Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-86). / Over 99% of enterprises in US and Japan are of small- or medium-size. Some will enjoy successful growth whereas most will suffer from poor growth, though all have started from being small. Analogy exists between those successfully growing start-ups and people who want to leverage the days spent in noted universities to a better job and to leverage the experiences in the better workplace to their further business career. Even in a world of business, it seems to be very essential in the growth of firm to leverage resources acquired. When searched in the Google.com, 'leverage' hits 2,640,000 pages and 'by leveraging' hits 220,000 pages. Also, words of 'leveraging' as abundant as stars in the sky are found in speeches, presentations and brochures. Nevertheless, there are no comprehensive frameworks or papers on the corporate strategy about leveraging, though a lot of papers refer to a portion of it through, for instance, resource-based view and financial leverage. Hence, attempted in this thesis was to develop a basic framework for leveraging business strategy, Leverage Driver Model (LDM) first. LDM consists of three parts: 1) product lever, 2) reputation driver, and 3) market lever, with consideration, with the consideration of dilution with time. Chapter 2 reviewed the past studies related to strategic leverages or related to growth paths of firms. In chapter 3, a basic mechanism of leverages in business was analyzed by introducing the Leverage Driver Model. In chapter 4, the scope of the LDM was expanded to applying itself to leveraging between products and between firms. Chapter 5 consists of case analyses on the practical leverage approaches some firms actually employed along their growing paths, and discussion was made to the / (cont.) attributes of leverages to the current success of some firms. / by Kenji Yamanami. / 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 134-136). / For firms entering new markets there are numerous variables impacting the focus and the scope of the new venture. For foreign companies entering the US biotech space this is even more so. Getting early relevant data is critical towards mission critical decisions and tactics. The firm in focus, Axis Shield, is launching a new point of care device to attract practitioners all over the US. They have been meticulous in getting secondhand data from various surveys and research reports. The focus of this thesis is to assist them in their primary data gathering testing assumptions and dimensions carved out to be instrumental for commercial success. Thus, the main thesis focus is concerned with the identification, structuring, collecting and analysis of these primary data. The company will eventually use both the second hand and the primary data to complete their overall market analysis. Hence, the market survey will give the firm valuable data on which to base their US launch in 2004. Finally, the thesis will give personal insights regarding the complexity of planning and carrying out a marketing study for novel products in an inaccessible market. / by Jone Smedsvig. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-99). / Japanese banking firms have been in a turbulent period from the last decade due to deregulations and bad loans from collapse of a bubble economy. As a result, there have been many bankruptcies and merger & acquisitions (M&As) among Japanese banking firms. On the other hand, U.S. banking firms have already met with similar experiences from the 1970s to 1980s. After these turbulent eras, U.S. banks revived by restructuring and focusing on their core competence. They are strong from the viewpoint of profitability, size and stability. In this sense, it is generally said that U.S. banking firms are 10 years ahead from Japanese banking firms. Therefore, I think it is useful for Japanese banks to research and learn how U.S. banks corresponded to turbulence situations and how they revived. In this thesis, I focus on knowledge management in banking firms, because human resource and both internal and external knowledge is one of the most important assets for banks. Even though banking firms have many business fields for which knowledge is useful, I pick up and examine following aspects by using comparative analysis between Japanese and U.S. banking firms. 1. Employment System and Organizational Structures: The employment systems and organizational structures of banking firms are key to how they manage their knowledge because knowledge belongs to the employees and organizations. 2. Customer Relationship Management: How to make the best use of customers' knowledge is important for banks, and banks need to focus not only on internal knowledge but a!so external knowledge. 3. Outsourcing: Acquiring knowledge and skills from outside sources is becoming more and more important for banks because of innovations in information technology and severe competition among many rivals. / by Kazunori Yamagata. / 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 44-45). / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / In the technology centric businesses disruptive technologies displace incumbents time and again, sometimes to the extent that incumbents go bankrupt. In this thesis we would address the issue of what strategies are essential to prepare for and to manage disruptions for the affected businesses and industries. Specifically we will look at grid computing that is poised to disrupt (1) certain Enterprise IT departments, and (2) the software industry in the high-performance and web services space. In this thesis, we will present an analysis for addressing this disruption on a segment by segment basis across the distributed computing and application software value chain. / by Vidyadhar Phalke. / 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 146-148). / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Problems are occurring in the digital business economy as companies