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The purpose of this chapter is to explore how technologies and organizations engaged
in flow production evolve over time. To allow for an...
This case examines design choices in the construction of flow lines. Flow lines are
a popular way of arranging production because they are...
- 2021
- Working Paper
Time Dependency, Data Flow, and Competitive Advantage
Data is fundamental to machine learning-based products and services and is considered strategic due to its externalities for businesses, governments, non-profits, and more generally for society. It is renowned that the value of organizations (businesses, government...
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- March 2021 (Revised July 2021)
- Case
Resident
By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Thomas O. Jones
Launched in 2016, Resident was a leading player in the direct-to-consumer bed-in-a-box mattress market, where it was one of at least 175 venture-backed companies competing in the space. By late 2020, it had realized over $500 million in revenue, profitability in the...
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- January 2021
- Supplement
Bespoken Spirits: Disrupting Distilling
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher
On October 7, 2020, Bespoken Spirits publicly announced it had received $2.6 million of seed funding for its “sustainable maturation process,” a process that could produce award-winning whiskeys in just days rather than years using a novel technology and data science. ...
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Keywords:
Business Ventures;
Business Strategy;
Competitive Advantage;
Disruption;
Entrepreneurship;
Environmental Sustainability;
Cash Flow;
Disruptive Innovation;
Innovation Strategy;
Brands and Branding;
Business Model;
Consumer Products Industry;
Consumer Products Industry;
Consumer Products Industry;
United States;
California
- January 2021
- Case
Bespoken Spirits: Disrupting Distilling
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher
On October 7, 2020, Bespoken Spirits publicly announced it had received $2.6 million of seed funding for its “sustainable maturation process,” a process that could produce award-winning whiskeys in just days rather than years using a novel technology and data science. ...
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Keywords:
Business Ventures;
Business Strategy;
Competitive Advantage;
Disruption;
Entrepreneurship;
Environmental Sustainability;
Cash Flow;
Disruptive Innovation;
Innovation Strategy;
Brands and Branding;
Business Model;
Consumer Products Industry;
Consumer Products Industry;
Consumer Products Industry;
United States;
California
- August 2020
- Article
Workplace Knowledge Flows
By: Jason Sandvik, Richard Saouma, Nathan Seegert and Christopher Stanton
We conducted a field experiment in a sales firm to test whether improving knowledge flows between coworkers affects productivity. Our design allows us to compare different management practices and to isolate whether frictions to knowledge transmission primarily reside...
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- May 2020 (Revised June 2020)
- Case
TransDigm's Acquisition and Integration of Arkwin Industries
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel W. Fisher
In May 2013, TransDigm, a company that manufactured a wide range of highly engineered aerospace parts for both military and civilian aircraft, announced it was buying Arkwin Industries for $286 million in cash (3 times Arkwin’s sales of $91 million). Having acquired...
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- March 2020
- Article
Organizing Knowledge Production Teams Within Firms for Innovation
By: Vikas A. Aggarwal, David H. Hsu and Andy Wu
How should firms organize their pool of inventive human capital for firm-level innovation? While access to diverse knowledge may aid knowledge recombination, which can facilitate innovation, prior literature has focused primarily on one way of achieving that: diversity...
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- February 2020
- Case
Rotoplas: Bringing More and Better Water
By: John D. Macomber and Carla Larangeira
Private companies were being turned to for potable water in the world’s megacities due to impacts of climate change including droughts and flooding. Mexico City had endured several water-related crises, with its population suffering from floods, droughts, water...
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- February 2020
- Technical Note
Talent Management and the Future of Work
By: William R. Kerr and Gorick Ng
The nature of work is changing—and it is changing rapidly. Few days go by without industry giants such as Amazon and AT&T announcing plans to invest billions of dollars towards retraining nearly half of their respective workforces for jobs of the future. What changes...
