Publications

October 2006
Case

Lean at Wipro Technologies

Wipro Technologies, a rapidly growing software services firm based in India, decided to use principles from the Toyota Production System (also known as lean) to fundamentally change their operating model. Looks at why Wipro chose to use lean and how they went about... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Competitive Advantage; Applications and Software; Operations; Information Technology Industry; India

5 Jan 2011
Other Presentation

Rethinking Capitalism

By: Michael E. Porter

Michael E. Porter, Harvard University professor, explains why business leaders must focus on shared value—creating products and services that benefit not only the company but also society. He is the coauthor of the HBR article Creating Shared Value. View Details

Keywords: Society; Strategy; United States

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19 Oct 2009
Research & Ideas

Why Are Web Sites So Confusing?

was offering a perfect information service (i.e. one that enabled consumers to find what they want most quickly and efficiently), it would be losing valuable potential revenues. Hence the incentive to attract users with products that they... View Details

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu & Bruno Jullien

February 2021
Case

Digital Manufacturing at Amgen

By: Shane Greenstein, Kyle R. Myers and Sarah Mehta

This case discusses efforts made by biotechnology (biotech) company Amgen to introduce digital technologies into its manufacturing processes. Doing so is complicated by the fact that the process for manufacturing biologics—or therapeutics made from living cells—is... View Details

January 2017 (Revised August 2019)
Case

X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: Is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A)

By: Feng Zhu and Angela Acocella

Three years after launching his brick-and-mortar store, X Fire Paintball and Airsoft, Steve Herbert Sr. and his sons began selling products on Amazon.com’s third-party Marketplace, and online sales expanded rapidly. Over time, X Fire noticed that products of which it... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Competition; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Small Business; Retail Industry; Canada

Most executives think of decision making as a singular event that occurs at a particular point in time. In reality, though, decision making is a process fraught with power plays, politics, personal nuances, and institutional history. Leaders who recognize this make... View Details

July–August 2016
Article

The Decoupling Effect of Digital Disruptors

By: Thales S. Teixeira and Peter Jamieson

A new wave of Internet startups is disrupting established businesses by the process of “decoupling.” In this article, the authors discuss how these new digital disruptors allow consumers to benefit from one activity (e.g., watching shows) without incurring the cost of... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Internet and the Web; Business Startups; Product Marketing; Customization and Personalization

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9 AM – 10 AM EST, 09 Jan 2019
HBS Online

HBS Online Economics for Managers

Gain the knowledge and skills to craft successful business strategy, whether you are an aspiring marketing professional, strategy consultant, or entrepreneur, preparing for an MBA, or just looking to contribute more to business decision making. Program Dates: January... View Details

September 2024
Case

XYZ Robotics

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Brian Mao Fu, Shu Lin and Jamie Gong

Founded in 2018, XYZ Robotics was a China-based startup specializing in robotic picking solutions and 3D machine vision products. Amid an economic downturn and intense competition, the company faced considerable financial challenges and needed to determine the best way... View Details

Keywords: Robotics; 3D Systems; China; Resource Allocation; Business Startups; Competition; Product; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Technology Industry; China

26 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

Why Great Ideas Get Stuck in Universities

all out, you discover that it’s not the right technology for the problem.” Academic researchers are “almost too married to their ideas and technologies, but I don’t blame them,” says Maria Roche, assistant professor in the Strategy Unit... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Biotechnology; Health

February 1996 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Eli Lilly and Company: Innovation in Diabetes Care

By: Clayton M. Christensen

Summarizes Eli Lilly's history of innovation in its business, describing how the dimensions along which innovations have been made in the industry have changed. Lilly's innovation strategy has been to pursue ever higher performance products, while others in the... View Details

Keywords: Change; Product; Service Delivery; Product Development; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Health Care and Treatment; Pharmaceutical Industry

Career Coach

Ryan Kennedy

Ryan offers experience from across the for profit, non-profit, and government sectors. Most recently, Ryan worked at early-stage fintech startups in several roles: product manager, risk management, operations, and project management. ... View Details

August 2013
Article

Lords of the Harvest: Third-party Influence and Regulatory Approval of Genetically Modified Organisms

By: Shon R. Hiatt and Sangchan Park

Little is known about the factors that influence regulatory-agency decision making. We posit that regulatory agencies are influenced by the firms they regulate, but not exclusively via dyadic exchanges as is traditionally argued in the regulatory capture and... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Government and Politics; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

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August 2007 (Revised November 2010)
Case

Grand Central Publishing

By: Anita Elberse

In April 2007, Grand Central's publisher Jamie Raab and editor Karen Kosztolnyik were involved in a frantic bidding war for a proposed book on the life of cat Dewey, billed as the feline answer to the best-selling "Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Product Launch; Bids and Bidding; Product Development; Publishing Industry

January 2007 (Revised October 2008)
Case

H&R Block 2006

By: Peter Tufano

Mark Ernst, the Chairman, CEO and President of H&R Block, has to decide how to respond to a competitive threat posed by a competitor's refund-lending product. Block is the largest U.S. tax preparation firm, which competes not only on its tax preparation services, but... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Financing and Loans; Personal Finance; Taxation; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Competition; Financial Services Industry