Technology Strategy for System Design and Management

Readings

LEC #	TOPICS	READINGS
Introduction and Overview
1	What is technology strategy and why does it matter	Amabile, Teresa M., and Susan Archambault. “E Ink.” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 9-800-143, August 16, 1999. Christensen, Clayton M., and Michael E. Raynor. “Why Hard-Nosed Executives Should Care About Management Theory.” Harvard Business Review 81, no. 9 (2003): 66-74.
Technological Innovation
2	Technological innovation	Bowen, H. Kent, Kenneth P. Morse, and Douglas Cannon. “A123 Systems.” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 606114, May 8, 2006. Christensen, Clayton M. “Exploring the Limits of the Technology S-Curve Part I: Component Technologies.” Product and Operations Management 1, no. 40 (1992): 334-357.
3	Technological innovation and design options	MacCormack, Alan, and Kerry Herman. “Rise and Fall of Iridium.” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 601040, November 8, 2001. Gourville, John. “Eager Sellers and Stony Buyers: Understanding the Psychology of New Product Adoption.” Harvard Business Review 84, no. 6 (2006): 98-106.
4	Projects (an opportunity to present proposals for project ideas)	No assigned readings.
Demand Opportunity, Life-cycles and Transition
5	Demand opportunity	Tripsas, Mary P., and Emily Thompson. “Lexar Media: The Digital Photography Company?” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 9-805-062, October 15, 2004. Rogers, Everett. “Innovativeness and Adopter Categories.” Chapter 7 in Diffusion of Innovations. New York, NY: Free Press, 2003. ISBN: 9780743222099.
6	Marketing high-tech products	Lal, Rajiv, and Sean Lanagan. “Documentum, Inc.” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 502026, April 10, 2002. Moore, Geoffrey. “High-Tech Marketing Illusion,” and “High-Tech Marketing Enlightenment.” Chapters 1 and 2 in Crossing the Chasm. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 2002. ISBN: 9780060517120.
7	Debrief and discussion on demand opportunity	Ulwick, Anthony. “Turn Customer Input into Innovation.” Harvard Business Review 80, no. 1 (2002): 91-97. Christensen, Clayton M., Scott Anthony, Gerald Berstell, and Denise Nitterhouse. “Finding the Right Job for Your Product.” Sloan Management Review 48, no. 3 (2007): 38-47. Leonard, Dorothy, and Jeffrey Rayport. “Spark Innovation Through Empathic Design.” Harvard Business Review 75, no. 6 (1997): 102-113. Thomke, Stefan, and Eric von Hippel. “Customers as Innovators: A New Way to Create Value.” Harvard Business Review 80, no. 4 (2002): 74-81.
8	Life-cycles and transitions	Gavetti, Giovanni, Rebecca Henderson, and Simona Giorgi. “Kodak and the Digital Revolution (A).” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 9-705-448, November 16, 2004. Henderson, Rebecca, and Kim Clark. “Architectural Innovation: The Reconfiguration of Existing Product Technologies and the Failure of Established Firms.” Administrative Science Quarterly 35, no. 1 (1990): 9-30. Christensen, Clayton M. “Exploring the Limits of the Technology S-Curve Part II: Architectural Technologies.” Product and Operations Management 1, no. 4 (1992): 358-366.
9	Responses to transitions	Gavetti, Giovanni, Elizabeth Johnson, John Lafkas, and Mary Tripsas. “Polaroid: Entering Digital Imaging.” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 706459, May 7, 2007. Suarez, Fernando F., and Gianvito Lanzolla. “The Half-Truth of First-Mover Advantage.” Harvard Business Review 83, no. 4 (2005): 121-127. Tripsas, Mary, and Giovanni Gavetti. “Capabilities, Cognition and Inertia: Evidence from Digital Imaging.” Strategic Management Journal 21, nos. 10-11 (2000): 1147-1161.
10	Debrief and discussion on transitions and disruption	Suarez, Fernando F. “Battles for Technological Dominance: an Integrative Framework.” Research Policy 33, no. 2 (2004): 271-286. Christensen, Clayton M., and Joseph Bower. “Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave.” Harvard Business Review 73, no. 1 (1995): 43-53.
Business Ecosystems, Creating and Capturing Value
11	Business Ecosystems	Moore, James F. “Predators and Prey: A New Ecology of Competition.” Harvard Business Review 71, no. 3 (1993): 75-86. Iansiti, Marco. “Strategy as Ecology.” Harvard Business Review 82, no. 3 (2004): 68-78. Yoffie, David, and Mary Kwak. “With Friends Like These: The Art of Managing Complementors.” Harvard Business Review 84, no. 9 (2006): 88-98.
