Publications

October 2016 (Revised October 2023)
Case

Bootstrapping at Lightricks

By: Robert White, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Christine Snively

By August 2015, two-year-old mobile imaging software startup Lightricks had developed and released two best-selling paid mobile apps, grown to a team of 30, earned a revenue run rate of nearly $10 million, and achieved modest profitability. The bootstrapped company had... View Details

Keywords: Business Startup; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Information Infrastructure; Business Startups; Digital Marketing; Finance; Strategy; Technology Industry; Israel

February 2010 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Digital Media Group: The Shanghai Bid

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

In December 2008, Thomas G. Tsao, acting CEO of Digital Media Group (DMG), a venture-backed provider of technology and media used primarily in subways, must decide how to structure the company's bid for the advertising concession in Shanghai's 13 existing and planned... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Corporate Accountability; Business or Company Management; Bids and Bidding; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Competitive Strategy; Advertising Industry; Technology Industry; Shanghai

25 Apr 2005
Research & Ideas

New Learning at American Home Products

in moving out of lower-value into higher-value paths as technologies and markets changed. Before World War II those managers became proficient in monitoring the processes of production and marketing in each... View Details

Keywords: by Alfred D. Chandler Jr.; Chemical; Health; Manufacturing; Pharmaceutical

12 Feb 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 12, 2019

bearers of bad news is mitigated when recipients are made aware of the benevolence of the messenger’s motives. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55611 March 2019 Enterprise & Society Oral History and the Business History of View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

09 May 2011
Research & Ideas

Moving From Bean Counter to Game Changer

decisions were discussed and made. Then she moved to expand her risk management process throughout the bank. She handed out 10,000 booklets that presented the department's view and expertise in areas including market risk, credit risk,... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Banking

02 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 2, 2009

Organizational Ambidexterity: IBM and Emerging Business Opportunities Authors:Charles A. O'Reilly, III, Michael L. Tushman, and J. Bruce Harreld Publication:California Management Review (forthcoming) Abstract The empirical evidence is... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

04 Jan 2012
What Do You Think?

Income Inequality: What’s the Right Amount?

business and society." The right amount of income inequality may be hard to determine, but respondents to this month's column offered up a number of measures, some more straightforward than others. Comments suggesting that right amount included: "the point... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

November 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Drilling South: Petrobras Evaluates Pecom

By: Mihir A. Desai and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho

The Brazilian oil company, Petrobras, is evaluating the acquisition of an Argentine oil company, the Perez Companc Group (Pecom). The acquisition would increase Petrobras' oil reserves and expand its interests outside Brazil, a significant step for the largest company... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Forecasting and Prediction; Financial Crisis; Non-Renewable Energy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Corporate Governance; Risk Management; Emerging Markets; State Ownership; Performance Evaluation; Risk and Uncertainty; Valuation; Energy Industry; Argentina; Brazil

June 2014
Teaching Note

Andreessen Horowitz

By: Thomas Eisenmann

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a venture capital firm launched in 2009, has quickly broken into the VC industry's top ranks, in terms of its ability to invest in Silicon Valley's most promising startups. The case recounts the firm's history; describes its co-founders'... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Venture Capital; Disruption; Organizational Structure; Entrepreneurship; Industry Structures; Service Industry; United States

27 Jul 2019
Op-Ed

Does Facebook's Business Model Threaten Our Elections?

investing billions of dollars and tens of thousands of employees and contractors to implement it. The market capitalization of the company dropped over $100 billion in one day, now roughly back to the pre-crisis level. At the same time,... View Details

Keywords: by George Riedel

28 Aug 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, August 28, 2018

2018 Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Trust: Creating the Foundation for Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries By: Khanna, Tarun Abstract— Entrepreneurs in developing countries who assume they will have the same legal,... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

27 Jan 2003
Research & Ideas

New Cluster Mapping Project Helps Companies Locate Facilities

are many companies with which to partner. Being part of a cluster facilitates change and speeds innovation—both fundamental to modern, knowledge-based competition. Q: Over the next ten or twenty years, what new clusters do you think will View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

06 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

Where Do Workers Go When the Robots Arrive?

computer science, actually emerge in regions that import less expensive goods from China. Service jobs like retail and restaurants fall slightly, but not in a statistically significant way, the researchers found. Robots on the march... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Manufacturing

30 May 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, May 30

diverse methodology to understand the relationships between firm boundaries, firm activities, and geographic borders. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52688 2017 Geography, Location, and Strategy. Multinational Activity in View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2023
Case

Honeycomb

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Kumba Sennaar

Honeycomb, an audio app enabling seniors to record stories and save family memories, suddenly draws interest from a younger user demographic. The co-founders consider pivoting to better serve this new user demographic. How should they think about strategy, brand, and... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Operations; Business Startups; Customer Focus and Relationships; Age; Brands and Branding; Technology Industry; United States

June 2010 (Revised September 2010)
Case

athenahealth: Innovating in Response to a Crisis in Healthcare

When Jonathan Bush and his partner, Todd Park, realized that their revolutionary approach to delivering clinical care was being stymied by the inefficiencies in the healthcare system and insurance red tape, they turned their proprietary technology, athenaNet, to a new... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Information Management; Innovation and Invention; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Health Industry; United States