Publications

March 2017 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Corey Thomas and the IPO

By: Steven Rogers and Derrick Collins

Corey Thomas, the African American CEO of the company Rapid7, must decide if it is the right time to take the 15-year-old company public, as it stood poised to capitalize on what appeared to be the next frontier for digital technology markets—cybersecurity. In spite of... View Details

Keywords: Business Finance; Capital Markets; Private Equity; Internet and the Web; Initial Public Offering; Decision Making; Financial Services Industry; Technology Industry; Web Services Industry; United States

23 Jul 2007
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: How Wikipedia Works (or Doesn’t)

says McAfee. Another reason the governance structure works, adds Lakhani, is that it is transparent—everyone's edits can be read and commented upon by anyone else. But the real basis of Wikipedia governance is a collection View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Publishing

18 Jul 2014
News

Team Players

the game and everything associated with it was a shared experience. With game day far in the future, however, what they were selling was the region and the excitement of the Super Bowl in general. "The Host... View Details

Keywords: Robert S. Benchley; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management of Companies and Enterprises

April 2016
Teaching Note

Flipkart: Transitioning to a Marketplace Model

By: Sunil Gupta and Das Narayandas

In 2015, Sachin and Binny Bansal, co-founders of India's largest e-tailer, Flipkart, announced that the company would switch to a marketplace model and move its logistics arm into a separate company. At the time of the announcement, Snapdeal already claimed to be... View Details

Keywords: India; Marketplaces; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Market Entry and Exit; E-commerce; Retail Industry; India

25 Sep 2017
Research & Ideas

Why Politics is Failing America, and What Business Can Do To Help

those things together.” “So we are determined, in whatever way we can, to try to get businesses to understand the kind of corrosive effects that is having on our entire economy, on everything they need to... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette

November 2002 (Revised February 2003)
Case

Amazon.com-2002

By: Stig Leschly, Michael J. Roberts, William A. Sahlman and Todd H Thedinga

Describes the evolution of Amazon.com and its business model since its founding. Specifically, discusses Amazon's transformation from an e-Tailer to a commerce platform and its marketplace initiative, which has driven this. Also describes the economics of various... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Transformation; Retail Industry

01 Sep 2009
News

MBA Oath Maintains Momentum

serve “the greater good” with the “utmost integrity” was taken by hundreds of graduating MBA students in a ceremony on Class Day. As of late July, more than 450 newly minted HBS MBAs and nearly 1,000... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Management

20 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

Open Source Science: A New Model for Innovation

four-and-a-half year period. Problems involved everything from biotech to consumer products and agrochemicals. Thanks to broadcasting, nearly one-third of the previously unsolved problems found successful... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

19 Jul 2011
First Look

First Look: July 19

China, Russia, Poland, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, Turkey) is provided to over 650 institutional clients, including J.P. Morgan, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, KPMG, and ING Barings. After ruling out seeking another round of VC financing, the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2017
Case

BlaBlaCar: The Road Ahead...

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Arun Sundararajan, Emilie Billaud and Caroline Caltagirone

In 2017, the co-founders of BlaBlaCar—the world’s largest long-distance carpooling company—reflected on the evolution of their venture and the way forward. BlaBlaCar had reached critical mass and size; yet staying still was not going to be enough to be relevant and... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Transformation; Decision Making; Values and Beliefs; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Platforms; Network Effects; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Internet and the Web; Transportation Networks; Transportation Industry; Web Services Industry; France; Europe