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Technology & Operations Management

Technology & Operations Management

  • Faculty
  • Curriculum
  • Seminars & Conferences
  • Awards & Honors
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Overview Faculty Curriculum Seminars & Conferences Awards & Honors Doctoral Students
    • November 2023
    • Article

    Open Source Software and Global Entrepreneurship

    By: Nataliya Langburd Wright, Frank Nagle and Shane Greenstein

    This is the first study to consider the relationship between open source software (OSS) and entrepreneurship around the globe. This study measures whether country-level participation on the GitHub OSS platform affects the founding of innovative ventures, and where it does so, for what types of ventures. We estimate these effects using cross-country variation in new venture founding and OSS participation. We propose an approach using instrumental variables, and cannot reject a causal interpretation. The study finds that an increase in GitHub participation in a given country generates an increase in the number of new technology ventures within that country in the subsequent year. The evidence suggests this relationship is complementary to a country’s endowments, and does not substitute for them. In addition to this positive change in the rate of entrepreneurship, we also find a change in direction—OSS contributions lead to new ventures that are more mission- and global-oriented and are of a higher quality. Together, the results suggest that OSS can boost entrepreneurial activity, albeit with a human capital prerequisite. Finally, we consider the implications for policies that encourage OSS as a lever for stimulating entrepreneurial growth.

    • November 2023
    • Article

    Open Source Software and Global Entrepreneurship

    By: Nataliya Langburd Wright, Frank Nagle and Shane Greenstein

    This is the first study to consider the relationship between open source software (OSS) and entrepreneurship around the globe. This study measures whether country-level participation on the GitHub OSS platform affects the founding of innovative ventures, and where it does so, for what types of ventures. We estimate these effects using...

    • 2023
    • Working Paper

    Navigating the Jagged Technological Frontier: Field Experimental Evidence of the Effects of AI on Knowledge Worker Productivity and Quality

    By: Fabrizio Dell'Acqua, Edward McFowland III, Ethan Mollick, Hila Lifshitz-Assaf, Katherine C. Kellogg, Saran Rajendran, Lisa Krayer, François Candelon and Karim R. Lakhani

    The public release of Large Language Models (LLMs) has sparked tremendous interest in how humans will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to accomplish a variety of tasks. In our study conducted with Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm, we examine the performance implications of AI on realistic, complex, and knowledge-intensive tasks. The pre-registered experiment involved 758 consultants comprising about 7% of the individual contributor-level employees at the company. After establishing a performance baseline on a similar task, subjects were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: no AI access, GPT-4 AI access, or GPT-4 AI access with a prompt engineering overview. We suggest that the capabilities of AI create a “jagged technological frontier” where some tasks are easily done by AI, while others, though seemingly similar in difficulty level, are outside the current capability of AI. For each one of a set of 18 realistic consulting tasks within the frontier of AI capabilities, consultants using AI were significantly more productive (they completed 12.2% more tasks on average, and completed tasks 25.1% more quickly), and produced significantly higher quality results (more than 40% higher quality compared to a control group). Consultants across the skills distribution benefited significantly from having AI augmentation, with those below the average performance threshold increasing by 43% and those above increasing by 17% compared to their own scores. For a task selected to be outside the frontier, however, consultants using AI were 19 percentage points less likely to produce correct solutions compared to those without AI. Further, our analysis shows the emergence of two distinctive patterns of successful AI use by humans along a spectrum of human-AI integration. One set of consultants acted as “Centaurs,” like the mythical half-horse/half-human creature, dividing and delegating their solution-creation activities to the AI or to themselves. Another set of consultants acted more like “Cyborgs,” completely integrating their task flow with the AI and continually interacting with the technology.

    • 2023
    • Working Paper

    Navigating the Jagged Technological Frontier: Field Experimental Evidence of the Effects of AI on Knowledge Worker Productivity and Quality

    By: Fabrizio Dell'Acqua, Edward McFowland III, Ethan Mollick, Hila Lifshitz-Assaf, Katherine C. Kellogg, Saran Rajendran, Lisa Krayer, François Candelon and Karim R. Lakhani

    The public release of Large Language Models (LLMs) has sparked tremendous interest in how humans will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to accomplish a variety of tasks. In our study conducted with Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm, we examine the performance implications of AI on realistic, complex, and...

    • September–October 2023
    • Article

    The New Era of Industrial Policy Is Here

    By: Willy C. Shih

    Governments around the world are increasingly intervening in the private sector through industrial policies designed to help domestic sectors reach goals that markets alone are unlikely to achieve. Companies in targeted sectors—such as automakers, energy companies, and semiconductor manufacturers—may experience dramatic changes in their operating environments. The policies could create new costs or deliver significant financial incentives to shift R&D or manufacturing investments. They might also incent firms to alter their supplier networks or change their trading partners. Managers who have grown up in markets without such interventions are now facing an unfamiliar environment. In this article, I outline some of the policy approaches and offer a framework for responding to them. Business leaders need to understand the competing interests shaping the policies, engage and educate political leaders and their staffs, collaborate with upstream and downstream partners, and weigh the pros and cons of accepting government incentives.

