Publications
Abstract—No abstract available.
Publisher's link: http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=49313
- July-August 2015
- Harvard Business Review
Engineering Reverse Innovations: Principles for Creating Successful Products for Emerging Markets
Abstract—Multinationals are starting to catch on to the logic of reverse innovation, in which products are designed first for consumers in low-income countries and then adapted into disruptive offerings for developed economies. But only a handful of companies have managed to do it successfully until now. In this article, an MIT engineering professor and a Tuck professor of management explain why. After conducting a three-year study of reverse innovation projects, they've concluded that the main hurdle facing product developers is a mindset. Western designers, who usually create products by following time-tested methods, struggle to overcome the constraints and leverage the freedoms of emerging markets. They tend to fall into common mental traps that prevent the development of reverse innovations: matching segments to existing products, lowering price by removing features, failing to think through all the technical requirements, neglecting stakeholders, and refusing to believe products created for low-income markets could have global appeal. But companies can avoid these traps, the authors found, by adhering to five design principles. The success of several new products illustrates how. One is the Leveraged Freedom Chair, a low-cost wheelchair that can navigate rugged terrain in places with poor infrastructure; a modified version is taking Western markets by storm.
Publisher's link: http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=49331
Working Papers
The Business Model: Nature and Benefits
Abstract—This paper considers the nature of the business model and its strategic relevance to negotiations. We elaborate a substantive definition of the business model as decisions enforced by the authority of the firm; this definition enables the analysis of business models through the analysis of individual firm choices. We situate negotiation outcomes within the strategy literature by considering "ambivalent value"-value produced by the interaction of partner firms that does not necessarily accrue to any of them. The extent of "ambivalent value" is unclear, but its persistence, despite changing structural market features, promises to help sustain superior profits in the long run. We conclude with an exploration of some ways in which firms' business models may impact their negotiation outcomes. Several of the proposed pathways work intuitively through the intrinsic characteristics (motivation, personality, etc.) of agents negotiating on behalf of the firm; others operate independently of those characteristics.
Download working paper: http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=49196
Cases & Course Materials
- Harvard Business School Case 815-113
MINTing Innovation at NewYork-Presbyterian (B)
This short (B) case gives an update on the progress that MINT has made at NYP since the end of the (A) case.
Purchase this case:
https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/815113-PDF-ENG
- Harvard Business School Case 714-424
Amgen Inc.: Pursuing Innovation and Imitation? (A)
Set in 2009, the (A) case explores whether Amgen, a leading innovator of biotech-based drugs, should enter the emerging business of biosimilars (BS), which are essentially "me-too" products. There appear to be sound reasons to explore this related diversification: innovation is getting harder, regulators are intent on encouraging BS, and Amgen needs renewed growth. But the possibility sparked a strong negative reaction within Amgen, not least because it contravened Amgen's mission. Internal debate was exacerbated by the presence of considerable uncertainty over the regulatory requirements for BS development and how difficult it would be to develop a BS. Some felt it played to Amgen's strengths, others felt that Amgen lacked critical capabilities. Many felt there was simply no need for any change in strategy at all. To navigate through this morass, Amgen needed clear strategic thinking. Amgen set out to see if an objective business case for entry could be built. This involved settling on a set of most likely assumptions, quantitatively estimating likely revenue and profitability, testing out sensitivity to assumptions using scenarios, and assessing the main risks of entry and of staying out. The analysis provided strong support for entry subject to the key assumptions. The (A) case also invites students to think through how CEO Kevin Sharer should handle a positive entry decision given the divided opinions across the senior management team.
Purchase this case:
https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/714424-PDF-ENG
- Harvard Business School Case 714-426
Amgen Inc.: Pursuing Innovation and Imitation? (B)
The (B) case reveals that Sharer decided that Amgen should enter the emerging biosimilars business. However, he took the better part of a year to syndicate the decision across the senior team while in parallel investing in some time-critical process development. The (B) case then focuses on how the new business should be implemented, particularly in terms of integration versus separation of a new business unit, choice of unit leader, and whether Amgen should partner with a third party to gain access to skills or resources.
Purchase this case:
https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/714426-PDF-ENG
- Harvard Business School Case 715-462
The Columbus Partnership
The Columbus Partnership, a civic alliance bringing together the heads of roughly 50 leading organizations in central Ohio, has made strides in developing the region's economy. But a stinging defeat at the ballot box has set back the Partnership's efforts to improve local public education. As the case opens in May 2014, the Partnership's leaders must decide whether to continue to try to improve public education and, if so, how.
Purchase this case:
https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/715462-PDF-ENG
- Harvard Business School Case 815-101
Founder Field Day
Branded as the "Millennial firm for Millennials," Mike Rothenberg founded Rothenberg Ventures (RV) in 2012 while earning his MBA at the Harvard Business School (HBS). Over the following 24 months, Rothenberg raised $20 million and built a venture capital firm that made dozens of seed investments in technology-focused startups. Pitched as an event that could pack a year's worth of networking into a single day, Founder Field Day was perhaps the firm's largest bet to date. On a spring day in May 2014, as some 300 invited founders descended on AT&T Park in San Francisco, one attendee, Fran Hauser, had a much larger decision to make than just selecting which sessions to attend in the day's 7th and 8th "innings." Rothenberg had recently asked Hauser to join RV as a partner and investor and invited her out to the Bay Area to consider the offer. Hauser, who had left her role as the president of digital for Time Inc.'s Style & Entertainment Group three months earlier, wondered if Rothenberg's inexperience would prove to be a drawback or a strength.
Purchase this case:
https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/815101-PDF-ENG
- Harvard Business School Case 115-049
Statoil: Transparency on Payments to Governments
No abstract available.
Purchase this case:
https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/115049-PDF-ENG
- Harvard Business School Case 115-038
CLP: Powering Asia
No abstract available.
Purchase this case:
https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/115038-PDF-ENG