Managing Innovation

55 Results

 

HBS Cases: LEGO

LEGO toys have captivated children and their parents for 80 years. But managing the enterprise has not always been fun and games. Professor Stefan H. Thomke explains the lessons behind a new case on the company. Open for comment; 14 Comments posted.

The Dirty Laundry of Employee Award Programs: Evidence from the Field

Timothy Gubler, Ian Larkin, and Lamar Pierce

Many scholars and practitioners in human resource management have recently argued that awards and other forms of on-the-job recognition provide a "free" way to motivate employees. But are there unintended, negative effects of such awards? In this paper, the authors simultaneously examine the costs and benefits of an attendance award program that was implemented in an industrial laundry plant. The award used in the study was effective in that it reduced the average rate of tardiness among employees. However, it also led to a host of potential spillover effects that the plant manager readily admits were not considered when designing the program, and that reduced overall plant productivity. Overall, findings demonstrate that an award program that appears to be effective may also induce unintended consequences severely reducing the net value of the program. These results highlight the impact such a program can have on the overall performance of the firm and suggest caution when designing and implementing such programs. Read More

Lessons from Running GM’s OnStar

Before teaching at Harvard Business School, Chet Huber ran the General Motors telematics subsidiary OnStar. Huber discusses how the lessons he learned in the field mesh with the lessons he teaches to students. Open for comment; 4 Comments posted.

Lean Strategy Not Just for Start-Ups

Established companies often experience innovation stagnation. The fix, says Intuit founder Scott Cook, is for these companies to adopt a lean start-up model. Open for comment; 4 Comments posted.

Helping Yelp Create More Accurate Reviews

Over time, Yelp's reader rating system of restaurants can make or break an operation, but professor Michael Luca shows the program has flaws. Can a more accurate, fairer system be created? Open for comment; 2 Comments posted.

Culture Changers: Managing High-Impact Entrepreneurs

In her new Harvard Business School course, Creative High-Impact Ventures: Entrepreneurs Who Changed the World, professor Mukti Khaire looks at ways managers can team with creative talent in six "culture industries": publishing, fashion, art-design, film, music, and food. Open for comment; 13 Comments posted.

Digital Technology’s Profound Game Change for Marketers

Within a few years, chief marketing officers will spend more on technology--digital marketing--than CIOs. Jeffrey Bussgang says it is clear that technology is radically transforming the marketing function and the role of the marketing professional. Open for comment; 5 Comments posted.

Book Excerpt: “The Architecture of Innovation”

In his new book, The Architecture of Innovation, Josh Lerner explores flaws in how corporations fund R&D. This excerpt discusses the corporate venturing model and how incentive schemes make it successful. Open for comment; 1 Comment posted.

Funding Innovation: Is Your Firm Doing it Wrong?

Many companies are at a loss about how to fund innovation successfully. In his new book, The Architecture of Innovation, Professor Josh Lerner starts with this advice: get the incentives right. Open for comment; 4 Comments posted.

IP Modularity: Profiting from Innovation by Aligning Product Architecture with Intellectual Property

Joachim Henkel, Carliss Y. Baldwin, and Willy C. Shih

Firms increasingly practice open innovation, license technology out and in, outsource development and production, and enable users and downstream firms to innovate on their products. However, while such distributed value creation can boost the overall value created, it may create serious challenges for capturing value. This paper argues that in order to optimize value capture from a new product or process, an innovator must manage the artifact's intellectual property (IP) and its modular structure in conjunction. In other words, each module's IP status needs to be defined carefully and its boundaries must be placed accordingly. Fundamentally, IP modularity eliminates incompatibilities between IP rights in a given module, while permitting incompatibilities within the overall system. This in turn allows a firm to "have its cake and eat it too": It can reap the benefits of an open architecture while at the same time reducing the costs of opportunism on the part of suppliers, complementors, and employees. Read More

The Rich Get Richer: Enabling Conditions for Knowledge Use in Organizational Work Teams

Melissa A. Valentine, Bradley R. Staats, and and Amy C. Edmondson

Individuals on the periphery of organizational knowledge-sharing networks, due to inexperience, location, or lack of social capital, may struggle to access useful knowledge at work. An electronic knowledge repository (KR) offers a practical solution to the challenges of making knowledge available to people who might otherwise lack access to relevant expertise. Such a system may function as a knowledge-access equalizer. However, the presence of a knowledge repository will not solve the problem of access to knowledge for those at the periphery of the organization unless it is used. In this paper, the authors begin to theorize the social and structural conditions that support KR use by exploring whether individuals on the organizational periphery take advantage of KRs, or whether KRs function more to enrich individuals whose experience and position already provide them better access to other knowledge sources. Using extensive data on KR use at a global, outsourced provider of software services, the authors' results show that despite the seeming promise of a KR to integrate or equalize peripheral players, it instead enriches knowledge access for people who are already well positioned. Findings thus suggest that KR use is not simply an individual activity based on need, but is instead enabled by certain social conditions (such as familiarity and experience) and inhibited by others (such as status disparities and remote location). An organizational KR thus fails to serve as an equalizer absent intervention. Read More