    • September–October 2023
    • Article

    The New Era of Industrial Policy Is Here

    By: Willy C. Shih

    Governments around the world are increasingly intervening in the private sector through industrial policies designed to help domestic sectors reach goals that markets alone are unlikely to achieve. Companies in targeted sectors—such as automakers, energy companies, and semiconductor manufacturers—may experience dramatic changes in their operating...

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

Open Source Software and Global Entrepreneurship

By: Nataliya Langburd Wright, Frank Nagle and Shane Greenstein
  • November 2023 |
  • Article |
  • Research Policy
This is the first study to consider the relationship between open source software (OSS) and entrepreneurship around the globe. This study measures whether country-level participation on the GitHub OSS platform affects the founding of innovative ventures, and where it does so, for what types of ventures. We estimate these effects using cross-country variation in new venture founding and OSS participation. We propose an approach using instrumental variables, and cannot reject a causal interpretation. The study finds that an increase in GitHub participation in a given country generates an increase in the number of new technology ventures within that country in the subsequent year. The evidence suggests this relationship is complementary to a country’s endowments, and does not substitute for them. In addition to this positive change in the rate of entrepreneurship, we also find a change in direction—OSS contributions lead to new ventures that are more mission- and global-oriented and are of a higher quality. Together, the results suggest that OSS can boost entrepreneurial activity, albeit with a human capital prerequisite. Finally, we consider the implications for policies that encourage OSS as a lever for stimulating entrepreneurial growth.
Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Applications and Software; Business Ventures; Development Economics; Innovation and Invention; Global Range
Citation
Read Now
Related
Wright, Nataliya Langburd, Frank Nagle, and Shane Greenstein. "Open Source Software and Global Entrepreneurship." Art. 104846. Research Policy 52, no. 9 (November 2023).

Arcos Dorados: Decarbonizing McDonald’s in Latin America – Sustainability-linked Bonds and Executive Compensation

By: George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel
  • September 2023 |
  • Supplement |
  • Faculty Research
Citation
Purchase
Related
Serafeim, George, and Michael W. Toffel. "Arcos Dorados: Decarbonizing McDonald’s in Latin America – Sustainability-linked Bonds and Executive Compensation." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 624-706, September 2023.

Arcos Dorados: Decarbonizing McDonald’s in Latin America – Alternative Protein Products

By: George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel
  • September 2023 |
  • Supplement |
  • Faculty Research
Citation
Purchase
Related
Serafeim, George, and Michael W. Toffel. "Arcos Dorados: Decarbonizing McDonald’s in Latin America – Alternative Protein Products." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 624-705, September 2023.

Arcos Dorados: Decarbonizing McDonald’s in Latin America – Standard vs Geographically Customized Strategy

By: George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel
  • September 2023 |
  • Supplement |
  • Faculty Research
Citation
Purchase
Related
Serafeim, George, and Michael W. Toffel. "Arcos Dorados: Decarbonizing McDonald’s in Latin America – Standard vs Geographically Customized Strategy." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 624-704, September 2023.

Arcos Dorados: Decarbonizing McDonald’s in Latin America – Decarbonization Activities

By: George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel
  • September 2023 |
  • Supplement |
  • Faculty Research
Citation
Purchase
Related
Serafeim, George, and Michael W. Toffel. "Arcos Dorados: Decarbonizing McDonald’s in Latin America – Decarbonization Activities." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 624-703, September 2023.

CMA CGM: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Container Shipping

By: Willy C. Shih
  • September 2023 |
  • Supplement |
  • Faculty Research
Marine transport is the most cost-effective way to move large volumes over long distances, and container shipping is the backbone of international trade in goods. Yet shipping contributed 3% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, and the deep-sea segment, which included long distance trade lanes such as Asia to Northern Europe and Asia to North America, warranted special focus because they accounted for 80% of maritime transport’s total emissions in 2019. New International Maritime Organization regulations that came into force in January 2023 mandated the annual calculation and grading of each ship of more than 5,000 deadweight tons. Vessels that received a grade of A, B, or C were compliant, while those graded D or E had time limits for getting back into compliance or removal from service. More significantly, the standards for grading required annual improvements in efficiency. This meant that a brand-new vessel built with the latest technology that was initially graded A could over time become graded E and no longer be legally operable if no upgrades were made. This is the supplementary spreadsheet for the case.
Keywords: Container Shipping; Supply Chain; Logistics; Trade Links; Decarbonization; Environmental Strategies; Environmental Impact; Globalization; Trade; Environmental Regulation; Shipping Industry; European Union; Asia; North America
Citation
Purchase
Related
Shih, Willy C. "CMA CGM: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Container Shipping." Harvard Business School Supplement 624-708, September 2023.

