Publications

October 2000 (Revised March 2001)
Case

eLance.com: Building a Professional Services Marketplace

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Kristin Kohler

Launched as an eBay for services, eLance promises to leverage the capabilities of the Internet to not only change the way services are bought and sold, but change the fundamental dynamics of the global economy. Building on theories posited in the HBR article by Tim... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Job Search; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Web Sites; Information Technology Industry; Service Industry

Find at Harvard

October 2019 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Souqalmal: The Choice Is Yours (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Alpana Thapar

This case describes how Ambareen Musa, Founder and CEO of Souqalmal, a Dubai-based online comparison aggregator of banking and insurance products launched her business in 2011 and rapidly grew it over next couple of years. However, by 2017, the Mauritian entrepreneur... View Details

Keywords: Unit Economics; Finance; Accounting; Competitive Strategy; Financial Statements; Insurance Industry; Middle East

02 Aug 2007
What Do You Think?

How Will Millennials Manage?

seems to look at its successor as beneath their own." There were a number of suggestions about how millennials might manage differently from their predecessors. For example, Bette Price said, " this group will be fine managers... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

April 2005
Case

Handleman Company

By: Janice H. Hammond and Kevin Dolan

Describes the organization and operations of the Handleman Co., an intermediary in the music industry that buys recorded music and resells it to mass retailers such as Wal-Mart. The company provides distribution, inventory management, retail merchandising, and category... View Details

Keywords: Business Organization; Music Entertainment; Cost Management; Growth and Development; Business or Company Management; Distribution Channels; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty; Online Technology; Value Creation; Music Industry

October 2021 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Engine No.1: An Impact Investing Firm Engages with ExxonMobil

By: Mark Kramer, Shawn Cole, Vikram S. Gandhi and T. Robert Zochowski

ExxonMobil, the world's fifth largest source of carbon emissions, remained committed to aggressively expanding its oil & gas business despite global warming. During the COVID pandemic this strategy resulted in massive losses as the price and demand for oil declined. ... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Emissions; Global Warming; Impact Investment Funds; Hedge Fund Activism; Leadership Development; Business Model; Renewable Energy; Resource Allocation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Governing and Advisory Boards

June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Inditex: 2012

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In the 11 years since its public offering, Inditex and its flagship brand, Zara, had expanded into 86 countries, achieved $21.6 billion in revenue, and become the largest specialty apparel retailer in the world. In marked contrast to the general malaise of the Bolsa de... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Strategy; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Fashion Industry; Spain

18 Oct 2018
Research & Ideas

How to Use Free Shipping as a Competitive Weapon

price remains a primary determinant of whether a consumer will buy a product, free shipping provides an added enhancement for online merchants to consider. Shoppers are only one-tenth as sensitive to... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Retail

24 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

Uncovering Racial Discrimination in the ‘Sharing Economy’

The "sharing economy" is a burgeoning business model in which people offer their personal belongings and personal services to others, usually through online marketplaces that facilitate the transactions. It seems absolutely egalitarian at... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Construction; Real Estate; Advertising

07 Jun 2016
First Look

June 7, 2016

avoidance (Slemrod, 2004; Crocker and Slemrod, 2005; Chen and Chu, 2005) by showing that increases in institutional ownership are associated with increases in tax avoidance. Using the Russell index reconstitution setting to isolate... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Oct 2015
First Look

October 6, 2015

States and the European Union. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=49803 Online Network Revenue Management Using Thompson Sampling By: Ferreira, Kris Johnson, David Simchi-Levi, and He Wang Abstract—We... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 15, 2007

Working PapersI'll Have the Ice Cream Soon and the Vegetables Later: Decreasing Impatience over Time in Online Grocery Orders Authors:Todd Rogers, Katherine L. Milkman, and Max H. Bazerman Abstract How do decisions for the near future... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

April 2024 (Revised July 2024)
Case

Unleashing Human Magic at Best Buy

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger, Sunil Gupta and Amram Migdal

The case examines the transformation of Best Buy under CEO Hubert Joly's leadership from 2012. Facing significant business challenges, including competition from online and physical retailers, Joly implemented the "Renew Blue" turnaround strategy, which focused on... View Details

28 Feb 2005
Research & Ideas

Amazon, eBay and the Bidding Wars

Beware of competitors lying in the grass, says Harvard Business School professor Alvin E. Roth. His study of bidding practices on eBay suggest that those who wait until the last minute to bid—a practice called sniping—is an effective way to not only get what you want,... View Details

Keywords: by Sara Grant; Web Services; Technology

December 2017 (Revised March 2019)
Case

Armarium: Luxury Fashion Brands for Rent

By: Jill Avery, David Fubini, Natasha Dossa and Devon Stewart

Armarium, a two-sided online platform that offered consumers the opportunity to rent the most coveted, current season high fashion clothing and accessories from the top global luxury brands, had emerged from its first sales season with two distinct customer segments:... View Details

January 2014 (Revised December 2014)
Case

GenapSys: Business Models for the Genome

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Joseph B. Fuller and Matthew Preble

GenapSys, a California-based startup, was soon to release a new DNA sequencer that the company's founder, Hesaam Esfandyarpour, believed was truly revolutionary. The sequencer would be substantially less expensive—potentially costing just a few thousand dollars—and... View Details

Keywords: DNA Sequencing; Life Sciences; Business Model; Innovation ＆ Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Genetics; Business Strategy; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Technology Industry; Health Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

22 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

When Will the Hot Housing Market Finally Start to Cool?

only 910,000 homes on the market remained unsold nationwide, an all-time low. And Zillow, the online real estate sales platform, recently revised its 2022 forecast upward, predicting home prices will surge... View Details

Keywords: by Christine Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette

24 Feb 2009
First Look

First Look: February 24, 2009

the highest commissions-impeding price competition among GDSs. Against this backdrop, American considered how best to cut its GDS costs. Purchase this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=909035 Purchase... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2007
Article

The Effectiveness of Pre-Release Advertising for Motion Pictures: An Empirical Investigation Using a Simulated Market

By: Anita Elberse and Bharat N. Anand

One of the most visible and publicized trends in the movie industry is the escalation in movie advertising expenditures over time. Yet, the returns to movie advertising are poorly understood. The main reason is that disentangling the causal effect of advertising on... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Stocks; Investment Return; Price; Revenue; Quality; Mathematical Methods; Motion Pictures and Video Industry