- 19 Oct 2021
- Research & Ideas
Fed Up Workers and Supply Woes: What's Next for Dollar Stores?
Willy Shih discusses how higher costs, shipping delays, and worker shortages are putting the dollar store business model to the test ahead of the critical holiday shopping season. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 10 Nov 2020
- Sharpening Your Skills
Research News and Tips: Innovating Across Time Zones
Recent research insights on collaborating across time zones, the economic cost of immigrant bans, selling a pivot story to investors, and more.
- 21 Jan 2020
- Cold Call Podcast
China-based Fuyao Glass Considers Manufacturing in the US
Not many Chinese companies open manufacturing facilities in the US, but automotive glass maker Fuyao is considering just that. In a recent case study, Willy Shih examines factors that go into deciding where companies should locate production centers. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 Aug 2018
- Research & Ideas
Supersmart Manufacturing Tools are Lowering Prices on TVs, Bulbs, and Solar Panels
Electronics manufacturers are finding it increasingly difficult to stay ahead of low-cost competitors, says Willy Shih. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 12 Apr 2018
- Op-Ed
Op-Ed: The Trouble with Tariffs
The world's economies are interconnected by globalization, which makes threats of tariff wars doubly dangerous, says Willy Shih. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 28 Mar 2017
- First Look
First Look at New Research, March 28
Countering misperceptions about negotiation 'BATNAs' ... A dairy cooperative’s battle with big brands ... 'Hub-and-spoke' flying versus 'out-and-back.'
- 25 Aug 2016
- Cold Call Podcast
Behind IBM's High-Risk Decision to Put Watson on 'Jeopardy'
The gamble looked like an epic fail when supercomputer Watson fumbled the first question. But failure didn't last long. Willy Shih describes IBM's marketing of Watson in a recent case study.
- 26 Jul 2016
- Research & Ideas
Where will Pokémon Go with Your Personal Information?
Pokémon Go is a game sensation, no doubt about that. But users should worry about where their personal information is going as well. Willy Shih discusses what happens when technology wizardry meets personal privacy. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 19 Jul 2016
- First Look
July 19, 2016
What happens to white-collar criminals? ... The real story behind Kodak’s fade ... Has Walmart reached the end of its run?
- 15 Oct 2014
- Research & Ideas
Apple Pay’s Technology Adoption Problem
Apple wants to convert your iPhone into a digital wallet with Apple Pay. Professors Benjamin Edelman and Willy Shih assess its chances for success and wonder if consumers have a compelling reason to make the switch. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 14 Feb 2013
- Working Paper Summaries
Fostering Translational Research: Using Public-Private Partnerships to Improve Firm Survival, Employment Growth, and Innovative Performance
The authors demonstrate that a unique Danish mediated public-private partnership model for fostering the translation of basic science into commercial applications help firms significantly decrease the likelihood of bankruptcy while substantially increasing the average level of employment. Funded firms in the study were granted significantly more patents and published more peer-reviewed papers, and the impact of these publications was significantly higher. In addition, the mediated partnership model improved the knowledge produced as well as the collaborative behavior of scientists with a significantly higher level of citations and more cross-institutional coauthored publications. Key concepts include: Mediated public-private partnership funding affects firm performance especially in the mid-term, three to four years after funding. From a policy standpoint, by providing a public-private partnership funding scheme coupled with strong mediation, governments are able to incentivize firms to take on more basic science research and development and make the results more successful. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 17 Oct 2012
- Research & Ideas
America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance
In their new book, Producing Prosperity: Why America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance, Harvard Business School professors Gary P. Pisano and Willy C. Shih discuss the dangers of underinvesting in the nation's manufacturing capabilities. This excerpt discusses the importance of the "industrial commons." Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 03 Oct 2012
- What Do You Think?
Can We Bring Back the “Industrial Commons” for Manufacturing?
Summing Up: Does the US have the political will or educational ability to remake its manufacturing sector on the back of an 'industrial commons?' Professor Jim Heskett's readers are dubious.
