Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • February 2014
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

BGI: Data-driven Research

By: Willy Shih and Sen Chai
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:17
ShareBar

Abstract

BGI has the largest installed gene-sequencing capacity in the world, and to Zhang Gengyun, general manager of the Life Sciences Division, this represented an opportunity to apply his training as a plant breeder and his early career work as a biochemist to improving important parts of the world food supply. But his biggest challenge was in scaling up his organization to address the multitude of opportunities he wanted to address. Along with its massive investments in gene sequencing machines and computing resources for data analysis, BGI had built a large cadre of data scientists who could develop and run programs to sift through the mountains of genetic data that were being generated every day. But the approach raised other questions. Could people trained in traditional fields of botany, biochemistry, and animal husbandry simply use the BGI sequencing platform as a black box, much as people in other industries relied on specialization and a modular division of labor? Or did it take the kind of cross-training and cross-boundary work in which Zhang himself had invested two decades of his professional career? Could the data scientists in BGI's "factory" grow sufficiently to understand the science, and was that now even necessary?

Keywords

Genomics; Gene Sequencing; Life Sciences; Plant Breeding; Human Genome Program; Beijing Genomics Institute; BGI; Rice Genome; Technological Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Research; Research and Development; Science; Genetics; Science-Based Business; Strategy; Commercialization; Corporate Strategy; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; China; United States

Citation

Shih, Willy, and Sen Chai. "BGI: Data-driven Research." Harvard Business School Case 614-056, February 2014.
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Author

Willy C. Shih

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • November 15, 2022
    • Harvard Business Review Digital Articles

    What Really Makes Toyota’s Production System Resilient

    By: Willy C. Shih
    • October 21, 2022
    • Harvard Business Review Digital Articles

    Climate Regulations Are About to Disrupt Global Shipping

    By: Willy C. Shih
    • August 1, 2022
    • Wall Street Journal

    The Supply Chain, Explained

    By: Willy C. Shih
More from the Authors
  • What Really Makes Toyota’s Production System Resilient By: Willy C. Shih
  • Climate Regulations Are About to Disrupt Global Shipping By: Willy C. Shih
  • The Supply Chain, Explained By: Willy C. Shih
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College