Navigating the Jagged Technological Frontier: Field Experimental Evidence of the Effects of AI on Knowledge Worker Productivity and Quality

By: Fabrizio Dell'Acqua, Edward McFowland III, Ethan Mollick, Hila Lifshitz-Assaf, Katherine C. Kellogg, Saran Rajendran, Lisa Krayer, François Candelon and Karim R. Lakhani
  • 2023 |
  • Working Paper |
  • Faculty Research
The public release of Large Language Models (LLMs) has sparked tremendous interest in how humans will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to accomplish a variety of tasks. In our study conducted with Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm, we examine the performance implications of AI on realistic, complex, and knowledge-intensive tasks. The pre-registered experiment involved 758 consultants comprising about 7% of the individual contributor-level employees at the company. After establishing a performance baseline on a similar task, subjects were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: no AI access, GPT-4 AI access, or GPT-4 AI access with a prompt engineering overview. We suggest that the capabilities of AI create a “jagged technological frontier” where some tasks are easily done by AI, while others, though seemingly similar in difficulty level, are outside the current capability of AI. For each one of a set of 18 realistic consulting tasks within the frontier of AI capabilities, consultants using AI were significantly more productive (they completed 12.2% more tasks on average, and completed tasks 25.1% more quickly), and produced significantly higher quality results (more than 40% higher quality compared to a control group). Consultants across the skills distribution benefited significantly from having AI augmentation, with those below the average performance threshold increasing by 43% and those above increasing by 17% compared to their own scores. For a task selected to be outside the frontier, however, consultants using AI were 19 percentage points less likely to produce correct solutions compared to those without AI. Further, our analysis shows the emergence of two distinctive patterns of successful AI use by humans along a spectrum of human-AI integration. One set of consultants acted as “Centaurs,” like the mythical half-horse/half-human creature, dividing and delegating their solution-creation activities to the AI or to themselves. Another set of consultants acted more like “Cyborgs,” completely integrating their task flow with the AI and continually interacting with the technology.
Keywords: Large Language Model; AI and Machine Learning; Performance Efficiency; Performance Improvement
Citation
Read Now
Related
Dell'Acqua, Fabrizio, Edward McFowland III, Ethan Mollick, Hila Lifshitz-Assaf, Katherine C. Kellogg, Saran Rajendran, Lisa Krayer, François Candelon, and Karim R. Lakhani. "Navigating the Jagged Technological Frontier: Field Experimental Evidence of the Effects of AI on Knowledge Worker Productivity and Quality." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 24-013, September 2023.

Shad Process Flow Design Exercise: Kick-off Class

By: Willy C. Shih
  • September 2023 |
  • Teaching Note |
  • Faculty Research
The Shad Process Flow Design Exercise is a simulation designed to help students cement what they learn in the process fundamentals section of the RCTOM course by giving them the opportunity to translate classroom concepts into actual physical processes and experience the challenges of working with a team of peers to implement and then improve and refine their designs. This teaching note is for the exercise kick-off and explains the logic behind the exercise design.
Keywords: Production; Operations; Manufacturing Industry; United States
Citation
Related
Shih, Willy C. "Shad Process Flow Design Exercise: Kick-off Class." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 624-043, September 2023.
More Publications

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    Digital Strategy: A Handbook for Managing a Moving Target

    Re: Feng Zhu
    • 12 Sep 2023

    Can Remote Surgeries Digitally Transform Operating Rooms?

    Re: Ariel D. Stern
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    Thriving After Failing: How to Turn Your Setbacks Into Triumphs

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→More Working Knowledge Articles

Harvard Business Publishing

    • July–August 2013
    • Article

    Leadership Lessons from the Chilean Mine Rescue

    By: Faaiza Rashid, Amy C. Edmondson and Herman B. Leonard
    • August 2023 (Revised September 2023)
    • Case

    T.G.S. Transportation: Battery Electric or Hydrogen?

    By: Willy C. Shih
    • 2012
    • Book

    Producing Prosperity: Why America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance

    By: Gary P. Pisano and Willy Shih
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There are no upcoming events.

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Faculty Positions

Harvard Business School seeks candidates in all fields for full time positions. Candidates with outstanding records in PhD or DBA programs are encouraged to apply.
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Contact Information

Technology & Operations Management Unit
Harvard Business School
Morgan Hall
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
tomunit@hbs.edu

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