Technology & Operations Management

- 2022
- Working Paper
Human Mobility and the Globalization of Knowledge Production: Causal Evidence from Multinational Enterprises

By: Dany Bahar, Prithwiraj Choudhury, James M. Sappenfield and Sara Signorelli

We investigate how reforms that ease or restrict human mobility affect global innovation. We leverage a unique dataset merging patent data with exhaustive information on business-related migration reforms that take place in 15 countries over 26 years, and employ a novel event study approach. Our results show that reforms favoring inventor mobility increase the patenting, including global collaborations, of MNEs within a country, while the opposite is true for reforms discouraging inventor mobility. Further, we show that positive migration reforms partly explain the increasing share of global knowledge production by countries with low initial patenting observed over the past decades. This suggests that policies affecting human mobility contributed to the global shift in the geography of innovation towards emerging markets.
- 2022
- Working Paper
Human Mobility and the Globalization of Knowledge Production: Causal Evidence from Multinational Enterprises

By: Dany Bahar, Prithwiraj Choudhury, James M. Sappenfield and Sara Signorelli

We investigate how reforms that ease or restrict human mobility affect global innovation. We leverage a unique dataset merging patent data with exhaustive information on business-related migration reforms that take place in 15 countries over 26 years, and employ a novel event study approach. Our results show that reforms favoring inventor mobility...
- January 2022
- Case
Geely SEA: New Electric Vehicle Platforms

By: Willy C. Shih and Shu Lin

Kent Bovellan, the Chief Engineer and Head of the Vehicle Architecture Center for Geely Holding, the Hangzhou, China headquartered global automotive group, was debating the platform choice for an upcoming "D" segment midsized battery electric vehicle (BEV). He had led the architectural development of the new Geely SEA platforms for its new family of BEVs. The new car would be part of the Zeekr premium lineup. He knew that smaller cars on a given platform inevitably suffered from costs problems, while larger vehicles suffered from less than premium attributes.They could emphasize meeting cost targets on the low end, but that might have a negative impact on the high end. Which platform should they choose? This case explores the platforms and derivatives strategies used by global auto manufacturers, and some of the changes wrought by the shift from internal combustion vehicles to battery electric. It emphasizes the importance of achieving volume and scale in reaching competitive costs and selling prices, and offers an opportunity to explore the potential impact of open standards and modular interchangability on the structure of the industry.
- January 2022
- Case
Geely SEA: New Electric Vehicle Platforms

By: Willy C. Shih and Shu Lin

Kent Bovellan, the Chief Engineer and Head of the Vehicle Architecture Center for Geely Holding, the Hangzhou, China headquartered global automotive group, was debating the platform choice for an upcoming "D" segment midsized battery electric vehicle (BEV). He had led the architectural development of the new Geely SEA platforms for its new family...
- January 2022
- Case
Strategic Agility: Lessons from the Game of Poker

By: Francesca Gino and Gary Pisano
- January 2022
- Case
Strategic Agility: Lessons from the Game of Poker

By: Francesca Gino and Gary Pisano

About the Unit

As the world of operations has changed, so have interests and priorities within the Unit. Historically, the TOM Unit focused on manufacturing and the development of physical products. Over the past several years, we have expanded our research, course development, and course offerings to encompass new issues in information technology, supply chains, and service industries.

The field of TOM is concerned with the design, management, and improvement of operating systems and processes. As we seek to understand the challenges confronting firms competing in today's demanding environment, the focus of our work has broadened to include the multiple activities comprising a firm's "operating core":

the multi-function, multi-firm system that includes basic research, design, engineering, product and process development and production of goods and services within individual operating units;
the networks of information and material flows that tie operating units together and the systems that support these networks;
the distribution and delivery of goods and services to customers.

Recent Publications

Human Mobility and the Globalization of Knowledge Production: Causal Evidence from Multinational Enterprises

By: Dany Bahar, Prithwiraj Choudhury, James M. Sappenfield and Sara Signorelli

2022 |
Working Paper |
Faculty Research

We investigate how reforms that ease or restrict human mobility affect global innovation. We leverage a unique dataset merging patent data with exhaustive information on business-related migration reforms that take place in 15 countries over 26 years, and employ a novel event study approach. Our results show that reforms favoring inventor mobility increase the patenting, including global collaborations, of MNEs within a country, while the opposite is true for reforms discouraging inventor mobility. Further, we show that positive migration reforms partly explain the increasing share of global knowledge production by countries with low initial patenting observed over the past decades. This suggests that policies affecting human mobility contributed to the global shift in the geography of innovation towards emerging markets.

