Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 132). / In this study, I identify and discuss innovation strategies for the Japanese banking industry, with special focus on the R&D process through which banks are seeking to create new e-business opportunities. Traditionally, it was thought to be difficult to undertake well-organized R&D activities in a service industry because the intangible nature of banking services made it difficult to conduct R&D in a typical laboratory setting. Therefore, many service firms did not organize formal R&D activities. Furthermore, Japanese banks faced environmental obstacles to innovation, including government regulations, non-performing loans, and legacy assets that were difficult to abandon, such as the backbone banking system supported by major mainframe architecture. Today, emerging Internet technologies are at last triggering R&D activities among Japanese banks, and they are achieving some success in this field. This thesis identifies empirical R&D methods that have become more commonly used by Japanese banks, as well as the problems encountered in the effort to generate creative and effective ideas, screen them, perform trial-and-error iterations, and manage tests on real-life situations to gain customer input. I identify four factors that can help banks achieve innovation: managing institutional matters, managing legacy assets, acquiring a better understanding of customer needs, and organizing reality tests early to obtain feedback and make appropriate responses. The thesis begins by introducing some formal, empirical R&D methods. Next, I describe the business and technology environment of the Japanese banking industry, and depict the difficult situations that hamper innovation in the industry. Then, I review various organizational issues facing / (cont.) R&D in banking, followed by an analysis of the actual R&D processes taken in actual cases undertaken by the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi. / by Yasushi Iguchi. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. / The awareness of disruptive technologies and their potential effects on established firms was recently brought to the forefront of business thinking by Clayton Christensen in his book "The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail". While Christensen's work offers a fascinating view of technology change and the potentially lethal impact it may have on incumbent firms, his perspective on the contribution of technology change on product attributes and resultant firm disruption, appears, in my opinion, to be too limiting. The specific areas addressed by my thesis include: -- The expansion of Christensen's definition of disruptive technologies, -- An expanded understanding of the product attributes and subsequent competitive advantage that may result from the exploitation of an emerging technology, -- The role of market segmentation and technology interaction on the diffusion of an emerging technology and potential disruption of an incumbent technology, -- Inclusion of the potential for the down-market migration of products based on disruptive technologies in addition to the up-market scenario. The objective of my thesis is to broaden the spectrum of outcomes associated with technology change in order to help firms formulate a more comprehensive technology strategy. A framework for thought is provided regarding the potential outcomes of the exploitation of an emerging technology (possibly disruptive) in the context of product attributes and market influence in which the reader is encouraged to consider his or her own experiences. / by Hap Acee. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-89). / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / The quality of higher education has been a growing concern in the United States and United Kingdom. There have been no notable improvements in the education system until the last few years. Considerable transformation in the higher education arena has begun to take place in step with the shift of industries from manufacturing to knowledge-based. The competitive environment has altered and paved the way for new entrants to successfully emerge and offer more educational options to students. This research will discuss the factors that may influence the wave of higher education learning in the near future. Various technological research and initiatives led by the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, NASA and other organizations highly contribute to the technological advancements in distance learning and other interactive learning modes. Faculty will play an important role in the progress of non-traditional learning approaches as they continue to experiment and work on the available technologies. Established institutions in higher education maintain many traditions and invest a lot of resources to continuously improve their current processes. New entrants cater the needs of a different type of market composed of working adults and students who seek to learn specific skills and improve their employability. They employ a different type of business model that might prove to be disruptive. The new institutions have begun to invade the market of established institutions that have difficulty switching to new technologies and teaching methods due to the rigidities experienced in their organizations. / by Veronica Go. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-91). / This paper analyzes the changes in the Internet portal business strategy for telecom and other Internet access service providers (ISPs) because broadband Internet access is becoming the standard due to the rapid technology development and growth of Internet access needs and services. I provide some viable strategies for telecom companies that compete with successful Internet portals such as Yahoo. Based on my survey results, I propose the following three workable strategies. The first is outsourcing excellent modules to web sites at both large corporations and individual sites. The second strategy is providing specialized information management services for individual activities in order to retain loyal users, and the third strategy is making this service available for brand building by providing solid security/privacy policies at portals available only at telecom companies. Also, I identified the following four issues that telecom companies need to address to implement the above strategies. First, to introduce modularized services to large-scale competitors, I encourage protocol interoperability on both sides until substantial results and benefits have been realized. Next, telecom companies need to prepare to provide services that first-tier portals are unable to introduce, e.g., schemes that do not require visitors to be led to telecom companies sites. Third, to establish a solid reputation and public trust in the security/privacy services, telecom companies need to prepare a long-term strategic business plan to reach the goal. Last, viable business model is not only advertisement but also marketplace model. Selling security function as an option is also effective. / by Takeshi Motohashi. