Publications

July – August 2010
Article

Are You Ignoring Trends That Could Shake Up Your Business?

By: Elie Ofek and Luc Wathieu

Virtually all managers in consumer businesses recognize major social, economic, and technological trends. But many do not consider the profound ways in which trends--especially those that seem unrelated to their core markets--influence consumers' aspirations,... View Details

Keywords: Trends; Innovation and Invention; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Product Development

Find at Harvard

May 2010
Lecture

Competing in Global Markets: Lessons from the World of Football

By: Anita Elberse

Keywords: Markets; Global Range; Learning; Sports

March 2010 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Major League Baseball Advanced Media: America's Pastime Goes Digital

By: Anita Elberse and Brett Laffel

In January 2010, Bob Bowman, chief executive officer of Major League Baseball Advanced Media -- MLB's digital arm -- is facing a number of decisions related to its 'app' for Apple's new iPad. What are the best name, price, and set of features for MLBAM's iPad app? The... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Sports Industry

March 2010 (Revised February 2013)
Case

NFL UK

By: Elie Ofek, David B. Godes and Peter Wickersham

The NFL faces a decision on how to continue efforts to grow its fanbase in the U.K. The decision needs to take into account lessons learned from previous NFL activities in Europe, market research on the U.K. sports fan, and the implications of any move on the U.S. fan.... View Details

Keywords: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Innovation and Invention; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Sports; Expansion; Sports Industry; Europe; United Kingdom; United States

February 2010
Teaching Note

Bank of America Sports Sponsorship (TN)

By: Stephen A. Greyser and John L. Teopaco

Teaching Note for [910406]. View Details

Keywords: Sports Industry

February 2010 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Arup: Building the Water Cube

By: Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson and Dilyana Karadzhova

Arup, an engineering firm, collaborated with PTW Architects and China Construction Design Institute to develop a design for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics Aquatics Center design competition. Their winning concept for the Water Cube combined elements of Chinese... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Environmental Sustainability; Design; Construction; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Projects; Groups and Teams; Sports Industry; Sports Industry; Beijing; Sydney

December 2009 (Revised March 2010)
Teaching Note

LeBron James

By: Anita Elberse

Teaching Note for [509050]. View Details

Keywords: Sports; Talent and Talent Management; Sports Industry

November 2009 (Revised September 2010)
Case

Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (A)

By: Frances X. Frei and Matthew Todd Perlberg

As NBA Commissioner David Stern approached the podium, silent anticipation gripped the 4,000 Houston Rockets fans gathered at the Rockets Draft Party. "With the 8th pick in the 2006 NBA draft," Stern began, "the Houston Rockets select Rudy Gay from the University of... View Details

Keywords: Sports; Talent and Talent Management; Competitive Strategy; Operations; Groups and Teams; Sports Industry

November 2009 (Revised September 2010)
Supplement

Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B)

By: Frances X. Frei and Matthew Todd Perlberg

Supplement to the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Sports; Talent and Talent Management; Sports Industry

November 2009
Case

Incentive or Insult? The Case of Joe Torre and the New York Yankees

By: Richard S. Tedlow and David Ruben

Keywords: Sports Industry; New York (city, NY)

September 2009 (Revised May 2019)
Case

The London 2012 Olympic Games

By: John T. Gourville and Marco Bertini

It's 2009 and Paul Williamson, Head of Ticketing, must finalize ticket prices for the 2012 London Olympic Games. Yet, there are many criteria to consider. First, given the importance of ticketing to the Games' bottom line, he has a strong incentive to maximize... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Customer Satisfaction; Price; Strategy; Profit; Revenue; Sales; Sports Industry; London

August 2009 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006

By: Krishna G. Palepu

This case centers around a dispute between the owners and the players regarding the profitability of professional baseball teams in connection with the negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. The case describes the financial statements of the baseball... View Details

Keywords: Accrual Accounting; Financial Statements; Profit; Labor Unions; Measurement and Metrics; Agreements and Arrangements; Performance; Sports Industry; United States

August 2009
Case

Bank of America Sports Sponsorship

By: Stephen A. Greyser and John L. Teopaco

A major sports sponsor must decide on new, renewal, or withdrawal from significant relations with teams/leagues/events, using a distinctive approach to assessment. View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions; Partners and Partnerships; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Performance Evaluation; Financing and Loans; Marketing Strategy; Sports Industry

July 2009 (Revised August 2009)
Case

From Little Things Big Things Grow: The Clontarf Foundation Program for Aboriginal Boys

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Michael Vitale

This case focuses on the growth of an innovative non-profit institution that motivates aboriginal children to attend school by harnessing their love of football. View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Welfare; Education; Sports; Service Industry

June 2009 (Revised August 2014)
Teaching Note

Negotiating on Thin Ice: The 2004-2005 NHL Dispute (TN) (A) & (B)

By: Deepak Malhotra

Teaching Note for [906038] and [906039]. View Details

Keywords: Sports Industry

March 2009 (Revised July 2024)
Teaching Note

Tottenham Hotspur plc

By: Lauren H. Cohen, Joshua D. Coval and Christopher J. Malloy

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 209-059. View Details

Keywords: Sports Industry; London

January 2009 (Revised March 2010)
Case

LeBron James

By: Anita Elberse and Jeff McCall

In 2005, to the astonishment of many sports industry insiders, superstar basketball player LeBron James fired his agent and established his own firm, LRMR, to handle all aspects of his business ventures and marketing activities and named his childhood friend Maverick... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Compensation and Benefits; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Sports; Sports Industry

December 2008
Background Note

Incentives in the NFL (Abridged)

By: Brian J. Hall, Andrew Wasynczuk, Jonathan Paul Lim, Sara del Nido and Katherine Dowd

This note briefly describes compensation and incentive issues in one of the major US professional sports leagues, the National Football League (NFL). It first provides some background information on the labor market for players and the salary cap, and then describes... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Wages; Groups and Teams; Conflict of Interests; Motivation and Incentives; Sports Industry; United States

November 2008 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Tottenham Hotspur plc

By: Lauren H. Cohen, Joshua D. Coval and Christopher J. Malloy

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club is a publicly-owned professional soccer team based in London, England. The club's chairman, Daniel Levy, is contemplating a significant investment in physical assets, including the development of a new stadium as well as the acquisition... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Capital Budgeting; Decision Making; Competency and Skills; Cash Flow; Investment; Buildings and Facilities; Sports; Investment Portfolio; Financial Strategy; Sports Industry; London