Keywords: Migration; Patents; Technology; Policy

Citation

Read Now

Geely SEA: New Electric Vehicle Platforms

By: Willy C. Shih and Shu Lin

January 2022 |
Case |
Faculty Research

Kent Bovellan, the Chief Engineer and Head of the Vehicle Architecture Center for Geely Holding, the Hangzhou, China headquartered global automotive group, was debating the platform choice for an upcoming "D" segment midsized battery electric vehicle (BEV). He had led the architectural development of the new Geely SEA platforms for its new family of BEVs. The new car would be part of the Zeekr premium lineup. He knew that smaller cars on a given platform inevitably suffered from costs problems, while larger vehicles suffered from less than premium attributes.They could emphasize meeting cost targets on the low end, but that might have a negative impact on the high end. Which platform should they choose? This case explores the platforms and derivatives strategies used by global auto manufacturers, and some of the changes wrought by the shift from internal combustion vehicles to battery electric. It emphasizes the importance of achieving volume and scale in reaching competitive costs and selling prices, and offers an opportunity to explore the potential impact of open standards and modular interchangability on the structure of the industry.

Keywords: Product Innovation; Product Architecture; Product Engineering; Platform Design; Platform Strategy; Hardware; Technology Platform; Technology; Product Design; Product Development; Cost Management; Decision Making; Competitive Strategy; Industry Structures; Auto Industry; China; Sweden

Citation

Educators

Institutionalized Entrepreneurship: Flagship Pioneering

By: Gary Pisano and Francesca Gino

January 2022 |
Supplement |
Faculty Research

The link to this case supplement video playlist should be provided to students in advance as preparation for classroom case discussion.

Citation

Purchase

Strategic Agility: Lessons from the Game of Poker

By: Francesca Gino and Gary Pisano

January 2022 |
Case |
Faculty Research

Citation

Educators

Purchase

Strategic Agility: Lessons from Jazz

By: Francesca Gino and Gary Pisano

January 2022 |
Case |
Faculty Research

Citation

Educators

Purchase

FLEXE, Inc.: Pioneering On-Demand Warehousing & Fulfillment

By: Janice H. Hammond and James Barnett

January 2022 |
Case |
Faculty Research

Citation

Educators

VidyaGyan: Bridging the Rural Urban Divide

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, Rachna Chawla, Kairavi Dey and Anjali Raina

January 2022 |
Case |
Faculty Research

Set up in 2008, VidyaGyan was a residential school for children in grades 6-12 from low-income rural families in Uttar Pradesh in northern India. It was the brainchild of Shiv Nadar and Cabinet Secretary T.S.R. Subramanian, who recognized the enormous potential hidden in the poverty-stricken districts of this state. Nadar and his daughter Roshni hoped that the VidyaGyan effect would self-multiply; that students would inspire not just their family, but their street, their village, and their entire community — creating “spirals of inspiration” that would transform rural India. Regardless of their future career plans, the foundation had decided to fund the college education of any student who scored above 93% in their grade 12 exams and many students received offers from universities in the US and other countries. Having opened the door to the world, Nadar and Roshni wondered was it fair to ask the students to turn their backs on the opportunities in front of them and return home to the rural countryside?

Keywords: Non-profit; Education; Social Enterprise; Non-Governmental Organizations; Nonprofit Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Wealth and Poverty; Demographics; Education Industry; South Asia; India

Citation

Educators

Somatus: Value-Based Kidney Care (A)

By: Ariel D. Stern, Robert S. Huckman and Sarah Mehta

January 2022 |
Case |
Faculty Research

When Dr. Ikenna Okezie founded Somatus, a value-based kidney care provider, his goal had been nothing short of transforming kidney care delivery in the United States. Rather than relying on dialysis, a costly and intensive treatment for late-stage kidney disease, the Somatus model called for early identification of patients at high risk along with active management of the underlying conditions that accelerated kidney damage. But he had struggled to find health plans willing to take a chance on his unproven startup, especially in the highly concentrated dialysis treatment market. Thus, in 2017, Somatus agreed to manage traditional dialysis services for a group of hospitals in Virginia, focusing on improving the quality of care. In 2018, Somatus won its first contract with a health plan, finally allowing the startup to implement its full care model. But the contract generated just 10% of Somatus’s revenues. Now, in December 2019, Okezie must decide whether to prioritize improving traditional dialysis services or continue to chase health plans willing to implement Somatus’s innovative kidney care model.