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Keywords:
Human Resource Management;
Human Capital Development;
Human Resource Practices;
Talent;
Talent Acquisition;
Talent Development;
Talent Development And Retention;
Talent Management;
Talent Retention;
Labor Flows;
Labor Management;
Labor Market;
Strategy Development;
Strategy Management;
Strategy Execution;
Strategy And Execution;
Strategic Change;
Transformations;
Organization;
Organization Alignment;
Organization Design;
Organizational Adaptation;
Organizational Effectiveness;
Management Challenges;
Management Of Business And Political Risk;
Change Leadership;
Future Of Work;
Future;
Skills Gap;
Skills Development;
Skills;
Offshoring And Outsourcing;
Investment;
Capital Allocation;
Work;
Work Culture;
Work Force Management;
Work/life Balance;
Work/family Balance;
Work-family Boundary Management;
Workers;
Worker Productivity;
Worker Performance;
Work Engagement;
Work Environment;
Work Environments;
Productivity;
Organization Culture;
Soft Skills;
Technology Management;
Technological Change;
Technological Change: Choices And Consequences;
Technology Diffusion;
Disruptive Technology;
Global Business;
Global;
Workplace;
Workplace Context;
Workplace Culture;
Workplace Wellness;
Collaboration;
Competencies;
Productivity Gains;
Digital;
Digital Transformation;
Digital Transition;
Competitive Dynamics;
Competitiveness;
Competitive Strategy;
Data Analytics;
Data;
Data Management;
Data Strategy;
Data Protection;
Aging Society;
Diversity;
Diversity Management;
Millennials;
Communication Complexity;
Communication Technologies;
International Business;
Work Sharing;
Global Competitiveness;
Global Corporate Cultures;
Intellectual Property;
Intellectual Property Management;
Intellectual Property Protection;
Intellectual Capital And Property Issues;
Globalization Of Supply Chain;
Inequality;
Recruiting;
Hiring;
Hiring Of Employees;
Training;
Job Cuts And Outsourcing;
Job Performance;
Job Search;
Job Design;
Job Satisfaction;
Jobs;
Employee Engagement;
Employee Attitude;
Employee Benefits;
Employee Compensation;
Employee Fairness;
Employee Relationship Management;
Employee Retention;
Employee Selection;
Employee Motivation;
Employee Feedback;
Employee Coordination;
Employee Performance Management;
Employee Socialization;
Process Improvement;
Application Performance Management;
Stigma;
Institutional Change;
Candidates;
Digital Enterprise;
Cultural Adaptation;
Cultural Change;
Cultural Diversity;
Cultural Context;
Cultural Strategies;
Cultural Psychology;
Cultural Reform;
Performance;
Performance Effectiveness;
Performance Management;
Performance Evaluation;
Performance Appraisal;
Performance Feedback;
Performance Measurement;
Performance Metrics;
Performance Measures;
Performance Efficiency;
Efficiency;
Performance Analysis;
Performance Appraisals;
Performance Improvement;
Automation;
Artificial Intelligence;
Technology Companies;
Managerial Processes;
Skilled Migration;
Assessment;
Human Resources;
Management;
Human Capital;
Talent and Talent Management;
Retention;
Demographics;
Labor;
Strategy;
Change;
Change Management;
Transformation;
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Organizational Culture;
Working Conditions;
Technology;
Technology Adoption;
Disruption;
Economy;
Competition;
Globalization
- 2019
- Working Paper
Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 16 Capturing Value by Controlling Bottlenecks in Open Platform Systems
The purpose of this chapter is to investigate the means by which firms capture value in open platform systems. I begin by arguing that the surplus value created by complementarities within a technical system will be split among the owners of the unique and essential...
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- October 2019 (Revised January 2020)
- Case
Dulcie Madden (A)—Growth or Exit?
By: Shikhar Ghosh, Christopher Payton and Shweta Bagai
This is part of a three-case series that follows Dulcie Madden's journey as a founder over five years. Case (A) is about managing growth and cash flow; Case (B) is about the exit decision and conditions on a sale; Case (C) shows Madden dealing with adversity and the...
