Infrastructure →
- 13 Feb 2007
- Working Paper Summaries
Electronic Hierarchies and Electronic Heterarchies: Relationship-Specific Assets and the Governance of Interfirm IT
Scholars have long been interested in the impact of information technology on the organization of work. As Andrew McAfee and colleagues argue in this study, the appropriate governance mechanism for an IT-facilitated collaboration depends on the type of IT being deployed: When an enterprise technology is required, so is an electronic hierarchy. The paper explores the issue of relationship specificity of IT assets, proposes a categorization of information technologies based on their levels of relationship specificity, and uses data from more than forty Italian industrial districts to test three hypotheses around governance of interfirm IT. These districts typically have close ties, both horizontal and vertical, and have historically worked in close collaboration with each other. Key concepts include: When an enterprise technology is required, so is an electronic hierarchy. Future research could reveal if there is a general pattern in relationship-specific investments and how entities other than powerful incumbent firms can successfully build electronic hierarchies. Future research could also help define the full spectrum of IT-based interactions and the appropriate governance mechanisms for each. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Jul 2006
- Working Paper Summaries
Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing
Activity-based costing (ABC) has become popular in business writing and management circles. (An example of an activity would be process customer complaints.) However, calculating baselines for activities, developing the model, and retesting the model once it is implemented is time-consuming and costly. Kaplan and Anderson developed improvements in the process through what they call time-driven ABC. Time-driven ABC decreases the amount of data needed, and only requires estimates of two things: (1) the practical capacity of committed resources and their cost, and (2) unit times for performing transactional activities. Key concepts include: Building an accurate time-based algorithm in one facility will typically serve as a template that can be easily applied and customized to other plants, or even other companies in an industry. Time-driven ABC requires less time and resources to implement. At one company cited, it took two people two days per month to load, calculate, validate, and report findings, compared to the ten-person team spending over three weeks to maintain the previous (traditional ABC) model. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Jul 2006
- Working Paper Summaries
Why IT Matters in Midsized Firms
What does IT actually contribute to a business? Is IT a commodity like electricity or is it a crucial element of competitive advantage? In a study of over 600 medium-sized global firms to analyze the business benefits that IT can enable, the authors found that IT capability was key to profitable business growth. This was true in both the U.S. product and services sectors as well as in Germany and Brazil. Key concepts include: IT matters. IT enables firms to scale. The amount a company spends on IT is a poor indicator of IT functionality and business impact. Firms with business process scalability find it easier to overcome obstacles to growth, differentiate themselves from competitors, and quickly capitalize on opportunities. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Jul 2006
- Working Paper Summaries
Information Technology Ecosystem Health and Performance
An IT ecosystem is "the network of organizations that drives the creation and delivery of information technology products and services." To understand the health and well being of the IT industry in the context of an ecosystem, the authors looked at three crucial IT ecosystem metrics: productivity, robustness, and innovation. Key concepts include: The IT ecosystem is strong in all three of the most important sectors of hardware, software, and services. Since the recession and retrenchment several years ago, the IT ecosystem has regained its health, competitiveness, and productivity. There are currently significant levels of innovation from both new market entrants as well as incumbent market leaders. 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.
- 09 Jan 2006
- Research & Ideas
What Really Drives Your Strategy?
For better or worse, why do so many companies veer off their strategic plan? Look for a disconnect between strategy and how resources are allocated, say Harvard Business School’s Joseph L. Bower and Clark G. Gilbert. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 23 Jun 2003
- Research & Ideas
Building a Better Buyer-Seller Relationship
How do you turn short-term transactions into long-term relationships? Harvard Business School professor Narakesari Narayandas finds answers in mature industrial markets. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 09 Jun 2003
- Research & Ideas
Incentives and Operational Excellence
Operational problems are a drag on business and often can be traced to poor controls in interorganizational settings, says HBS professor V.G. Narayanan. Here are his suggestions for tightening up those controls. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 23 Dec 2002
- Research & Ideas
Partnering and the Balanced Scorecard
Created in 1992, the Balanced Scorecard has become an effective tool for managing strategy. Now authors Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton propose using it to communicate values and vision to employees and partners. The payoff? Better strategic relationships with partners. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 26 Nov 2001
- Research & Ideas
How Toyota Turns Workers Into Problem Solvers
Toyota's reputation for sustaining high product quality is legendary. But the company's methods are not secret. So why can't other carmakers match Toyota's track record? HBS professor Steven Spear says it's all about problem solving. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 Jun 2001
- Research & Ideas
- 01 Feb 2000
- Research & Ideas
- 12 Oct 1999
- Research & Ideas
- 12 Oct 1999
- Research & Ideas
Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System
How can one production operation be both rigidly scripted and enormously flexible? In this summary of an article from the Harvard Business Review, HBS Professors H. Kent Bowen and Steven Spear disclose the secret to Toyota's production success. The company's operations can be seen as a continuous series of controlled experiments: whenever Toyota defines a specification, it is establishing a hypothesis that is then tested through action. The workers, who have internalized this scientific-method approach, are stimulated to respond to problems as they appear; using data from the strictly defined experiment, they are able to adapt fluidly to changing circumstances. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
From Manufacturing to Design: An Essay on the Work of Kim B. Clark
The interdisciplinary research of economist Kim Clark, former dean of Harvard Business School and now President of Brigham Young University-Idaho, occupies a unique place in management scholarship for three reasons. First, he tended to focus on little known and under-appreciated management groups such as manufacturing managers, product development managers, and product and process architects. Thus, he directly positioned himself outside the "traditional" management disciplines of strategy, finance, marketing, and organizational behavior. Second, he swam against the academic tide by recognizing the power of comparative and longitudinal field studies. Third, he sought frameworks beyond his own field in design theory, the engineering sciences, and finance. This paper reviews his research contributions over almost thirty years. Key concepts include: Throughout his career, Clark has brought fresh insights to old questions and opened up new territories of research. He helped to replace Frederick Taylor's scientific management principles with the dynamic concepts of continual learning and learning organizations. Clark showed how product development could be actively managed for greater efficiency and effectiveness. He developed a theory of the embedding of knowledge in organizations, which he used to explain why established firms often fail in the face of "seemingly minor innovations." He showed how changes in the modular structure of products and processes could bring about fundamental change in the structure of industries. Finally, in Clark's later works, he built bridges from design theory to user innovation, transaction- and knowledge-based theories of the firm, and strategy. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.