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Innovation StrategyRemove Innovation Strategy →

New research on innovation strategy from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including open source innovation, best environments for staff creativity, and legal ways to protect innovation.
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8 Strategies to Sustain Business Innovation

by Lane Lambert

It's a harsh reality: The majority of new business ventures fail. In the book Productive Tensions, Rory McDonald and his coauthor say the key to survival is figuring out how to pivot during the innovation process.

When Experts Play It Too Safe: Innovation Lessons from a NASA Experiment

by Rachel Layne

A study of an international robotics competition reveals how experts prioritize easy-to-execute inventions over moonshot ideas. Are companies missing out on potential breakthroughs? Research by Jacqueline Lane and Karim Lakhani.

Centrino and the Restructuring of Wi-Fi Supply

by Roberto Fontana and Shane Greenstein

This study examines Intel’s launch of Centrino and interprets it as a platform leader’s attempt to restructure a supply chain.

Recessions Push Some Entrepreneurs to Launch Too Soon

by Sean Silverthorne

Research by Maria Roche looks at how past economic downturns forced job-insecure, high-tech entrepreneurs to rush their ventures to market. Will COVID-19 do the same? Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Coronavirus Careers: Cloud Kitchens Are Now Serving

by Lena Ye and Geoffrey Jones

Cloud kitchens are restaurants built around food delivery rather than sit-down service, and they are increasing in popularity as COVID-19 disrupts the industry, write Lena Ye and Geoffrey Jones. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Product Disasters Can Be Fertile Ground for Innovation

by Michael Blanding

Rather than chilling innovation, product accidents may provide companies an unexpected opportunity to develop new technologies desired by consumers, according to Hong Luo and Alberto Galasso. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

What We Learned from Reading Jeff Bezos’ Patents

by Tricia Gregg and Boris Groysberg

By studying Jeff Bezos' personal patent records, Tricia Gregg and Boris Groysberg offer a unique glimpse into Amazon's strategy. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

6 Skills That Wise Companies Harness for World-Changing Innovation

by Kristen Senz

What does it take to truly change the world? In The Wise Company, Hirotaka Takeuchi shares the practices that help leading companies turn knowledge into lasting breakthroughs. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Corporate Innovation Increasingly Benefits from Government Research

by Michael Blanding

Nearly a third of US patents rely directly on government-funded research, says Dennis Yao. Is government too involved in supporting private sector innovation—or not enough? Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Brick-and-Mortar Stores Are Making a Comeback

by Jen McFarland Flint

Left for dead alongside the retail highway, physical stores are suddenly finding new ways to compete, say Jill Avery and Antonio Moreno. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Do National Security Secrets Hold Back National Innovation?

by Kristen Senz

It's a paradox about innovation. Inventors want to keep secret the inner workings of their most commercial technologies, while technological progress relies on transparency. Daniel Gross looks to the secrets of WW II for insights. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Experimentation and Startup Performance: Evidence from A/B Testing

by Rembrand Koning, Sharique Hasan, and Aaron Chatterji

Is experimentation the right strategy for startups? This analysis of the adoption of A/B testing technology by 35,000 global startups provides evidence that a strategy based on repeated experimentation will improve performance over time. However, the benefits of experimentation vary. Experimentation helps younger startups “fail faster,” while older firms may discover new, high-growth products.

Field-Level Paradox and the Co-Evolution of an Entrepreneurial Vision

by Ryan Raffaelli and Richard DeJordy

Swiss watchmaking embodies the classic strategic paradox created by the introduction of new technology: the choice between resisting and defending, or embracing and prospecting. This paper offers a model for how fields and organizational leaders experiencing similar paradoxes can adapt to environmental change while still preserving valuable aspects of their past success.

The Internet of Things Needs a Business Model. Here It Is

by Michael Blanding

Companies have struggled to find the right opportunities for selling the Internet of Things. Rajiv Lal says that’s all about to change. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Migrant Inventors and the Technological Advantage of Nations

by Dany Bahar, Prithwiraj Choudhury, and Hillel Rapoport

This study provides robust econometric evidence for how immigrant inventors shape the innovation dynamics of their receiving countries. Countries receiving inventors from other nations that specialize in patenting particular technologies are more likely to have a significant increase in patent applications of the same technology.

Incubators Take Notice: Your Entrepreneurs Are Networking with the Wrong People

by Danielle Kost

Startup incubators used by cities and companies to jump-start innovation have a problem to overcome. Attendees tend to network with people they already know, says research by Rembrand M. Koning. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Mitigating the Negative Effects of Customer Anxiety Through Access to Human Contact

by Michelle A. Shell and Ryan W. Buell

Firms increasingly deploy self-service technologies (SSTs) to manage customer interfaces that are inherently stressful. For example, patients may be asked to use kiosks to check themselves into hospitals. This study finds that customer anxiety during SST transactions can reduce customers’ trust in the service provider. Operational design choices may help.

The Secret Life of Supply Chains

by Michael Blanding

While US policymakers and politicians focus on reviving the manufacturing sector, Mercedes Delgado and Karen Mills unearth a source of better jobs hidden in plain sight. Call it the supply chain economy. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Pursuing Precision Medicine at Intermountain Healthcare

Re: Richard G. Hamermesh

What happens when Intermountain Healthcare invests resources in an innovative precision medicine unit to provide life-extending, genetically targeted therapies to late-stage cancer patients? Professors Richard Hamermesh and Kathy Giusti discuss the case and its connections to their work with the Kraft Precision Medicine Accelerator. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Rocket-tunity: Can Private Firms Turn a Profit in Space?

by Scott Wallask

Private rocket companies are competing to be the first to send paying tourists into space, perhaps even this year. Matthew Weinzierl lays out the strategic roadmap to the stars. Open for comment; 0 Comments.