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- All HBS Web
(2,113)
- People (3)
- News (394)
- Research (1,170)
- Events (17)
- Multimedia (6)
- Faculty Publications (450)
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- Article
Why Do Intermediaries Divert Search?
By: Andrei Hagiu and Bruno Jullien
We analyze the incentives to divert search for an information intermediary who enables buyers (consumers) to search affiliated sellers (stores). We identify two original motives for diverting search (i.e., inducing consumers to search more than they would like): 1)... View Details
Keywords: Market Intermediation; Search; Two-Sided Markets; Platform Design; Demand and Consumers; Motivation and Incentives; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Distribution Channels; Business Strategy; Retail Industry
Hagiu, Andrei, and Bruno Jullien. "Why Do Intermediaries Divert Search?" RAND Journal of Economics 42, no. 2 (Summer 2011): 337–362. (2012 Winner for Best Paper on Competition Economics, Association of Competition Economics.)
- April 2006 (Revised March 2007)
- Case
PayPal Merchant Services
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Lauren Barley
In early 2006, PayPal management is deciding how to respond to Google's entry into online payments. PayPal, owned by eBay, has targeted online merchants outside eBay's auction community for its next wave of expansion. Google represents a potential threat to PayPal's... View Details
Keywords: Internet and the Web; Competition; Expansion; Service Operations; Auctions; Web Services Industry; Service Industry
Eisenmann, Thomas R., and Lauren Barley. "PayPal Merchant Services." Harvard Business School Case 806-188, April 2006. (Revised March 2007.)
- May 2007 (Revised July 2011)
- Background Note
Retail Shopping in 2007: The Net Versus the Mall
By: Stephen P. Bradley, Nancy Bartlett and James Weber
Provides an overview of the retail sector within the United States as online shopping captures an increased percentage of consumer spending. The role of enabling technologies and applications, including comparison shopping sites and recommendation systems, are covered.... View Details
Keywords: Spending; Marketing Channels; Demand and Consumers; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Retail Industry; United States
Bradley, Stephen P., Nancy Bartlett, and James Weber. "Retail Shopping in 2007: The Net Versus the Mall." Harvard Business School Background Note 707-566, May 2007. (Revised July 2011.)
- 16 Jan 2006
- Research & Ideas
What Customers Want from Your Products
"People don't want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole!" With Levitt's words as a rallying cry, a recent Harvard Business Review article, "Marketing Malpractice: The Cause and the Cure," argues... View Details
- January 2013 (Revised June 2018)
- Case
Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google 2018
By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld
Four businesses had, by 2012, grown to dominate the infrastructure that all firms rely on to reach online customers. Will the balance of power among the four persist, will one take command at the expense of the other three, or are all four more vulnerable than they... View Details
Keywords: Internet and the Web; Competitive Advantage; Infrastructure; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth and Development; Service Industry; Retail Industry; United States
Deighton, John, and Leora Kornfeld. "Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google 2018." Harvard Business School Case 513-060, January 2013. (Revised June 2018.) (request a courtesy copy.)
- June 2020
- Case
What IKEA Do We Want?
By: Juan Alcácer, Cynthia A. Montgomery, Emilie Billaud and Vincent Dessain
In 2018, Swedish furniture maker IKEA was undergoing a significant transformation. Challenged by the rise of online shopping and changing consumer behavior, and mourning the death of its founder, the Company's top executives knew they had to step out of their comfort... View Details
Keywords: Business Strategy; Transformation; Leading Change; Mission and Purpose; Business Model; Emerging Markets; Customer Focus and Relationships; Organizational Culture; Disruption; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry; Europe; Netherlands; Sweden; China; India; United States
Alcácer, Juan, Cynthia A. Montgomery, Emilie Billaud, and Vincent Dessain. "What IKEA Do We Want?" Harvard Business School Case 720-429, June 2020.
