| LEC # | TOPICS | READINGS | DISCUSSION QUESTIONS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction | |||
| 1 | Strategy and Technology: Creating, Capturing and Delivering Value | Defining a strategy for Motorola. "The Way of the Warrior." The Economist, 2004. | Is the strategy that X and X outlined for Motorola useful ? Why or why not? In your view, how should one define a strategy for a technology driven company? How should such a strategy differ from a technology strategy? What should be the relationship between them? When is a technology strategy useful? What should be its role? |
| Part 1. Understanding the Evolution of Industries | |||
| 2 | Case: Surface Logix | Case: Surface Logix. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Case. (HBS #9-802-050.) August 22, 2001. The S Curve and the Determinants of Industry Evolution McGahan, Anita. "How Industries Change." Harvard Business Review, 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: 0671622501. 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: 0875847404.Capturing Value: Uniqueness and Complementary Assets Henderson, Rebecca "Making Money from Innovation." Chapter 3 in Strategy and Technology. (Unpublished.) | What would you recommend that Carmichael Roberts do next? What should be Surface Logix's business model in the long term? |
| 3 | Case: Calloway Golf and the Big Bertha | Callaway Handout (PDF) | How is the industry likely to evolve over the next five years? Why? What should Ely Callaway do next? |
| 4 | Case: Ventures in Salt: Compass Minerals | Why was Compass Minerals able to launch a successful IPO? Should Compass Minerals invest in innovation? How can Compass Minerals maintain its success? | |
| 5 | Case: Synthes | Case: Synthes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Case. (HBS #9-502-008.) December 14, 2001. Moore, G. "High-Tech Marketing Illusion," and "High-Tech Marketing Enlightenment." Chapter 1 and 2 in Crossing the Chasm. Rev. ed. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 1999, pp. 9-62. ISBN: 0060517123. 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. ISBN: 0060521996. | Should Synthes develop "Bio-resorbable internal fixation devices"? If so, why and how? If not, why not? |
| 6 | Case: Goodyear: The Radial Tyre Decision | Tushman, Michael, and Wendy Smith. "Organizational Technology: Technological Change, Ambidextrous Organizations and Organizational Evolution." In Companion to Organizations. Edited by J. Baum. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2002, pp. 386-414. ISBN: 0631216944. Henderson, Rebecca "Going for Growth: Managing Discontinuous Innovation." Chapter 7 in Strategy and Technology. (Unpublished.) | Should Goodyear develop the radical tire? If so, why and how? If not, why not? |
| 7 | Pause for Reflection: Competing across the Life Cycle | ||
| Part II. The Disintegrating Value Chain | |||
| 8 | Case: Abgenix and the Xeno Mouse | Case: Abgenix and the Xeno Mouse. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Case. (HBS #9-501-061.) January 09, 2001. | How do you think Abgenix can best exploit the Xeno Mouse? |
| 9 | Case: Xerox Technology Ventures: March 1995 | Case: Xerox Technology Ventures. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Case. (HBS #9-295-127.) March 17, 1995. | What are the strengths and weaknesses of the structure that Xerox has developed? Why does Xerox permit the start ups to use its brand name? Is there any risk in this decision? Why doesn't Xerox "outsource" the management of XTV to a venture capital company? |
| 10 | Case: Intel Labs and the Crisis in Photolithography (A) | Case: Intel Labs (A) Photolithography Strategy in Crisis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Case. (HBS #9-600-032.) October 13, 1999. | What is Intel's view of basic research? What are the strengths of Intel's approach to RandD? Do you see any weaknesses? What would you recommend that Sandy Wilson do? Of the three options outlined on page 10 of the case, which do you think makes the most sense and why? |
| 11 | Pause for Reflection: Competing across the Value Chain | ||
