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- 22 Jan 2007
- Research & Ideas
The Immigrant Technologist: Studying Technology Transfer with China
Immigrants account for almost half of Ph.D.-level scientists and engineers in the U.S., and are prime drivers of technology development. Increasingly, however, Chinese technologists and entrepreneurs are returning home rather than staying in the U.S. to pursue opportunities. Professor William Kerr discusses the phenomena of technology transfer and implications for U.S.-based businesses and policymakers. From New Business. Key concepts include: The trend of Chinese technologists and entrepreneurs returning home rather than staying in the U.S. is a trend that potentially offers both harm and opportunity to U.S.-based interests. Immigrants account for almost half of Ph.D.-level scientists and engineers in the U.S. and are strong contributors to American technology development. It is in the United States' interest to attract and retain this highly skilled group. U.S. multinationals are placing larger shares of their R&D into foreign countries, around 15 percent today. U.S.-based ethnic scientists within multinationals help facilitate the operation of these foreign direct investment facilities in their home countries. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 08 Dec 2006
- Working Paper Summaries
The Industry R&D Survey: Patent Database Link Project
The development and diffusion of new innovations are central to economic growth, and understanding the firm-level underpinnings of technology progress is important to academics, policymakers, and business managers. While many researchers have examined (either separately or together) corporate research and development and technology diffusion, they run into two significant data constraints. William R. Kerr and Shihe Fu describe how they developed a new dataset for studying corporate innovation that encompasses three important existing datasets. This paper summarizes the Industry R&D Survey for researchers who want to study innovation through the Census Bureau's data. Key concepts include: The developed platform offers an unprecedented view of the R&D-to-patenting innovation process and a close analysis of the strengths and limitations of the Industry R&D Survey. This R&S platform can, through the Census Bureau's file structure, facilitate other studies of how innovation leads to productivity. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 20 Nov 2006
- Research & Ideas
Open Source Science: A New Model for Innovation
Borrowing a practice that is common in the open source software community, HBS professor Karim R. Lakhani and colleagues decided to see how "broadcasting" might work among scientists trying to solve scientific problems. The results? Promising for many types of innovation, as he explains in this Q&A. Key concepts include: Practices in the open source software community offer a model for encouraging large-scale scientific problem solving. Open up your problem to other people in a systematic way. A problem may reside in one domain of expertise and the solution may reside in another. Find innovative licensing ways or legal regimes that allow people to share knowledge without risking the overall intellectual property of the firm. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 Sep 2006
- Lessons from the Classroom
Mixing Students and Scientists in the Classroom
In his course on commercializing science and technology, Lee Fleming combines students from business, engineering, law, science, and medicine. The result: Ideas for products from scale-eating bacteria to quantum dot cancer treatments. Key concepts include: Unique approaches and perspectives are crucial when exploring opportunities occurring at the intersection of business, science, and technology. The first step in mixing teams from diverse disciplines is often to break through preconceptions each group has about the other. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Jul 2006
- Research & Ideas
The Accidental Innovator
Many important innovations are the byproduct of accidents—the key is to be prepared for the unexpected. Professor Robert D. Austin discusses his research and practical implications on the concept of accidental innovation. Key concepts include: Innovation can't always be planned—accidents happen. Be prepared to recognize serendipitous opportunity. Understand the nature of breakthrough inventions in your industry and plan accordingly. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Jul 2006
- Working Paper Summaries
Do Managers’ Heuristics Affect R&D Performance Volatility? A Simulation Informed by the Pharmaceutical Industry
Can the R&D process be managed to provide more certainty and success? The authors explore R&D performance volatility using the pharmaceutical industry as the model. The study looks at two types of heuristics that are commonly used to manage R&D project portfolios: (1) which products to start, and whether to continue or kill a product in development; (2) how resources should be allocated at each phase of development. By changing the heuristics used to make decisions at each stage of development, managers can decrease the amount of uncertainty and failure in the R&D process. Key concepts include: Pay attention to R&D portfolio management, not just portfolio selection. Don't delay in killing bad projects. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Jul 2006
- Working Paper Summaries
The Cycles of Theory Building in Management Research
How do business academics know they are categorizing or measuring the best things to help us understand interesting phenomena? Scholars waste a lot of time and energy disparaging and defending various research methods. Yet the stakes are high for business academics to create theory that is intellectually rigorous, practically useful, and able to stand the tests of time. The authors describe a three-stage process for building theory; discuss the role of anomalies for building better theory; and suggest how scholars can refine research questions, carry out projects, and design student coursework. Key concepts include: A common language about the research process will help management scholars build more effectively on each other's work. If management researchers follow a robust, reliable process, even the most "average" among them can produce and publish research that is of high value to academics and practitioners. The dichotomy that many people see between teaching and research need not create conflict. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Jul 2006
- Working Paper Summaries
Behavioral Operations
Organizations often commit to more product development projects than they can handle. And while people do not always behave rationally, most research on operations management still assumes they do. This paper explores theoretical and practical ways to study the effects of behavior and cognition on operations. Key concepts include: Recognize the role of common cognitive biases such as wishful thinking, overconfidence, and procrastination in order to understand and solve chronic problems in operations management. Such knowledge may help improve the operating systems that people design, implement, and use. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Oct 2005
- Research & Ideas
IPR: Protecting Your Technology Transfers
Countries are adopting stronger intellectual property rights to entice international corporate investment. But who really benefits from IPR? Should multinationals feel secure that their secrets will be protected? A Q&A with professor C. Fritz Foley. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 29 Nov 2004
- Research & Ideas
Caves, Clusters, and Weak Ties: The Six Degrees World of Inventors
Your company's scientists and investors can be antennas that bring great ideas into your company. The key, says HBS professor Lee Fleming, is understanding small-world networks. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 04 Oct 2004
- What Do You Think?
