Publications

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March 2017 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Flashion: Art vs. Science in Fashion Retailing

By: Kris Ferreira and Karim R. Lakhani

Kate Wilson, retail analytics manager at Flashion, a fashion flash-sale site, is tasked with developing analytics to optimize pricing for first-exposure products on the site. Many in the industry have relied on years of experience and intuition to determine pricing—can... View Details

Keywords: Analytics; Pricing; Data; Service Operations; Forecasting and Prediction; Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption; Mathematical Methods; Decision Making; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry; United States

01 Jul 2021
Office Hours

Readers Ask: Which Companies Are Transforming Work?

acceleration of certain trends in the workplace and workforce that were visible before COVID but have really taken off as a function of COVID. This includes everything from the... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Retail; Manufacturing

01 Dec 2004
News

Closing the Opportunity Gap

Gerald Chertavian (MBA ’92) used the wealth he acquired in the 1990s Internet boom to realize a longtime goal. He started a special school to help disadvantaged young adults find careers in the corporate world. Chertavian’s Boston-based... View Details

Keywords: Elementary and Secondary Schools; Educational Services

January 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Case

ZappRx

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull

In October 2015, ZappRx founder Zoe Barry is deciding between two business models for her health technology start-up. Her product, a software application that aims to expedite the prescription fulfillment process for patients with rare diseases, has attracted interest... View Details

Keywords: Speciality Drugs; Hub Services; Pivot; Speciality Prescriptions; Health Care and Treatment; Customization and Personalization; Internet and the Web; Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Pharmaceutical Industry; Massachusetts

01 Jun 2008
News

Faculty Research Online

Management Innovation Take Us? Management could change a lot in the coming years, says HBS professor emeritus Jim Heskett. A few reasons: continued development of the Internet and the transparency and... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

January 2013
Case

Zappos.com 2009: Clothing, Customer Service, and Company Culture (MM)

By: Frances X. Frei and Robin J. Ely

On July 17, 2009, Zappos.com, a privately-held online retailer of shoes, clothing, and other soft-line retail categories, learned that Amazon.com, a $19 billion multinational online retailer, had won its Board of Directors' approval to offer to merge the two companies.... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Internet and the Web; Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry

April 2006 (Revised August 2007)
Case

BitTorrent

Involves the copyright issues associated with Bram Cohen's revolutionary software program BitTorrent, which makes it possible to transfer very large files, such as movies, at a high speed over the Internet. The program, which is available for free over the Internet, is... View Details

Keywords: Lawfulness; Lawsuits and Litigation; Applications and Software; Copyright; Internet and the Web

October 2004 (Revised November 2004)
Case

Mavens & Moguls: Creating a New Business Model

By: Myra M. Hart, Victoria Winston and Kristin Lieb

Mavens & Moguls is a "virtual" marketing-consulting firm of approximately 40 professionals. Examines the processes by which its founder, Paige Arnof-Fenn, learns the business, builds a power network of industry experts and potential customers, and uses this expertise... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Values and Beliefs; Work-Life Balance; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Operations; Networks; Business Model; Growth Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Consulting Industry

01 Sep 2005
News

Business Plan Contest Has Many Winners

With its ninth annual competition last May, the HBS Business Plan Contest has become a well-established start-up that hits “home runs” every year. This year’s traditional track winner was Karen Grajwer (MBA ’05), founder of Uplift, an... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

01 Dec 2014
News

Nimble, Quick, and Adaptable

(Sergey Nivens/iStock/Thinkstock) Starting a business, says HBS professor Tom Eisenmann, looks glamorous in The Social Network. “But a fair amount of it is moving boxes around. Not org chart boxes—actual boxes.” That’s the kind View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna

14 Mar 2018
Blog Post

The 2+2 Program: Finding the Freedom to Take Risks

brilliant classmates, join clubs, and explore questions around business, capitalism (and how to reimagine it!), life, and everything in between. For anybody who is considering applying to the 2+2 Program, my advice is – DO IT! If you’re a... View Details

01 Jun 2004
News

Download This

Downloading music from the Internet doesn’t kill CD sales after all, concludes a surprising new study by HBS associate professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Associate Professor Koleman Strumpf of the University... View Details

Keywords: file sharing; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Arts, Entertainment

13 Mar 2025
Blog Post

Advancing Health Care Innovation and Impact with Anita Gupta (GMP 29, 2020)

experience. I needed a broader perspective, new strategic tools, and a stronger network to drive systemic change. What I gained at HBS went beyond business strategy or policy frameworks—it was a fundamental shift in how I saw leadership. I had spent much View Details

February 2019 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Where to Grow Next at Online Marketplace OLX

By: Thales Teixeira, Leandro A. Guissoni and Samy Dana

The CEO of OLX Brazil, an online classifieds platform business, is debating among multiple paths to grow sustainably (i.e., profitably) without the need for investor money. The options under consideration are (1) penetration growth by focusing on the core, (2) new... View Details

Keywords: Online Marketplace; Growth; Customer Acquisition; Facebook; Two-sided Network; E-commerce; Classifieds; Naspers; Schibsted; Innovation; Startup; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Brazil

February 1999 (Revised May 1999)
Case

Onsale, Inc.

By: Youngme E. Moon

Onsale has been a pioneer in electronic commerce, offering excess and refurbished goods using an online auction format. The company is now planning to become a player in the highly competitive world of first-run computer merchandise as well. However, unlike other... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Transformation; Customers; Brands and Branding; Auctions; Network Effects; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; Retail Industry

09 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

Chance Encounters: What's at Stake in Return-to-Office Decisions

productive? When you’re at home, you might have a list of things to do, and you can check everything off and feel like you accomplished a lot. But for knowledge workers, productivity is often about new... View Details

Keywords: by Jen McFarland Flint, HBS Alumni Bulletin

July 2022 (Revised February 2024)
Teaching Note

The DivaCup: Navigating Distribution and Growth

By: Ayelet Israeli

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 519-055. When the mother-daughter founders of DivaCup set out with a mission to disrupt the menstrual care industry with an innovative product form, they initially struggled to gain legitimacy and convince retailers to carry their unique... View Details

March 2019 (Revised April 2021)
Case

The DivaCup: Navigating Distribution and Growth

By: Ayelet Israeli

When the mother-daughter founders of DivaCup set out with a mission to disrupt the menstrual care industry with an innovative product form, they initially struggled to gain legitimacy and convince retailers to carry their unique product. Fifteen years later, the... View Details