Publications

May 2004 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Music Downloads

By: David B. Yoffie and Deborah Freier

Examines the competition between competing music formats. In the '90s, the MP3 format challenged the traditional means of music distribution by allowing for storage of near CD-quality recordings at 1/10th of their previous size. The threat to traditional distribution... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Music Entertainment; Legal Liability; Distribution; Competition; Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption; Information Infrastructure; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Music Industry

Find at Harvard

March 2002 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Saudi Arabia: Getting the House in Order

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Rebecca Evans

Provides a vehicle to explore Islamic development and political issues within BGIE (business, government, and international economy). Set in early 2002, the case focuses on Crown Prince Abdullah's efforts to liberalize a failing rentier state, that had been dependent... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Development Economics; Non-Renewable Energy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; International Relations; Leading Change; Saudi Arabia; Middle East

30 Jan 2018
First Look

January 30, 2018

practice related to AI in developing countries. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52296 December 2017 Journal of Advertising Research Rethinking the Profession Formerly Known as Advertising: How Data Science Is View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Dec 2013
First Look

First Look: December 24

the restructuring process. Purchase this case: http://hbr.org/product/oaktree-and-the-restructuring-of-cit-group-a/an/214035-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 713-467 CarMax: Disrupting the Used Car Market In 2012, CarMax was the... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

10 Dec 2013
First Look

First Look: December 10

given difficulties at the portfolio companies and disruptions in credit markets. The case takes the perspective of a private equity firm evaluating the deal to determine whether buying leveraged loans is a good investment opportunity.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

27 Apr 2010
First Look

First Look: April 27

growth track but remains chiefly concerned about its vulnerability to supply disruptions and to increases in merchandise costs from higher input prices. The firm appears quite overvalued based on a multiples analysis but considerably... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

11 Sep 2006
Research & Ideas

Negotiating When the Rules Suddenly Change

and acting. He concluded that tactical and strategic victory hinges on cycling through this loop faster than the enemy (or by disrupting the enemy's ability to connect those activities efficiently). The first two elements—observing and... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Wheeler; Sports

January 2008 (Revised November 2009)
Case

Linear Air: Creating the Air Taxi Industry

Linear Air is an air taxi start-up established to take advantage of the emergence of Very Light Jets, which incorporate new technology that cuts jet operating costs by about 40%. Air taxis could make use of the 5400 smaller regional airports throughout the US,... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Disruptive Innovation; Product Launch; Industry Structures; Competition; Air Transportation Industry

15 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 15

shifting workforce demographics, and changing reimbursement models—threaten to disrupt NWH's organizational model. Similar to other U.S. community hospitals, NWH has historically been staffed primarily with private practitioners; however,... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August 2020 (Revised November 2021)
Case

Beyond Beer: Brewing Innovation at Molson Coors

By: Derek C. M. van Bever, Stephen P. Kaufman, James Barnett and Shaye Roseman

In March 2019, Molson Coors CEO Mark Hunter considered a request to pull forward $65 million CAD in anticipated future funding for Truss Beverages, a Toronto-based cannabis beverage company that Molson Coors created in a joint venture with a Canadian cannabis... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Joint Ventures; Ethics; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Canada; Colorado

February 2010 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Tennant Company

By: Toby E. Stuart, Lynda M. Applegate and James Weber

Tennant, a leading producer of floor cleaning equipment, must determine how to create, finance, structure, staff, govern, measure, and manage a new venture for developing a fundamentally new product line. In 2005, Tennant Company had developed an innovative,... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Change Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Disruptive Innovation; Product Development; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Research and Development

November 1999 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Red Hat and the Linux Revolution

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Kerry Herman

The case describes the history of the Linux operating system and the open-source movement in general. Focuses on a critical decision being made by Red Hat, the largest distributor of Linux, about its future development efforts. The decision allows students to explore... View Details

Keywords: Open Source Distribution; Applications and Software; Product Development; Change Management; Research and Development; Business Processes; Disruptive Innovation; Information Technology Industry; North Carolina