Does Speed Trump Intellectual Property?
Speed can enhance product development and innovation, but speed can also be used effectively by fast imitators to both save design costs and preempt market share. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 11 Aug 2003
- Research & Ideas
Cheap, Fast, and In Control: How Tech Aids Innovation
Companies don’t need to spend a fortune on research and innovation. HBS professor Stefan Thomke explains how new technologies enable businesses to experiment on the cheap in his new book, Experimentation Matters. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 09 Jun 2003
- Research & Ideas
The Benefits of “Not Invented Here”
Not all the smart people work for you. By leveraging the discoveries of others, companies can produce spectacular results. A Q&A with professor Henry Chesbrough on his new book. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 May 2003
- Research & Ideas
How Bank of America Turned Branches into Service-Development Laboratories
In this Harvard Business Review excerpt, HBS professor Stefan Thomke describes how Bank of America applies a systematic R&D process to create services. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 May 2002
- Research & Ideas
A Toolkit for Customer Innovation
It seems almost counterintuitive. But this Harvard Business Review excerpt by Harvard Business School professor Stefan Thomke and MIT's Eric von Hippel suggests that you stop listening closely to your customers—and instead give them tools for creating their own products. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 Jun 2001
- Research & Ideas
When In-House Research Isn’t Enough
Big companies have long relied on their own internal R&D efforts to help build new products and services. But Professor Henry Chesbrough says corporate research has to broaden its vision and incorporate external resources to support new initiatives. Here's why. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 Mar 2001
- Research & Ideas
The Essentials for Enlightened Experimentation
In the past, the high cost of experimentation has greatly impacted many firms' ability to successfully innovate. But now, new technologies are enabling reinvention of R&D from the ground up. HBS associate professor Stefan Thomke explains. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 02 Oct 2000
- Research & Ideas
Networked Incubators: Hothouses of the New Economy
Are business incubators a fleeting phenomenon or a lasting way of bringing start-ups to fruition? Four HBS professors argue that one particular model—the "networked incubator"—is most likely to endure. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 23 May 2000
- Research & Ideas
The Emerging Art of Negotiation
A negotiation is rarely open-and-shut, but research is starting to reveal a number of ways that this complicated and often-volatile process might go a lot better for all concerned. HBS Professor Kathleen L. Valley, HBS Senior Research Fellow Max H. Bazerman and two colleagues point the way toward a new understanding of the psychology of negotiation. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
The Value of Openness in Scientific Problem Solving
Scientists are generally rewarded for discoveries they make as individuals or in small teams. While the sharing of information in science is an ideal, it is seldom practiced. In this research, Lakhani et al. used an approach common to open source software communities—which rely intensely on collaboration—and opened up a set of 166 scientific problems from the research laboratories of twenty-six firms to over 80,000 independent scientists. The outside scientists were able to solve one-third of the problems that the research laboratories were unable to solve internally. Key concepts include: Opening up problem information to a large group of outsiders can yield innovative technical solutions, increase the probability of success in science programs, and ultimately boost research productivity. Open source software communities provide a model for improving the process of solving scientific problems. Outsiders can see problems with fresh eyes; in this study, problems were solved by independent scientists with expertise at the boundary of or even outside their field. Achieving true openness and collaboration will require change in the mindsets of both scientists and lab leadership. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.