Publications

August 2002 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Great Dakota Bank: Online Banking

By: Frances X. Frei, Youngme E. Moon and Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar

In 2002, Great Dakota Bank's retail division is considering how heavily it should be promoting the company's online banking service. A recent promotional campaign appears to have significantly increased enrollments in online banking, but it is unclear whether the bank... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Internet and the Web; Customer Relationship Management; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Technological Innovation; Customer Value and Value Chain; Customer Satisfaction; Management; Service Operations; Banking Industry

19 Jun 2012
First Look

First Look: June 19

alienating existing customers. The case follows Eileen Fisher's initial forays into social media as they chase a younger demographic and demonstrates the opportunities and pitfalls that await big brands when they enter the world of Web... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2016 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Building the Digital Manufacturing Enterprise of the Future at Siemens

By: Willy Shih

This case describes the motivation for and the development of Siemens' digital manufacturing enterprise vision, which became the foundation for its implementation of Industrie 4.0. While the effort started with a purely defensive move by Anton Huber, head of the... View Details

25 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 25

issues, and, if so, whether the magnitude is large enough to matter. The study develops and analyzes a novel data set consisting of a 1% sample of all outward-facing web servers used in the United States. We find that use of Apache... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Oct 2009
Research & Ideas

The Vanguard Corporation

new CEO at IBM, led a conversation in which all 400,000 employees could participate on a Web chat over three days about what the company's values should be for the 21st century, a "values jam." People were in a conversation.... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

23 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

New Challenges for Long-Term Investors

information are readily available today for free on the Internet. Do you think the pervasiveness of financial information on the Web is getting investors more interested in short-term investing? A: I think more information is better than... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen

February 22, 2023
Article

How to Seed Organic Marketing in a Video-First World

By: Ayelet Israeli, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Matt Higgins

Early direct-to-consumer (DTC) companies relied on plentiful capital and low-cost digital marketing to power growth. But as this sector has matured, capital is more constrained, social media is more cluttered, and customer acquisition costs are rising. DTC companies... View Details

Keywords: Online Business; Ecommerce; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Omnichannel Retail; Omnichannel Retailing; Influencer Marketing; Consumer; Organic Growth; Video Advertising; Promotion; Celebrities; Online Advertising; Online Channel; Online Communities; Online Community; Go To Market Strategy; Platform; Media; Media Content; Digital; Digital Culture; Digital Influencers; Direct To Consumer Marketing; Direct-to-consumer; Innovation ＆ Entrepreneurship; Innovation; Sales; Digital Platforms; Digital Marketing; Digital Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Internet and the Web; Advertising; Business Model; Growth Management; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Communication Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Fashion Industry; Advertising Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States; North America

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10 Jan 2011
Research & Ideas

Is Groupon Good for Retailers?

spas, paintball parties, etc., at a major markdown—up to 90 percent off a retailer's usual prices—and then requiring the retailer to pay a big chunk of the voucher revenues back to Groupon. But the Chicago-based firm is "the fastest growing company in View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising; Technology

23 Feb 2009
Research & Ideas

Creative Entrepreneurship in a Downturn

downtime created by the collapse of the Internet bubble gave rise to a host of new applications that we now collectively know as Web 2.0. Technologies and materials left unused due to the collapse of one industry can be creatively... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

December 2018
Case

Choosy

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Julia Kelley

Founded in 2017, Choosy is a data-driven fashion startup that uses algorithms to identify styles trending on social media. After manufacturing similar items using a China-based supply chain, Choosy sells them to consumers through its website and social media pages.... View Details

November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Anthology: Pivoting the Business Model

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Christopher Payton

In July 2014, after 18 months and eight unsuccessful product launches, the CEO of Yabbly has agreed to sell his company to a larger, well-funded startup, providing a return of capital for his investors and a home for his team. Two weeks prior to the scheduled closing,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Business Model; Business Plan; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Innovation Strategy; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Exit or Shutdown; Fairness; Valuation; Technology Industry; Consumer Products Industry; North America; United States; Seattle

01 Jun 2002
News

Profile: The Invisible Hand - Robert Massie and God's Green Earth

taken away and then given back,” he says, “you want to use it in the very best way you can.” Web Exclusive: Bob Massie - Finding His Place at HBS “I owe a great deal to the late Professor John Matthews,” Bob Massie says, as he retraces... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; management; ethics

23 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

It’s Called ‘Price Coherence,’ and It’s Surprisingly Bad for Consumers

raise menu prices—for everyone. Albeit indirectly, consumers pay for the intermediary services. "To me, this seems pretty screwed up," Edelman says. "The system encourages excessive consumption of OpenTable. As diners, we should leave that OpenTable View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail; Air Transportation; Food & Beverage; Entertainment & Recreation

22 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 22

advertising market—one that suffers quite a different set of problems. Display advertising systems place ads-typically, rectangular "banners"—on the majority of popular web sites. Though display ads are widespread, they are also... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Web

Online Personal Branding Course | HBS Online

Dorvilier Advertising specialist BS in Advertising/Integrated Marketing Communications, Ferris State University I've taken a lot of paid online courses, but the HBS Online experience was close to that of the classroom and highly immersive. Swaminathan Aiyer Head of... View Details

Web

Terms of Use | HBS Online

the online.hbs.edu and/or myhbx.org web domains) or any other websites, applications, programs or online or mobile products or services of Harvard Business School Online (collectively, the “Services”). The term “Services” includes the... View Details

February 2025 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Managing Complexity at mymuesli

By: Thomas Graeber and Stacy Straaberg

In April 2009, direct-to-consumer e-commerce muesli brand mymuesli faced a flood of customer questions. The breakfast cereal startup enabled users to order personalized muesli on its website by choosing from 75 organic ingredients for a total of 566 quadrillion... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Decisions; Food; Product Marketing; Product Positioning; Product Launch; Problems and Challenges; Behavior; Competitive Advantage; Customization and Personalization; Segmentation; Internet and the Web; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; Germany

January 2020
Case

The June Oven

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Christian Godwin

The June Oven was a smart oven which was capable of identifying food and cooking it accordingly. This type of smart oven represented the next step in the long history of oven and stove development. Due to the widespread use of traditional ovens, the market for the June... View Details