Publications

2018
Working Paper

Platform Competition: Betfair and the U.K. Market for Sports Betting

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Neil Campbell

We examine two episodes of strategic interaction in the U.K. betting industry: (i) Betfair (an entrant multi-sided platform or MSP) vs. Flutter (also an MSP), and (ii) Betfair vs. traditional bookmakers. We find that although Betfair was an underfunded second mover in... View Details

Keywords: Platform Design; Betting; Digital Platforms; Design; Network Effects; Business Model; Competition; Cooperation; Market Entry and Exit

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30 Apr 2008
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Brand Management

Personality? Marketing Maria: Managing the Athlete Endorsement Million-dollar endorsement deals were made and broken by how baseball players on the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies performed in the 2007 World Series. HBS professor... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Sports; Sports; Sports

23 Jan 2019
Sharpening Your Skills

Sports: Lessons for Managers

sports as the ultimate metaphor or analogy. A manager lagging in her work is "behind the eight ball" while another who is changing tactics is "calling an audible." If your staff can't do... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Sports

May 2022
Case

The NFL’s $110-Billion Media Rights Deals

By: Anita Elberse and Elizabeth Warner

On March 18, 2021, Brian Rolapp, chief media and business officer at the National Football League (NFL) presented the results of a months-long effort to renegotiate rights deals with the NFL’s current partners in television—the media conglomerates behind the networks... View Details

Keywords: Sports; Entertainment; Media; Marketing; Strategy; General Management; Negotiation; Partners and Partnerships; Competition; Sports Industry; Sports Industry

June 2018 (Revised June 2018)
Teaching Note

Blake Sports Apparel and Switch Activewear: Bringing the Executive Team Together

By: Boris Groysberg, Tricia Gregg and Katherine Connolly Baden

Teaching Note for HBS No. 417-048. View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Groups and Teams; Performance Effectiveness; Problems and Challenges; Behavior; Communication; Cooperation; Decision Making; Leadership

29 Oct 2007
HBS Case

Marketing Maria: Managing the Athlete Endorsement

saw potential in sports endorsements in the television age. McCormack informed Palmer that he was planning to start up a business revolving around personal business managers or "agents" handling... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Sports

February 2022
Case

Toto Wolff and the Mercedes Formula One Team

By: Anita Elberse and David Moreno Vicente

In December 2021, Toto Wolff, team principal and chief executive officer of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team (the ‘Mercedes team’) is preparing for the start of the 2021 Formula One (‘F1’) season’s last Grand Prix, in the United Arab Emirates. Everything the... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Team Management; Culture; Organizational Culture; Sports; Entertainment; Media; Superstars; General Management; Engineers; Competition; Problems and Challenges; Sports Industry; Sports Industry

February 2019 (Revised January 2021)
Case

Quiksilver Inc. and Oaktree Capital Management

By: Kristin Mugford and Mike Harmon

Sports lifestyle company Quiksilver filed for bankruptcy in September 2015. Oaktree is considering an additional investment in the company to facilitate the restructuring. Students must consider whether Oaktree should invest given the risks of the turnaround... View Details

Keywords: Bankruptcy; Bankruptcy Reorganization; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Acquisition; Restructuring; Debt Securities; Transformation; Decision Making; Borrowing and Debt; Investment Return; Crisis Management; Negotiation; Retail Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Consumer Products Industry; France; United States

October 2016 (Revised April 2018)
Case

ASICS: Chasing a 2020 Vision

By: Elie Ofek, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

In early 2016, Motoi Oyama, president and CEO of ASICS, a major sports apparel and footwear manufacturer based in Japan, lays out his company’s growth plan for the upcoming 5 years. The new plan set ambitious goals in terms of revenue and profit increases. At the heart... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Sports Apparel; Competitive Positioning; Direct To Consumer Marketing; Retail Formats; Lifestyle Brands; Information Technology; Competition; Brands and Branding; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Platforms; Product Positioning; Marketing Channels; Sports; Sports Industry; Sports Industry; Sports Industry; Sports Industry

June 2013
Supplement

Will RacingThePlanet Ltd. Reach the Finish Line? (Spreadsheet Supplement)

