

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Innovation and Invention; Business Processes

2003
Conference Paper

Follow the Money: What Really Drives Technology Innovation in Construction

By: John D. Macomber

Technology enthusiasts, academics, and software companies remain concerned about the slow pace of innovation in the construction industry. Tools are widely available that seem to provide eminently sensible and clearly apparent improvement to the process of design and... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Technological Innovation; Construction; Design; Performance Improvement; Motivation and Incentives; Knowledge Management; Adoption; Business Model; Capital Structure; Supply Chain