- 07 Sep 2012
- Working Paper Summaries
IP Modularity: Profiting from Innovation by Aligning Product Architecture with Intellectual Property
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. Key concepts include: By managing a system's modular structure in conjunction with its IP, firms can overcome intrinsic conflicts between distributed value creation on the one hand, and value appropriation on the other hand. The details of IP modularization must be determined by engineers and legal experts working together. But beyond the technical and legal concerns, IP modularity affects a firm's strategies for value appropriation in increasingly complex and fragmented technological spaces. With own IP, IP modularity helps to reconcile distributed value creation with value capture, and to avoid IP "leakage" to suppliers and employees. With external IP, an IP-modular architecture reduces holdup risk and other transaction costs of licensing, and may allow a firm to establish control over external, originally open IP. Under conditions of uncertainty, "anticipatory" IP modularity creates option value: it allows a firm to better exploit upcoming opportunities for distributed value creation and to counter threats from inadvertent IP infringement. Beyond products and processes, the concept of IP modularity also extends to organizations. An example is "Chinese Walls," the virtual barriers between different organizational units that prevent information exchange between these units. These units constitute "IP modules" within the organization, and the Chinese Walls between them are module boundaries. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 Feb 2012
- Research & Ideas
Kodak: A Parable of American Competitiveness
When American companies shift pieces of their operations overseas, they run the risk of moving the expertise, innovation, and new growth opportunities just out of their reach as well, explains HBS Professor Willy Shih, who served as president of Eastman Kodak's digital imaging business for several years. Key concepts include: Outsourcing ends up chipping away at America's "industrial commons"—the collective R&D, engineering, and manufacturing capabilities that are crucial to new product development. If the United States wants to keep from slipping any further in its ability to compete on the industrial stage, the government must increase its support of scientific research and collaborate with the business and academic world. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 31 May 2011
- Research & Ideas
Japan Disaster Shakes Up Supply-Chain Strategies
The recent natural disaster in Japan brought to light the fragile nature of the global supply chain. Professor Willy Shih discusses how companies should be thinking about their supply-chain strategy now. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 28 Mar 2011
- Research & Ideas
Why Manufacturing Matters
After decades of outsourcing, America's ability to innovate and create high-tech products essential for future prosperity is on the decline, argue professors Gary Pisano and Willy Shih. Is it too late to get it back? From HBS Alumni Bulletin. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 17 Mar 2011
- Research & Ideas
Harvard Business School Faculty Comment on Crisis in Japan
Harvard Business School faculty share their views and insights about the challenges that lie ahead for Japan's business leaders and for global companies operating there. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 01 Jun 2009
- Lessons from the Classroom
The Challenges of Investing in Science-Based Innovation
Smart science-based businesses view today's economic turmoil as an opportunity to stoke up research and innovation for long-term competitive advantage, says professor Vicki L. Sato. How about your business? Key concepts include: Companies with highly differentiated products will be able to weather this storm, and come out the other side stronger. Innovation management challenges fall across several key areas, including strategy, organizational design, decision-making, and resource allocation. Different situations will require different business decisions—investing in R&D isn't always the right path to take. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
A Rose by Any Other Name: Supply Chains and Carbon Emissions in the Flower Industry
Headquartered in Kitengela, Kenya, Sian Flowers exports roses to Europe. Because cut flowers have a limited shelf life and consumers want them to retain their appearance for as long as possible, Sian and its distributors used international air cargo to transport them to Amsterdam, where they were sold at auction and trucked to markets across Europe. But when the Covid-19 pandemic caused huge increases in shipping costs, Sian launched experiments to ship roses by ocean using refrigerated containers. The company reduced its costs and cut its carbon emissions, but is a flower that travels halfway around the world truly a “low-carbon rose”? Harvard Business School professors Willy Shih and Mike Toffel debate these questions and more in their case, “Sian Flowers: Fresher by Sea?”