Publications

02 Feb 2004
Research & Ideas

Where Does Apple Go From Here?

Apple Computer knows how to make headlines. The company is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Macintosh and is enjoying the fruits of its launch into the digital entertainment business. In its December quarter, Apple sold 730,000... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

05 Aug 2010
What Do You Think?

What Is Customer Opinion Good For?

something new and different is worthless." Ron Kurtz noted that (customers) "are better at reacting to things and defining their 'problems' that they would like to see resolved or alleviated." Some commented on the limits of formalized View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Technology

August 2014
Case

Opening the Valve: From Software to Hardware (A)

By: Ethan Bernstein, Francesca Gino and Bradley Staats

Valve, one of the world's top video game software companies, has also become an iconic example of an organization with virtually no hierarchy. A 400-person organization, Valve's unique organizational form (described in detail in the case and accompanying employee... View Details

04 Dec 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Dynamics of Platform Competition: Exploring the Role of Installed Base, Platform Quality and Consumer Expectations

Keywords: by Feng Zhu & Marco Iansiti; Entertainment & Recreation

January 2009 (Revised January 2010)
Case

Responding to the Wii?

By: Andrei Hagiu and Hanna Halaburda

After years of gaming console industry leadership, how should Sony respond to the overwhelming success of competitor Nintendo's user-friendly Wii over Sony's high-tech PlayStation 3? It was August 2008 and Kazuo Hirai, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment... View Details

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Two-Sided Platforms; Industry Structures; Competitive Strategy; Electronics Industry; Video Game Industry

September 2003 (Revised September 2004)
Case

Grafica, Inc.: Winning the New Jersey Lottery (A)

Debra Taeschler, CEO of Grafica, is considering how to structure her agency's bid for the New Jersey Lottery account. The Lottery is facing declining sales in all major categories and plans to slash its 1999 marketing budget by 32%. Taeschler is debating whether to... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Decision Making; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; New Jersey

10 Sep 2008
Research & Ideas

Long-Tail Economics? Give Me Blockbusters!

Editor's Note: Harvard Business School professor John Quelch writes a blog on marketing issues, called Marketing Know: How, for Harvard Business Online. It is reprinted on HBS Working Knowledge. The... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

February 2024
Teaching Note

Accelerating with Caution: Forecasting and Managing birddogs' Growth (A) and (B)

By: Mark Egan

Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 224-023 and 224-024. As 2017 was drawing to a close, birddogs’ founder and CEO, Peter Baldwin, was working with his CFO Jack Sullivan to prepare for 2018. A nascent direct-to-consumer apparel brand, birddogs had carved its niche in men’s... View Details

Keywords: Inventory Management; Forecasting Demand; Financial Constraints; Apparel; Startups; Corporate Finance; Forecasting and Prediction; Working Capital; Financing and Loans; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Demand and Consumers; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

August 2022 (Revised June 2024)
Exercise

How Should Netflix Add an Ad-Supported Tier?

By: Elie Ofek and Olivier Toubia

In the summer of 2022, it became clear that Netflix would introduce an ad-supported tier alongside its existing subscription plans in the near future. Speculation abounded as to the details of the new tier: How many minutes of advertising would it include? What picture... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Television Industry; Price; Marketing Strategy; Digital Platforms; Customer Value and Value Chain; Competitive Strategy; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

24 Mar 2015
First Look

First Look: March 24

Search listing. The authors consider implications of these findings for competition policy and for online marketing strategies. Download working paper: http://www.benedelman.org/publications/gfs-2015-03-09.pdf View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2004 (Revised October 2005)
Case

Hasbro Games -- POX (A)

By: David B. Godes and Elie Ofek

Hasbro's newest toy is so unique it requires a unique launch strategy. Comparing traditional media (TV, print) with a non-traditional viral campaign, Matt Collins must weigh the risks and benefits of doing things the way they've always been done or blazing a new path... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Cost vs Benefits; Marketing Strategy; Advertising Campaigns; Product Launch; Innovation and Invention; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

February 1999
Case

Tele-Communications, Inc. (A): Cascading Miracles

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

John Malone, CEO of Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI), the largest U.S. cable television company, is in the midst of a strategic and operational turnaround. TCI has been losing market share to direct-to-home satellite broadcasters, and Malone is considering a bold new... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Operations; Television Entertainment; Business Strategy; Volatility; Telecommunications Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

21 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

The $15 Billion Question: Have Loot Boxes Turned Video Gaming into Gambling?

in loot boxes and protect consumers, the authors suggest. The work resonates beyond entertainment to offer insights for the many industries facing regulatory pressures and weighing business models that broadly work, but that trigger... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis; Video Game; Media & Broadcasting

27 May 2009
First Look

First Look: May 27, 2009

to demonstrate the performance implications. Market Reaction to the Adoption of IFRS in Europe Authors:Edward J. Riedl, Christopher S. Armstrong, Alan D. Jagolinzer, and Mary E. Barth Publication:The Accounting Review (forthcoming)... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

April 2006 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Apple Computer, 2006

By: David B. Yoffie and Michael Slind

Apple has reaped the benefits of its innovative music player, the iPod. However, its PC and server business continue to hold small market share relative to the worldwide computer over the past few years. Will the iPod lure new users to the Mac? Will Apple be able to... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Product Positioning; Performance Evaluation; Information Infrastructure; Music Entertainment; Time Management; Information Technology Industry

June 2010
Case

Legendary Pictures & ABRY Partners

This case focuses on the review by the private equity firm ABRY Partners of an opportunity to invest in a film financing vehicle, Legendary Pictures. Before 2004, private equity firms had avoided co-investing with film studios in film productions because of their... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment; Film Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

November 2002
Background Note

Strategy and Sources of Motion Picture Finance, The

By: Mihir A. Desai, Gabriel J. Loeb and Mark Veblen

This case considers the alternative financing mechanisms for film financing, the evolution of film finance in the United States, and the nature of tax-motivated film financing in the United States and around the world. It develops the strategy driving motion picture... View Details

Keywords: Film Entertainment; Financial Instruments; Financial Strategy; Financing and Loans; Globalized Markets and Industries; Taxation; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States