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Keywords:
Entrepreneurial Management;
Family;
Family Conflicts;
Founders' Agreements;
Growth And Development;
Hardware;
VC;
Scaling;
Start-up;
Female Ceo;
Risk Assessment;
Entrepreneurship;
Growth Management;
Equity;
Cash Flow;
Success;
Failure;
Acquisition;
Business Model;
Technology;
Valuation;
Family and Family Relationships;
Apparel and Accessories Industry;
Technology Industry;
United States
- 2019
- Working Paper
Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 10 Variations on the Theme of Flow Production
The purpose of this chapter is to explore how technologies and organizations engaged in flow production evolve over time. To allow for an apples-to-apples comparison, I examine organizations using essentially the same physical technologies, making similar products, and...
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- 2019
- Working Paper
Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 8 Rationalizing Flow Processes
The purpose of this chapter is to examine the value structure of flow production processes and to explain why it is necessary to rationalize flow processes using the tools of systematic management. I first explain the problems facing managers of multi-step flow...
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- 2019
- Working Paper
Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 9 Organizing to Rationalize
The purpose of this chapter is to explain what the technologies of flow production with stochastic bottlenecks require and reward in organizations. I argue that organizations successfully implementing these technologies are likely to have unified governance and...
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- August 2019
- Case
Rand Fishkin at Moz (A)
In 2016, senior management at Moz, a venture capital–backed startup providing software tools for digital marketing professionals, must decide how to address a looming cash flow crisis precipitated by failed efforts to broaden its product line. Seattle-based Moz had...
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- October 2018
- Case
Accomplice: Scaling Early Stage Finance
By: Ramana Nanda, Raffaella Sadun and Olivia Hull
Accomplice, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Boston, is raising its second fund in November 2017. Since 2009, the firm has followed a seed-led investment model, investing in tech companies at the earliest stages, often when products and business models are...
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Keywords:
Early Stage Finance;
Seed Finance;
Scouts;
Venture Capital;
Business Startups;
Private Equity;
Investment Portfolio;
Organizational Structure;
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Partners and Partnerships;
Networks;
Adaptation;
Corporate Strategy;
Technology;
Financial Services Industry;
Massachusetts;
Boston;
Cambridge;
United States
- August 2018
- Teaching Note
Magpie: Developing and Using Buyer Personas
Teaching Note for HBS No. 818-013. Magpie is a startup with a platform that allows publishers to natively tag the products discussed in their content and thus allows consumers to purchase those products without needing to leave that publisher’s web page. A key aspect...
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- July 2018 (Revised January 2019)
- Teaching Note
MC Tool
By: Richard S. Ruback, Royce Yudkoff and Ahron Rosenfeld
Sean Witty and Jason Premo acquired MC Tool, a machine shop located in South Carolina in 2007 with the intent to transform it into a precision manufacturer. Witty and Premo were able to more than double revenue to $6 million in their first year of managing MC by...
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- Summer 2018
- Article
Why High-Tech Commoditization Is Accelerating
By: Willy C. Shih
Knowledge embedded within state-of-the-art production and design tools is a powerful force that is leveling the global technology playing field. It democratizes innovation and makes future competition more challenging. This paper describes the knowledge flows through...
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Keywords:
Product Design;
Product Commercialization;
Product Development;
Product Development Strategy;
Production;
Manufacturing Tools;
Manufacturing;
Manufacturing Industry;
Engineering;
Globalization;
Goods and Commodities;
Knowledge;
Commercialization;
Business Strategy;
Corporate Strategy;
Hardware;
Technology Adoption;
Consumer Products Industry;
Consumer Products Industry;
Consumer Products Industry;
Consumer Products Industry;
Consumer Products Industry;
Consumer Products Industry;
North America;
Asia
- May 2018
- Supplement
Video Supplement to Toyota Motor Manufacturing, U.S.A. case (693-019): An updated video of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, Georgetown, KY site showing seat installation
By: Willy C. Shih
This is an updated video of the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK) assembly facility in Georgetown, KY. It is meant to be paired with the 693-019 Toyota Motor Manufacturing U.S.A. case, but with higher quality video. The vidoe shows a line tour of Assembly Two...
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