Operations →
- 16 Mar 2020
- Research & Ideas
How the Coronavirus Is Already Rewriting the Future of Business
We asked Harvard Business School experts how the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to change business practice. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 17 Feb 2020
- Sharpening Your Skills
How Entrepreneurs Can Find the Right Problem to Solve
Identifying a customer's pain points is the first step for entrepreneurs in developing a new product. Julia Austin offers tips for choosing the right "job to be done." Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 21 Jan 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
The Impact of the General Data Protection Regulation on Internet Interconnection
While many countries consider implementing their own versions of privacy and data protection regulations, there are concerns about whether such regulations may negatively impact the growth of the internet and reduce technology firms’ incentives in operating and innovating. Results of this study suggest limited effects of such regulations on the internet layer.
- 21 Jan 2020
- Cold Call Podcast
China-based Fuyao Glass Considers Manufacturing in the US
Not many Chinese companies open manufacturing facilities in the US, but automotive glass maker Fuyao is considering just that. In a recent case study, Willy Shih examines factors that go into deciding where companies should locate production centers. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 04 Dec 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Intelligent Design of Inclusive Growth Strategies
How companies, working with a catalyst, can redesign supply chains to achieve economic, environmental, and social returns.
- 16 Sep 2019
- Research & Ideas
Crowdsourcing Is Helping Hollywood Reduce the Risk of Movie-Making
Hollywood insiders have created "The Black List," which helps surface good but often overlooked scripts. Does the wisdom of the crowd work at the box office? Research by Hong Luo. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 02 Sep 2019
- What Do You Think?
Are Overlooked Forces Shielding the US from Severe Economic Downturns?
SUMMING UP: Many of Jame's Heskett's readers believe that one factor more than any other could kills expansion of the United States economy: actions by the Federal Reserve. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 21 Aug 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Improving Customer Compatibility with Operational Transparency
Service firms seeking prospective customers usually highlight the advantages of their offerings and downplay the tradeoffs. This study suggests a different approach: Provide transparency into advantages as well as tradeoffs. The transparency helps customers make informed decisions and can lead to better outcomes for both firms and customers over the long run.
- 07 Aug 2019
- Research & Ideas
Big Infrastructure May Not Always Produce Big Benefits
Government spending on bridges, roads, and other infrastructure pieces does not always ignite economic good times, say William Kerr and Ramana Nanda. The key question: Are financiers nearby? Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 07 Jul 2019
- HBS Case
Walmart's Workforce of the Future
A case study by William Kerr explores Walmart's plans for future workforce makeup and training, and its search for opportunities from digital infrastructure and automation. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 29 Jun 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Infrastructure and Finance: Evidence from India's GQ Highway Network
In India, the Golden Quadrilateral highway network connects four major cities. This study of the relationship between the infrastructure project and development of the local financial sector finds that, in districts along and near the GQ, initial levels of financial development shaped how, and where, infrastructure investment could jumpstart real economic activity.
- 05 Jun 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
How Transparency into Internal and External Responsibility Initiatives Influences Consumer Choice
Three studies examined how firms can use transparency into social and environmental responsibility initiatives to differentiate themselves in the consumer market. Results show that transparency into internal, responsible operations practices can increase sales at least as much as transparency into external, corporate social responsibility practices, if not more so.
- 21 May 2019
- Cold Call Podcast
If the Key to Business Success Is Focus, Why Does Amazon Work?
Sunil Gupta explores the infiltration of Amazon into dozens of industries including web services, grocery, and movie production. What’s the big plan? Is the company spread too thin? Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 26 Mar 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Managed Ecosystems and Translucent Institutional Logics: Engaging Communities
Organizations increasingly rely on engagement with external communities of contributors. This paper explores transitions to a managed-ecosystem governance mode and its implications for strategy and innovation. To be successful, firms must develop the capabilities to shepherd communities, leverage without exploiting them, and share intellectual property rights.
- 25 Mar 2019
- Research & Ideas
The Secret Life of Supply Chains
While US policymakers and politicians focus on reviving the manufacturing sector, Mercedes Delgado and Karen Mills unearth a source of better jobs hidden in plain sight. Call it the supply chain economy. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Mar 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
The Impacts of Increasing Search Frictions on Online Shopping Behavior: Evidence from a Field Experiment
This paper challenges the logic that making it easier for consumers to search across a wide assortment of products is the best strategy for online retailers. Experiments show that adding extra search costs to find discounted items can improve gross margins and sales by increasing the number of items inspected and serving as a self-selecting price discrimination mechanism among customers.
- 07 Jan 2019
- Research & Ideas
The Better Way to Forecast the Future
We can forecast hurricane paths with great certainty, yet many businesses can't predict a supply chain snafu just around the corner. Yael Grushka-Cockayne says crowdsourcing can help. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 19 Dec 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Find and Replace: R&D Investment Following the Erosion of Existing Products
This study sheds light on how product outcomes shape the direction of innovation and markets for technology. In the drug development industry in particular, negative product shocks appear to spur investment changes both within the directly affected firm and in competing firms in the same R&D markets.
- 10 Dec 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Platform Competition: Betfair and the U.K. Market for Sports Betting
Since the early 2000s, online betting exchanges have had a new relationship with customers relative to traditional bookmakers, providing a platform to match individuals willing to lay and back the same outcome. This study shows how exchanges’ platform design choices have major implications for their likelihood of success.
The Effects of Hierarchy on Learning and Performance in Business Experimentation
Do senior managers help or hurt business experiments? Analyzing a dataset of more than 6,300 experiments on the A/B/n testing platform Optimizely, this study suggests that involving senior executives in experimentation teams can have surprising consequences.