Publications

November 2006
Background Note

Technical Game Theory Note #1: Solving Bi-matrix Games

By: Dennis A. Yao

Explains how to solve bi-matrix games and introduces the Nash Equilibrium concept. View Details

Keywords: Game Theory; Mathematical Methods; Learning; Balance and Stability; Planning; Strategic Planning; Performance Improvement; Strategy; Games, Gaming, and Gambling

November 2024
Supplement

AlphaGo (B): Birth of a New Intelligence

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

This case, the second in a three-part series, explores DeepMind's evolution from developing game-specific AI to more generalized learning systems. Following AlphaGo's 2017 victory over the Go world champion, DeepMind introduced two revolutionary systems that eliminated... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Technological Innovation; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation Leadership; Information Technology Industry; United States; Russia; China

March 2021
Case

Astralis Group: Determining a Brand Strategy

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emilie Billaud

After launching a Danish esports company in July 2019, and going public in December 2019 with multiple brands associated with different games, the Astralis leadership team was contemplating a shift to a single, corporate brand. While the original arguments for... View Details

12 Jun 2006
Research & Ideas

The Promise of Channel Stewardship

Gamble or American Airlines); the maker of a key component (such as microchip maker Intel); the supplier or assembler (such as Dell or Arrow Electronics); or the distributor (such as W. W. Grainger) or retailer (such as Wal-Mart). A... View Details

Keywords: by V. Kasturi Rangan & Marie Bell; Consumer Products

14 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

The High Cost of the Slow COVID Vaccine Rollout

spending enough.” Government officials also may have worried they were gambling too much on vaccines that might not pan out. “Additionally, if you build production capacity far in advance, you might end up not using some of it because a... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health

02 May 2011
Research & Ideas

Casino Payoff: Hands-Off Management Works Best

At the gambling meccas that employ them, they are called "casino hosts"—essentially front-line employees with nevertheless big responsibilities. These staffers work to develop one-on-one relationships with high-rollers to make sure they... View Details

Keywords: by Dennis Fisher; Entertainment & Recreation

12 Feb 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

‘UpTick’ Brings Wall Street Pressure to Students

Students whose investments have fallen below margin requirement levels are being told they have sixty seconds to liquidate part of their portfolio to cover—effectively locking in a loss—or gamble that their investments will recover before... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Financial Services; Education

30 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Big Companies, Big Opportunities—Big Questions

& Gamble Aguirre said the company followed several guiding principles in setting its Latin American strategy. It focused on strong global and regional brands, on global product development efforts, and also followed a regional product... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette

July 2004 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Sony EyeToy

By: Anita Elberse and Youngme E. Moon

In early 2004, less than a year after its launch, Sony's EyeToy, a unique video gaming concept, had become a tremendous success across Europe. Developed for use with Sony's PlayStation 2 console, the revolutionary technology allowed users standing in front of a small... View Details

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Development; Performance Improvement; Software; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Europe

22 Mar 2011
First Look

First Look: March 22

to create substantial wealth for the company's shareholders would be lost. As it was, the company's founder and CEO had already gambled by investing in enough production capacity for acceptance in the niche beverage market-before a market... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 Dec 2009
First Look

First Look: Dec. 15, 2009

on its way to the successful creation of an entirely new business segment. Purchase this case: http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/410052-PDF-ENG Gillette Company (E): Procter & Gamble Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Matthew BirdHarvard... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2005 (Revised August 2006)
Case

Lean Forward Media

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Victoria Winston

Jeff Norton and Michelle Crames, the co-founders of Lean Forward Media, face several options for producing the world's first interactive DVD film for children. Their vision is to build a company whose products simultaneously entertain children, engage them actively in... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Early Childhood Education; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Management Practices and Processes; Risk Management; Partners and Partnerships; Opportunities; Creativity

Find at Harvard

01 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: Judgment Calls

this kind of enterprise "is the worst business in the world. Period. The end." He was smart and ambitious enough as a young man to get himself into the Harvard Business School—though he also managed to lose his student loan on the first day of class by View Details

Keywords: by Thomas H. Davenport & Brook Manville; Consumer Products

24 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Why the Internet Doesn’t Change Everything

where rebels like Bishop Gaillot reside. There are pornography sites accessible to straitlaced Singaporeans, Liberian gambling dens, and secluded banking services run from the tiny island of Anguilla. There are networks of Burmese... View Details

Keywords: by Debora L. Spar

November 2017
Teaching Note

Reinventing Best Buy

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Teaching Note for HBS No. 716-455. On March 1, 2017, Best Buy Company, Inc., North America’s largest retailer of consumer electronics and appliances, announced a third year of comparable-store sales increases and a 20.8% increase in domestic comparable online sales.... View Details

Keywords: Best Buy; Hubert Joly; Renew Blue; Showrooming; Webrooming; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Marketplaces; Turnaround; Consumer Electronics; Consumer Electronics Accessories; Appliances; Stores-within-stores; Store Experience; Store Size; Store Pickup; Store Management; Delivery; Delivery Models; Amazon; Amazon.com; Pricing Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Cost; Selection and Staffing; Reports; Technological Innovation; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Human Capital; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Media; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution Channels; Infrastructure; Product; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Programs; Groups and Teams; Sales; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Technology; Hardware; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Search Technology; Software; Web; Web Sites; Wireless Technology; Resource Allocation; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; United States; Minnesota; Minneapolis; Saint Paul; St. Paul

05 Feb 2009
Research & Ideas

In Praise of Marketing

defined consumer segments or, indeed, of individual consumers. Engaged Consumers The interactive nature of the Internet means that customers are now engaged more than ever in the co-creation of brand meaning and the development of marketplace offerings. Procter &... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Advertising

January 2018
Case

Peak Games: Hiring Priorities in Times of Rapid Growth (A)

By: William R. Kerr and Gamze Yucaoglu

Sidar Şahin, founder and CEO of Peak Games, a Turkey-based global mobile gaming company, must decide on the final list of candidates for the critical global marketing director position the company has been trying to fill for over a year. Since its founding in 2010,... View Details

Keywords: Recruiting; Staffing; Emergent Countries; Entrepreneurial Management; Private Sector; Business Strategy; Decision; Growth Management; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Selection and Staffing; Talent and Talent Management; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Value Creation; Organizational Culture; Decision Choices and Conditions; Technology Industry; Turkey