Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(1,315)
- Faculty Publications (275)
- 2008
- Working Paper
The Architecture of Platforms: A Unified View
By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and C. Jason Woodard
The central role of "platform" products and services in mediating the activities of disaggregated "clusters" or "ecosystems" of firms has been widely recognized. But platforms and the systems in which they are embedded are very diverse. In particular, platforms may... View Details
- July – August 2008
- Article
Should You Invest in the Long Tail?
By: Anita Elberse
The blockbuster strategy is a time-honored approach, particularly in media and entertainment. When space is limited on store shelves and in traditional distribution channels, producers tend to focus on a few likely best sellers, hoping that one or two big hits will... View Details
- October 2007 (Revised December 2007)
- Case
TiVo 2007: DVRs and Beyond
By: David B. Yoffie and Michael Slind
Tom Rogers, CEO of TiVo, had placed multiple strategic bets on his company. In September 2007, that strategy was due for a major test. TiVo was a maker of digital video recorder (DVR) products and a distributor of DVR technology. Rogers believed that macro-trends in... View Details
- October 2007
- Case
iPhone vs. Cell Phone
By: David B. Yoffie and Michael Slind
The launch of Apple's iPhone marked a pivotal new chapter in the story of mobile music (the uniting of digital music players with mobile phones). The iPhone combined an iPod music player, a cell phone, and a mobile Internet device, along with a camera and other... View Details
- October 2007 (Revised January 2008)
- Case
The Transformation of Thomson
By: David J. Collis and Troy Smith
Thomson, a French multinational, went through a decade of dramatic change in the early years of the 21st century. From a state-owned enterprise earning 97% of its revenue from television sets and other analog consumer electronics, Thomson had become a publicly traded... View Details
- April 2007
- Teaching Note
iPod vs. Cell Phone: A Mobile Music Revolution? (TN)
By: David B. Yoffie
Teaching note to 707419. View Details
- January 2007 (Revised December 2007)
- Case
Digital China Holdings Limited: Managing the Transition from a Product-oriented to a Service-oriented Company
By: F. Warren McFarlan, Guoqing Chen, Kai Reimers and Xunhua Guo
Digital China is the largest Chinese independent systems integrator (IBM and HP are larger). Describes their history and their current strategy and invites the student to advise them as to how they should continue to grow in the future. This is the closest China... View Details
- August 2006 (Revised March 2008)
- Case
iPod vs. Cell Phone: A Mobile Music Revolution?
By: David B. Yoffie, Travis D. Merrill and Michael Slind
In 2006, a nascent market for music-enabled mobile phones was emerging to challenge Apple Computer's dominant position in the digital music industry. Through its iPod line of portable digital music devices and its iTunes Music Store, Apple controlled more than half of... View Details
- 2005
- Book
Best Face Forward: Why Companies Must Improve Their Service Interfaces With Customers
By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Bernard J. Jaworski
Keywords: Technology; Digital; Services; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Service Delivery; Marketing
- April 2005 (Revised February 2006)
- Case
Monster Networking
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and David Andrew Vivero
The management at Monster.com, the leading U.S. provider of online recruitment services, must decide how to proceed with Monster Networking (MN), a new business launched in late 2003. MN helps users identify other individuals who can offer career advice. Monster.com... View Details
- April 2005 (Revised June 2006)
- Case
Yahoo! Messenger: Network Integration
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld
Describes Yahoo!'s management of the launch of version 6.0 of its Instant Messenger (IM) product, which incorporates features from 12 other Yahoo! properties, including Search, Music, Games, Photos, Personals, News, and Shopping. The integration of features from so... View Details
- April 2005 (Revised March 2007)
- Case
eAccess, Ltd.
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Masako Egawa and Ariko Ota
The managers of eAccess, Japan's third largest provider of digital subscriber line (DSL) service, must decide whether to enter the mobile communications business. Japan's mobile services are among the world's most expensive, and incumbent carriers' profits are high. To... View Details
- 2004
- Book
Introduction to e-Commerce
By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Bernard J. Jaworski
Keywords: Technology; Digital; Services; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Service Delivery; Marketing
- May 2004 (Revised March 2005)
- Case
Music Downloads
By: David B. Yoffie and Deborah Freier
Examines the competition between competing music formats. In the '90s, the MP3 format challenged the traditional means of music distribution by allowing for storage of near CD-quality recordings at 1/10th of their previous size. The threat to traditional distribution... View Details
- March 2004 (Revised June 2010)
- Case
Akamai Technologies
By: Benjamin Edelman, Thomas R. Eisenmann and Eric J. Van den Steen
As the leading content delivery network, Akamai helps Internet companies deliver Web site content to end users with fewer delays and lower costs. Describes the strategic management challenges facing Akamai in early 2004. The company is poised to offer its next... View Details
- November 2003 (Revised December 2003)
- Case
Enabling Business Strategy with IT at the World Bank
By: F. Warren McFarlan and Brian DeLacey
World Bank IT provides services (communications, applications, video conferencing, knowledge sharing, distance learning, information sharing, client commerce, crisis management, etc.) on a global basis to the poorest countries in the globe via satellites. This case... View Details
- June 2002 (Revised August 2002)
- Case
WorldSpace: Digital Radio for the Developing World
By: Debora L. Spar
Describes the evolution of WorldSpace, the world's first major provider of digital radio service to the developing world. The brainchild of Noah Samara, an African-born, American-trained lawyer, WorldSpace has a dual commercial and social mission. Samara wants to... View Details
- 2001
- Book
Cases in e-Commerce
By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Bernard J. Jaworski
Keywords: Technology; Digital; Services; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Service Delivery; Marketing
- November 2000 (Revised December 2001)
- Case
Alibaba.com
By: F. Warren McFarlan, Carin-Isabel Knoop and David Lane
This case focuses on the strategic issues of an emerging dot-com in a rapidly emerging Internet nation-China. Alibaba, a bulletin board company based in Hangzhou, China, is trying to carve out a niche in the B-to-B e-commerce world. It also shows the speed and... View Details