- May 2016 (Revised January 2018)
- Case
Airbnb, Etsy, Uber: Acquiring the First Thousand Customers
By: Thales S. Teixeira and Morgan Brown
By 2016, two-sided online platforms (or marketplaces) were pervasive among the highest growing internet startups around. These marketplaces sought to match suppliers of assets for rent, physical products or services with customers demanding them. Among the most notable... View Details
Keywords: Airbnb; Etsy; Uber; Growth Hacking; Two-sided Market; Internet and the Web; Marketing Strategy; Digital Platforms; Digital Marketing; Business Startups; Transportation Industry; Accommodations Industry
Teixeira, Thales S., and Morgan Brown. "Airbnb, Etsy, Uber: Acquiring the First Thousand Customers." Harvard Business School Case 516-094, May 2016. (Revised January 2018.)
- November 2016 (Revised October 2018)
- Case
IguanaFix
By: Frank V. Cespedes, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Maria Fernanda Miguel and Laura Urdapilleta
IguanaFix is a rapidly scaling Latin American startup that provides an online platform connecting consumers with home improvement contractors. The founders have acquired customers through both B2C and B2B methods. But in seeking to grow and scale the business, they now... View Details
Keywords: Entrepreneurial Marketing; Home Improvement Services; Marketing Management; Scaling; Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Sales; Online Advertising; Latin America
Cespedes, Frank V., Thomas R. Eisenmann, Maria Fernanda Miguel, and Laura Urdapilleta. "IguanaFix." Harvard Business School Case 817-056, November 2016. (Revised October 2018.)
- March 2020
- Article
The Role of Numbers in the Customer Journey
By: Shelle Santana, Manoj Thomas and Vicki Morwitz
At each stage in customers’ journeys, they encounter different types of numeric information that they process using different judgment strategies. Relevant numbers might include budgets, price, product attributes, product counts, product ratings, numbers in brand... View Details
Keywords: Numbers; Heuristics; Numerical Cognition; Pricing; Customer Journey; Information; Consumer Behavior
Santana, Shelle, Manoj Thomas, and Vicki Morwitz. "The Role of Numbers in the Customer Journey." Journal of Retailing 96, no. 1 (March 2020): 138–154.
- March 2011 (Revised December 2012)
- Case
Demand Media
By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld
Google search had helped Demand Media grow to be a $1.9 billion online publisher. Then, social media and smartphone apps began to change the way people navigated the Internet. How should Demand Media respond? The business ran on a radically new model in which a stable... View Details
Keywords: Business Model; Information Publishing; Consumer Behavior; Customization and Personalization; Internet and the Web; Publishing Industry
Deighton, John, and Leora Kornfeld. "Demand Media." Harvard Business School Case 511-043, March 2011. (Revised December 2012.) (request a courtesy copy.)
- Article
Positioning Brands Against Large Competitors to Increase Sales
By: Neeru Paharia, Jill Avery and Anat Keinan
We explore the effect of having a large dominant competitor and show the conditions under which focusing on a competitive threat, rather than hiding it, can actually help a brand. We demonstrate through lab and field studies that highlighting a large competitor's size... View Details
Keywords: Brands; Brand Management; Brand Positioning; Competitive Positioning; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States
Paharia, Neeru, Jill Avery, and Anat Keinan. "Positioning Brands Against Large Competitors to Increase Sales." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 51, no. 6 (December 2014): 647–656. (Lead article.)
- March 1994 (Revised May 1994)
- Case
Lisa Benton (A)
By: Linda A. Hill
Lisa Benton is in her fourth month as an assistant product manager at Houseworld, a leading consumer products company. She has been on the job since graduating from the Harvard Business School, and she has been frustrated from the start by a lack of responsibility, by... View Details
Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Jobs and Positions; Power and Influence; Relationships; Consumer Products Industry
Hill, Linda A. "Lisa Benton (A)." Harvard Business School Case 494-114, March 1994. (Revised May 1994.)
