More from the Author

• Article | International Economic Review | May 2013

  Hybrid Innovation in Meiji Japan

  Tom Nicholas

  Japan's hybrid innovation system during the Meiji era of technological modernization provides a useful laboratory for examining the effectiveness of complementary mechanisms to patents. Patents were introduced in 1885, and by 1911, 1.2 million mostly non-pecuniary prizes were awarded at 8,503 competitions. Prizes provided a strong boost to patent outcomes, especially in less developed prefectures, and they also induced large spillovers of technical knowledge in prefectures adjacent to those with prizes, relative to distant control prefectures without prizes. Linking competition expenditures with the expected market value of patents induced by the prizes permits a cost-benefit assessment of the prize competitions to be made.

  Keywords: patents; Prizes; Technological Innovation; System; Patents; Knowledge; Value; Cost vs Benefits; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Performance Effectiveness; Japan;

  Citation:

  Nicholas, Tom. "Hybrid Innovation in Meiji Japan." International Economic Review 54, no. 2 (May 2013): 575–600.

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013 (Revised from original 2013 version)

  Greylock Partners

  Felda Hardymon, Tom Nicholas and David Lane

  Citation:

  Hardymon, Felda, Tom Nicholas, and David Lane. "Greylock Partners." Harvard Business School Case 813-002, April 2013. (Revised from original January 2013 version.)

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013 (Revised from original 2011 version)

  foursquare

  Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and David Chen

  Co-founders of foursquare are deciding how to respond to competitive threats and scale up the organization. Foursquare was a location-based online service that allowed users to "check in" to a location using an application on a smartphone. Foursquare kept track of a user's check-ins, shared them with users' friends, and unlocked "Specials" that gave users discounts at nearby locations. Within a year and a half of its founding the company had 45 employees and over 5 million users and was valued in excess of $100 million. However, many competitors, including Facebook, Twitter, and Yelp, developed competitive services requiring foursquare to respond.      

  Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Online Technology; Mobile Technology; Competitive Advantage; Web Services Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Piskorski, Mikolaj Jan, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Jeffrey J. Bussgang, and David Chen. "foursquare." Harvard Business School Case 711-418, March 2013. (Revised from original January 2010 version.)

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