Publications

April 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Ripple: The Business of Crypto

By: David B. Yoffie and George Gonzalez

The case explores Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s mission to disrupt the global payments industry by leveraging the cryptocurrency XRP. Students will learn about Bitcoin and the blockchain industry, as well as Ripple’s unique crypto business model. The case provides an... View Details

Keywords: Payment Systems; Cryptocurrency; Bitcoin; Blockchain; Fintech; Business Startups; Business Model; Disruption; Strategy; Banking Industry; Technology Industry

April 2019
Case

Walmart Update, 2019

By: David B. Yoffie and Daniel Fisher

In 2019 Walmart was still the world's largest company, with over $500 billion in annual revenue and operations around the world. Although it had mostly vanquished its rival discount retailers in the U.S., it was struggling to find the right growth strategy. Facing a... View Details

Keywords: E-Commerce Strategy; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Growth and Development Strategy; Global Range; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; E-commerce; Retail Industry

March 2019
Teaching Note

Numenta: Inventing and (or) Commercializing AI

This teaching notes accompanies the Numenta case, HBS No. 716-469. The focus is how to scale a new artificial intelligence technology, how to build a platform and overcome chicken-or-the-egg problems, and how to utilize open source software and licensing. View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Strategy; Information Technology; Technological Innovation; Commercialization; AI and Machine Learning

February 2019
Teaching Note

Voice War: Hey Google vs. Alexa vs. Siri

Teaching Note for "Voice War: Hey Google vs. Alexa vs. Siri," HBS No. 718-519. View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Technology; Technology Industry

June 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Teaching Note

Apple Inc. in 2018

Teaching Note for HBS No. 718-439. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Telecommunications Industry; Computer Industry

June 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Teaching Note

Qualcomm Inc., 2019

Teaching Note for HBS No. 718-514. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Intellectual Property; Information Technology; Standards; Business Model; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Telecommunications Industry; Semiconductor Industry

June 2018 (Revised August 2019)
Case

Qualcomm Inc., 2019

By: David B. Yoffie and Andrew S. Choi

This case is set in mid-2019, when Qualcomm was struggling with unwanted take-over battles, fights with Apple and the Chinese government, and internal dissension on the board of directors. Ten years earlier Qualcomm was hailed as a monopoly on CDMA technologies and... View Details

Keywords: Technology Cycles; Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Intellectual Property; Information Technology; Standards; Business Model; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Telecommunications Industry; Semiconductor Industry

June 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Voice War: Hey Google vs. Alexa vs. Siri

By: David B. Yoffie, Liang Wu, Jodie Sweitzer, Denzil Eden and Karan Ahuja

By early 2018, voice-controlled intelligent assistants had become a major new front in the battle between the giants of the technology sector. "Voice War" focuses on Alphabet’s strategy for Google Assistant, its entrant in the voice assistant space, and asks how the... View Details

Keywords: Alphabet; Amazon; Apple; Strategy; Technology; Intelligent Assistants; Smart Speaker; Voice Assistants; Voice; Platform; Technology Adoption; Digital Platforms; Competitive Strategy; Product Positioning; Technology Industry

May 2018 (Revised December 2019)
Case

Apple Inc. in 2018

By: David B. Yoffie and Eric Baldwin

Many observers worried about what would happen to Apple when Steve Jobs died in 2011. But Apple had performed above everyone's expectations in Cook's six years as CEO. Apple's core business—the iPhone—continued to deliver spectacular results. In addition, Cook was... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Information Technology; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Technological Innovation; Competitive Advantage; Computer Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Technology Industry

April 2018
Supplement

$19B 4 txt app WhatsApp...omg! (B)

By: David B. Yoffie and Aakash Mehta

This case provides a brief update on Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp. View Details

Keywords: Technology; Strategy; Network Effects; Technology Industry

October 2017 (Revised August 2018)
Case

HTC and Virtual Reality

By: David B. Yoffie, Andy Wu and Allison M. Ciechanover

In fall 2017, HTC CEO and Chairperson Cher Wang was driving the company to focus on virtual reality (VR). HTC's first VR product, VIVE, released in spring 2016, was applauded for its superior immersive room-scale capabilities. However, early adoption of VR beyond... View Details

Keywords: Virtual Reality; Strategy; Competition; Information Technology; Innovation and Management; Consumer Behavior; Customer Relationship Management; Technology Industry

September 2017 (Revised July 2018)
Technical Note

Virtual Reality and the Gaming Sector 2017

By: David B. Yoffie, Natalia Prieto Nino, Prasad Raman, Brad Kowalk and Ruby Tamberino

This brief note explores the emerging possibilities of virtual reality and its potential as a gaming platform. View Details

Keywords: Virtual Reality; Gaming; Strategy; Technological Innovation; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Technology Platform

September 2017 (Revised July 2018)
Case

CyberArk: Protecting the Keys to the IT Kingdom

By: Raffaella Sadun, David Yoffie and Margot Eiran

CyberArk was the recognized leader in the Privileged Account Management (PAM) space, a cybersecurity subsegment it had essentially created to secure organizations’ IT systems and sensitive data. Over 17 years, the Israeli company had grown to a market capitalization of... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Competitive Advantage; Information Technology; Cybersecurity; Information Technology Industry; Israel; United States

July 2017 (Revised July 2018)
Case

Upwork: Creating the Human Cloud

By: Dylan Minor and David Yoffie

Stephane Kasriel, the new CEO of Upwork, the leading platform for freelance labor, needs to decide on how to redesign its business model. While the firm has been growing rapidly since the merger of Odesk and eLance, the newly combined firm continues to face problems of... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Platform; Platform Businesses; Technology; Business Model; Digital Platforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Internet and the Web; Labor

2019
Chapter

Network Effects

By: Andrei Hagiu and David B. Yoffie

Network effects are a key economic and strategic phenomenon in 'new economy' industries. They can, but do not necessarily, lead to market tipping, unless they outweigh customers' benefits from differentiation and are accompanied by high switching and multi-homing... View Details

Keywords: Network Effects

Find at Harvard

May 2017 (Revised May 2019)
Supplement

Intuit: QuickBooks (B)

By: David Yoffie and Nicole Tempest Keller

This short case updates the earlier Intuit case on transitioning from a product company into a platform company. In addition to providing information on the recent successes and challenges of the business, it also explores a new challenge of building a platform with a... View Details

Keywords: Platform; Strategic Transition; Strategy; Digital Platforms; Transition

May 2017
Teaching Note

Elon Musk's Big Bets

By: David B. Yoffie and Eric Baldwin

This teaching note is designed for the Elon Musk's Big Bets case (#717-431). View Details

Keywords: Strategy

May 2017 (Revised October 2017)
Teaching Note

eBay vs. Carl Icahn, 2014, and A Note on Activist Investors and the Tech Sector

By: David B. Yoffie and Eric Baldwin

Teaching note to accompany eBay vs. Carl Icahn, 2014, HBS Case #717-417; eBay vs. Carl Icahn, 2014: Interview with John Donahoe, eBay CEO 2008-2015; A Note on Activist Investors and the Tech Section HBS Case #716-462 View Details

May 2017
Teaching Note

Wal-Mart Update, 2017

This Teaching Note is designed for the case, “Wal-Mart Update, 2017,” HBS No. 717-468. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Retail Industry