12	Standards battles	Tripsas, Mary. “Adobe® Systems, Inc.” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 9-801-199, December 5, 2000. Shapiro, Carl, and Hal Varian. “The Art of Standards Wars.” California Management Review 41, no. 2 (1999): 8-32. Cusumano, Michael, and Y. Mylonadis. “Strategic Maneuvering and Mass Market Dynamics: The Triumph of VHS over Beta.” Business History Review 66 (1992): 51-94. Arthur, Brian. “Increasing Returns and the New World of Business.” Harvard Business Review 74, no. 4 (1996): 100-111.
13	Ecosystems, standards and value capture	Henderson, Rebecca, and Nancy Confrey. “Ember Corp.: Developing the Next Ubiquitous Network Standard.” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 9-703-448, February 3, 2003. Collis, David, and Cynthia Montgomery. “Competing on Resources.” Harvard Business Review 73, no. 4 (1995): 118-128. Teece, David. “Capturing Value from Knowledge Assets: The New Economy, Markets for Know-How and Intangible Assets.” California Management Review 40, no. 3 (1998): 55-79. Chakravorti, Bhaskar. “The New Rules for Bringing Innovations to Market.” Harvard Business Review 82, no. 3 (2004): 59-67.
14	Debrief and discussion on ecosystems and value capture	Christensen, Clayton M., Michael E. Raynor, and Matt Verlinden. “Skate to Where the Money Will Be.” Harvard Business Review 79, no. 10 (2001): 72-81. Baldwin, Carliss Y., and Kim B. Clark. “Architectural Innovation and Dynamic Competition: The Smaller ‘Footprint’ Strategy.” Harvard Business School Working Paper 07-014 (August 2006).
15	Open innovation and open source	MacCormack, Alan, and Kerry Herman. “Red Hat and the Linux® Revolution.” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 9-600-009, November 5, 1999. Pisano, Gary P., and David J. Teece. “How to Capture Value from Innovation: Shaping Intellectual Property and Industry Architecture.” California Management Review 50, no. 1 (2007): 278-296. Baldwin, Carliss, and Kim Clark. “Managing in an Age of Modularity.” Harvard Business Review 75, no. 5 (1997): 84-93.
16	Debrief and discussion on open innovation and open source	Chesbrough, Henry W., and David J. Teece. “Organizing for Innovation: When is Virtual Virtuous?” Harvard Business Review 80, no. 8 (2002): 127-135.
Strategy, Adaptation, Agility and Decision-making
17	Strategy and adaptation	Yoffie, David B., and Michael Slind. “Apple Inc., 2008.” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 708480, September 8, 2008. Teece, David J., Gary Pisano, and Amy Shuen. “Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic Management.” Strategic Management Journal 18, no. 7 (1997): 509-533. Eisenhardt, Kathleen, and Jeffrey A. Martin. “Dynamic Capabilities: What are They.” Strategic Management Journal 21 (2000): 1105-1121.
18	Re-invention and convergence	Slind, Michael, David B. Yoffie, and Travis D. Merrill. “iPod vs. Cell Phone: A Mobile Music Revolution?” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 707419, August 2, 2006. Yoffie, David B., and Michael Slind. “iPhone vs. Cell Phone.” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 708451, October 5, 2007. Eisenmann, Thomas, Smita Bakshi, Sebastien Briens, and Shailendra Singh. “Google, Inc.” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 804141, May 9, 2005. Sull, Donald. “Strategy as Active Waiting.” Harvard Business Review 83, no. 9 (2005): 120-129.
19	Debrief and discussion on strategic agility	Mankins, Michael, and Richard Steele. “Stop Making Plans: Start Making Decisions.” Harvard Business Review 84, no. 1 (2006): 76-84.
20	Simulation	Christensen, Clayton M., and Willy Shih. “Strategic Innovation Simulation: Back Bay Battery.” Harvard Business Review, August 28, 2009. Eisenhardt, Kathleen. “Making Fast Strategic Decisions in High-Velocity Environments.” Academy of Management Journal 32, no. 3 (1989): 543-576. Eisenhardt, Kathleen, Jean L. Kahwajy, and L. J. Bourgeois III. “How Management Teams Can Have a Good Fight.” Harvard Business Review 76, no. 2 (1997): 77-85.
21	Tough decisions	Reinhardt, Forest L., Dennis A. Yao, and Masako Egawa. “Toyota Motor Corp.: Launching Prius.” Harvard Business School Case. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing. Case: 9-706-458, January 13, 2006. Courtney, Hugh, Jane Kirkland, and Patrick Viguerie. “Strategy Under Uncertainty.” Harvard Business Review 75, no. 6 (1997): 67-79.
22	Debrief and discussion on decision-making	Garvin, David, and Michael Roberto. “What You Don’t Know About Making Decisions.” Harvard Business Review 79, no. 8 (2001): 108-116.
Wrap-up, Summary and Project Presentations
23	Wrap-up and summary
24	Project presentations (1)
25	Project presentations (2)