Innovation and Invention
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- 12 Sep 2022
- Research & Ideas
When Experts Play It Too Safe: Innovation Lessons from a NASA Experiment
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.
- 05 Apr 2022
- Cold Call Podcast
Transforming Deloitte’s Approach to Consulting
Pixel helps facilitate open talent and crowdsourcing for Deloitte Consulting client engagements. But while some of Deloitte’s principals are avid users of Pixel’s services, uptake across the organization has been slow, and in some pockets has met with deep resistance. Balaji Bondili, head of Pixel, must decide how best to grow Deloitte Consulting’s use of on-demand talent, as consulting companies and their clients face transformative change. Professor Mike Tushman discusses Deloitte’s challenges in pursuing this new approach to consulting, and what it takes to be a “corporate explorer” like Bondili in his case, “Deloitte’s Pixel: Consulting with Open Talent.” Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 22 Feb 2022
- Research & Ideas
Lack of Female Scientists Means Fewer Medical Treatments for Women
Women scientists are more likely to develop treatments for women, but many of their ideas never become inventions, research by Rembrand Koning says. What would it take to make innovation more equitable? Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 01 Feb 2022
- Book
Innovation Isn’t Just for Startups: How Big Companies Can Succeed
Innovation doesn't have to be limited to the Teslas and Amazons of the world. In a new book, Michael Tushman and Andrew Binns share how explorers lead change and help incumbent companies strike gold. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 19 Jan 2022
- In Practice
7 Trends to Watch in 2022
Surging COVID-19 cases may have dampened optimism at the start of 2022, but change could be on the horizon. Harvard Business School faculty members share the trends they're watching this year. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 23 Nov 2021
- Research & Ideas
The Vinyl Renaissance: Take Those Old Records Off the Shelf
If listeners today can stream just about any song they want, why are so many music aficionados still buying records? Ryan Raffaelli and Gold Rush Vinyl CEO Caren Kelleher discuss the resurgence of vinyl. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 16 Nov 2021
- Cold Call Podcast
Can Mass General Brigham Diversify Its Community of Innovators?
In November 2019, Mass General Brigham (MGB) was the largest recipient of National Institutes of Health funding in the world. The Innovation Office, led by Chief Innovation Officer Chris Coburn, sought to capitalize on that funding – with the goal of commercializing research done at the hospital to generate revenue and improve patient care. But CEO Anne Klibanski and other key stakeholders had a serious concern: although women comprised approximately 40 percent of the medical researchers and physicians at MGB, the percentage of women participating in innovation activities lagged behind. Associate Professor Katie Coffman, Coburn, and MGB’s managing director of administration and strategy Diana Schwartzstein discuss how they identify the main sources of the disparities and find the right strategy to expand and diversify MGB’s community of innovators in the case, “Inclusive Innovation at Mass General Brigham.” Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 19 Oct 2021
- Cold Call Podcast
Should Global Beer Company Molson Coors Dive into the Cannabis Beverages Business?
In March 2019, Molson Coors CEO Mark Hunter considered a request to pull forward $65 million to build a facility in Canada to produce cannabis beverages. This request was not part of the original plan to test the waters with a few products in a small geography to see if there was a viable market opportunity, given that there was no legal market yet. It's this change in direction that gives Hunter pause. Should he approve the request, or push the team back to the original, more conservative plan? Senior Lecturer Derek van Bever and Steve Kaufman discuss balancing exploitation versus exploration inside this global brewing company in the case, "Beyond Beer: Brewing Innovation at Molson Coors." Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 13 Sep 2021
- Research & Ideas
Science: The Unlikely Frontier for New Business Ideas
Iterative R&D might get products to market quickly, but innovation grounded in scientific research tends to be more valuable, says research by Joshua Lev Krieger and colleagues. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Jul 2021
- What Do You Think?
Do Companies Really Need Chief Experience Officers to Know Their Customers?
Does it take a CXO or chief customer officer to bring executives closer to the customer experience? James Heskett ponders the value of this increasingly popular role. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 29 Jun 2021
- Cold Call Podcast
Procter & Gamble’s Lean Innovation Transformation
When Kathy Fish became Procter & Gamble’s Chief Research, Development & Innovation Officer in 2014, she was concerned that the world’s leading consumer packaged goods company had lost its capability to produce a steady stream of disruptive innovations. In addition, intensifying competition from direct-to-consumer companies convinced Fish that P&G needed to renew its value proposition to make all aspects of the consumer experience “irresistibly superior.” But making this change would require wholesale transformation from within. Can Fish bring lean innovation to scale at Procter & Gamble? Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Emily Truelove discusses the challenges of bringing this established company back to an innovative mindset in her case, “Kathy Fish at Procter & Gamble: Navigating Industry Disruption by Disrupting from Within.” Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 20 Apr 2021
- Book
A Simple Question That Can Guide Companies to Epic Success
Will that big idea create value? In Better, Simpler Strategy, Felix Oberholzer-Gee shows how even the most innovative companies adhere to one basic principle. He delves further into his framework in a new video. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 14 Apr 2021
- Research & Ideas
The High Cost of the Slow COVID Vaccine Rollout
Aggressive investment in COVID-19 vaccine production earlier on could have saved lives and prevented $700 billion in global economic losses, says research by Scott Duke Kominers and colleagues. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 30 Mar 2021
- Research & Ideas
Commuting Hurts Productivity and Your Best Talent Suffers Most
Companies that prize innovation should keep employees out of soul-crushing transit, even after the COVID-19 pandemic, suggests new research by Andy Wu. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 25 Mar 2021
- Research & Ideas
Steer Clear of the Blind Spots That Derail Experiments
Companies are testing everything from website features to compensation strategies, but five common mistakes can undermine their efforts, says Michael Luca. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 22 Feb 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
Private and Social Returns to R&D: Drug Development and Demographics
Research and development (R&D) by pharmaceutical firms focuses disproportionately on medical conditions afflicting the elderly. The proportion of R&D spending targeting older age groups is increasing over time. Even though these investments in R&D prolong life expectancy and improve quality of life, they have little effect on measured productivity and output growth.
- 25 Jan 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
The Evolutionary Nature of Breakthrough Innovation: Re-Evaluating the Exploration vs. Exploitation Dichotomy
Analyzing more than 2,500 firm-level innovation histories spanning 30 years, this study shows that breakthrough innovation requires organizational capabilities for both exploration and exploitation. Managers should therefore question the frequent advice to put exploration- and exploitation-related innovative efforts into different organizational units.
- 19 Jan 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
The Value of Descriptive Analytics: Evidence from Online Retailers
Analytics are descriptive when they describe what happened. Descriptive-analytics solutions are popular among marketers and retailers. This paper provides a benchmark for the benefits of using a descriptive dashboard and illustrates how to potentially extract these benefits.
- 11 Jan 2021
- Research & Ideas
Is A/B Testing Effective? Evidence from 35,000 Startups
A/B tests help startup founders capitalize on good ideas—and move on from duds—faster, says research from Rembrand Koning. How can established companies benefit? Open for comment; 0 Comments.
8 Strategies to Sustain Business Innovation
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.