This is the spreadsheet supplement for the "Will RacingThePlanet Ltd. Reach the Finish Line?" case #807148. It contains exhibits 4 and 9. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurs; Global Ventures; Global Operations; Marathons; Sports Management; Early Stage; Entrepreneurship; Global Strategy; Operations; Sports Industry; Hong Kong; Mongolia; Egypt; Antarctica; Chile

24 Apr 2006
Research & Ideas

Managing Alignment as a Process

corporate synergies should be defined at the top and realized in the business units. Just as the CFO coordinates the budgeting process, a senior executive should coordinate the alignment process—a responsibility for the Office of Strategy View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Consumer Products; Retail

November–December 2022
Article

Number One in Formula One: Leadership Lessons from Toto Wolff and Mercedes, the Team behind One of the Greatest Winning Streaks in All of Sports

By: Anita Elberse

Toto Wolff, the team principal for Mercedes-AMG Petronas—arguably the most impressive team in F1 racing history—has led his organization to unparalleled success. Mercedes earned the Constructors’ Championship (for best overall team performance) every year from 2014... View Details

Keywords: Formula One; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Management Style; Success

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29 Aug 2018
What Do You Think?

What Should Harley-Davidson’s Management Do?

CasPhotography What Can the Harley-Davidson Case Teach Us About Managing in a Politicized Environment? The advice to Harley-Davidson’s management from respondents of this month’s column is to (1) ensure that... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Auto

January 2022
Case

FIFA and The World Cup: The Future of Football

By: Anita Elberse, Oliver Band and Howard Johnson

Should FIFA host its biggest event—the FIFA World Cup—every two years instead of every four, as it has been doing since the event’s inception in the 1930s? In September 2021, Gianni Infantino, the president of the International Federation of Association Football... View Details

Keywords: Sports; Soccer; Football; Entertainment; Media; Talent Development; Globalization; Marketing; Strategy; General Management; Governance; Decision Making; Governing and Advisory Boards; Problems and Challenges; Brands and Branding; Sports Industry; Sports Industry

27 Sep 2018
Research & Ideas

Religion in the Workplace: What Managers Need to Know

considered one of the last taboos,” says Senior Lecturer Derek van Bever. “Our students have been asking for it because they see very clearly that they will be in positions of global leadership where they will have to deal with it.” To fill that need, van Bever wrote... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Food & Beverage; Apparel & Accessories

August 2023
Teaching Note

LIV Golf

By: Alexander J. MacKay

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 723-371. On March 17, 2022, Greg Norman, CEO of LIV Golf, announced the 8-tournament schedule for the inaugural season of the LIV Golf Invitational Series. Norman, a retired professional golfer and former world #1, was helming the league... View Details

Keywords: Anti-trust; Golf; ＂Sports Organizations,; Sports Management; Competition; Competition Policy; Strategy; Strategy And Leadership; Sports; Competitive Strategy; Lawsuits and Litigation; Sports Industry

March 2016 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Lotus F1 Team

By: Stefan Thomke, Nikolaos Trichakis, Jérôme Lenhardt and Daniela Beyersdorfer

Describes the detailed inner workings of a high performance Formula One (F1) racing team. It shows how Lotus F1 Team has been able to battle bigger rivals in a very fast-moving, highly regulated, and ultra-competitive environment, where winning races can come down to... View Details

Keywords: Formula One; Motor Sport; Racing Cars; Car Development; Supply Chain; Logistics; Innovation and Management; Competitive Advantage; Product Design; Research and Development; Sports Industry; Sports Industry; Sports Industry

September 2004 (Revised April 2005)
Teaching Note

International Management Group (IMG) TN

By: Bharat N. Anand

Teaching Note to (9-702-409). View Details

Keywords: Sports Industry; Sports Industry

November 2004 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Hala Madrid: Managing Real Madrid Club de Futbol, the Team of the Century

Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid, a leading European soccer team, is preparing for a press conference in which he will be asked about his plans for the coming season. Economic success and some sports mishaps during the prior season represent the scenario... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Strategic Planning; Value Creation; Risk Management; System; Budgets and Budgeting; Sports Industry; Spain