Historical Trajectories and Corporate Competences in Wind Energy
| Authors: | Geoffrey Jones and Loubna Bouamane |
|---|---|
| Published: | October 18, 2011 |
| Paper Release Date: | May 2011 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
Analyzing developments in the wind turbine business over more than a century, Geoffrey Jones and Loubna Bouamane argue that public policy has been a key variable in the spread of wind energy since the 1980s, but that public policy was more of a problem than a facilitator in the earlier history of the industry. Geography has mattered to some extent, also: Both in the United States and Denmark, the existence of rural areas not supplied by electricity provided the initial stimulus to entrepreneurs and innovators. Building firm-level capabilities has been essential in an industry which has been both technically difficult and vulnerable to policy shifts.
Retailing Revolution: Category Killers on the Brink
| Published: | October 10, 2011 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
| Forum: | open for comment; 14 Comments posted |
Mass-market retailers, particularly big-box "category killers," are under critical pressure from online competitors. For retailers that can react quickly enough, this upheaval is survivable. But those slow to see the tsunami wave on the horizon stand to be swept away, according to professors Rajiv Lal and José B. Alvarez.
Mobile Banking for the Unbanked
| Published: | June 13, 2011 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | HBS Cases |
| Forum: | open for comment; 23 Comments posted |
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.
Managing the Open Source vs. Proprietary Decision
| Published: | March 2, 2011 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
| Forum: | open for comment; 2 Comments posted |
In their new book, The Comingled Code, HBS professor Josh Lerner and London School of Economics professor Mark Schankerman look at the impact of open source software on economic development. Our book excerpt discusses implications for managers.
Published in 2010
The Intensive Margin of Technology Adoption
| Authors: | Diego Comin and Martí Mestieri |
|---|---|
| Published: | October 27, 2010 |
| Paper Release Date: | May, 2010 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
To anyone who observes the world, it's pretty clear that a country's poverty level is at least somewhat related to its adoption of new technologies. Historically, though, this fact has been difficult to quantify. Harvard Business School professor Diego Comin and MIT researcher Martí Mestieri are developing a model to analyze the relationship between economic growth and technology adoption. In their paper, they discuss both "extensive" margins (the length of time it takes a country to adopt any given new technology) and "intensive" margins (the number of technology units--smartphones, PCs, etc.--that the country adopts).
The Influence of Prior Industry Affiliation on Framing in Nascent Industries: The Evolution of Digital Cameras
| Authors: | Mary J. Benner and Mary Tripsas |
|---|---|
| Published: | August 11, 2010 |
| Paper Release Date: | July 2010 (Revised December 2010) |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
Firms entering a new product market face tremendous ambiguity and competitive uncertainty, particularly when the new market is sparked by radical technological change. Potential customers have little or no experience with products, and during this period of turbulence, firms experiment with alternative product configurations, functions, and technologies. By studying the emergence of the consumer mass market for digital cameras, Carlson School of Management professor Mary J. Benner and HBS professor Mary Tripsas explore what factors influence a firm's initial introduction of product features during the nascent stage of a product market, and how the process of convergence on a standard set of features unfolds. In particular, they assess how a firm's prior industry affiliation influences its conceptualization of the product.
Published in 2009
Mixed Source
| Authors: | Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gastón Llanes |
|---|---|
| Published: | October 15, 2009 |
| Paper Release Date: | September 2009 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
As most managers know, commercial firms may benefit from participating in open source software development by selling complementary goods or services. Open source has the potential to improve value creation because it benefits from the efforts of a large community of developers. Proprietary software, on the other hand, results in superior value capture because the intellectual property remains under the control of the original developer. While the straightforward rationale for "mixed source" (a combination of the two) is appealing, what does it mean for a business model? Under what circumstances should a profit-maximizing firm adopt a mixed source business model? How should firms respond to competitors' adoption of mixed source business models? And what are the right pricing structures under mixed source compared with the proprietary business model? In this paper the researchers analyze a model where firms with modular software must decide which modules to open and which to keep proprietary. Findings can be directly applied to the design of optimal business strategies.