try to realize a tangible profit. As network infrastructures improve, the value of information becomes less and less since marginal costs for digital goods is practically zero and searching the cost of goods is also extremely low. How, then, can the media industry remain profitable in the digital business economy? One way to retain the value of digital goods is through the use of firm governmental regulations, but this is still insufficient because of the ever-expanding network infrastructure and the growing threat of piracy. This thesis discusses potential strategies to be used in today's digital business economy based on current difficulties. It proposes an integrated business model for an on-line contents distribution business and an electronic payment business which complement each other. It is well-known that content distribution businesses are facing severe threats from piracy. By providing content for free as a complementary service for profitable businesses, it will be shown that media distribution companies can maximize the value of their contents library, which would otherwise be worthless in face of growing piracy. The thesis also discusses the migration process in an integrated business model by utilizing a System Dynamics approach to the analysis. The electronic payments business is regarded as a profit driver that can be complemented by the attractive value proposition of free online contents distribution businesses. For an infrastructure-oriented business like electronic payments, broad acceptance of such a service is critical to reducing customers' perceived risk. By introducing free content downloads, a business strategy is proposed that accelerates customer penetration and rapid migration to a profitable and integrated business of online contents distribution and electronic payment. By combining these two potentially successful two business models, a profitable business integration is proposed in which each business supplements the other in the digital business economy. / by Hideaki Tomikawa. / 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 62-63). / This thesis explores the measures for the Japanese electric power utilities to meet the Kyoto Target, and the technological development of the coal thermal power generation to meet the further abatement of the carbon dioxide beyond Kyoto. To meet the Kyoto Target, the present measure by the Japanese government to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions in the energy sector relies much on the development of the nuclear power generation. Therefore, the current delay of nuclear power development, mainly due to the lack of public acceptance for the nuclear energy, and, consequently, the increase of the carbon dioxide emissions are crucial problems to be solved to the achieve the target. In this paper, possible measures to achieve the abatement target of the carbon dioxide emissions are examined. Among the five measures, changing dispatch from high carbon emitting capacity to low emitting one provides a sufficient abatement with relatively low cost. Other measures, like wind power or re-powering of existing thermal power plant require the higher abatement cost or fail to provide sufficient quantities. Looking at the scenario beyond the Kyoto Target after 2012, further reduction of the carbon dioxide emissions calls for the technological development. Since the uncertainty of the nuclear power development will still remain in the future, and other measures including re-dispatch and re-powering can not afford to provide further reduction, the development of the generating technologies is one of the crucial measures to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions. Especially, the technologies for coal thermal power, which are expected to be the most stable and inexpensive energy resources in a few decade, affect the strategy for the global warming. The developing technologies, the coal / (cont.) gasification and the carbon dioxide sequestration are examined in the latter chapter. / by Yasushi Furuyama. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2004. / "June 2004." / Includes bibliographical references. / High-performance teams can be used to achieve strategic high pay-offs for an organization. The aim of this paper is to study fundamentals key to the success of high performance teams and to examine the application of these fundamentals in an inherently multicultural international organization, such as the United Nations. The approach is to first review and to discuss relevant articles of work on high performance teams. As far as is possible, the most updated papers and books with a strong focus on both theory-driven approach and research, and which make good use of case studies with ample examples and illustrations are used. The output is the derivation of perspectives and frameworks which will then be used as guides to understanding the case for the United Nations. Following an overview of the United Nations history and current operations, a series of interviews with its key individuals is then conducted, with the aim to learning and making credible hypotheses and meaningful analysis. Towards this end, a good representation across the UN agencies is sought to ensure the necessary depth and breadth. The paper then considers what lies in the way ahead and finally concludes with recommendations for the United Nations and relevant key lessons learnt for the Civil Service of Singapore. / by Tan Wee Beng. / 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 93-94). / Innovations can be the single source of industry's growth. How innovations themselves grow or decline also has a direct affect on the health of the industry in which they play. This thesis looks at fiber optic technologies and their impact on the communications industry. The relative importance of the fiber optic technology is evidenced by its speed and effectiveness in shaping the communications infrastructure in a short period of the recent years. Advent