- 01 Nov 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Forecasting Airport Transfer Passenger Flow Using Real-Time Data and Machine Learning
Passengers arriving at international hubs often endure delays, especially at immigration and security. This study of London’s Heathrow Airport develops a system to provide real-time information about transfer passengers’ journeys through the airport to better serve passengers, airlines, and their employees. It shows how advanced machine learning could be accessible to managers.
- 31 Oct 2018
- What Do You Think?
What is the Function of Fear in Leadership?
SUMMING UP Is the use of fear by managers ever justified? For James Heskett's readers, the answer is not so simple. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 30 Oct 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 6 The Value Structure of Technologies, Part 1: Mapping Functional Relationships
Technology shapes organizations by influencing the search for value—something that someone perceives as a good—in an economy made up of free agents. To understand the organizations that will develop and implement particular technologies we must first understand the technologies’ value structure, including three main issues that make it difficult to value technologies.
- 30 Oct 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 5 Complementarity
Even as economics has theories about what assets and activities should be grouped together under common ownership and unified governance, in practice it sometimes makes sense to distribute complementary assets, skills, and activities across separate organizations. This paper investigates when and how this happens.
- 30 Oct 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 14 Introducing Open Platforms and Business Ecosystems
Platform systems have existed in various forms for centuries. Beginning in the 1980s and 1990s, newly competitive technology of open platform systems based on digital technology and modular architectures changed the structure of entire industries. This paper lays the groundwork for a comprehensive theoretical investigation of open platform systems.
- 30 Oct 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
The Value Structure of Technologies, Part 2: Technical and Strategic Bottlenecks as Guides for Action
This paper presents analytic tools to formulate strategy in large, evolving technical systems. It explains how value-enhancing technical change comes from the effective management of technical and strategic bottlenecks in conjunction with module boundaries and property rights. The analytic tools are used to explain the evolution of three historic technologies: early aircraft, machine tools, and container shipping.
- 30 Oct 2018
- First Look
New Research and Ideas, October 30, 2018
Women get harsher punishment for misconduct than men ... Corporate sustainability: tough but necessary ... Booking.com revamps its customer experience.
- 29 Oct 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Public Sentiment and the Price of Corporate Sustainability
Public opinions from industry experts are important in the economy but it has not been clear how they affect the valuation of and returns to corporate activities. Using big data and machine learning, this paper analyzes how public sentiment influences the market pricing of firms’ sustainability activities and thereby the future stock returns of portfolios that integrate environmental, social, and governance data.
- 29 Oct 2018
- Research & Ideas
Hunting for a Hot Job in High Tech? Try 'Digitization Economist'
Amazon has more economists on staff than any university economics department, and technology firms are snapping them up the minute they graduate, says Michael Luca. Why? Call it the economics of digitization. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 25 Oct 2018
- Managing the Future of Work
How advanced technology is lifting the business of cranes
Panu Routila, the CEO of Konecranes, which makes port cranes and industrial lifting equipment, discusses how technology is transforming the business of moving many of the things we buy every day. Technologies such as data analytics and virtual reality are not only improving maintenance and revolutionizing employee training, but are leading to a constant evolution of business models. For a CEO like Panu, predicting the future has never been more important. What do you think he sees when he looks ahead?
- 25 Oct 2018
- Cold Call Podcast
Vodafone’s Innovative Approach to Advanced Technologies
William Kerr discusses how telecom giant Vodafone incorporated big data, automation, and artificial intelligence to improve productivity while ensuring new opportunities were created for the next generation of workers. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Oct 2018
- Sharpening Your Skills
Startup or Established Company? Which Is Best for You?
What are the tradeoffs between going to a startup versus joining a mature company? Julia Austin, who has worked on both sides of the house, has some advice. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 23 Oct 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Opportunistic Returns and Dynamic Pricing: Empirical Evidence from Online Retailing in Emerging Markets
Dynamic pricing is widely applied in industries like airline ticketing, ride-sharing, and online retailing. This paper identifies two downsides of dynamic pricing: opportunistic returns and strategic choice of payment method. The impact can be significant and has implications for managers and researchers.
- 23 Oct 2018
- First Look
New Research and Ideas, October 23, 2018
Who's more overconfident: men or women? ... How CEO activism affects consumer attitudes ... Real-time data can help you make that flight.
- 22 Oct 2018
- Sharpening Your Skills
Motivate Me, Please
People are often coin-operated when it comes to work, but managers can bring out their best performance using motivators other than money. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 Oct 2018
- Managing the Future of Work
How Vodafone’s CEO is using AI to transform the way the company works (rebroadcast)
In a re-release of our first episode, Vittorio Colao, who stepped-down as CEO of Vodafone in October of 2018, discusses the sweeping changes technology is bringing across his organization, from call centers to senior executives. If you like this episode, listen to HBS Cold Call to hear Bill Kerr discuss the HBS case on Vodafone’s transformation.
- 18 Oct 2018
- Research & Ideas
How to Use Free Shipping as a Competitive Weapon
Free shipping is an increasingly important tool in the online retailer's marketing arsenal, but profit is lost when not done right, says Donald Ngwe. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 17 Oct 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Quantile Forecasts of Product Life Cycles Using Exponential Smoothing
Many important business decisions rely on a manager’s forecast of a product or service’s life cycle. One of the most widely used forecasting techniques is exponential smoothing models. This paper introduces a model suitable for large-scale forecasting environments where key operational decisions depend on quantile forecasts.
- 17 Oct 2018
- Research & Ideas
Pro Basketball Coaches Display Racial Bias When Selecting Lineups
Research finds that NBA coaches give slightly more playing time to players of their own race, but the gap disappears at playoff time. Research by Letian Zhang. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
Pioneer (Dis-)advantages in Markets for Technology
When and how to enter a new market is central to firms’ innovation strategies, including in the medical device industry. The authors show how to evaluate early-mover advantage vs. disadvantage when the primary option to monetize an innovation lies in selling it in an intermediate “market for technology” rather than in a final product market.