File-Sharing and Copyright
| Authors: | Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Koleman Strumpf |
|---|---|
| Published: | July 1, 2009 |
| Paper Release Date: | May 2009 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
The researchers argue that file-sharing technology has not undermined the incentives of artists and entertainment companies to create, market, and distribute new works. The advent of new technology has allowed consumers to copy music, books, video games, and other protected works on an unprecedented scale at minimal cost. Such technology has considerably weakened copyright protection, first of music and software and increasingly of movies, video games, and books. While policy discussion surrounding file-sharing has largely focused on the legality of the new technology and the question of whether declining sales in music are due to file-sharing, the debate has been overly narrow. Copyright protection exists to encourage innovation and the creation of new works—in other words, to promote social welfare. This essay analyzes the landscape and identifies areas for more research.
The Unseen Link Between Savings and National Growth
| Q&A with: | Diego A. Comin |
|---|---|
| Published: | May 18, 2009 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Professor Diego Comin and fellow researchers find a little observed link between private savings and country growth. The work may offer a simple interpretation for the East Asia "miracle" and for failures in Latin America. Q&A.
Published in 2008
Testing a Purportedly More Learnable Auction Mechanism
| Authors: | Katherine L. Milkman, James Burns, David C. Parkes, Gregory M. Barron, and Kagan Tumer |
|---|---|
| Published: | March 3, 2008 |
| Paper Release Date: | February 2008 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
Each year, auctions are used to determine how billions of dollars of goods and services will be allocated across the globe. On eBay alone, $52.5 billion in merchandise was exchanged in 2.4 billion auctions conducted during fiscal year 2006. Considerable attention has been paid in the academic literature to the question of how to design auctions with efficient allocation and revenue-maximizing properties. However, in part because auction rules are typically published and standard theory assumes economic agents are capable of computing optimal strategies from published rules, little attention has been paid to the question of how to design auctions whose optimal strategies are easy to learn. Evidence suggests that even when auction rules are published and dominant strategies exist, people nonetheless struggle and sometimes fail to learn to play their optimal strategy. As a result, the authors argue that the question of how to design a learnable, strategy-proof auction mechanism is an important one.
Published in 2007
One Laptop per Child
| Q&A with: | John A. Quelch |
|---|---|
| Published: | December 10, 2007 |
| Feature: | HBS Cases |
The One Laptop per Child initiative wants to develop and distribute $100 laptops to poor children around the world. Despite eager observers and exciting breakthroughs technologically, it has found the path to customers more rocky than anticipated. Marketing has some answers, as a new case study details. Q&A with HBS professor John Quelch.
Digital Interactivity: Unanticipated Consequences for Markets, Marketing, and Consumers
| Authors: | John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld |
|---|---|
| Published: | September 28, 2007 |
| Paper Release Date: | September 2007 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
For digital marketing practice and theory, the last decade has brought two related surprises: the rise of social media and the rise of search media. Marketing has struggled to find its place on these new communication pathways. Old paradigms have been slow to die. This paper reviews early beliefs about interactive marketing, then identifies 5 discrete roles for interactive technology in contemporary life and 5 ways that firms respond. It concludes that the new media are rewarding more participatory, more sincere, and less directive marketing styles than the old broadcast media rewarded.
HBS Cases: How Wikipedia Works (or Doesn't)
| Published: | July 23, 2007 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
For HBS professor Andrew McAfee, Wikipedia is a surprisingly high-quality product. But when his concept of "Enterprise 2.0" turned up on the online encyclopedia one day—and was recommended for deletion—McAfee and colleague Karim R. Lakhani knew they had the makings of an insightful case study on collaboration and governance in the digital world.
Delivering the Digital Goods: iTunes vs. Peer-to-Peer
| Q&A with: | Ramon Casadesus-Masanell |
|---|---|
| Published: | April 16, 2007 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Apple's iTunes music download service and illegal peer-to-peer music downloads offer two contrasting approaches to delivering digital content to users. Can Apple and the recording industry seriously compete against free? Do iTunes and p2p help each other in some ways? Professor Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and collaborator Andres Hervas-Drane discuss their recent research on competition in digital distribution.
