Publications

July 2023 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Vytal: Packaging-as-a-Service

By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel, Lena Duchene and Daniela Beyersdorfer

The Germany-based startup Vytal operated the largest digital-native reusable packaging-as-a-service network globally, having raised nearly €15 million, established a large network of restaurant partners, and prevented the use of millions of single-use take-out food... View Details

July 16, 2016
Article

A Game Theoretic Model for Resource Allocation Among Countermeasures with Multiple Attributes

By: Elisabeth C. Paulson, Igor Linkov and Jeffrey Keisler

We study a strategic, two-player, sequential game between an attacker and defender. The defender must allocate resources amongst possible countermeasures and across possible targets. The attacker then chooses a type of threat and a target to attack. This paper proposes... View Details

Keywords: Resource Allocation; Game Theory; Strategy

August 2007 (Revised July 2008)
Background Note

Take Advantage of Your Diaspora Network

By: William R. Kerr and Daniel J. Isenberg

Diaspora networks (DNs) are an important resource for global entrepreneurs. Discusses several features of DNs, combining both academic and practitioner perspectives. Describes the history and prevalence of DNs in many ethnicities, documents the broad resources DNs can... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Diasporas; Entrepreneurship; Globalized Markets and Industries; Social and Collaborative Networks

We study compatibility decisions of two competing platform owners that generate profits through both hardware sales and royalties from content sales. We consider a game-theoretic model in which two platforms offer different standalone utilities to users. We find that... View Details

08 Dec 2021
Blog Post

The Drive to Succeed: Silvio Memme (MBA 2020) of OMERS Ventures and His Career Switch into Venture Capital

looked at a goal others said was impossible and found a way. And specifically, how Memme broke into Venture Capital from the automotive industry and launched a new stage of his career utilizing his unique perspective and transferable... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital

26 Sep 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Merchants and the Origins of Capitalism

Keywords: by Sophus A. Reinert and Robert Fredona

November 1995 (Revised November 1999)
Case

National Power and the Privatization of the British Power Generation Industry

By: Willis M. Emmons III and Ed Simnett

The British government privatized the nation's electric utility sector in 1991 through a complex process involving the restructuring of the industry as well as the creation of a new regulatory oversight body. National Power plc, the largest of the privatized power... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Trade; Energy Generation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Markets; Monopoly; Privatization; Opportunities; Diversification; Expansion; Utilities Industry; Utilities Industry

October 2007 (Revised March 2009)
Case

Advanced Energy: Programs for Energy Conservation

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Brooke Barton

Describes the dilemma facing Advanced Energy (AE), a $6 million nonprofit engaged in energy conservation in North Carolina. Most of the money for its programs comes from a Public Benefits Fund (PBF) enacted by the state legislature. With renewed effort by activists in... View Details

Keywords: Energy Conservation; Public Equity; Performance Efficiency; Nonprofit Organizations; Conflict and Resolution; Utilities Industry; Utilities Industry

Research Summary

The Consumer-Direct Channel: "We've Come Full Spiral"

Professor Lemon is currently engaged in a field research project investigating the extent to which new "channels" such as the Internet and home grocery delivery represent a dramatic shift in consumer buying behavior. She is working with a consortium of global... View Details

Research Summary

Dynamic Demand Estimation in Platform and Two-Sided Markets

This paper develops techniques to structurally estimate consumer demand in general platform-intermediated and two-sided markets. By estimating both sides of the market simultaneously, the methodology presented here is able to (1) endogenize the utility of a platform as... View Details

Winter 2014
Article

Retail Inventory: Managing the Canary in the Coal Mine!

By: Vishal Gaur, Saravanan Kesavan and Ananth Raman

Retail inventory is a statistic that is closely watched by retailers as well as their investors, lenders, and suppliers. Retailers not only benefit from inventory, but also bear the cost of excess inventory. Investors, lenders, and suppliers interpret this statistic... View Details

Keywords: Financial Condition; Retail Industry

August 2023
Case

Stay or Go? Sarah Reynolds at Kensington Partners

By: David G. Fubini, Amr Seifeldin and Patrick Sanguineti

Sarah Reynolds, a Partner at the global Kensington Partners strategy consulting firm, has headed the firm's Telecommunications Group for a few years. Thanks to her stellar track record with clients, she has brought the group, and herself, a range of accolades and... View Details

Keywords: Consulting; Consulting Firms; Client Service; Career Management; Success; Time Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Personal Development and Career

June 2020
Article

Frenemies in Platform Markets: Heterogeneous Profit Foci as Drivers of Compatibility Decisions

By: Ron Adner, Jianqing Chen and Feng Zhu

We study compatibility decisions of two competing platform owners that generate profits through both hardware sales and royalties from content sales. We consider a game-theoretic model in which two platforms offer different standalone utilities to users. We find that... View Details

Keywords: Compatibility; Platform Competition; Profit Foci; Digital Platforms; Competition; Profit; Decision Making

March 2008
Exercise

Exercise: Challenging Operational Assumptions

By: Frances X. Frei

This exercise provides students with an opportunity to thoroughly test an operating assumption. Students state an assumption as a testable hypothesis, collect and analyze relevant data, and communicate the results. At HBS, it is incorporated in a second-year elective... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Employees; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Service Operations; Performance Improvement

15 May 2014
News

Professor Steven Rogers Of HBS Is On The Lemonade Stand With Linda Samuels

December 2013 (Revised January 2015)
Case

Barbara Krakow Gallery

By: Jose Alvarez and Nyssa Liebermann

The Barbara Krakow Gallery is a successful contemporary art gallery located in Boston. It utilizes a very rare "no haggle pricing" strategy and extended sales cycle when selling pieces to collectors. Though it remains profitable and very respected, the size and scope... View Details

07 Sep 2021
News

Harvard Business School Study Says Software Overlooks Millions Of Qualified Job Candidates: Here’s How To Fight Back Against The Bots

2019
Article

Can Big Data Improve Firm Decision Quality? The Role of Data Quality and Data Diagnosticity

By: Maryam Ghasemaghaei and Goran Calic

Anecdotal evidence suggests that, despite the large variety of data, the huge volume of generated data, and the fast velocity of obtaining data (i.e., big data), quality of big data is far from perfect. Therefore, many firms defer collecting and integrating big data as... View Details

Keywords: Big Data; Analytics and Data Science; Decisions; Quality