Publications

17 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance

Editor's note: In their new book, Producing Prosperity: Why America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance, Harvard Business School professors Gary P. Pisano and Willy C. Shih argue that reinvesting in America's... View Details

Keywords: by Gary P. Pisano & Willy C. Shih; Manufacturing

20 Jul 2015
Research & Ideas

Globalization Hasn’t Killed the Manufacturing Cluster

typically build up around a geographic location where natural resources, an appropriately educated labor force, and a university or other research institution co-mingle. In recent years, some economists have argued that View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Manufacturing

12 May 2023
Blog Post

Independent Project: The Rise of Electric Heat Pumps

included varies by source and will change over time In the U.S., 17% of homes have an electric heat pump installed. In the South – in states such as North Carolina and Alabama... View Details

June 2014
Teaching Note

Lit Motors

By: Thomas Eisenmann

In mid-2012 Lit Motors had created both engineering and design prototypes and conducted initial customer tests on less than $750,000 of investment. Lit Motors' founder, Daniel Kim, had started the company to design and manufacture an efficient electric 2-wheeled... View Details

Keywords: Lean Startup; Prototyping; Electric Vehicle; Urban Vehicle; Customer Test; Gyroscope; Entrepreneurs; Development Stage Enterprises; Creativity; Disruptive Technologies; Consumer Surveys; Market Segmentation; Manufacturing Costs; Entrepreneurship; Auto Industry; United States; California

December 2012 (Revised November 2014)
Case

Lit Motors

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alex Godden

In mid-2012 Lit Motors had created both engineering and design prototypes and conducted initial customer tests on less than $750,000 of investment. Lit Motors' founder, Daniel Kim, had started the company to design and manufacture an efficient electric 2-wheeled... View Details

Keywords: Lean Startup; Prototyping; Electric Vehicle; Urban Vehicle; Customer Tests; Gyroscope; Entrepreneurs; Development Stage Enterprises; Creativity; Disruptive Technologies; Consumer Surveys; Market Segmentation; Manufacturing Costs; Entrepreneurship; Auto Industry; United States; California

29 Aug 2024
Blog Post

Exploring Sustainable Energy: A Visit to Vestas Wind Turbine Manufacturing in Odense, Denmark

intricate manufacturing process of Vestas' V174 nacelle, a vital component of the 9.5 MW wind turbines. The nacelle, a housing unit that encapsulates the generator, gearbox, View Details

September 2024 (Revised December 2024)
Case

Sona Comstar and Blackstone: Unlocking Value Through Business Transformation

By: Ranjay Gulati and Kanika Jain

Private equity firm Blackstone’s majority investment in automotive systems manufacturer Sona Comstar had culminated in the largest IPO in the Indian auto components industry in 2021, with stellar returns for all involved. This EV supplier was the result of a 2019... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Decision Making; Engineering; Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Private Equity; Mergers and Acquisitions; Initial Public Offering; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Asia; Southeast Asia

Keywords: GE; General Electric; Jack Welch; Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing; Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing; Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing; Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing; Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing; Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing

01 Jun 2005
News

Cultural Revolution at GE

Jeffrey Immelt (MBA ’82) had a tough act to follow when he took over as GE chairman and CEO in September 2001 from the legendary Jack Welch. Ever since, Immelt has been on a mission to transform the $152 billion industrial View Details

May 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Teaching Note

Lind Equipment

By: Richard S. Ruback, Royce Yudkoff and Ahron Rosenfeld

Teaching Note for HBS No. 212-012. Lind Equipment, a Canadian manufacturer and distributor of industrial electrical safety equipment, was purchased in December 2007 by Brian Astl (HBS 2006) and Sean Van Doorselaer. Lind’s performance was negatively impacted by the... View Details

Keywords: Recession; Seller Debt; Equity; Financial Condition; Borrowing and Debt; Capital; Revenue; Financing and Loans; Financial Strategy; Financial Management; Acquisition; Financial Crisis; Currency Exchange Rate; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

01 Dec 2006
News

Inside Intel

was taken with the opening of Fab 3 in Livermore, California, in April 1973. It was here that the now familiar “bunny suit” was introduced. “The bunny suits and the whole routine were a huge joke around the company for years,” according... View Details

Keywords: Richard S. Tedlow; Hanna, Julia; technology; manufacturing; innovation; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing

Willy C. Shih

Willy Shih is the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration. He is part of the Technology and Operations Management Unit, and he teaches in the MBA and Executive Education Programs. His expertise is in manufacturing, product... View Details

Keywords: electrical equipment; electrical equipment; electrical equipment; electrical equipment; electrical equipment; electrical equipment; electrical equipment; electrical equipment; electrical equipment; electrical equipment; electrical equipment; electrical equipment; electrical equipment; electrical equipment; electrical equipment

12 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

Entrepreneurship and Multinationals Drive Globalization

electricity and turned India into the world's largest tea producer during the nineteenth century. They built automobile industries in Latin America after World War II. And so... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Manufacturing

31 Mar 2022
HBS Seminar

John Paul MacDuffie, Wharton

10 Jan 2005
Research & Ideas

Motivation and the Cross-Sector Alliance

government blames the industrial sector, thus holding manufacturers responsible. The upcoming period of legislative meetings will tackle the new law on containers and packages. There are several proposals,... View Details

Keywords: by James Austin, Ezequiel Reficco & SEKN research team

2008
Working Paper

Extending Producer Responsibility: An Evaluation Framework for Product Take-Back Policies

By: Michael W. Toffel, Antoinette Stein and Katharine Lee

Manufacturers are increasingly being required to adhere to product take-back regulations that require them to manage their products at the end of life. Such regulations seek to internalize products' entire life cycle costs into market prices, with the ultimate... View Details

Keywords: Product; Cost; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability

SSRN

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01 Apr 1996
News

Stewards of the Seventh Generation

company's efforts toward protecting human health, natural resources, and the global environment. As part of that effort, GM has now become the first major auto manufacturer in modern times to bring to market... View Details

Keywords: Marguerite Rigoglioso, Garry Emmons, Linda Goodspeed, and Elaine Gottlieb

March 2015
Case

BOLT: Seed Venture Capital Firm

By: William A. Sahlman and Robert F. White

BOLT is a different kind of seed venture capital firm built to serve the needs of early-stage startups at the intersection of hardware and software.

In the past decade, the cost of entrepreneurial experimentation has dropped dramatically, particularly in web... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Accelerator; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Venture Capital; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Strategy