David Hsu

Past Courses

• MGMT611 - Managing Established Enterprises

  The management of large, established enterprises creates a range of multi-facet challenges for the general manager. A general manager needs to understand the internal workings of a firm, how to assess and create a strategy, and how to take into account increasing, globalization. While these issues are distinct, they are very much intertwined. As a result, this course will provide you with an integrated view of these challenges and show you that effective of an established enterprise requires a combination of insights drawn from economics, sociology, psychology and political economy.

• MGMT612 - Management of Emerging Enterprises

  Emerging enterprises, the focus in this course, are small, new, fast-growing organizations. Their founders and managers face multifaceted challenges: how to assess the competitive position of their business model and develop a strategy; how to develop the internal organizational structure, culture, and policies for selecting and managing employees; and how to pursue global opportunities. We cover these challenges in separate modules on strategy, human and social capital, and global issues. The human and social capital module covers classic management challenges of aligning interests of the individual and the organization; managing individual psychological needs and social influences; and developing employee capabilities that provide competitive advantage. Also covered are unique challenges that yound organizations face, i.e. building an effective culture; recruiting, selecting, and retaining talent; building systematic approaches to motivating employees; coping with the stresses of rapid growth; and leveraging the benefits (and avoiding the liabilities) of the founder's powerful imprint. ,The strategy module covers fundamental issues central to the competitiveness of the enterprise. Because the strategy field is broad, MGMT 612 emphasizes topics and frameworks that are most relevant for younger firms, such as innovation, disruption, managing resource constraints, and building capabilities. However, a key insight of the module is the importance of seeing the playing field from the perspective of the competition. Thus, by the end of this section, students will have a robust grounding in strategy that will allow them to succeed, whether their career path leads to a Fortune 100 firm or a garage start up. ,The global module covers the emerging firm's decision about when (and whether) to internationalize. This decision must address which foreign markets to enter; the mode of entry; the sequence of moves to develop capabilities; what organizational form to choose; where to establish HQ; and how to adapt to the unique economic and institutional features of different markets. In all these issues, the emphasis is on how young, resource-constrained firms can position themselves profitably in globally competitive markets. For the final project, student teams provide integrated analysis across the modules for an emerging enterprise of their choice.

• MGMT731 - Technology Strategy

  The course is designed to meet the needs of future managers, entrepreneurs, consultants and investors who must analyze and develop business strategies in technology-based industries. The emphasis is on learning conceptual models and frameworks to help navigate the complexity and dynamism in such industries. This is not a course in new product development or in using information technology to improve business processes and offerings. We will take a perspective of both established and emerging firms competing through technological innovations, and study the key strategic drivers of value creation and appropriation in the context of business ecosystems. The course uses a combination of cases, simulation and readings. The cases are drawn primarily from technology-based industries. Note, however, that the case disucssions are mainly based on strategic (not technical) issues. Hence, a technical background is not required for fruitful participation.

• MGMT801 - Entrepreneurship

  MGMT 801 is the foundation coures in the Entrepeurial Management program. The purpose of this course is to explore the many dimensions of new venture creation and growth. While most of the examples in class will be drawn from new venture formation, the principles also apply to entrepreneurship in corporate settings and to non-profit entrepreneurship. We will be concerned with content and process questions as well as with formulation and implementation issues that relate to conceptualizing, developing, and managing successful new ventures. The emphasis in this course is on applying and synthesizing concepts and techniques from functional areas of strategic management, finance, accounting, managerial economics, marketing, operations management, and organizational behavior in the context of new venture development. The class serves as both a stand alone class and as a preparatory course to those interested in writing and venture implementation (the subject of the semester-long course, MGMT 806). ,Format: Lectures and case discussions ,Requirements: Class participation, interim assignments, final project

• MGMT932 - Proseminar in Management

  Innovation is currently a hot topic. The popular stereotype holds that firms that are not innovating, or that are not at least saying that they are innovating, are backward at best and at risk of extinction at worst. Behind the hype ismore than half a century of theory and research on organizational and managerial innovation, and the seminar will focus on this domain. A useful overview of the domain is available in Fariborz Damanpour "Organizational Innovation" in Oxford Rsearch Encyclopedia on Business and Management Oxford University Press 2018. ,We will examine a number of theoretical and empirical approaches to understanding the phenomenon that have emerged during this period and identify key questions explored, principal contributions to the literature, and remaining questions and areas for future research. At the same time, we will embard on a journey in the sociology of knowledge, to encourange you to understand how the evolution of these approaches is linked to changes in the larger world. ,The seminar is also designed to allow you to pursue an angle on the subject matter that is of particular interest to you, and the deliverables are intended to allow you to investigate a topic that you wish to explore in some depth. Both will be discussed at the beginning of the course and will be fleshed out in subsequent discussions together.

• MGMT939 - Seminar in Entrepreneural Innovation

  This quarter-length class explores topics in entrepreneurial innovation. While innovation management from the perspective of the industry incumbent is a relatively more established literature, our collective knowledge of entrepreneurial innovation is still emerging. This Ph.D. class draws primarily on the smaller literature focused on entrepreneurial innovation while placing the discussion within the context of the larger literature on incumbent innovation management.

• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Awards Sloan Industry Studies Fellowships, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation - 02/04/2008
• Getting the Right Mix, Nature - 06/29/2006
• What’s the Best Commercialization Strategy for Start-ups?, MIT Sloan Management Review - 04/24/2002

Knowledge @ Wharton

• How Jack Ma Changed the Chinese View of Entrepreneurs, Knowledge @ Wharton - 09/25/2018
• Will Dropbox Be the Unicorn That Proves Itself?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 03/19/2018
• After Equifax, Can Our Data Ever Be Safe?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 09/19/2017
• How Can Apple Remain on Top?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 09/15/2017
• Is the U.S. in Danger of Losing Immigrant Entrepreneurs?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/21/2017
• The End of Digital Advertising as We Know It, Knowledge @ Wharton - 11/17/2016
• Why Google’s Pixel Is More About Strategy Than Smartphones, Knowledge @ Wharton - 11/15/2016
• Why Samsung Could Get Burned in the Android Market, Knowledge @ Wharton - 10/18/2016
• Does Apple Need a New Blockbuster to Thrive?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 09/13/2016
• How “Pokemon Go” Took Augmented Reality Mainstream, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/21/2016
• Why Apple Must Move Beyond the ‘Wow’ Moment, Knowledge @ Wharton - 05/06/2016
• Meet Africa’s First Tech ‘Unicorn’ — Are More to Come?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/05/2016
• How Smart Homes Can Unlock the Mainstream Market, Knowledge @ Wharton - 03/29/2016
• Can Twitter Find a Reliable Growth Model?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/17/2016
• Will Slowing Growth Take a Bite out of Apple?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/01/2016
• How Stockholm Became a ‘Unicorn Factory’, Knowledge @ Wharton - 11/09/2015
• Why Ad Blockers Are Spurring a New Technology Arms Race, Knowledge @ Wharton - 10/14/2015
• Can Cloning Businesses Work? Ask Rocket Internet, Knowledge @ Wharton - 10/12/2015
• Can Microsoft Gain a Mobile Edge — Finally?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 08/18/2015
• What’s Behind Google’s Alphabet Restructuring?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 08/14/2015
• Shooting for Start-up Success? Take a Detour, Knowledge @ Wharton - 08/06/2015
• The Mobile Arms Race: Why Privacy Is the Next Battleground, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/06/2015
• What Can Apple Watch Learn from Google Glass?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 03/24/2015
• Virtual Reality: Real at Last?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/10/2015
• Alibaba’s Next Move: Grow Abroad, or Go Deeper into China?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 10/01/2014
• The Race to Build a Better Smartphone Charger, Knowledge @ Wharton - 09/02/2014
• Why Disruptive Innovation Can Help Market Leaders, Knowledge @ Wharton - 08/07/2014
• Nadella’s Challenge Is to ‘Reinvent Productivity’ — and Microsoft, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/23/2014
• Ready to Take Your Start-up Public? Hold That Thought, Knowledge @ Wharton - 10/14/2013
• Still Hot — or Not? Technology Firms Face Faster Product Cycles, Knowledge @ Wharton - 09/11/2013
• Is Apple on the Ropes?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/24/2013
• Samsung: A Hardware Manufacturer Seeking Its Software Side, Knowledge @ Wharton - 03/27/2013
• What Defines Success in the Mobile Race?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/13/2013
• Windows 8: Will Microsoft’s Latest Big Bet Pay Off?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 12/19/2012
• As Companies Focus on Services, Will Hardware Become Irrelevant?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 11/07/2012
• The Apple-Samsung Case: What It Means for Patents — and Innovation, Knowledge @ Wharton - 08/29/2012
• Money from Friends: Finding the Right Revenue Model for Social Media, Knowledge @ Wharton - 08/29/2012
• What Can We Learn from Netflix?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 08/07/2012
• The Smartphone Shakeout: Time Is Running Out for a Viable No. 3, Knowledge @ Wharton - 08/01/2012
• King of the Hill: Can Established Tech Companies Be Bested?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/25/2012
• What Would You Do with $100 Billion?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 03/21/2012
• Vertical Integration Works for Apple — But It Won’t for Everyone, Knowledge @ Wharton - 03/14/2012
• What’s Wrong with This Picture: Kodak’s 30-year Slide into Bankruptcy, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/01/2012
• Under New Leadership, Will Yahoo Find Its Way?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 01/18/2012
• What’s Next for T-Mobile USA – and for AT&T?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 12/21/2011
• What’s Behind Buffett’s IBM Buy?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 11/15/2011
• The New Software Pricing Model: Can the Older Giants Compete?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 11/09/2011
• Inside Job: Changing of the Guard at IBM, Knowledge @ Wharton - 10/26/2011
• Let Them Eat Apps?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 10/19/2011
• Life after Steve Jobs: What to Expect from the Next Generation at Apple, Knowledge @ Wharton - 10/12/2011