The Immigrant Technologist: Studying Technology Transfer with China
| Q&A with: | William R. Kerr and Michael J. Roberts |
|---|---|
| Published: | January 22, 2007 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Immigrants account for almost half of Ph.D.-level scientists and engineers in the U.S., and are prime drivers of technology development. Increasingly, however, Chinese technologists and entrepreneurs are returning home rather than staying in the U.S. to pursue opportunities. Professor William Kerr discusses the phenomena of technology transfer and implications for U.S.-based businesses and policymakers. From New Business.
Published in 2006
How Software Platforms Revolutionize Business
| Published: | September 25, 2006 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Cell phones, the Game Boy, and PCs are examples of products based upon software platforms—ecosystems where independent companies can provide products and services tied to the core technology. Playing in a software platform world can make you rich—ask ringtone creators—but it also demands special management skills that emphasize cooperation over competition. Professor Andrei Hagiu discusses his new book, Invisible Engines.
Developing a Strategy for Digital Convergence
| Published: | July 17, 2006 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
Technology was getting dull earlier this decade, says David Yoffie. But the sudden arrival of digital convergence has turned the tech world upside down. What are the right bets to place?
Lessons from the Browser Wars
| Q&A with: | Pai-Ling Yin |
|---|---|
| Published: | April 10, 2006 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
The first-mover advantage is well chronicled, but it didn't help Netscape when Microsoft launched Internet Explorer. What drives technology adoption, and do browser upstarts such as Firefox stand a chance? A Q&A with professor Pai-Ling Yin.
Published in 2005
From Turf Wars to Learning Curves: How Hospitals Adopt New Technology
| Q&A with: | Robert S. Huckman and Gary P. Pisano |
|---|---|
| Published: | June 13, 2005 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Turf wars and learning curves influence how new technology is adopted in hospitals. HBS professors Gary Pisano and Robert Huckman discuss the implications of their research for your organization.
Microsoft vs. Open Source: Who Will Win?
| Q&A with: | Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pankaj Ghemawat |
|---|---|
| Published: | June 6, 2005 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Using formal economic modelling, professors Pankaj Ghemawat and Ramon Casadesus-Masanell consider the competitive dynamics of the software wars between Microsoft and open source. Read our interview.
The World in Your Palm?
| Published: | February 14, 2005 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Cell phones are cameras, too. Music players are photo albums, too. PDAs browse the Internet, too. A Cyberposium panel looks at the limits of convergence.
Published in 2004
Radical Change, Entrepreneurial Opportunity
| Q&A with: | Michael J. Roberts and Mary Tripsas |
|---|---|
| Published: | July 5, 2004 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
A key to exploiting radical technological change is to clear your vision of historical constraints and see new opportunities with a fresh perspective. Michael J. Roberts interviews HBS professor Mary Tripsas.
Published in 2001
Alfred Chandler on the Electronic Century
| Published: | November 19, 2001 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Alfred D. Chandler Jr. examines the development of two pivotal industries in post-World War II America—the consumer electronics and computer industries.
Digital Designs on the Inner City
| Published: | March 12, 2001 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Bridging the digital divide, at least in inner cities, requires a lot more than computer power — although more computers would certainly be nice. According to business and political leaders who focus their efforts on empowering residents of urban areas, access is only one rung on the ladder. Stated one Harlem entrepreneur, "It's more so about attitude." And attitudes, panelists noted, can be shaped by exposure to the wonders of technology.
Published in 2000
Cable TV: From Community Antennas to Wired Cities
| Published: | July 10, 2000 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
The cable television industry has long outgrown its roots as a source of better TV reception to achieve its present place as a key player in the emerging telecommunications infrastructure. That change, writes HBS Professor Thomas R. Eisenmann in Business History Review, amid different managerial respondes to the twin—and sometimes competing—objectives of stabilty and growth. In this excerpt, Eisenmann looks at the formative years of the industry, from 1948 to 1975.
