Publications

October 2011 (Revised February 2012)
Case

One Game to Rule Them All: Lord of the Rings Online and the MMO Market

Keywords: Competition; Strategy; Business Model; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Video Game Industry

April 2016 (Revised February 2018)
Teaching Note

Riot Games: Can Culture Survive Growth?

By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Norris

This teaching note gives instructors a guide for a discussion of Riot Games, a fast growing videogames firm with a strong, player-centric culture. It also offers references to research on culture that will allow students to decide whether or not Riot Games’ culture... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Video Game Industry

1988
Chapter

The Expected Utility of Playing a Game

By: A. E. Roth

Keywords: Game Theory; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Motivation and Incentives

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2021
Working Paper

Consuming Contests: Outcome Uncertainty and Spectator Demand for Contest-based Entertainment

By: Patrick J. Ferguson and Karim R. Lakhani

Contests that are designed to be consumed for entertainment by non-contestants are a fixture of economic, cultural and political life. In this paper, we examine whether individuals prefer to consume contests that have more uncertain outcomes. We look to... View Details

Keywords: Contest Design; Information Preferences; Consumer Demand; Sports; Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Demand and Consumers; Outcome or Result

SSRN

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Article

Considerations of Fairness and Strategy: Experimental Data from Sequential Games

By: V. Prasnikar and A. E. Roth

Keywords: Fairness; Strategy; Analytics and Data Science; Games, Gaming, and Gambling

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03 Apr 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Learning or Playing? The Effect of Gamified Training on Performance

Keywords: by Ryan W. Buell, Wei Cai, and Tatiana Sandino

1978
Chapter

Power and Position: The Utility of Playing a Simple Game

By: A. E. Roth

Keywords: Power and Influence; Status and Position; Game Theory; Games, Gaming, and Gambling

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; Accommodations Industry; Nevada

2008
Working Paper

Unraveling Yields Inefficient Matchings: Evidence from Post-season College Football Bowls

By: Guillaume R. Frechette, Alvin E. Roth and M. Utku Unver

Many markets have "unraveled" and experienced inefficient, early, dispersed transactions, and subsequently developed institutions to delay transaction timing. However, it has previously proved difficult to measure and identify the resulting efficiency gains. Prior to... View Details

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Television Entertainment; Market Timing; Market Transactions; Marketplace Matching; Sports Industry

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10 Sep 2008
Research & Ideas

Long-Tail Economics? Give Me Blockbusters!

Blockbusters break sales records and exceed expectations. Around 100 pharmaceutical brands exceed $1 billion in annual sales. Procter & Gamble has 23 such brands. Speed. It's not just the sales volume; it's the speed of the sales... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Entertainment & Recreation; Pharmaceutical

17 Jan 2007
Op-Ed

Learning from Private-Equity Boards

Private-equity boards are typically composed of members with substantial wealth at risk. Private-equity boards know how to structure financial incentives that deter reckless gambling and reward profitable growth. Private-equity boards... View Details

Keywords: by Malcolm Salter; Financial Services

16 Aug 2016
First Look

August 16, 2016

U.S. market? Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/516117-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 216-039 Supply Chain Finance at Procter & Gamble In April 2013, Procter & Gamble... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

22 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

Profits and Prophets: The Role of Values in Investment

restrictions over what they invest in, staying clear of alcohol and gambling companies, for example, and businesses that derive a significant portion of their income from interest. With such a constrained investment environment,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

August 2001 (Revised September 2002)
Case

Sony PlayStation2 (A)

By: Rohit Deshpande and Seth Schulman

In early 1999, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc., had to determine the appropriate U.S. launch strategy for the next-generation video game player, Sony PlayStation2. Despite the success of the original PlayStation1, new competitors and an uncertain... View Details

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Globalization; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Risk and Uncertainty; Competitive Strategy; Information Technology; Computer Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

2012
Working Paper

Private and Public Decisions in Social Dilemmas: Evidence from Children's Behavior

Substantial research with adult populations has found that selfish impulses are less likely to be pursued when decisions are publicly observable. To the best of our knowledge, however, this behavioral regularity has not been systematically explored as potential... View Details

Keywords: Research; Age Characteristics; Behavior; Decisions; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Announcements; Situation or Environment