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New research on information technology from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including the HealthCare.gov fiasco, online privacy concerns, and the civic benefits of technologies that utilize citizen-created data.
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Is It Even Possible to Dam the Flow of Misleading Content Online?

by Jay Fitzgerald

With a US presidential election on the horizon, tech companies are struggling to stem misinformation on social media. Research by Scott Duke Kominers and Jesse Shapiro suggests it's time to focus on eliminating content that can lead to potential harm rather than false beliefs.

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and Brand Building

Re: Scott Duke Kominers

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which allow individuals to own their digital assets and move them from place to place, are changing the interaction between consumers and digital goods, brands, and platforms. Professor Scott Duke Kominers and tech entrepreneur Steve Kaczynski discuss the case, “Bored Ape Yacht Club: Navigating the NFT World,” and the related book they co-authored, The Everything Token: How NFTs and Web3 Will Transform The Way We Buy, Sell, And Create. They focus on the rise and popularity of the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs and the new model of brand building created by owning those tokens.

The Critical Computer Science Principles Every Strategic Leader Needs to Know

by Ben Rand

Technology is such an integral part of so many industries now that business executives can't afford to leave all the digital know-how to their tech teams. Andy Wu explains the five essential principles of computer science that all leaders need to grasp to gain an edge.

How Transparency Sped Innovation in a $13 Billion Wireless Sector

by Jay Fitzgerald

Many companies are wary of sharing proprietary information with suppliers and partners. However, Shane Greenstein and colleagues show in a study of wireless routers that being more open about technology can lead to new opportunities.

Amazon in Seattle: The Role of Business in Causing and Solving a Housing Crisis

Re: Paul M. Healy

In 2020, Amazon partnered with a nonprofit called Mary’s Place and used some of its own resources to build a shelter for women and families experiencing homelessness on its campus in Seattle. Yet critics argued that Amazon’s apparent charity was misplaced and that the company was actually making the problem worse. Paul Healy and Debora Spar explore the role business plays in addressing unhoused communities in the case “Hitting Home: Amazon and Mary’s Place.”

How Used Products Can Unlock New Markets: Lessons from Apple's Refurbished iPhones

by Rachel Layne

The idea of reselling old smartphones might have seemed risky for a company known for high-end devices, but refurbished products have become a major profit stream for Apple and an environmental victory. George Serafeim examines Apple's circular model in a case study, and offers insights for other industries.

How SolarWinds Responded to the 2020 SUNBURST Cyberattack

Re: Frank Nagle

In December of 2020, SolarWinds learned that they had fallen victim to hackers. Unknown actors had inserted malware called SUNBURST into a software update, potentially granting hackers access to thousands of its customers’ data, including government agencies across the globe and the US military. General Counsel Jason Bliss needed to orchestrate the company’s response without knowing how many of its 300,000 customers had been affected, or how severely. What’s more, the existing CEO was scheduled to step down and incoming CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna had yet to come on board. Bliss needed to immediately communicate the company’s action plan with customers and the media. In this episode of Cold Call, Professor Frank Nagle discusses SolarWinds’ response to this supply chain attack in the case, “SolarWinds Confronts SUNBURST.”

A Lesson from Google: Can AI Bias be Monitored Internally?

Re: Tsedal Neeley

Dr. Timnit Gebru was the co-lead of Google’s Ethical AI research team—until she raised concerns about bias in the company’s large language models and was forced out in 2020. Her departure sent shockwaves through the AI and tech community and raised fundamental questions about how companies safeguard against bias in their own AI. Should in-house ethics research continue to be led by researchers who best understand the technology, or must ethics and bias be monitored by more objective researchers who aren’t employed by companies? Professor Tsedal Neeley discusses how companies can approach the problem of AI bias in her case, “Timnit Gebru: 'SILENCED No More' on AI Bias and The Harms of Large Language Models.”

IT Job Wages Are No Longer 'Exceptional'

by Rachel Layne

Wage growth in IT jobs has moderated following the dot-com boom, according to new research by Ruiqing Sam Cao and Shane Greenstein. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Where the Cloud Rests: The Economic Geography of Data Centers

by Shane Greenstein and Tommy Pan Fang

This study quantifies how data center managers make a trade-off between the setup and operational costs of running a facility and capturing local demand.

You're Right! You Are Working Longer and Attending More Meetings

by Danielle Kost

A study of 3 million people confirms what many work-from-home employees already know: We're swamped. Research by Raffaella Sadun, Jeffrey Polzer, and colleagues. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Open Source Software and Global Entrepreneurship

by Nataliya Langburd Wright, Frank Nagle, and Shane Greenstein

Does more activity in open source software development lead to increased entrepreneurial activity and, if so, how much, and in what direction? This study measures how participation on the GitHub open source platform affects the founding of new ventures globally.

Robots in the Boardroom

by Sean Silverthorne

Understanding cloud technology was the No. 1 imperative for executives this decade. Next up: How does artificial intelligence change business and management? Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Use Artificial Intelligence to Set Sales Targets That Motivate

by Michael Blanding

Setting sales targets has always been an inexact science, with serious consequences if done poorly. Using AI-based advanced analytics might be the answer, argues Doug Chung. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Making the Right Technical Hire

by Julia Austin

CEOs are usually more comfortable making key hires on the business side of the house than the technology side. Here is what executives need to understand about technical hires, according to Julia Austin. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Going Digital: Implications for Firm Value and Performance

by Wilbur Chen and Suraj Srinivasan

More and more nontechnology companies are adopting digital technologies like AI, data analytics, and machine learning. This study of the economic performance of nontech firms adopting new digital technologies finds a persistent future increase in valuation. However, investors only slowly incorporate the value implications of digital activities into prices. Nontech companies with senior executives with tech talent improve performance more than those without.

What Should Mark Zuckerberg Do?

by James Heskett

SUMMING UP: Facebook doesn't necessarily need a better data-privacy policy, James Heskett's readers suggest. Instead, Mark Zuckerberg needs a new business model. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Why Artificial Intelligence Isn't a Sure Thing to Increase Productivity

by Michael Blanding

As companies adopt artificial intelligence to increase efficiency, are their employees skilled enough to use those technologies effectively? Prithwiraj Choudhury looks to the US Patent and Trademark Office for a case study. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Nowcasting Gentrification: Using Yelp Data to Quantify Neighborhood Change

by Edward L. Glaeser, Hyunjin Kim, and Michael Luca

This study finds that data from digital platforms (in this case, Yelp) can help forecast which neighborhoods are gentrifying and provide new ways to measure business landscape changes that accompany demographic changes.

Two Decades Later, is the 'New Economy' Finally Here?

by James Heskett

SUMMING UP Have recent advances in technology such as artificial intelligence ushered in (finally) the "new economy?" Not so fast, answer James Heskett's readers. Open for comment; 0 Comments.