| Part III. Strategy in a Networked World | |||
| 12 | Case: Qualcomm Inc., 2004 | Shaprio, Carl., and Hal Varian. "The Art of Standards Wars." California Management Review 41, no. 2 (Winter 1999). Henderson, Rebecca: "Competing when Standards are Important." Chapter 4 in Strategy and Technology. (Unpublished.) Brandenburger, Adam, and Barry Nalebuff. "War and Peace," "Co-opetition," and "Added Value." Chapter 1, 2, and 5 in Co-opetition. New York, NY: Doubleday, 1996, pp. 3-39, 110-158. ISBN: 0385479506. | What are Qualcomm's major challenges? What should be Qualcomm's strategy going forward? |
| 13 | Case: Nokia and Project Oxygen | Case: Nokia and Project Oxygen (Abridged). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Case. (HBS #9-704-474.) January 20, 2004. | How can Nokia create value in an embedded world? How can Nokia capture value? |
| 14 | Case: Ember Corporation | Case: Ember Corp.: Developing the Next Ubiquitous Network Standard. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Case. (HBS #9-703-448.) February 03, 2003. | Should Ember integrate into chip manufacturing? Why or why not? What are Ember's major competitive threats going forward? What should Ember's strategy be? |
| 15 | Case: HP: Carly's Dilemma | Elgin, Ben. "Carly's Challenge." Business Week, December 13, 2004. | What are HP's major strategic dilemmas? What should be HP's strategy going forward? |
| 16 | Pause for Reflection: Competing in Networked Worlds | ||
| Part IV. Strategy in Practice | |||
| 17 | Case: Corning Inc.: Research Strategy in 2003 | Case: Corning Inc: Technology Strategy in 2003. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Case. (HBS #9-703-440.) November 13, 2002. | How would you characterize Corning's technology strategy to date? Has it been successful? What should Corning's technology strategy be going forward? How much should the firm invest in R and D over the next five years? In which areas? How would you answer the question "what is the value of research to Corning"? |
| 18 | Lecture: Tools for Technology Strategy | Luherman, Timothy A. "Investment Opportunities as Real Options: Getting Started on the Numbers." Harvard Business Review (July 1, 1998). Repenning, Nelson, and John Sterman. "Nobody Ever Gets Credit for Fixing Problems that Never Happened." California Managment Review 43, no. 4 (Summer 2001). Wheelwright, S., and K. Clark. "Creating Project Plans to Focus Development." Harvard Business Review, (March-April 1992): 70-82. Swartz and Ogilvy. "Plotting your Scenarios," and Wilson. "Mental Maps of the Future." Chapter 4, and 5 in Learning from the Future. Edited by Liam Fahey and Robert Randall. New York, NY: Wiley and Sons, pp. 57-108. ISBN: 0471303526. | |
| 19 | Case: We've got Rhythm! Medtronic Corporation's Cardiac Pacemaker Business | Case: We've got Rhythm! Medtronic Corporation's Cardiac Pacemaker. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Case. (HBS #9-698-004.) July 08, 1997. | Why did things go so badly wrong at Medtronic? Of all the things that Medtronic did to "fix" it's process, what do you think was the most important? Why? |
| 20 | Case: Kirkham Instruments | Case: Improving the Product Development Process at Kirkham Instruments. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Case. (HBS #9-697-058.) January 2, 1997. | Why is the process at Kirkham Instruments going so badly? What should they have done differently? What would you recommend that Kathleen Quinn do next? |
| 21 | Case: Allstate Chemical Company: The Commercialization of Dynarim | Case: Allstate Chemical Company: The Commercialization of Dynarim. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Case. (HBS #9-687-010.) November 03, 1986. | |
| 22 | Pause for Reflection: The Role of the Analyst | William Pounds readings. | |
| Part V. Wrap Up | |||
| 23 | Highlights from Term Projects | ||
| 24 | Conclusion | ||
Table of Contents
Study Materials
Readings
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The readings for the class are listed here, along with discussion questions to supplement those readings. More information on Harvard Business School Cases can be found here.