- 06 Dec 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
Assortment Rotation and the Value of Concealment
- 21 Jan 2014
- First Look
First Look: January 21
intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women, indoor residual spraying, rapid diagnostic tests, and artemisinin-based combination therapy. We discuss the timing and regional coverage of the program and critically review the... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- March 2016
- Article
To Groupon or Not to Groupon: The Profitability of Deep Discounts
By: Benjamin Edelman, Sonia Jaffe and Scott Duke Kominers
We examine the profitability and implications of online discount vouchers, a relatively new marketing tool that offers consumers large discounts when they prepay for participating firms' goods and services. Within a model of repeat experience good purchase, we examine... View Details
Keywords: Voucher Discounts; Groupon; Experience Goods; Repeat Purchase; Internet and the Web; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Communications
Edelman, Benjamin, Sonia Jaffe, and Scott Duke Kominers. "To Groupon or Not to Groupon: The Profitability of Deep Discounts." Marketing Letters 27, no. 1 (March 2016): 39–53. (First circulated in June 2011. Featured in Working Knowledge: Is Groupon Good for Retailers? Excerpted in HBR Blogs: To Groupon or Not To Groupon: New Research on Voucher Profitability.)
- 2014
- Working Paper
~To Groupon or Not to Groupon: The Profitability of Deep Discounts
By: Benjamin G. Edelman
We examine the profitability and implications of online discount vouchers, a relatively new marketing tool that offers consumers large discounts when they prepay for participating firms' goods and services. Within a model of repeat experience good purchase, we examine... View Details
Keywords: Voucher Discounts; Groupon; Experience Goods; Repeat Purchase; Online Advertising; Price; Profit; Marketing Strategy; Retail Industry
Edelman, Benjamin G. "~To Groupon or Not to Groupon: The Profitability of Deep Discounts." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 11-063, December 2010. (Revised June 2011, October 2011, January 2014. Featured in Working Knowledge: Is Groupon Good for Retailers? Excerpted in HBR Blogs: To Groupon or Not To Groupon: New Research on Voucher Profitability.)
- February 2000 (Revised December 2000)
- Case
Staples.com
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Joanna M. Jacobson and Gillian Morris
Staples.com, the online unit of the U.S. office supplies retailing chain Staples, faces a range of strategic and organizational issues as it accelerates its growth. Should it pursue only existing Staples customers or consumers who do not shop in Staples stores? How... View Details
Keywords: Supply Chain; Business Units; Business Model; Growth and Development; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Business Strategy; Service Industry; United States
Eisenmann, Thomas R., Joanna M. Jacobson, and Gillian Morris. "Staples.com." Harvard Business School Case 800-305, February 2000. (Revised December 2000.)
- 07 Nov 2023
- Research & Ideas
When Glasses Land the Gig: Employers Still Choose Workers Who 'Look the Part'
Seeking a programming gig? Wear glasses and keep your laptop in frame if you want your profile picture to attract recruiters on hiring platforms. A new study finds freelancers are more likely to land work when they “look the part” for a particular job. But, as... View Details
Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis
- August 2014 (Revised December 2015)
- Case
Showrooming at Best Buy
By: Thales Teixeira and Elizabeth Anne Watkins
Best Buy is a consumer electronics retailer with nearly 2,000 stores worldwide. In 2012, the rising popularity of price-matching apps for mobile phones made price differences between retailers transparent, online and offline. Shoppers' desire to test electronics... View Details
Keywords: Competition; Price; Consumer Behavior; Applications and Software; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Retail Industry; Electronics Industry
Teixeira, Thales, and Elizabeth Anne Watkins. "Showrooming at Best Buy." Harvard Business School Case 515-019, August 2014. (Revised December 2015.)
- January 2014 (Revised January 2017)
- Case
Nivea (A)
By: Karim R. Lakhani, Johann Fuller, Volker Bilgram and Greta Friar
The case describes the efforts of Beiersdorf, a worldwide leader in the cosmetics and skin care industries, to generate and commercialize new R&D through open innovation using external crowds and "netnographic" analysis. Beiersdorf, best known for its consumer brand... View Details
Keywords: Innovation; Innovation Management; Crowdsourcing; Big Data; Innovation Strategy; Innovation and Management; Knowledge Management; Knowledge Sharing; Research and Development; Social and Collaborative Networks; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Analytics and Data Science; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry
Lakhani, Karim R., Johann Fuller, Volker Bilgram, and Greta Friar. "Nivea (A)." Harvard Business School Case 614-042, January 2014. (Revised January 2017.)