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The Simple Economics of Open Source

by Martha Lagace

What motivates thousands of computer programmers-and even the companies that employ them-to share their code with the world? The growing use of so-called "open source" software may not seem, at first glance, to make much economic sense. But according to research by HBS Professor Josh Lerner and his colleague Jean Tirole, economics may actually help explain why open source works as well as it does. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Stock Options Are Not All Created Equal

by Brian Hall

Stock options dominate the pay of top executives today, but are often poorly understood both by those who grant them and those who receive them. In this excerpt from an article in the Harvard Business Review, HBS Professor Brian J. Hall describes three types of stock option plans and the incentives and risks they entail. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Leading Professional Service Firms

Firms in the $80 billion professional services industry all face the same fundamental challenge: aligning their most valuable assets—the talents of their employees—with the strategy and organization of the firm. In this interview, HBS Professor Jay Lorsch, chair of the Executive Education program Leading Professional Service Firms, discusses the role these firms play in the world's economy and the keys to their success. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Adjusting the Fit for Government

by Martha Lagace

It is no simple task to strike the right balance between too much government intervention and not enough. And when corruption has seeped into a society at all levels, it's hard to know how to create an environment that welcomes investors yet does not neglect vital human services such as health care and education. Debating the balance for African societies and business were panelists with personal experience on the continent, in a conversation led by HBS Professor Debora Spar. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Learning in Action

by David A. Garvin

Most managers today understand the value of building a learning organization. But in moving from theory into practice, managers must realize there's no one-size-fits-all strategy applicable to every company and every situation. In this excerpt from his book Learning in Action: A Guide to Putting the Learning Organization to Work (HBS Press), HBS Professor David A. Garvin shows how different organizations put different learning strategies to work. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Financial Services 24/7

by Susan Young

Technology, especially Internet technology, is having a huge impact on the financial services industry, leaving old and new players — and consumers — scrambling to find their place in the new environment. HBS Professors Dwight Crane, Warren McFarlan and Sandra Sucher look at the new paradigm for financial services in this report from the HBS Bulletin. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

The Right Way to Restructure Conglomerates in Emerging Markets

by Tarun Khanna & Krishna Palepu

Western financial institutions, consultants and academic advisors alike have often urged the breakup of the large, diversified business groups that dominate the private sector in many emerging economies. But a rush to dismantle these groups would be a mistake, say HBS Professors Tarun Khanna and Krishna Palepu. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

No Place Like Home: America’s Housing Crisis and Its Impact on Business

by Garry Emmons

Affordable housing is a bottom-line issue, one that American business ignores at its own peril. New research and initiatives of HBS Professors William J. Poorvu and Michael A. Wheeler and others show why business needs to take a more provocative stance to assure that moderate- and low- income workers can afford to live near where they work. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Incubators: The New Venture Capitalists?

by Kenneth Liss

Once the sleepy domain of universities and public development agencies, business incubators have shown new life in the Internet economy. Focused on providing new ventures not just with funding, but also with services, advice, connections and physical space, they offer a new way for dot.com companies to get to market fast. Four leaders from this rapidly growing industry looked at incubators and their relation to the traditional world of venture capital. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Putting Health Care Consumers in the Driver’s Seat

by Staff

Amid rising costs, changing attitudes and increasing dissatisfaction with the existing health care system, the development of consumer-driven health care is a given: the question, according to participants in an HBS conference chaired by Professor Regina A. Herzlinger, is not If, but When. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Whence IT Value?

by Andrew McAfee

Spending on information technology on the part of U.S. manufacturers is finally starting to pay off in increased productivity. Why now? Have IT investments, growing steadily since the 1970s, suddenly crossed a magic threshhold? HBS Professor Andrew McAfee believes the answer lies neither in magic nor in the growing power of computers themselves. Productivity gains, he writes in this article from the online journal Exec, may have more to do with the evolution of computing from PC "islands" to integrated networks that bridge distances and bring people together. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Social Capital Markets: Creating Value in the Nonprofit World

by Anne Kavanagh

Money given away to nonprofit organizations used to be considered "charity." No longer. Donations to nonprofits are increasingly viewed as capital investments of precious resources. HBS faculty members Jed Emerson and Allen Grossman have launched an interdisciplinary effort to study and understand these "Social Capital Markets." Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

The Mind of the Market: Extending the Frontiers of Marketing Thought

by Martha Lagace

HBS Professor Gerald Zaltman makes metaphors come alive with his patented Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique or ZMET, a process that draws on psychology, anthropology, neuroscience and other disciplines to delve deep into the mind of the consumer. In this interview, Zaltman talks about the imagery and inspirations behind this unusual market research tool. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Delivering Information Services: A 30-Year Perspective

by Staff

When the HBS Executive Education course Delivering Information Services (DIS) began nearly three decades ago, the focus was on the management of mainframe computers. HBS Professor Richard L. Nolan discusses how the program and the way it's taught have kept pace with change in the Internet Age. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Growing Pains: Prescriptions for U.S. Health Care

by Staff

The health care industry may look seriously ill, says HBS Professor Clayton M. Christensen, but it's merely suffering the growing pains of a natural evolution as technology forces change at both the high and low ends of the market. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

The Right Connections

by Judith A. Ross

In attracting funding for a new venture, report HBS Professor Monica Higgins and her colleague Ranjay Gulati of Northwestern University, professional ties and company connections are even more important than a good product in inspiring the trust and loosening the wallets of potential investors. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Building Effective R&D Capabilities Abroad

by Walter Kuemmerle

Planning R&D facilities in the new global economy calls for a complex decision making process, based in part on whether a particular site is intended to tap local knowledge or to support a company's manufacturing and marketing abroad. HBS Professor Walter Kuemmerle offers a look at two contrasting foreign-based R&D decisions in this excerpt from his article in World View: Global Strategies for the New Economy (HBS Press). Closed for comment; 0 Comments.