- 19 Jan 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
The Role of Constraints in Creative Problem-Solving
This study shows that constraints can support creative problem solving in a consumer electronics setting. Adding (some) constraints increased the quantity and quality of strong ideas generated and selected through an open innovation process.
- 06 Oct 2020
- Sharpening Your Skills
18 Tips Managers Can Use to Lead Through COVID's Rising Waters
Here are recent ideas for managing through the pandemic on the topics of people management, strategy, marketing, and organizational design. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 24 Aug 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
When Do Experts Listen to Other Experts? The Role of Negative Information in Expert Evaluations for Novel Projects
Evaluators of early-stage scientific proposals tend to systematically focus on the weaknesses of proposed work rather than its strengths, according to evidence from two field experiments.
- 10 Aug 2020
- Research & Ideas
COVID's Surprising Toll on Careers of Women Scientists
Women scientists and those with young children are paying a steep career price in the pandemic, according to new research by Karim Lakhani, Kyle Myers, and colleagues. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 03 Mar 2020
- Cold Call Podcast
Do Universities Need 2U To Create Digital Education?
Karim Lakhani and Marco Iansiti discuss how universities are looking for technology partners to deliver digital education, as well as their new book, “Competing in the Age of AI.” Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 14 Jan 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Engineering Serendipity: The Role of Cognitive Similarity in Knowledge Sharing and Knowledge Production
By creating opportunities for cross-disciplinary scientists to meet and talk as part of a natural field experiment, this study analyzes and finds evidence for a systematic relationship between knowledge sharing and knowledge production in the sciences. Findings may extend to similar types of cross-disciplinary knowledge-sharing opportunities in other settings.
- 13 Jan 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Recognition Incentives for Internal Crowdsourcing: A Field Experiment at NASA
What to do if organizational hierarchy hinders a platform aimed at worker collaboration? A field experiment with NASA employees finds that they respond to managerial appreciation above other incentives.
- 09 Jan 2020
- Book
Rethinking Business Strategy in the Age of AI
For the first time in 100 years, new technologies such as artificial intelligence are causing firms to rethink their competitive strategy and organizational structure, say Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani, authors of the new book Competing in the Age of AI. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 29 Oct 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Crowdsourcing Memories: Mixed Methods Research by Cultural Insiders-Epistemological Outsiders
Research on the traumatic 1947 partition of British India has most often been carried out by scholars in the humanities and qualitative social sciences. This article presents mixed methods research and analysis to explore tensions within current scholarship and to inspire new understandings of the Partition, and more generally, mass migrations and displacement.
- 14 May 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Do Experts Listen to Other Experts? Field Experimental Evidence from Scientific Peer Review
Influence is a fundamental aspect of collective decisions. It is thus crucial to consider not only the composition of evaluation panels but also their deliberation process. This study illuminates drivers of influence among an elite population of experts and contributes to our understanding of resource allocation in science and other expert domains.
- 18 Apr 2019
- Research & Ideas
Open Innovation Contestants Build AI-Based Cancer Tool
Radiation oncologists are few in number, especially if you are nowhere near a cancer facility. Could artificial intelligence be used to deliver an oncologist's skills for radiation therapy? Karim R. Lakhani discusses a unique open innovation experiment. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 21 Mar 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Advancing Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Research Through Open Innovation Competitions
Crowdsourcing is a way for many individuals to address a common problem. This paper describes the design and outcomes of three crowdsourcing contests focused on algorithms for 1) clustering antibody sequences, 2) imputing gene expression measurements, and 3) performing fast queries on a particular dataset. Innovation through contests greatly improved the solutions available.
- 21 Aug 2017
- Lessons from the Classroom
Companies Love Big Data But Lack the Strategy To Use It Effectively
Big data is a critical competitive advantage for companies that know how to use it. Harvard Business School faculty share insights that they teach to executives. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 20 Mar 2017
- Book
Why Companies Are Placing Users at the Core of Their Innovation Strategies
In his recent edited volume Revolutionizing Innovation, Karim Lakhani brings together the latest thinking around open innovation, users, and communities. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 15 Mar 2017
- Lessons from the Classroom
More Than 900 Examples of How Climate Change Affects Business
MBA students participating in Harvard Business School’s Climate Change Challenge offer ideas on how companies can negate impacts from a changing environment. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 01 Jun 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
Motivating Effort in Contributing to Public Goods Inside Organizations: Field Experimental Evidence
Results of this experiment involving 1,200 employees shows that workers have multiple underlying motivations to contribute to organizational betterment, consisting of a combination of monetary and altruistic incentives associated with the organization’s mission.
- 19 May 2016
- Research Event
Crowdsourcing, Patent Trolls, and Other Research Insights Highlighted at Harvard Business School Symposium
The 2016 Faculty Research Symposium looked at current and potential collaborations between HBS and Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 17 Dec 2015
- Cold Call Podcast
Designing a Great Community
Threadless has built its sizeable t-shirt retailing business by enabling its users to both design and purchase its products. But its greatest strength once presented its biggest challenge: how do you manage an online community that is 500,000-strong? Professor Karim Lakhani discusses the difficulty of hosting a city’s worth of virtual users and designers, the importance of transparency, and the lessons the Threadless case has to offer on enabling (and funding) innovation. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 02 Apr 2015
- Research & Ideas
Digital Initiative Summit: The Business of Crowdsourcing
Gaining the community's trust is vital to building a successful business with crowdsourcing. Open for comment; 1 Comment(s) posted.
Learning with People Like Me: The Role of Age-Similar Peers on Online Business Course Engagement
Online learning usually has lower course engagement and higher dropout rates than in-person instruction. However, when classmates are of similar ages it helps boost retention and engagement. Similar-aged classmates have more in common, making interactions mutually rewarding.