of this relatively new technology, coupled with deregulation policies and the changes in the nature of the network traffic, has caused several disruptions to the communications value chain. Effects of these disruptions and their eventualities are the focus of this thesis. To study these effects, this thesis looks in detail at the interplay of various life cycle stages of innovations and industry. The innovation stages are classified as: Fluid, Transitional, and Specific. Each of these three stages affects the dynamics value chain of the industry in different ways. The characteristics of each stage are studied in detail. There are few innovations that can bring about an impact as extensive as the advent of fiber optics communications has. The review of the processes in the evolution of innovation from birth to potential re- birth provides great insights on the industry's life cycle. The study is based on current theories on the subject of management of technology applied to the communications sector. Most examples and data are based on the telecommunication networks in North America; the timeline of the study is the decade from mid 1990's to present. In closing various strategies in treading the evolution of innovation are described. The evolution life cycle / (cont.) model can be used in several other industries for managing innovation and technologies. Several related research topics are described, and citations for further suggested readings on the topic are provided. / by Rodan Zadeh. / 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 151-152). / The banking industry is known to have certainty only about uncertainty, change is only constant in adopting the technologies for developing innovative products and services, and yet the opportunities of arbitrage are everywhere including in economical settings and business strategies. The retail banking industry will be analyzed to understand why some banks make sustainable profits while others are less successful. We will analyze what business strategies would best work for such dynamic industry even as banking appears to be a commodity business. A systematic study will be set out to model the dynamics of different positioning of Delta Model and the effect of the underlying interactions. We will walk through the analysis of why the innovation along with the customer targeting and the operational effectiveness are crucial to implement the right business strategies. We also study banking case studies relevant to the business strategies. Finally, we present the conclusions with some recommendations in order for banks to thrive in the industry for years to come during both war times and peace times. / by Harry Reddy. / S.M.M.O.T.

Thesis (S.M.M.O.T.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Management of Technology Program, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-76). / This thesis aims at examining CRM implementations and at obtaining theoretical and practical evidence to three questions: ** What patterns emerge in successful CRM implementations, and general factors that prevent organizations from achieving expected results in such projects; ** What business benefits and impacts (e.g., return on investment, customer value, and redesign of business processes), are typically observed in CRM initiatives; ** How companies rearrange their organizational structures to, maximize the benefits of CRM. To accomplish these goals the author conducted a review of available literature, arid then interviewed members of 3 companies that implemented CRM and 2 system integrators with comprehensive experience in implementation of CRM. This practical experience intended to confirm the findings obtained through the literature review. The 3 companies researched are market leaders in the Financial Service Industry in Latin America. Consistently, the System Integrators interviewed actively serve the same industry. The major findings of this work are the following: ** Technology components as well as vendor selection is secondary as a key success factor; ** Companies usually do not reorganize themselves due to CRM implementations. Structure models; seems to be much more dependent on intrinsic cultural aspects; ** Observed business benefits have a high degree of variation, depending much on the situation before the implementation - all researched cases were considered to be successful. Although the sample analyzed is not sufficient to establish generalizations, due to its size and to the impossibility of obtaining reliable numeric or quantitative data, we report our results and interpret as a contribution to the growing body of evidence. Most of the conclusions are consistent with the literature review findings, with the exception of the observed absence of 'business cases' in the analyzed companies. The literature claims that elaboration of detailed business cases is critical, whereas in the analyzed companies a less rigorous, but nevertheless detailed, planning was sufficient to ensure success. Apart from the limitation of the size of the researched sample, due to the relative newness of the theme, part of the literature reviewed was composed by white papers published by CRM vendors, management consulting firms, and independent research and advisory companies. The research suggests that such implementations have important and lasting effects on the business. It also indicates that the magnitude of the business impacts are intrinsically dependent of the realities of particular companies, and cannot be generalized even within the specific financial services sector. Most of conclusions are based on qualitative analysis. since the number of cases, complexity and variability of the implementations, prevent from generating statically sound analysis. It would be valuable if this research could be extended through other industry sectors, in Latin America, or alternatively to encompass financial service companies from other regions. / by José Rogério Pinto de Mendonça. / S.M.M.O.T.