Windows Phone Thoughts: Microsoft's Secret for Staying on Top

How does Microsoft do it? Now before you say anything, read this article - the answer isn't as simple as you might think.



"Perhaps no tech company outside of IBM has been able to keep on top of the industry as much as Microsoft. What's more, Bill Gates & Co. achieved this success during times of incredible technological transformation, usually the period when titans are vulnerable to getting knocked off by disruptive technologies. Critics often argue that Microsoft can't innovate its way out of a paper bag and that instead it has used its monopoly position to stamp out competition and force an industry to bend to its standards.

But now comes a study on the inner workings of the company from Harvard Business School professors Marco Iansiti and Alan MacCormack. Their take: Microsoft actually wins through effective management of its intellectual property and an ability to spot and react to important trends before they take hold. In this e-mail interview with HBS Working Knowledge, Iansiti and MacCormack discuss their findings."