Publications
Publications
Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(2,016)
- Faculty Publications (401)
- March 2008 (Revised March 2014)
- Case
By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Aaron Smith, David Chen and Brian Feinstein
As Facebook topped one billion monthly users in October 2012, the online social network continued to face questions about how best to monetize its surging traffic. The company could invest further in new advertising products, which represented the majority of the... View Details
- February 2008
- Article
Bandwidth Allocation in Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Networks
By: Albert Creus Mir, Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Andres Hervas-Drane
We present a model of bandwidth allocation in a stylized peer-to-peer file sharing network. Given an arbitrary population of peers composed of sharers and freeriders, where all peers interconnect to maximize their allocated bandwidth, we derive the expected bandwidth... View Details
- February 2008 (Revised June 2011)
- Background Note
Social Networks: The Portals of Web 2.0
By: Stephen P. Bradley and Nancy Bartlett
Social networks have evolved into influential, compelling and persuasive systems, the portals of Web 2.0 and one of the most powerful media phenomena in 2008. This note provides a brief background and description of various social network sites including MySpace,... View Details
- February 2008
- Article
Where Do Transactions Come From? Modularity, Transactions, and the Boundaries of Firms
This article constructs a theory of the location of transactions and the boundaries of firms in a productive system. It proposes that systems of production can be viewed as networks, in which tasks-cum-agents are the nodes and transfers—of material, energy and... View Details
- January 2008
- Article
Learning the Fine Art of Collaboration
By: Alan MacCormack and Theodore Forbath
Innovations are increasingly brought to the market by networks of firms, selected for their unique capabilities and operating in a coordinated manner. This collaborative model demands that firms develop different skills, yet despite this need, there is little guidance... View Details
Keywords: Digital Platforms
- 2008
- Working Paper
Product Development and Learning in Project Teams: The Challenges are the Benefits
By: Amy C. Edmondson and Ingrid M. Nembhard
The value of teams in new product development (NPD) is undeniable. Both the interdisciplinary nature of the work and industry trends necessitate that professionals from different functions work together on development projects to create the highest quality product in... View Details
- November 2007 (Revised April 2008)
- Case
Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative
By: David E. Bell, Nitin Sanghavi, Virginia Fuller and Mary L. Shelman
In rural India, farmers historically had limited access to quality input items for both their fields and homes. Indian conglomerate DSCL has undertaken a Rural Business Initiative to address this issue, establishing a chain of retail outlets throughout rural India... View Details
- 2007
- Working Paper
Dynamics of Platform Competition: Exploring the Role of Installed Base, Platform Quality and Consumer Expectations
By: Feng Zhu and Marco Iansiti
This paper seeks to answer three questions. First, which drives the success of a platform, installed base, platform quality or consumer expectations? Second, when does a monopoly emerge in a platform-based market? Finally, when is a platform-based market socially... View Details
- 2007
- Working Paper
Digital Interactivity: Unanticipated Consequences for Markets, Marketing, and Consumers
By: John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld
The digital interactive transformation in marketing is not unfolding, as many thought it would, on the model of direct marketing. That model anticipated that digital media using rich profiling data would intrude marketing messaging more deeply and more precisely into... View Details
- July 2007 (Revised September 2007)
- Module Note
Managing Networked Businesses: Summary Module
Offers pedagogical guidance for instructors teaching the summary module of Managing Networked Businesses, an elective course described in "Managing Networked Businesses: Course Overview for Educators." Also describes how the module materials can be adapted for use in... View Details
- 2007
- Working Paper
Diasporas and Domestic Entrepreneurs: Evidence from the Indian Software Industry
By: Ramana Nanda and Tarun Khanna
This study explores the importance of cross-border social networks for entrepreneurs in developing countries by examining ties between the Indian expatriate community and local entrepreneurs in India's software industry. We find that local entrepreneurs who have... View Details
- June 2007 (Revised April 2010)
- Case
Comcast Corporation
By: Anita Elberse and Jason Schreiber
In October 2006, Comcast executives had entered negotiations with broadcast networks to broaden the selection of free network content distributed via its video-on-demand (VOD) service. The major broadcast networks, however, were unsure of the effect it would have on... View Details
- 2007
- Working Paper
Platform Envelopment
By: Thomas Eisenmann, Geoffrey Parker and Marshall Van Alstyne
Due to network effects and switching costs in platform markets, entrants generally must offer revolutionary functionality. We explore a second entry path that does not rely upon Schumpeterian innovation: platform envelopment. Through envelopment, a provider in one... View Details
- 2007
- Working Paper
Bandwidth Allocation in Peer-to-Peer Filesharing Networks
By: Albert Creus-Mir, Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Andres Hervas-Drane
We present a model of bandwidth allocation in a stylized peer-to-peer file sharing network with s peers (sharers) who share files and download from each other and f peers (freeriders) who download from sharers but do not contribute files. Assuming that upload bandwidth... View Details
- December 2006 (Revised February 2009)
- Case
China Merchants Bank: Here Just For You
By: F. Warren McFarlan, GuoQing Chen, HengYuan Zhu, Bin Yang, Michael Shih-ta Chen, G.A. Donovan, Waishun Lo and Yan Yang
Founded in 1987, China Merchants Bank (CMB) is a pioneer in the use of technical innovation and IT as a competitive tool in the rapidly evolving Chinese banking sector. With a relatively small branch network when compared to its larger competitors, CMB uses an... View Details
- December 2006 (Revised September 2007)
- Module Note
Platform-Mediated Networks
Offers pedagogical guidance for instructors who wish to include a one- to four-session module on platform-mediated networks in an existing course on strategy, business policy, entrepreneurship, technology management, or marketing. View Details
Keywords: Networks
- November 2006
- Case
Tickle
By: William A. Sahlman and Dan Heath
Describes a set of decisions confronting the management team of a rapidly growing online psychological testing and social networking company. They can either sell the company to a large public company, raise another round of capital from a preeminent venture capital... View Details
- October 2006
- Case
Clearwire Corporation
Explores Clearwire's decision to fund its substantial capital investments through an initial public offering (IPO) or through private equity. Clearwire is developing and deploying a broadband wireless network using WiMAX technology. It had filed a registered statement... View Details
- September 2006 (Revised October 2007)
- Module Note
Platform-Mediated Networks: Definitions and Core Concepts
Defines platform-mediated networks and introduces concepts central to their study. First, it defines networks and network effects; explains how network effects influence users' willingness-to-pay for network access; describes factors that determine the strength of... View Details
- August 2006 (Revised March 2008)
- Case
iPod vs. Cell Phone: A Mobile Music Revolution?
By: David B. Yoffie, Travis D. Merrill and Michael Slind
In 2006, a nascent market for music-enabled mobile phones was emerging to challenge Apple Computer's dominant position in the digital music industry. Through its iPod line of portable digital music devices and its iTunes Music Store, Apple controlled more than half of... View Details