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Anatomy of a Failed Launch — The Michelin PAX Tire
Innovation Digital ArticleIt is always instructive to examine how successful firms can go wrong, even in markets that they think they understand well. The market failure of the Michelin run-flat PAX tire illustrates the common mistake of failing to realize that even a groundbreaking product has to create a complete consumption chain. Broken links in the chain […] -
Is R&D Getting Harder, or Are Companies Just Getting Worse At It?
R&D Digital ArticleReturns to innovation appear to be declining. -
Creating Breakthroughs at 3M
Innovation Magazine ArticleCompanies say they want breakthrough products, but most are far more adept at making incremental improvements to existing lines. A pioneering division at 3M successfully navigated a process that leads to breakthrough thinking. -
The Risky Business of Diversification
Innovation Magazine ArticleOn the basis of a sample from the top 200 of the Fortune “500” and data from the PIMS (Profit Impact of Market Strategies) project, this author gives some guidelines for established companies on what to expect from new ventures. He points out that it takes an average of 10 to 12 years before the […] -
A Taxonomy of Innovation
Product development Magazine ArticleA Taxonomy of Innovation -
Look to Consumers to Increase Productivity
Personal productivity Magazine ArticleWhen productivity is a problem in manufacturing, managers turn to the R&D department or operations for help. In services, however, especially ones where there is a lot of contact with the customer, such in-house groups cannot by themselves improve productivity. Because services involve the customer in production, are labor intensive, and are time-bound, consumer behavior […] -
Managing Technological Change: A Box of Cigars for Brad
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleA hypothetical case illustrates managerial problems in a firm that has lost strategic control of technology and its competitive edge by becoming insulated... -
Customers as Innovators: A New Way to Create Value (HBR OnPoint Enhanced Edition)
Technology & Operations Magazine ArticleProduct R&D at many companies is a major bottleneck. The difficulty is that fully understanding the needs of just a single customer can be an inexact... -
The Ambitious Business Goals Aiming to Change the World
Organizational Development Digital ArticleFor example, Nissan is working toward a world with zero accidents. -
AI Is Going to Change the 80/20 Rule
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Digital ArticleThree reasons why. -
Rethinking Crowdsourcing
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Magazine ArticleAs crowdsourcing evolves, new research finds a pitfall companies should be alert to: Consumer voting on the ideas submitted on open innovation platforms... -
Why Now Is the Time for "Open Innovation"
Innovation & Leadership Digital ArticleCovid-19 has shown how companies can work together to solve problems. -
When Clorox Goes Green, Tough Questions Emerge
Sustainable business practices Digital ArticleWhen a mainstream consumer-products manufacturer decides to dive headfirst into the green market, some interesting questions emerge. While a company may be confident that interest in carbon-friendly products and services is on the rise, what can it really understand about this rapidly developing market? And where should it aim when consumer preferences are still shifting? […] -
Managing in an Age of Modularity
Innovation Magazine ArticleMany executives will have to learn what computer executives have long known. -
Which U.S. Companies Are Doing the Most R&D in China and India?
Emerging markets Digital ArticleAnd what makes their initiatives successful. -
The Power of Product Integrity
Product development Magazine ArticleSome companies consistently develop products that succeed with customers. Other companies often fall short. What differentiates them is integrity. Every product reflects the organization and the development process that created it. Companies that consistently develop successful products—products with integrity—are themselves coherent and integrated. Moreover, this coherence is distinguishable not just at the level of structure […] -
Marketing Performance—What Do You Expect?
Project management Magazine ArticleA good plot, good friends, and full of expectation; an excellent plot, very good friends. Shakespeare, King Henry IV, Part I Special Report When trying to assess performance, there is no business function top executives worry about more than marketing. Most of them look at the marketers in their companies as something between vacuum-cleaner salespeople […] -
Should Marketing or R&D Have More Power?
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleThe experts weigh in. -
How GE Uses Data Visualization to Tell Complex Stories
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleAn interview with Linda Boff, GE's executive director of global brand marketing. -
Nimble Leadership
Leadership Magazine ArticleWalking the line between creativity and chaos
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Whose Life is This? A Creativity Exercise
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study8.95View Details The purpose of this technical note is to introduce a creativity exercise based on photo stimuli to business-school faculty and to discuss how it can be... -
Hot Wheels at Mattel: Reinventing the Wheel
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In 2017, Chris Down, Global Brand General Manager for Hot Wheels, and his team from the Advanced Play Group within Mattel, Inc., were considering which... -
Polaroid-Kodak
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details Describes Kodak's long-awaited challenge to Polaroid in the field of instant photography. Provides technological and company background of both Polaroid... -
What Is Marketing?
Sales & Marketing Book32.00View Details This book explores what marketing is and how an enterprise can differentiate itself from others in attracting and retaining customers. The book is organized... -
Zopa.com: From a Hot Idea to an Established Market Player?
