Publications

March 2020 (Revised April 2020)
Case

CarTrade

By: Rajiv Lal and Shreya Ramachandran

Vinay Sanghi, the founder and CEO of CarTrade, had been trying different business strategies to keep the company, which he founded in 2010 as an online marketplace for used and new cars, profitable and on track for growth. In a crowded and disorganized dealer... View Details

Keywords: Online Marketplace; Automobiles; Customer Base; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Model; Financing and Loans; E-commerce; Digital Platforms; Digital Marketing; Auto Industry; Retail Industry; India; Mumbai

31 Aug 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Exclusivity and Control

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu & Robin S. Lee; Entertainment & Recreation

30 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

All Eyes on Slovakia’s Flat Tax

overhauling other parts of the public system, in order to afford a perceived cut in tax revenues through a flat tax implementation, is needed. This, however, does not indicate that the opposite is impossible. The fact that many countries... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

16 Nov 2010
Lessons from the Classroom

Data.gov: Matching Government Data with Rapid Innovation

participants should think about innovation opportunities in data curation, he suggested. "Some US government data is still on COBOL-based platforms," Kundra reminded the class. "So we think an industry will form around data curation. The Internal View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Technology

23 Jun 2023
HBS Case

This Company Lets Employees Take Charge—Even with Life and Death Decisions

patients as they see fit. A new Harvard Business School case study explores Buurtzorg’s decentralized model in depth, with lessons for institutions struggling with morale and productivity. Buurtzorg’s approach has yielded patient... View Details

Keywords: by Annelena Lobb; Health

May 2017
Case

Promontory, Inc.

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amy Handlin

Promontory, Inc. is a small, privately owned firm in the promotional products (specialty advertising) industry. After starting the firm two years ago with the intention of pursuing a high-quality/high-price strategy, the CEO is seeking methods of increasing sales... View Details

Keywords: Salesforce Management; Marketing Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Business Model; Sales; Advertising Industry

November 2000 (Revised May 2002)
Case

FleetBoston Financial: Online Banking

By: Frances X. Frei and Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar

As the ninth largest bank holding company in the United States in 2000, FleetBoston Financial Corp. provided a myriad of financial services, including retail banking, loan origination, and brokerage accounts. This case explores how FleetBoston responded to the Internet... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Borrowing and Debt; Cost Management; Banks and Banking; Consumer Behavior; Service Operations; Competition; Online Technology; Banking Industry; United States

August 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Supplement

Arla Foods: Data-Driven Decarbonization (B)

By: Michael Parzen, Michael W. Toffel, Susan Pinckney and Amram Migdal

The case describes Arla’s history, in particular its climate change mitigation efforts, and how it implemented a price incentive system to motivate individual farms to implement scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions mitigation measures and receive a higher milk price. The... View Details

03 Jun 2008
First Look

First Look: June 3, 2008

worker. For this purpose, we use a standard version of the neoclassical growth model augmented to incorporate monopolistic competition among heterogeneous firms. For our preferred calibration, the model... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2024
Case

Sprouts Farmers Market

By: Rajiv Lal, Forest L. Reinhardt and Natalie Kindred

Sprouts Farmers Markets (Sprouts) is a Phoenix, Arizona-based chain of 400-plus natural foods stores in 23 U.S. states and $6.4 billion in sales as of 2022. In its product assortment, brand image, and store environment, Sprouts emphasizes freshness, health, innovation,... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Strategic Planning; Sales; Business Strategy; Expansion; Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Competition; Retail Industry; United States; Arizona

22 May 2024
HBS Case

Banned or Not, TikTok Is a Force Companies Can’t Afford to Ignore

you. It doesn’t rely on what you say. It observes what you do and choose not to do and builds a model of who you are.” Ghosh’s analysis debuts at a time when TikTok is drawing fresh scrutiny related to how its Chinese owners influence... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Technology

October 2013 (Revised August 2016)
Case

NOWaccount

By: Ramana Nanda, William A. Sahlman and Lauren Barley

It was September 2013, and NOWaccount Network Corporation (NOW®) co-founders John Hayes and Lara Hodgson were putting the final touches on the presentation deck for their annual shareholders' meeting. Along with co-founder Stacey Abrams, the pair had designed NOW's... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Finance; Entrepreneurship

December 2018 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Fishbowl: Scaling Up

By: Leslie K. John

Fishbowl is a social media app that allows professionals to connect with other relevant professionals both within their company and across industry. Unlike many other social media apps, on which users typically present idealized portraits of themselves, on Fishbowl,... View Details

23 Feb 2011
First Look

First Look: Feb. 23

to promote financial development. The evidence here includes country fixed effect regressions and an instrumental model inspired by Engerman and Sokoloff's (2002) work, which to our knowledge has not yet been used in finance and which... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Teaching Note

Fishbowl: Scaling Up

By: Leslie K. John

Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.

Teaching Note for HBS No. 919-013. Fishbowl is a social media app that allows professionals to connect with other relevant professionals both within their company and... View Details