Publications

August 2014 (Revised March 2015)
Case

Optimization and Expansion at OpenTable

By: Benjamin Edelman and Karen Webster

OpenTable considers adjustments to increase its benefits to merchants, including a novel payments service that lets customers skip the multi-step process of using a credit card. View Details

Keywords: Payments; Pricing; Mobile; Rollout; Incrementality; Innovation Strategy; Credit Cards; Accommodations Industry; Accommodations Industry; United States

December 2012 (Revised May 2014)
Case

Hotel Ivory

By: Arthur I Segel, Nicolas P. Retsinas and Jonathan Lo

Cheick Sanankoua is an MBA student who believes that he has found the perfect investment property, a small, independently owned hotel, on the Ivory Coast. However, he has had trouble raising money for the investment beyond friends and family. Through contacts in the... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Emergent Countries; Investing; Entrepreneurial Finance; Debts; Cash Flow; Quantitative Analysis; Financing; Development Stage Enterprises; Small ＆ Medium-sized Enterprises; Africa; Ivory Coast; Venture Capital; Emerging Markets; Property; Investment; Accommodations Industry; Accommodations Industry; Africa

March 2011 (Revised August 2012)
Case

Caesars Entertainment: CodeGreen

By: George Serafeim, Robert G. Eccles and Tiffany A. Clay

The case describes the development of Caesar's sustainability initiative program, the effect of the initiative on employee engagement and motivation, and on customer satisfaction. View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Employees; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Motivation and Incentives; Accommodations Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

01 Dec 2021
What Do You Think?

How Will the Metaverse Affect Productivity?

long ago that live streaming was thought to be a luxury possible only when the capacity of the internet could be expanded to accommodate storage and uploading capabilities demanded by the new services. Now it’s commonplace; we take it for... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

04 Dec 2007
First Look

First Look: December 4, 2007

(such as going to a museum), an online intervention that led to greater liking after offline meetings (Study 3). How to Capture Value from Innovation: Shaping Intellectual Property and Industry Architecture. 50th Anniversary Special Issue... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 Jul 2019
What Do You Think?

Are Super Stretch Goals Only for the Very Young?

products. “The tech industry in general, young or old, can accommodate stretched goals, simply because digital can reach millions of people worldwide in one second, and all that they have to do is to create... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

28 Jun 2016
First Look

June 28, 2016

economic thought and contested antitrust law, ultimately tailoring federal policy to accommodate state regulations. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=49787 Do CEO Activists Make a Difference? Evidence from a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2015 (Revised October 2016)
Case

onefinestay: Building a Luxury Experience in the Sharing Economy

By: Jill Avery, Anat Keinan and Liz Kind

onefinestay was a two-sided marketplace that offered high-end home rentals to travelers who sought a more authentic and local experience than a typical upscale hotel might provide. After five years of rapid growth, it was time to do a comprehensive analysis of the... View Details

March 2006 (Revised September 2006)
Case

Slots, Tables, and All That Jazz: Managing Customer Profitability at the MGM Grand Hotel

By: Dennis Campbell, Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez, Marc Epstein and Joshua Bellin

The MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas had detailed information on loyal gaming customers, but could its information systems also be tailored to nongaming customers? As the nongaming business sectors became increasingly profitable both at the MGM Grand and in Las Vegas... View Details

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Customer Relationship Management; Customer Value and Value Chain; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Nevada

15 Oct 2013
First Look

First Look: October 15

Edmondson Abstract—In this paper, we examine whether and how traditional team structures can be adapted to accommodate fluid personnel and to what benefit. Previous research has shown that team membership stability fosters familiarity,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Jan 2012
First Look

First Look: Jan. 24

that priming relevant networks (e.g., family or friends) makes products associated with those networks more attractive. Read the paper: http://www.people.hbs.edu/mnorton/anik norton.pdf The Influence of Prior Industry Affiliation on... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

20 Aug 2013
First Look

First Look: August 20

empirically the method proposed by Arcidiacono and Miller (2011) to accommodate unobserved latent class heterogeneity using a computationally light two-step estimator. Second, we illustrate how discount factors can be estimated in a... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

10 Nov 2009
First Look

First Look: Nov. 10

as the team had already made significant design progress. The team was also working under a tight budget and delivery deadline. However, the aesthetics would appear to be greatly improved by changing the design. The project's architect and builder had to decide whether... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Article

The Market Design and Policy of Online Review Platforms

By: Benjamin Edelman

I present the institutions and incentives of online reviews, including attracting initial reviews, assuring truthful reviews of genuine experiences, and avoiding inflated or deceptive reviews. I also explore the competition and consumer protection concerns associated... View Details

Keywords: Reviews; Reputation; Platforms; Marketplaces; Deception; Market Design; Multi-Sided Platforms; Law; Online Technology; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

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08 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

How to Negotiate “Yes” Across Cultural Boundaries

finalize a deal, but that's often not enough. Many countries have webs of influence that are more powerful than the actual parties making the deal, even though those webs don't have the formal standing of, say, government agencies. In Japan, it may be the keiretsu—... View Details

Keywords: by James K. Sebenius

15 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

Funding the Design of Livable Cities

Compounding the challenge of supporting this population shift, governments from developing to industrialized countries are limited in their capacity and political will to devise solutions to accommodate... View Details

Keywords: by Lisa Chase; Construction; Real Estate; Energy; Utilities

06 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

Why Businesses Need a Language Strategy

Lost sales. Friction. Inefficiency. These are dirty words in the world of business, and they are inevitabilities for companies that don't watch their language, so to speak. Harvard Business School Associate Professor Tsedal Neeley believes that to View Details

Keywords: Re: Tsedal Neeley

December 2012
Case

Blink Booking

By: William R. Kerr, Magnus Thor Torfason and Alexis Brownell

Rebeca Minguela hopes to create an arbitrage platform, similar to Rocket Internet, that can bring start-up ideas and opportunities to Spain. However, Blink Booking, her first venture and proof of concept, is rocked by a co-founder's breach of confidence and departure.... View Details

Keywords: Clones; Cloning; Rocket Internet; Start-up; Equity Split; Arbitrage; Incubator; Mobile App; Expansion; Spain; Europe; Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Internet and the Web; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Spain; Europe