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details Launched in early 2005, Zopa is a peer-to-peer online brokerage that couples British residents who want to lend with those who want to borrow. The company... -
Godiva Japan: Think Local, Scale Global
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details This case tracks Jerome Chouchan's strategies and execution for a successful turn around of Godiva Japan's operations which was experiencing a decline... -
Barry Riceman at NetD (A)
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Brandon Fogg must solve two seemingly unrelated problems in his management of creative R&D professionals. First, despite having hired brilliant research... -
The Genesis Labs at Novartis
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details Novartis' Genesis Labs program, launched in 2016 as part of Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR), hosted pitch competitions where teams... -
Norton Group PLC: To Be or Not to Be in the Motorcycle Business (B)
Sales & Marketing Case Study5.00View Details Outlines the decisions taken by the company's management team in response to the challenges posed in Norton Group PLC (A). For each such decision, further... -
General Motors Technical Center India - Powertrain Engineering
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Prabjot Nanua was proud of the growing capabilities of the General Motors Technical Center India Powertrain Engineering group that he oversaw. Since 2003... -
PAREXEL International Corp.: Scaling Up
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details Through the lens of biopharmaceutical contract research organization (CRO) PAREXEL, this case traces the evolution of the firm as it reinvents itself... -
Airbus A3XX: Developing the World's Largest Commercial Jet (B)
Finance & Accounting Case Study5.00View Details Supplements the (A) case. -
Asociacion Colombiana de Industrias Plasticas (Acoplasticos)
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details Acoplasticos was established in 1961 as a lobbying group for Colombia's major plastics manufacturing companies. In the early 1980s, the organization shifted... -
Apex Ski Boots
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details Apex Ski Boots has introduced a new ski boot that, due to its radical design, is meeting resistance in the marketplace from many retailers, ski experts,... -
IBM: The Iterative Software Development Method
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details This case follows IBM's use of iterative software development to manage projects. The head of IBM's Rational Product Development is asked by the head... -
USA Today Decision: Making Headlines Across the Nation (B)
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details Provides an update and supports additional discussion of the process by which Gannett pursued the USA Today project. -
Dragon's Teeth Vineyards
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Dragon's Teeth Vineyards (DTV) is a South African wine producer that is considering whether to use genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in its wine-making... -
EverTrue: Mobile Technology Development (A)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details Brent Grinna is evaluating different options for the technology development of his start-up's iPhone app, including hiring local programmers, finding... -
DHL Envirosolutions Australia: End-of-Life Management Service for E-Waste
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Product stewardship services relied on an Australian Government regulatory framework built on the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) -... -
Under Armour: Creating and Growing a New Consumer Brand
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details The case traces the development of the Under Armour (UA) brand, product, and market growth under CEO and founder Kevin Plank from its inception in 1996...
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Anatomy of a Failed Launch — The Michelin PAX Tire
Innovation Digital ArticleIt is always instructive to examine how successful firms can go wrong, even in markets that they think they understand well. The market failure of the Michelin run-flat PAX tire illustrates the common mistake of failing to realize that even a groundbreaking product has to create a complete consumption chain. Broken links in the chain […] -
Is R&D Getting Harder, or Are Companies Just Getting Worse At It?
R&D Digital ArticleReturns to innovation appear to be declining. -
Creating Breakthroughs at 3M
Innovation Magazine ArticleCompanies say they want breakthrough products, but most are far more adept at making incremental improvements to existing lines. A pioneering division at 3M successfully navigated a process that leads to breakthrough thinking. -
Whose Life is This? A Creativity Exercise
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study8.95View Details The purpose of this technical note is to introduce a creativity exercise based on photo stimuli to business-school faculty and to discuss how it can be... -
The Risky Business of Diversification
Innovation Magazine ArticleOn the basis of a sample from the top 200 of the Fortune “500” and data from the PIMS (Profit Impact of Market Strategies) project, this author gives some guidelines for established companies on what to expect from new ventures. He points out that it takes an average of 10 to 12 years before the […] -
A Taxonomy of Innovation
Product development Magazine ArticleA Taxonomy of Innovation -
Hot Wheels at Mattel: Reinventing the Wheel
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In 2017, Chris Down, Global Brand General Manager for Hot Wheels, and his team from the Advanced Play Group within Mattel, Inc., were considering which... -
Polaroid-Kodak
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details Describes Kodak's long-awaited challenge to Polaroid in the field of instant photography. Provides technological and company background of both Polaroid... -
What Is Marketing?
Sales & Marketing Book32.00View Details This book explores what marketing is and how an enterprise can differentiate itself from others in attracting and retaining customers. The book is organized... -
Look to Consumers to Increase Productivity
Personal productivity Magazine ArticleWhen productivity is a problem in manufacturing, managers turn to the R&D department or operations for help. In services, however, especially ones where there is a lot of contact with the customer, such in-house groups cannot by themselves improve productivity. Because services involve the customer in production, are labor intensive, and are time-bound, consumer behavior […]