Nitin Nohria: Why US Competitiveness Matters

Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria discusses the multidimensional quality of the American competitiveness problem, and why it matters to all. Read More

Relational Contracts and Organizational Capabilities

R. Gibbons and R. Henderson

If capabilities are indeed a source of sustained competitive advantage, why don't they diffuse more rapidly? Capabilities diffuse slowly even when managers acknowledge that they are behind and are spending heavily to catch up, and where there appears to be industrywide agreement about best practice. This paper by R. Gibbons and R. Henderson suggests that the often slow diffusion of competitively significant capabilities is because many key managerial practices rely on relational contracts: an economist's term for collaboration sustained by the shadow of the future, as opposed to formal contracts enforced by courts. Building these relational contracts requires moving beyond task knowledge to the development of "relational knowledge." Relational knowledge may be substantially more difficult to develop than task knowledge both because there is much more of it and because its acquisition is complicated by incentive problems. Overall, while it is well established that organizations are replete with relational contracts, these informal understandings may be one of the reasons that competitively important practices are sometimes surprisingly slow to diffuse. Read More

HBS Cases: Clocky, the Runaway Alarm Clock

There had not been an innovative breakthrough in alarm clock design since the snooze button until entrepreneur Gauri Nanda created Clocky. Her runaway hit has been the inspiration for several cases written by Professor Elie Ofek. Open for comment; 8 Comments posted.

Multi-Sided Platforms

Andrei Hagiu and Julian Wright

Research in multi-sided platforms (MSPs) studies how payment networks bring together cardholders and retailers, shopping malls bring together shoppers and retailers, and video game systems bring together gamers and game developers. Andrei Hagiu and Julian Wright propose a new definition of MSPs that aims to capture what makes eBay, shopping malls, Yellow Pages directories, and dating websites different from "regular" firms such as a bakery or car dealership, as well as how to characterize less clear-cut examples. They also discuss the economic trade-offs that determine where organizations choose to place themselves on the continuum between MSPs and resellers, or between MSPs and input suppliers. Read More

Sharpening Your Skills: Leveraging Intellectual Property

Many companies lack a coherent policy for maximizing the value of their intellectual property. In this collection from our archives, Harvard Business School faculty offer insights on the importance of IP and how best to protect and use it. Read More

How Small Wins Unleash Creativity

In their new book, The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work, authors Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer discuss how even seemingly small steps forward on a project can make huge differences in employees' emotional and intellectual well-being. Amabile talks about the main findings of the book. Plus: book excerpt. Open for comment; 12 Comments posted.

Getting to Eureka!: How Companies Can Promote Creativity

As global competition intensifies, it's more important than ever that companies figure out how to innovate if they are going to maintain their edge, or maintain their existence at all. Six Harvard Business School faculty share insights on the best ways to develop creative workers. Open for comment; 20 Comments posted.

Five Discovery Skills that Distinguish Great Innovators

In The Innovator's DNA, authors Jeff Dyer , Hal Gergersen, and Clayton M. Christensen build on the idea of disruptive innovation to outline the five discovery skills that distinguish the Steve Jobses and Jeff Bezoses of the world from the run-of-the-mill corporate managers. Open for comment; 21 Comments posted.

The Contingent Effect of Absorptive Capacity: An Open Innovation Analysis

Andrew A. King and Karim R. Lakhani

Does experience with adopting technology improve a person's capacity for inventing better technology? On the other hand, does invention experience increase the capacity for adoption? This paper explores how adoption and invention affect each other, using data from several programming competitions sponsored by The MathWorks Corporation. Research was conducted by Andrew A. King of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and Karim R. Lakhani at Harvard Business School. Read More

Reinventing the National Geographic Society

How do you transform a 123-year-old cultural icon and prepare it for the digital world? Slowly, as a new case on the National Geographic Society by professor David Garvin demonstrates. Open for comment; 19 Comments posted.

