Supplementary readings are used to illustrate key concepts in each section of the course. Some of these concepts may be familiar to those who have taken 15.350 / 15.351, Managing Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship. If you have not taken either 15.350 or 15.351, and if you are otherwise unfamiliar with the following concepts:
- The S curve & the determinants of industry evolution
- Tools for exploring new markets: The nature of the innovator’s dilemma
- Capturing value: Uniqueness & complementary assets
- Core concepts in network externalities
- Why responding to discontinuous technological change is so difficult and what to do about it
…then you may wish to read ahead in the papers that follow. These are also listed in the regular course readings by session, but are here laid out by relevant topic for additional study.
The S Curve and the Determinants of Industry Evolution
McGahan, Anita. “How Industries Change.” Harvard Business Review, October 1, 2004.
Foster, R. “The S-curve: A New Forecasting Tool.” Chapter 4 in Innovation, The Attacker’s Advantage. New York, NY: Summit Books, Simon and Schuster, 1986, pp. 88-111. ISBN: 9780671622503.
Utterback, James. “Invasion of a Stable Business by Radical Innovation.” Chapter 7 in Mastering the Dynamics of Innovation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1994. ISBN: 9780875843421.
Tools for Exploring New Markets: The Nature of the Innovator’s Dilemma
Moore, G. Crossing the Chasm. Revised ed. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 1999. (Read chapter 1 “High-Tech Marketing Illusion,” and chapter 2 “High-Tech Marketing Enlightenment,” pp. 9-62.) ISBN: 9780066620022.
Christensen, Clayton “How Can Great Firms Fail? Insights From the Hard Disk Industry.” Chapter 1 in The Innovator’s Dilemma. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1997, pp 3-28.
Capturing Value: Uniqueness and Complementary Assets
Henderson, Rebecca. “Making Money From Innovation.” Chapter 3 in Strategy and Technology. (forthcoming)
Network Externalities
Shapiro, Carl, and Hal Varian. “The Art of Standards Wars.” California Management Review 41, no. 2 (1999): 8-32.
Brandenburger, Adam, and Barry Nalebuff. Co-Opetition. New York, NY: Broadway Business, 1997. (Read chapter 1 “War and Peace,” chapter 2 “Co-Opetition,” and chapter 5 “Added Value,” pp. 3-39 and 110-158.) ISBN: 9780385479509.
Why Responding to Discontinuous Technological Change is so Difficult and What can be Done About it
Tushman, Michael, and Wendy Smith. “Technological Change, Ambidextrous Organizations and Organizational Evolution.” In Companion to Organizations. Edited by J. Baum. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2002. ISBN: 9780631216940.
Henderson, Rebecca “Going for Growth: Managing Discontinuous Innovation.” Chapter 7 in Strategy and Technology. (forthcoming)
