http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/ Knowledge@Wharton is an online resource that offers the latest business insights, information, and research from a variety of sources. Content includes analysis of current business trends, interviews with industry leaders and faculty, articles based on the most recent business research, book reviews, conference and seminar reports, and links to other websites. en-us Copyright (c) 2012 The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/faculty/ulrich_karl.jpg http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/faculty/ 125 45 Wharton Faculty Research Managing Technology http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2650&source=rss Though Research in Motion still occupies a dominant position in the U.S. smartphone market, there are rumblings that the Canadian maker of the BlackBerry -- a phone once so addictive to its predominantly business-centric audience that it gained the nickname &quot;CrackBerry&quot; -- is in danger of being overshadowed by its rivals. Experts say a stronger, better-targeted marketing campaign and a few buzz-worthy new devices would go a long way toward cementing the BlackBerry's popularity with corporate customers and attracting the mass market as well. Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:38:32 EST Marketing http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2539&source=rss The price war is on in the e-reader market as Amazon, Barnes &amp; Noble and others duel to increase market share for their devices. However, experts at Wharton say the larger question for these companies is whether there's much of a future for e-readers -- which are designed mostly for reading books, newspapers and magazines -- in a consumer world that is becoming more and more enamored of tablets that can do it all. Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:14:17 EST Managing Technology http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2517&source=rss Growth spurts in the technology industry used to come in the form of ground-breaking startups. But the industry is maturing, and many companies are now large established firms. When these businesses want to increase their industry share, step into new markets or jumpstart their innovation engines, they often turn to mergers and acquisitions -- particularly when they can score a bargain by scooping up a former highflier that is down on its luck. But as companies in other established industries have learned, the hard work often begins after the deal closes -- and the buyer tries to get the erstwhile highflier back up in the air. Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:48:25 EST Innovation and Entrepreneurship http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2487&source=rss To come up with the next iPad or Amazon, the pacesetters of the future need solitary brainstorming time, according to new Wharton research. In a paper titled, &quot;Idea Generation and the Quality of the Best Idea,&quot; Wharton professors Christian Terwiesch and Karl Ulrich argue that group dynamics are the enemy of businesses trying to develop one-of-a-kind new products, unique ways to save money or distinctive marketing strategies. Wed, 12 May 2010 15:14:35 EST Managing Technology http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2429&source=rss Apple, which brought consumers such hits as the iPod and iPhone, is wading into a new product category with the launch of its iPad, a touch-screen tablet computer that CEO Steve Jobs has said puts &quot;the Internet in your hands&quot; -- and apparently much more. In fact, Apple has positioned the iPad as a universal device that not only functions like a laptop but also can play music, movies and video games, show pictures and hold a library of books. That puts it in direct competition with netbooks and popular single-use gadgets like Amazon's e-book reader, the Kindle. Will iPad be the one device that fits all, or will it just become one more gadget to juggle? Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:52:49 EST Innovation and Entrepreneurship http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2286&source=rss In their new book titled, <em>Innovation Tournaments: Creating and Selecting Exceptional Opportunities</em>, Wharton professors Christian Terwiesch and Karl Ulrich point out that identifying new opportunities shouldn't be seen as a luxury, but a necessity. They note that creativity and process-driven rigor can go hand in hand when it comes to vetting and managing new ideas. One way to do this, they explain, is by making new ideas compete with one another in numerous rounds of vetting -- that is, by running them through &quot;innovation tournaments&quot; -- so that the strongest and most promising ideas make it to the final round. Rich rewards await companies that make the leap. Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:36:43 EST Managing Technology http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2244&source=rss Just as computer operating systems vied for dominance back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, smartphone makers these days are jostling for market share, hoping that their mix of capabilities -- ranging from web surfing to email to calendar management -- will ensure them a critical mass of customers. What the makers of such mobile devices as the BlackBerry, iPhone and Treo are trying to avoid is the outcome of that earlier race, when one company -- Microsoft -- ended up the dominant player. Wed, 27 May 2009 17:04:13 EST Innovation and Entrepreneurship http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2163&source=rss Is it possible to determine which 30 innovations have changed life most dramatically during the past 30 years? That is the question that <em>Nightly Business Report</em>, the Emmy Award-winning PBS business program, and Knowledge@Wharton set out to answer to celebrate NBR's 30^th anniversary this year. The list includes innovations from the world of technology, health care, energy and even finance. Can you guess which one is No. 1? Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:51:20 EST Managing Technology http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2107&source=rss Small, inexpensive netbooks -- portable computers smaller than notebooks but dependent on the Internet for file-storage and software -- are likely to have a disruptive impact on the PC industry, but there are many questions to resolve, experts say. Will netbooks poach sales of laptops? Are they replacements for smartphones? How will a weak economy affect sales? Will the devices increase the popularity of cloud computing? Stay tuned as this new technology continues to evolve. Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:18:24 EST Law and Public Policy http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2075&source=rss European wind-power firms see an opportunity in the United States' increasing interest in alternative energy. Indeed, the inroads that electricity-generating wind turbine technology has made in the U.S. are due in large part to the efforts of companies based in Europe. Gamesa, Siemens and others ply their expertise in a country where public policy has not consistently encouraged domestic investment. Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:48:07 EST Managing Technology http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1978&source=rss On May 20, the non-profit One Laptop per Child (OLPC) program unveiled the second version of its XO laptop, which is designed to bring affordable, modern technology to children in developing countries. In April, Intel announced its next-generation Classmate PC, which targets the same market. Meanwhile, Microsoft has been tweaking its Windows XP operating system for these educational devices, which also run on the open source Linux operating system. Experts at Wharton say that the focus on third world countries is promising, but they question whether these efforts will be effective. Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:25:47 EST Law and Public Policy http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1972&source=rss Just a year ago, ethanol was the renewable fuel of the moment. Derived mostly from corn grown in America's heartland, it was promoted as a home-grown ticket to energy independence for the U.S. and other oil-importing nations. Today, however, ethanol's prospects look somewhat cloudy. Critics around the world are crying foul over rising food prices, while others say that it takes more resources to create ethanol than the alternative fuel provides. According to experts at Wharton and elsewhere, ethanol underscores the hazards involved in the development of any new energy source, where failure to understand the broader impact of production can result in unintended consequences. Wed, 28 May 2008 14:38:10 EST Innovation and Entrepreneurship http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1159&source=rss <SPAN style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: verdana">When Wharton professor Karl Ulrich began thinking about ways to compensate for the pollution he caused in everyday life -- including auto emissions -- he came up with a novel idea, which he eventually pitched to the 41 students in his "Problem Solving, Design and System Improvement" class. The result is a new company called TerraPass. It works by selling memberships to people based on how much carbon dioxide their cars emit over the course of a year. The revenues from those sales are then invested in clean power and pollution reduction. So far, the company has negotiated three pollution-cutting deals and sold more than 300 memberships. If Terrapass starts to build momentum, Ulrich says, "It could have a huge impact" on the environment.</SPAN> Wed, 23 Mar 2005 12:10:33 EST Managing Technology http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=669&source=rss R2-D2 and Rosie the robot maid may be coming soon to a home, or nursing home, near you. Thanks to advances in computing and navigation technology, robots – including sophisticated robot toys and appliances – are now being developed to serve people directly. While some critics suggest enthusiasm for personal androids may be overblown, others see a future where robots tackle dangerous tasks like firefighting and eventually start caring for the elderly, even those who are having a bad day. As one expert says: “One thing about a robot; it has a thick skin.” Wed, 20 Nov 2002 00:00:00 EST Finance and Investment http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=454&source=rss Now that the U.S. faces a bioterrorist attack in the shape of anthrax, stocks of biotechnology companies are soaring. But while these companies have promising technologies, they are years away from profits. The boomlet shows, however, how hard it is to value biotech stocks. Analysts often use proxy drivers such as the number of patents or the dollar value of partnerships to value such companies, but these drivers fail to show if the companies will be able to turn their research into marketable products. Research by Karl Ulrich, a Wharton professor of operations and information management, and other colleagues offers insights into a new approach to value biotech companies. Hint: Look at how the company’s drug discovery process is organized. Wed, 24 Oct 2001 00:00:00 EST