Risky Trust: How Multi-entity Teams Develop Trust in a High Risk Endeavor

Faaiza Rashid and Amy C. Edmondson

Work that comes with high risk requires a great deal of trust among the individuals involved, whether it's the financial risk of producing a high-budget film or the personal safety risk of working in a war zone. In this paper, reporting on case study research on a high-risk, multimillion-dollar construction project, HBS doctoral candidate Faaiza Rashid and professor Amy C. Edmondson explore the concept of "risky trust," and examine how colleagues can learn to trust each other in the midst of high-risk work situations. Read More

Managing the Open Source vs. Proprietary Decision

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. Open for comment; 2 Comments posted.

When Does a Platform Create Value by Limiting Choice?

Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Hanna W. Halaburda

Platforms such as video games and smartphones need to attract users, and the best way to do so is to offer more and more applications. Is there ever a point where a platform should limit the variety available? Researchers Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Hanna Halaburda observe that in many situations users enjoy consuming applications together. When such consumption complementarities are present, users may benefit if the platform limits choice. With fewer applications to choose from, it is easier for users to take full advantage from shared consumption. Read More

Understanding Users of Social Networks

Many business leaders are mystified about how to reach potential customers on social networks such as Facebook. Professor Mikolaj Jan Piskorski provides a fresh look into the interpersonal dynamics of these sites and offers guidance for approaching these tantalizing markets. Read More

Markets or Communities? The Best Ways to Manage Outside Innovation

Karim R. Lakhani

No one organization can monopolize knowledge in any given field. That's why modern companies must develop a new expertise: the ability to attract novel solutions to difficult or unanticipated problems from outside sources around the world. A conversation with Harvard Business School professor Karim R. Lakhani on the keys to managing distributed innovation. Read More

Don’t Just Survive—Thrive: Leading Innovation in Good Times and Bad

Lynda M. Applegate and J. Bruce Harreld

The financial crisis provides a sobering reminder of what happens when innovation fails to drive productive economic growth. For over a decade, money from around the world poured into the United States seeking innovation. Despite these massive investments, when adjusted for inflation, U.S. GDP grew slowly with much of the growth coming from government, professional, and business services, including real estate and outsourcing. What's more, inflation adjusted wages stalled for many, even as consumer spending increased. This paper argues that innovation is not a side business to a real business: rather, innovation is the foundation of a successful business. Read More

Radical Design, Radical Results

Consumers appear increasingly willing to make purchase decisions based upon their emotions about a product—how it looks, or sounds, or makes them feel using it. But the traditional design process based on user experience goes only so far in creating radical innovation. Harvard Business School visiting scholar Roberto Verganti is exploring the new world of "design-driven innovation." Read More

What Is Management’s Role in Innovation?

Online forum closed. It's an open question whether management, as it is currently practiced, contributes much to creativity and innovation, says HBS professor Jim Heskett. What changes will allow managers, particularly in larger organizations, to add value to the creative process? What do you think? Closed for comment; 93 Comments posted.

High Note: Managing the Medici String Quartet

Robert D. Austin

As one of the top ensembles in classical music, the Medici String Quartet has enjoyed a long and creative collaboration. But it hasn't always been harmonious. HBS professor Robert Austin explains what innovative businesses can learn about managing creative people. Read More

Jumpstarting Innovation: Using Disruption to Your Advantage

Fostering innovation in a mature company can often seem like a swim upstream—the needs of the existing business often overwhelm attempts to create something new. Harvard Business School professor Lynda M. Applegate shows how one of the forces that threatens established companies can also be a source of salvation: disruptive change. Plus: Innovation worksheets. Read More

The Value of Openness in Scientific Problem Solving

Karim R. Lakhani, Lars Bo Jeppesen, Peter A. Lohse, and Jill A. Panetta

Scientists are generally rewarded for discoveries they make as individuals or in small teams. While the sharing of information in science is an ideal, it is seldom practiced. In this research, Lakhani et al. used an approach common to open source software communities—which rely intensely on collaboration—and opened up a set of 166 scientific problems from the research laboratories of twenty-six firms to over 80,000 independent scientists. The outside scientists were able to solve one-third of the problems that the research laboratories were unable to solve internally. Read More

Open Source Science: A New Model for Innovation

Karim R. Lakhani

Borrowing a practice that is common in the open source software community, HBS professor Karim R. Lakhani and colleagues decided to see how "broadcasting" might work among scientists trying to solve scientific problems. The results? Promising for many types of innovation, as he explains in this Q&A. Read More

How Kayak Users Built a New Industry

Carliss Y. Baldwin

Customers have produced some of the most important innovations in industries ranging from oil refining to scientific instruments. But how do user innovations take place? How do they get to market? Professor Carliss Baldwin discusses research into the rodeo kayak industry to understand the world of user innovation. Read More

Developing a Strategy for Digital Convergence

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? Read More

The Accidental Innovator

Robert D. Austin

Many important innovations are the byproduct of accidents—the key is to be prepared for the unexpected. Professor Robert D. Austin discusses his research and practical implications on the concept of accidental innovation. Read More

Lessons from the Browser Wars

Pai-Ling Yin

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. Read More

Microsoft vs. Open Source: Who Will Win?

Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pankaj Ghemawat

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. Read More

The Knowledge Coach

Make sure the knowledge gained by top employees doesn't leave with their retirement, say Dorothy Leonard and Walter Swap in their new book, Deep Smarts. One solution: Develop a knowledge transfer coach. Read More

Caves, Clusters, and Weak Ties: The Six Degrees World of Inventors

Lee Fleming

Your company's scientists and investors can be antennas that bring great ideas into your company. The key, says HBS professor Lee Fleming, is understanding small-world networks. Read More

Why Innovations Sit on the Shelf

Why can't your organization capitalize on great ideas? Surprise! The answer may have more to do with communication than inventiveness. From Strategy and Innovation. Read More

How Team Leaders Show Support–or Not

Teresa M. Amabile

What does a team leader do so that employees know they are being supported? A Q&A with HBS professor and creativity expert Teresa Amabile about new research. Read More

A Clear Eye for Innovation

How did a weakening contact-lens company set its sights on a series of breakthroughs? A Harvard Business Review excerpt by Charles A. O’Reilly III and HBS professor Michael L. Tushman. Read More

Mission to Mars: It Really Is Rocket Science

Alan D. MacCormack

Do the successful Mars missions mean NASA again has the right stuff? Professor Alan MacCormack dissects the space agency’s "Faster, Better, Cheaper" program. Read More

Failing to Learn and Learning to Fail (Intelligently): How Great Organizations Put Failure to Work to Improve and Innovate

Mark D. Cannon and Amy C. Edmondson

Successful companies see failure as a part of the innovative process, but there are social (organizational) and technical (skill-based) reasons why it is difficult to turn failures into learning opportunities. First, executives need to develop the skills to probe failures and analyze the root causes. Then improve management's technical skills in problem diagnosis, statistical process design, and qualitative and quantitative analysis. Organizationally, executives should create an environment where people are encouraged to identify failures, rather than encourage a "shoot the messenger" mindset. Read More

What Developing-World Companies Teach Us About Innovation

A mini case study by professor Donald N. Sull and coauthors on how three businesses in developing countries overcome a lack of resources to succeed. From Strategy & Innovation. Read More

Sometimes Success Begins at Failure

Projects that appear to be duds may have unintended upsides—Viagra started life and failed as a drug for hypertension. Here are tips for turning negative test results into gold. Read More

How to Pick Managers for Disruptive Growth

"Right stuff" managers may be entirely wrong to lead a new-growth business. An excerpt from The Innovator's Solution by Clayton M. Christensen and Michael Raynor. Read More

Is “the Innovator’s Solution” to Sustained Corporate Growth an Unnatural Act?

In their new book, The Innovator’s Solution, HBS professor Clayton Christensen and co-author Michael E. Raynor propose four guidelines for developing a "disruptive growth engine." The problem: According to the authors, few organizations have been able to achieve more than one disruptive technology in their lifetimes. Why is it so difficult? Closed for comment; 11 Comments posted.

Why Managing Innovation is Like Theater

A stage production and the development of your next product have a lot in common. An excerpt from Artful Making by HBS professor Robert D. Austin and dramaturge Lee Devin. Read More

Cheap, Fast, and In Control: How Tech Aids Innovation

Stefan H. Thomke

Companies don’t need to spend a fortune on research and innovation. HBS professor Stefan Thomke explains how new technologies enable businesses to experiment on the cheap in his new book, Experimentation Matters. Read More

The Benefits of “Not Invented Here”

Not all the smart people work for you. By leveraging the discoveries of others, companies can produce spectacular results. A Q&A with professor Henry Chesbrough on his new book. Read More

How Bank of America Turned Branches into Service-Development Laboratories

In this Harvard Business Review excerpt, HBS professor Stefan Thomke describes how Bank of America applies a systematic R&D process to create services. Read More

Understanding the Process of Innovation

Just what is the BIG idea? In this Harvard Management Update piece, Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen helps us understand the sources of innovation inside companies and what blocks it. Read More

The Dynamics of Standing Still: Firestone Tire & Rubber and the Radial Revolution

In the late 1960s, Firestone was perhaps the best managed company in its industry. But when Michelin introduced the radial tire and shook up the U.S. market, writes HBS professor Donald Sull, Firestone's historical success proved its own worst enemy. Read More