Publications

May 2017 (Revised November 2017)
Case

Cotopaxi: Managing Growth for Good

By: Andy Wu and Laura Huang

Cotopaxi, an innovative outdoor gear business targeting millennials, focuses on profit and social impact. This registered benefit corporation was formed by Davis Smith who coalesced his experiences as a Wharton MBA student along with professional knowledge from an... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Social Venture; Benefit Corporation; B-Corp; Retail; Consumer Products; Apparel; Social Impact; Social Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Product Positioning; Social Enterprise; Mission and Purpose; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry

Teaching Interest

Overview

Prof. Nagle has taught a wide variety of topics to various types of students including everything from computer programming and e-commerce for undergraduates to cyber security for the FBI and HBS Executive Education participants to innovation and technology management... View Details

December 2014 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Susie Mulder at NIC+ZOE

By: David Fubini, Joshua Margolis and Kerry Herman

Susie Mulder must decide how to lead NIC+ZOE—the women's apparel brand she had recently joined as CEO—from its start-up phase into a disciplined growth phase. With growing revenues, a successful product line, and savvy private equity investors, NIC+ZOE seems perfectly... View Details

Keywords: Clothing; Fashion; Fashion Design; Leadership; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Private Equity; Decision Making; Apparel and Accessories Industry

26 May 2013
News

An Auction? Most EBay Users Don't Have Time for That

13 Sep 2021
News

Can a Green-Economy Boom Town Be Built to Last?

22 Sep 2010
News

Homecoming Day: Private Equity And Venture Veterans Go Back To School

10 Dec 2021
News

Great Leaders Embody These Four Principles, According to Best Buy's Former CEO

Research Summary

Areas of Interest

By: Michael A. Wheeler

Primary Topics: complexity, dispute resolution, ethics, improvisation, moral leadership, negotiation, psychodynamics

Additional Topics: alliances, cognition, conflict, creativity, crisis management, decision-making, electronic... View Details

17 May 2022
Cold Call Podcast

Delivering a Personalized Shopping Experience with AI

Keywords: Re: Jill J. Avery

December 1999
Case

Sun Microsystems, Inc. (A): An Enterprise of Change

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Jane Roessner

In 1999, Sun Microsystems, Inc., was claiming a leadership position in the burgeoning world of e-commerce and networking computers. Its goal: "to dot-com the world." What was it about Sun's culture that made it so conducive to innovation and entrepreneurship? And how... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Leading Change; Innovation Leadership; Information Infrastructure; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business Growth and Maturation; Growth and Development Strategy; Global Strategy; Experience and Expertise; Technology Industry; Computer Industry

July 2007 (Revised April 2008)
Case

Secom: Managing Information Security in a Risky World

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Robert D. Austin, Junko Usuba and Masako Egawa

Examines the type of security that is appropriate for an Internet company to have on its site. Focuses on a 20-person electronic e-commerce company trying to decide what parts of the information security product line they should acquire from the largest security... View Details

Keywords: Information Management; Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Safety; Operations; Information Technology Industry; Service Industry; Japan

15 Jan 2022
News

Tiktok Isn’t Silly. It’s Serious

March 2022
Supplement

Pakistan Rising: Bazaar's Growth Story (B)

By: Paul A. Gompers and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in January 2022 as Hamza Jawaid and Saad Jangda, co-founders of Bazaar technologies (Bazaar), the Pakistani high growth B2B e-commerce marketplace, are looking over the performance of the newly launched “buy now, play later” feature. The traction looks... View Details

Keywords: B2B; Business Model; Emerging Markets; For-Profit Firms; Strategy; Digital Platforms; Information Technology; Value Creation; Globalization; Competition; Expansion; Profit; Resource Allocation; Diversification; Corporate Strategy; Pakistan

January 2025
Case

Driving Efficiency and Sustainability at P&G China

By: Feng Zhu, Philip Kuai and Billy Chan

P&G China’s business had reached new heights thanks to the explosive growth of e-commerce in the country, but the rapidly increasing volume of shipments to customers had created operational and environmental challenges in terms of packaging waste, shipping damage, and... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Customer Value and Value Chain; Environmental Sustainability; E-commerce; Logistics; Product Design; Value Creation; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Supply Chain Management; Consumer Products Industry; China

18 Oct 2022
Cold Call Podcast

Chewy.com’s Make-or-Break Logistics Dilemma

Keywords: Re: Jeffrey F. Rayport; Retail

Buy Now, Pay Later Credit: User Characteristics and Effects on Spending Patterns

Firms offering "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) point-of-sale loans with minimal underwriting have grown in popularity in the last couple of years. According to Worldpay, BNPL accounted for 2.1% – or roughly $97b – of global e-commerce transactions in 2020, and is... View Details

April 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Case

Amazon in China and India

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Kairavi Dey

Amazon has been unsuccessful in its efforts to develop a business in China. Even though Amazon was an early entrant into China’s e-commerce space, its domestic rivals, especially Alibaba, created innovative business models uniquely suited for the conditions in China. ... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Emerging Markets; Business Strategy; Expansion; Business Model; Retail Industry; China; India; United States

June 2023
Supplement

Clash of Two Giants Simulation Exercise

By: Feng Zhu and Marco Iansiti

Many markets are organized around platforms that connect consumers with complementary applications and services. These platforms are two-sided because both sides - consumers and those providing applications or services - need access to the same platform to interact. A... View Details

Keywords: Customer Acquisition; Platform Strategy; Technology Platform; Digital Platforms; Competitive Strategy; Network Effects