Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(2,893)
- Faculty Publications (398)
- May 2012 (Revised January 2013)
- Case
Wikipedia: Project Esperanza
By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, Andreea Gorbatai and Tiona Zuzul
In October 2006, Wikipedia was the largest volunteer-run on-line encyclopedia which could be freely read and edited by anyone with internet access. Within almost six years of its founding in 2001, the project had attracted hundreds of thousands of editors who had... View Details
- May 2012
- Article
Adding Bricks to Clicks: Predicting the Patterns of Cross-Channel Elasticities over Time
By: Jill Avery, Thomas J. Steenburgh, John Deighton and Mary Caravella
The authors propose a conceptual framework to explain whether and when the introduction of a new retail store channel helps or hurts sales in existing direct channels. A conceptual framework separates short- and long-term effects by analyzing the capabilities of a... View Details
Keywords: Marketing; Channels; Channels Of Distribution; Distribution; Retailing; Channel Management; Channel Migration; Multichannel Retailing; Framework; Customers; Marketing Channels; Sales; Internet and the Web; Demand and Consumers; Competency and Skills; Distribution Channels; E-commerce; Retail Industry; United States
- April 2012 (Revised October 2013)
- Case
eBay, Inc. and Amazon.com (A)
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Anant Thaker
This case has been designed to explore strategic interactions among organizations with different business models. The case considers how a competitor successfully challenged the incumbent in a platform market defined by strong network effects and high switching costs.... View Details
- April 2012
- Article
Teamwork on the Fly
By: Amy C. Edmondson
In a fast-paced and ever-changing business environment, traditional teams aren't always practical. Instead, companies increasingly employ teaming: gathering experts in temporary groups to solve problems they may be encountering for the first and only time. This... View Details
- March 2012
- Article
Enriching the Ecosystem
To remain a leader in innovation, the United States needs the support of foundational institutions that help seed, grow, and renew enterprises. Historically, these institutions-such as universities, venture creators, labor markets, and job-training programs-have tended... View Details
- 2012
- Chapter
The Confederacy of Heterogeneous Software Organizations and Heterogeneous Developers: Field Experimental Evidence on Sorting and Worker Effort
By: Kevin J. Boudreau and Karim R. Lakhani
Software development occurs in a patchwork or "confederacy" of different types of institutions (universities, small start-ups, multinational enterprises, government agencies, etc.) utilizing varied work approaches. Here we speculate on one possible explanation for this... View Details
- 2014
- Working Paper
Team Scaffolds: How Meso-Level Structures Support Role-based Coordination in Temporary Groups
By: Melissa A. Valentine and Amy C. Edmondson
This paper shows how meso-level structures support effective coordination in temporary groups. Prior research on coordination in temporary groups describes how roles encode individual responsibilities so that coordination between relative strangers is possible. We... View Details
Keywords: Fluid Personnel; Team Scaffolds; Team Effectiveness; Role-based Coordination; Multi-method; Health Care and Treatment; Analytics and Data Science; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Organizational Structure; Outcome or Result; Performance Effectiveness; Groups and Teams; Networks; Behavior; Balance and Stability; Health Industry
- Article
Entry into Platform-based Markets
By: Feng Zhu and Marco Iansiti
This paper examines the relative importance of platform quality, indirect network effects, and consumer expectations on the success of entrants in platform-based markets. We develop a theoretical model and find that an entrant's success depends on the strength of... View Details
- December 2011 (Revised October 2014)
- Background Note
Business Model Analysis for Entrepreneurs
By: Thomas Eisenmann
This note defines a business model and its major elements: a customer value proposition, a technology and operations management plan, a go-to-market plan, and a profit formula. For each element, the note lists questions that an entrepreneur must address when evaluating... View Details
Keywords: Business Model
- December 2011
- Article
Platform Envelopment
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Geoffrey Parker and Marshall Van Alstyne
Due to network effects and switching costs in platform markets, entrants generally must offer revolutionary functionality. We explore a second entry path that does not rely upon Schumpeterian innovation: platform envelopment. Through envelopment, a provider in one... View Details
- July 2011
- Case
Edna McConnell Clark Foundation-Enabling a Performance Driven Philanthropic Capital Market
By: Allen Grossman and Aldo Sesia
The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, focused on building the organizational capabilities of nonprofits that served the disadvantaged youth in the United States, has recently been named an intermediary in the federal government's new social innovation fund (SIF), which... View Details
- July 2011
- Case
Teach Plus: Mobilizing a New Generation of Teacher Leaders
By: David A. Thomas and Stephanie J. Creary
This case profiles the evolution of Teach Plus, a non-profit organization founded on the premise that in order for public schools to continuously improve urban student achievement, teaching must become a career that motivates and retains effective early career... View Details
- Article
Advertising, the Matchmaker
By: Bharat N. Anand and Ron Shachar
We empirically study the informational role of advertising in matching consumers with products when consumers are uncertain about both observable and unobserved program attributes. Our focus is on the network television industry, in which the products are television... View Details
- May 2011
- Background Note
Scale Effects, Network Effects, and Investment Strategy
By: Willy Shih
This technical note discusses scale economies, and direct and indirect network effects in the context of building better business models. Some of the great business disasters of the dot.com bubble were companies that scaled their infrastructure without working through... View Details
- May 2011 (Revised May 2011)
- Case
Nokia: The Burning Platform
By: Juan Alcacer, Tarun Khanna and Mary Furey
Overview on the state of Nokia since the “Emerging Nokia?” case was written. View Details
- April 2011
- Case
Designs by Kate: The Power of Direct Sales
By: John A. Deighton and Sarah Abbott
The sales representatives at Designs by Kate (DBK) sell private label jewelry at hosted parties and through online social media channels. They are also responsible for recruiting, training, and managing new sales reps. CEO and founder Kate Creevey designed the... View Details
- March 2011 (Revised June 2012)
- Case
Office of Technology Transfer - Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences
By: Willy Shih, Sen Chai, Kamen Bliznashki and Courtney Hyland
Gordon Zong is trying to teach Chinese universities and research institutes how to do effective technology transfer and IP licensing, but he is trying to do it in an environment with weak property rights and an underdeveloped support infrastructure. As the managing... View Details
- February 2011
- Article
The Underdog Effect: The Marketing of Disadvantage and Determination Through Brand Biography
By: Neeru Paharia, Anat Keinan, Jill Avery and Juliet B. Schor
We introduce the concept of an underdog brand biography (UBB) to describe an emerging trend in branding in which firms author an historical account of their humble origins, lack of resources, and determined struggle against the odds. We identify two essential... View Details
Keywords: Marketing; Brand Management; Brands; Brand Building; Brand Positioning; Competitive Positioning; Advertising; Marketing Communication; Biography; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Emerging Markets; Network Effects; Demand and Consumers; Marketing Communications; Cost vs Benefits; Perspective; Advertising Campaigns; Marketing Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Advertising Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Fashion Industry; Food and Beverage Industry
- January 2011 (Revised November 2014)
- Case
Mochi Media
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Amit Jain
In late 2009, the management of Mochi Media, a venture-backed startup, must decide how to invest scarce resources to achieve continued growth. Mochi has developed a three-sided platform, connecting Flash game developers, sites that aggregate these games, and... View Details
- January – February 2011
- Article
Are You a Good Boss-Or a Great One?
By: Linda A. Hill and Kent Lineback
Private moments of doubt and fear come even to managers who have spent years on the job. Any number of events can trigger them: an initiative is going poorly; you get a lukewarm performance review; your new assignment is daunting. HBS professor Linda Hill and executive... View Details