- 02 Nov 2020
- What Do You Think?
Is Antitrust Just a Quaint Notion in the Digital Age?
SUMMING UP: Given the US Department of Justice's new antitrust complaint against Google, is it time to revisit what defines a market monopoly in the internet era? James Heskett's readers consider the potential ramifications. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 02 May 2016
- Research & Ideas
Why People Don’t Vote--and How a Good Ground Game Helps
Recent research by Vincent Pons shows that campaigners knocking on the doors of potential voters not only improves overall turnout but helps individual candidates win more of those votes. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 13 Jun 2011
- HBS Case
Mobile Banking for the Unbanked
A billion people in developing countries have no need for a savings account–but they do need a financial service that banks compete to provide. The new HBS case Mobile Banking for the Unbanked, written by professor Kash Rangan, is a lesson in understanding the real need of customers.
- 16 Mar 2009
- Working Paper Summaries
Running Out of Numbers: Scarcity of IP Addresses and What To Do About It
Hidden from view of typical users, every Internet communication relies on an underlying system of numbers to identify data sources and destinations. Users typically specify online destinations by entering domain names (e.g. "congress.gov"). But the Internet's routers forward data according to numeric IP addresses (e.g. 140.147.249.9). To date, the Internet has enjoyed an ample supply of "IPv4" IP addresses, but demand is substantial and growing. Current allocation rates suggest IPv4 exhaustion by approximately 2011. A new numbering system, IPv6, would relieve scarcity, but incentives hinder transition: IPv4 works well for existing networks, and offers easier and simpler access to existing Internet content and services. As a result, to date few networks have begun to support v6. In principle regulators could order networks to implement v6, but the applicable Internet coordinating organizations lack authority or power to force such a transition. In the meantime, a market mechanism for v4 addresses offers important benefits, including allocating scarce v4 addresses to those who need them most, and putting a positive price on v4 space in order to encourage transition to v6. Thus, it seems v4 transfers can help both to mitigate the worst effects of v4 scarcity, and to build the incentives necessary for transition to v6. Key concepts include: IPv4 scarcity will limit future expansion, hinder some technologies, and impose new costs on networks and users. Engineers have developed a new numbering system, IPv6, which offers many more possible addresses than the current IPv4 address system. But incentives hinder transition. An IP address "market" for the paid transfer of IP addresses could offer important benefits and avoid the worst effects of v4 scarcity. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 17 Jan 2008
- Working Paper Summaries
Competition in Modular Clusters
The last 20 years have witnessed the rise of disaggregated "clusters," "networks," or "ecosystems" of firms in a number of industries, including computers, telecommunications, and pharmaceuticals. In these clusters, different firms design and produce the various components of a complex artifact (such as the processor, peripherals, and software of a computer system), and different firms specialize in the various stages of a complex production process. This paper considers the pricing behavior and profitability of these so-called modular clusters. Baldwin and Woodard isolate the offsetting price effects in a model, and show how they might operate in large as well as in small clusters. Key concepts include: Clusters operating under open, public standards may have higher prices and profits than those operating under closed, proprietary standards. Cluster forms of industrial organization may not be conducive to all kinds of innovation. In particular, innovations that add new layers of functionality to the system, and thus increase total demand, will not be adequately rewarded relative to the value they create. It is important to learn how cluster configurations affect incentives to supply different forms of innovation, and how firms respond to these cross-layer dependencies in formulating their long-term strategies. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 25 Jul 2006
- Working Paper Summaries
A Gentler Capitalism: Black Business Leadership in the New South Africa
What role should business play in ameliorating poverty and addressing inequality? Linda A. Hill and Maria Farkas, a doctoral student, examine this question against the backdrop of post-apartheid South Africa. Focusing on the efforts of one successful black executive to recruit and develop other minority managers and integrate blacks into the mainstream economy, Hill and Farkas explore fundamental ethical and business issues affecting companies and society at large. Key concepts include: In assessing the economic or ethical soundness of a leader's decisions, the impact of his or her actions over time must be considered. All business people around the world need to think about the appropriate role of business in addressing inequality. This example of efforts in South Africa may offer valuable insights for addressing inequality elsewhere in the globe. Issues of inequality are more likely to be raised in transitional economies—as opposed to stable economies—because new institutions are being designed and new policies and practices are being established. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 12 Sep 2005
- Research & Ideas
The Broadband Explosion: Thinking About a Truly Interactive World
When true broadband arrives, everything will change—work, play, and society—say professors Robert Austin and Stephen Bradley. What a truly interactive world will look like is the subject of their new book The Broadband Explosion. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 12 May 2003
- Research & Ideas
How Hot is the “Hot Spot” Business?
Wi-Fi hot spots and the future of broadband were on the minds of attendees at the Bandwidth Explosion colloquium at Harvard Business School. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 Feb 2002
- Research & Ideas
Wrap-up: Software, Telecom, and Recovery
How is the VC industry doing on its own and in partnership with software and telecoms? These were just three topics discussed in special panel sessions at the recent conference. Here, a few highlights from those conversations. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 26 Jun 2000
- Research & Ideas
Presentation Round-Up
This round-up of other panels and presentations at the IS2K conference includes a look at the emerging "e-service" model, the future of the U.S. telecommunications infrastructure, and a discussion of "Genes on the Web." Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
How Should Meta Be Governed for the Good of Society?
Julie Owono is executive director of Internet Sans Frontières and a member of the Oversight Board, an outside entity with the authority to make binding decisions on tricky moderation questions for Meta’s companies, including Facebook and Instagram. Harvard Business School visiting professor Jesse Shapiro and Owono break down how the Board governs Meta’s social and political power to ensure that it’s used responsibly, and discuss the Board’s impact, as an alternative to government regulation, in the case, “Independent Governance of Meta’s Social Spaces: The Oversight Board.”