Publications

Research Summary

By: Rajiv Lal

Book chapters View Details

18 Jul 2019
Lessons from the Classroom

The Internet of Things Needs a Business Model. Here It Is

The Internet of Things (IoT) has been near the top of the technology-hype lists for years. In 2018, Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Emerging... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Computer

September 2016 (Revised October 2016)
Technical Note

Internet Data Capping Note

By: Shane Greenstein, Lisa Cox and Christine Snively

In April 2016, U.S. federal regulators approved Charter Communications’ acquisition of Time Warner Cable (TWC). The Department of Justice (DoJ) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC), however, stipulated that the new company could not apply data caps or introduce... View Details

Keywords: Internet Service Provider; Data Caps; Compression; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; United States

March 2022 (Revised July 2022)
Case

Nexleaf Analytics: Saving the World Using the Internet of Things

By: Frank Nagle

In 2019, a decade after co-founding Nexleaf Analytics, CEO Nithya Ramanathan faced an important decision that would impact the ability of the small, but growing, not-for-profit organization to thrive for another decade. Their sensor technologies and big data analytics... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Nonprofit Organizations; Competitive Strategy; Patents; Expansion; Information Technology; Health Industry; Information Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Technology Industry

March 2021
Case

Wearable Technology

By: Andy Wu, Jacob Chouinard and Christie Klauberg

Wearable electronics were endpoint devices designed to be worn, sense the human body and interact with the environment around the wearer, connecting humans to the Internet of Things. Wearable technology received a great deal of attention in the past decade and reached... View Details

Keywords: Wearables; Internet Of Things; Technological Innovation; Product Development; Technology Adoption; Analysis

September 2023
Teaching Note

Nexleaf Analytics: Saving the World Using the Internet of Things

By: Frank Nagle

Teaching Note for HBS Case 722-414. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Nonprofit Organizations; Competitive Strategy; Patents; Expansion; Information Technology; Health Industry; Information Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Technology Industry

Research Summary

The Effect of the Internet on Wages

Who benefits from the adoption of technology in the workplace? To explore, I combine worker-level wage data with information on broadband adoption by Brazilian firms to estimate the effects of broadband on wages. Overall, wages increase 2.3 percent following... View Details

Keywords: Internet; Organization Design; Brazil; Technology; Wages; Brazil

September 2018 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Sigfox: Building a Global IoT Network

By: Rajiv Lal, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emilie Billaud

In 2018, Ludovic Le Moan and Christophe Fourtet, co-founders of the French tech startup Sigfox, reflected on the evolution of their venture and the way forward. Founded in 2009, Sigfox was a company that provided a global connectivity network for devices connected to... View Details

Keywords: Internet Of Things; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Transition; Information Technology; Business Strategy; Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; France; Europe

Winter 2021
Article

Mobile Internet Usage and Usage-based Pricing

By: Jeffrey Prince and Shane Greenstein

Using data on mobile Internet usage of thousands of individuals, we provide some of the first analyses linking mobile usage to key demographics such as income. We find a reverse-U relationship between mobile Internet usage and income—notably different than the... View Details

Keywords: Mobile Internet Usage; Pricing Strategy; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Demographics; Income; Price; Strategy

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Research Summary

The Commercialization of Internet Infrastructure

By: Shane M. Greenstein

Why did commercial Internet service initially develop in some geographical areas and not others? What determines the success of businesses? What determines the value of Internet services? The research stream developed the first analysis of the Internet access... View Details

October 2016 (Revised February 2019)
Case

PTC: A Transformation to IoT

By: Rajiv Lal and Sarah McAra

In the 2010s, PTC, a leading provider of software for discrete manufacturers, faced maturing markets and changing customer needs as smart, connected products took hold—the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT). PTC saw a first mover advantage in entering the IoT space... View Details

Keywords: Internet Of Things; IoT; Smart; Connected Products; Business Organization; Transformation; Customer Relationship Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Marketing; Product Development; Service Operations; Strategy; Competition; Technology Industry

Spring 2020
Article

The Basic Economics of Internet Infrastructure

By: Shane Greenstein

The internet's structure and operations remain invisible to most economists. What determines the economic value of internet infrastructure and the incentives to improve it? What are the open research questions for the most salient policy issues? This article reviews... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Infrastructure; Operations; Economics; Value

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August 2017
Supplement

PTC: A Transformation to IoT (B)

By: Rajiv Lal and Sarah McAra

In 2013, manufacturing software company PTC Inc. entered the Internet of Things (IoT) market under the leadership of CEO Jim Heppelmann, but the company’s culture was not fully aligned with the new strategic direction. Historically, PTC's culture was defined by... View Details

Keywords: Internet Of Things; Corporate Culture; Human Resources

July 1998 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Bank of Ireland (BOI): Internet Strategy

Conor O'Toole, Internet business executive, must consider how to take the Bank of Ireland on-line. The bank, and Ireland, and most of continental Europe, lagedlagged behind the United States in adopting Internet techologytechnology. O'Toole wondered how he should... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Internet; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; Republic of Ireland

17 Aug 2009
Research & Ideas

Quantifying the Economic Impact of the Internet

Older Internet users may remember the battles over the commercialization of the Web in the early 1990s, when the first Mosaic browser was introduced. Back then, pioneering adopters passionately condemned the... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Advertising; Publishing

January 2017 (Revised June 2017)
Case

Chicago and the Array of Things: A Fitness Tracker for the City

By: Rajiv Lal and Scott Johnson

The city of Chicago has recently launched a project called the Array of Things. The program involves a series of sensor nodes placed around the city that capture a massive amount of data including pedestrian and vehicle flow, air quality, and cloud cover. The Array of... View Details

Keywords: Smart Connected Products; Smart Cities; Internet Of Things; Sensors; Govenment; Government Administration; Technological Innovation; Digital Platforms; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Internet and the Web; Public Administration Industry; Technology Industry; Chicago; United States

September 2016 (Revised September 2016)
Case

Spectio: A Digital Lighting Company

By: Rajiv Lal and Sarah McAra

Spectio Tech, founded in 2005, developed and implemented intelligent LED lighting solutions for the industrial market. Sensors and wireless connectivity embedded in its LED fixtures not only significantly reduced lighting-related energy use—by up to 90% in some... View Details

Keywords: Internet Of Things; IoT; LED Lighting; Start-up; Energy Efficiency; Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Technological Innovation; Business Startups; Internet and the Web

April 2014 (Revised March 2015)
Case

GE and the Industrial Internet

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Marco Iansiti and Kerry Herman

CEO Jeff Immelt considers whether GE is moving fast enough on its new Industrial Internet initiative. The undertaking includes building out an Industrial Internet, connecting machines and devices, collecting their data and operations, and providing services to clients... View Details