Learning the Fine Art of Collaboration

Alan   MacCormack; Theodore  Forbath

Article | Harvard Business Review | January 2008

Learning the Fine Art of Collaboration

by Alan MacCormack and Theodore Forbath

Abstract

Innovations are increasingly brought to the market by networks of firms, selected for their unique capabilities and operating in a coordinated manner. This collaborative model demands that firms develop different skills, yet despite this need, there is little guidance on how to develop these abilities. Based on a recent study, this article describes the main factor differentiating those firms who excel at collaboration from those who struggle—the ability to learn how to collaborate. We describe the four areas in which firms must invest to get better at learning: People, Process, Platforms and Programs.

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Learning; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Social and Collaborative Networks; Networks; Programs; Management Skills; Management Practices and Processes; Technology Platform; Market Platforms; Business Processes; Business Model;

Format: Print

2 pages

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Citation:

MacCormack, Alan, and Theodore Forbath. "Learning the Fine Art of Collaboration." Forethought. Special Issue on HBS Centennial. Harvard Business Review 86, no. 1 (January 2008): 10–11.

This case describes the operations of a fictitious company that processes Cranberries. The case contains data that allows students to calculate the bottleneck stage in production, and to evaluate alternative investment options for increasing cranberry processing capacity.

Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2018 (Revised February 2020)

Innovation at Uber: The Launch of Express POOL

Chiara Farronato, Alan MacCormack and Sarah Mehta

Set in March 2018, the case follows ride-sharing company Uber as it develops and launches a new product called Express POOL. This product offers a reduced price to riders willing to carpool, walk a short distance to/from their pick-up and drop-off points, and wait a few minutes before being matched to a driver. Two weeks after the launch of Express POOL in six U.S. cities, Uber’s product managers discover that if riders are made to wait five minutes to be matched to a driver—rather than the standard two minutes—rider cancellation rates increase, but Uber’s costs per ride are reduced. Together with data scientists, engineers, and product operations specialists, the product managers must decide whether to keep rider wait times at two minutes or increase wait times to five minutes in the six newly launched cities. The decision is complicated by the fact that Uber’s data science team normally places a five-week moratorium on changes to any new product, to allow robust data to be collected on its performance. This case is paired with a supplementary dataset from Uber (HBS No. 619-702). In advance of the class discussion, students can analyze the data and draw their own conclusions about the trade-offs of maintaining the standard wait times or increasing them.

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Technology; Mobile Technology; Software; Technology Platform; Decision Making; Technology Industry; California; San Francisco;

Citation:

Farronato, Chiara, Alan MacCormack, and Sarah Mehta. "Innovation at Uber: The Launch of Express POOL." Harvard Business School Case 619-003, October 2018. (Revised February 2020.) View Details

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