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-79). / This thesis explores the factors contributing to the successes and failures of internal corporate ventures. There are many large companies today using internal corporate ventures as a way to develop new businesses and products while creating potential growth for the parent company. Large companies believe that they can create these new businesses by combining the agility of a small startup with the corporate resources of the large firm. However, economic pressures, corporate bureaucracy, and lack of entrepreneurial experience can significantly affect the performance of these ventures. By creating an internal venture organization the corporation hopes to protect the new startup ideas from corporate interference. By reviewing past research and interviewing individuals from companies currently having some success in internal corporate venturing, this thesis hopes to show what factors positively and negatively affect the success of internal ventures. Additionally, differences between the literature and the interviews will be identified as potential future research topics. By understanding what factors can affect an internal venture; companies may be able to help prevent venture failure in the future. / by Simon Dodd. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-161). / The thesis addresses whether there is competitive advantage to outsourcing and whether outsourcing is sustainable. The reason, outsourcing (to foreign countries) has become an acerbic topic because the breadth of its impact has now reached all strata of society-from blue-collar to white-collar. Our answer is based upon the pooling of several analytical tools: Ricardian comparative advantage, game theory, system dynamics, Clockspeed and a new holistic framework developed for this topic, the Evolution Matrix. Together these tools represent an Evolution Trajectory that is representative of progress, which for the purpose of this thesis is interpreted as advances in technology and globalization. Thus, these tools are applied from a perspective that is grounded deep in history. In doing so we learn that outsourcing is a part of the trajectory theme. A part of this trajectory theme is the global turnkey production network for the electronics industry. Its growth, abroad, and utilization by American electronics companies have a double-edged nature. This network has been a savior and potential source of competition. Our conclusion, outsourcing is a tactical tool. For companies, outsourcing may not aid a firm in its core competency quest. The competitive advantage of outsourcing is fleeting at best and outsourcing is sustainable only over the short-term. However, despite these risks, it will not fade away because of technology's progress. The issue then is how best to navigate the outsourcing debate. To do this the manager must plot his company's location and chart its trajectory within the competitive landscape. This is what the Evolution Matrix was developed for. / by Carl Joseph Chen. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-115). / Banking channel management has become a crucial component in the drive for improved efficiency. Since the channel is the interlocutor between customers and products, banks are leveraging their knowledge of channels to efficiently address perfect product portfolio through the most cost-effective and profitable channel. This thesis describes some ideas currently influencing banking channel management strategy and how banks can manage and take advantage of these factors through focusing on efficiency, customer segmentation and channel interaction versus cost structure. It first provides a global perspective of the banking industry through a survey of four regions and countries, and then reviews current trends and strategies applied by banks and consulting firms. On this foundation, it makes recommendations as to how the industry can best adapt to changes in banking channel management in order to remain competitive and efficient. / by Renato Teixeira Catalan. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-71). / Business developments within the water industry exist in the form of corporate market ventures and governmental initiatives to satisfy municipal needs. The two are infinitely interrelated and with increasing demand, new financing options and heightened regulatory activity they are dynamically shaping the industry's behavior. As 1) water has become a limited and invaluable resource, 2) once government controlled water operations fragment and reconsolidate under privatization, 3) technological adoption accelerates, and 4) regulation both domestic and internationally tightens, new ventures are at the mercy of increasingly multifaceted system dynamics. This paper aims to analyze the complexity of these dynamics, by placing weight on the components that are critical in adding value to the system in the face of a shaping environment. Whether entrepreneurial, intrapreneurial or governmentally-driven, understanding truly relevant value propositions and strategic importance will help clarify the various elements that affect decisions on new business venture planes. / by Thomas F. Gallo. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 155-158). / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / This thesis probes the causal elements of product platform strategies and the effects of platform strategy on a firm. Platform strategies may be driven by internal or external forces, and the lifecycle of a firm and of a platform strategy evolve over time in response to both the needs of the firm and the changes in the external environment. This external environment may consist of a "platform ecology," in which the platform strategies of firms affect one another. These effects may be positive, buoying revenues, or negative, eliminating markets and appropriating value. The thesis assumes that a company whose strategy is to produce complements or services for another firm's platform may be said to have a platform strategy, and further assumes that a company with a modular platform strategy built primarily for its own internal use may also be said to have a platform strategy. Finally, this thesis will demonstrate example visualization techniques that make the nature of such platform strategies more apparent. This thesis asks and tries to answer a few key questions: ** What comprises the elements of a platform strategy? ** What kinds of companies adopt these strategies? ** What circumstances drive adoption? ** What outcomes can be expected? ** What happens to such a strategy over time? The thesis asserts and attempts to prove these hypotheses: ** Platform Strategies of one firm can influence those of many other firms, by direct effect on the other firms, or by simple economic benefit example. ** Return on Investment (ROI) is influenced by these strategies. ** Beyond ROI and thus Profit fluctuations, company survival, in an evolutionary Darwinian sense, may depend on these strategic choices. / by Richard B. LeVine. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-53). / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / The business models of industries addressing consumers over the age of 55 are examined. A 3-D framework: Define, Design, and Deliver is developed to provide an understanding of notable failures in the mature market. Case studies in three sub-industries are used to highlight the negative effects of key influencers on each of the 3-D activities. Documentation from the business press and interviews with industry leaders are used to illuminate issues and seek best practices. The 3-D framework is used to explain mature market failures and to provide practical guidelines to business. / by Timothy I. Panagos. / S.M.M.O.T.