Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(3,005)
- Faculty Publications (335)
- February 2001 (Revised November 2009)
- Case
Amazon.com (C)
At the end of 1998, Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos ponders the next moves for his company. Having secured the leadership position as the leading online book seller in the United States, Amazon.com has now moved into the product categories of CDs and videos by... View Details
- January 2001
- Background Note
Online Brokers
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alastair Brown
Describes online brokers, companies that use the Internet to help clients identify prospective trading partners and sometimes help their clients complete transactions. First, summarizes the various ways that online brokers create value for their clients. Then analyzes... View Details
- December 2000
- Background Note
Online Market Makers
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Chris Hackett
Describes the business model for online market makers, firms that use the Internet to organize a marketplace, providing participants with a virtual "place" to trade, rules to govern their exchanges, and infrastructure to support trading. First it proposes a definition... View Details
- December 2000 (Revised July 2001)
- Case
Ventro: Builder of B2B Businesses (Condensed)
By: Lynda M. Applegate and Meredith Collura
Enables a condensed analysis of Ventro (formerly known as Chemdex), which builds and operates multiple B2B marketplace companies. Part of the Building-E-Business Online series. View Details
- December 2000
- Background Note
Online Portals
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Sanjay Pothen
Describes the online portal business model. Analyzes the model, focusing on the tactics used to acquire new users, turn new users into repeat visitors, and monetize user traffic. Explains portals' revenue and cost drivers and their implications for pursuing aggressive... View Details
- December 2000
- Background Note
Online Retailers
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alastair Brown
Describes online retailers, companies that use the Internet to sell physical goods. Defines online retailers and describes different ways to categorize them. Explores their economic model and value proposition for consumers in comparison with offline retailers. Next,... View Details
- November 2000 (Revised December 2000)
- Background Note
Online Content Providers
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alastair Brown
Describes the business model for online content providers, companies that distribute copyright content via the Internet. Focuses on their revenue and cost drivers and on the ways that online content providers create value for consumers. Also investigates the benefits... View Details
- November 2000 (Revised December 2001)
- Case
iSteelAsia (A)
By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Pamela A. Yatsko
The chairman of a Hong Kong-based steel distributor starts an online Asian steel trading portal and contemplates different paths to profitability and growth. Barriers include industrial culture, weakened markets in the spring of 2000, and vulnerability to takeover by... View Details
- November 2000 (Revised May 2002)
- Case
FleetBoston Financial: Online Banking
By: Frances X. Frei and Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar
As the ninth largest bank holding company in the United States in 2000, FleetBoston Financial Corp. provided a myriad of financial services, including retail banking, loan origination, and brokerage accounts. This case explores how FleetBoston responded to the Internet... View Details
- November 2000 (Revised June 2001)
- Case
Ventro: Builder of B2B Businesses
By: Lynda M. Applegate and Meredith Collura
Enables a thorough analysis of Ventro (formerly known as Chemdex), which builds and operates multiple B2B marketplace companies. Examines Ventro's business model and strategy as well as the company's operating, technical, and management expertise. Part of the... View Details
- October 2000 (Revised April 2001)
- Case
Cost of Capital at Ameritrade
By: Mark L. Mitchell and Erik Stafford
Ameritrade Holding Corp. is planning large marketing and technology investments to improve the company's competitive position in deep-discount brokerage by taking advantage of emerging economies of scale. In order to evaluate whether the strategy would generate... View Details
- October 2000 (Revised March 2001)
- Case
eLance.com: Building a Professional Services Marketplace
By: Lynda M. Applegate and Kristin Kohler
Launched as an eBay for services, eLance promises to leverage the capabilities of the Internet to not only change the way services are bought and sold, but change the fundamental dynamics of the global economy. Building on theories posited in the HBR article by Tim... View Details
- October 2000 (Revised November 2000)
- Case
New Economy Ethics: YouKnowIt.com
By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. and Kim Slack
Entrepreneur Janice Schwartz is hoping to grow her start-up company by creating a technical advisory board and compensating members with discounted company stock. Schwartz is considering six candidates that can help her online education company in a variety of ways: as... View Details
- October 2000 (Revised October 2001)
- Case
adM@rt(A)
By: F. Warren McFarlan, Carin-Isabel Knoop and David Lane
Describes the complex policy alternatives facing an online Hong Kong grocery company as it tries to apply Webvan-type concepts in the Hong Kong marketplace. Captures the extraordinary process of adaptation the company is going through as it tries to find the right... View Details
- September 2000 (Revised July 2001)
- Case
Chapters.ca
By: Michael J. Roberts, Rajiv Lal and Walter J. Salmon
Describes the challenges facing the online site associated with Canada's largest bricks-and-mortar bookseller. Presents a variety of lenses for examining the economic model of the online versus traditional book-selling business, and asks students to identify the... View Details
- July 2000 (Revised October 2000)
- Case
Petstore.com
Petstore.com is one of four contenders for leadership in the highly competitive online pet supply business. Petstore.com faces decisions regarding potential merger partners and how to brand its service within the website managed by its ultimate merger partner,... View Details
- February 2000 (Revised May 2001)
- Case
eBricks.com
eBricks.com is developing an online marketplace for construction materials. The start-up company faces two decisions: 1) whether to merge with BluelineOnline.com, a firm providing project management solutions for the construction industry; and 2) whether to develop an... View Details
- February 2000 (Revised August 2000)
- Case
Boston.com
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Jon K Rust
How aggressively should an incumbent move when developing an online business that threatens its core product? With Internet competitors taking direct aim at the traditional print newspaper business model, the Boston Globe fought back with its own web initiative,... View Details
- February 2000 (Revised December 2000)
- Case
Staples.com
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Joanna M. Jacobson and Gillian Morris
Staples.com, the online unit of the U.S. office supplies retailing chain Staples, faces a range of strategic and organizational issues as it accelerates its growth. Should it pursue only existing Staples customers or consumers who do not shop in Staples stores? How... View Details
- February 2000 (Revised April 2001)
- Case
CNET 2000
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Pauline M Fischer
CNET's managers explain the strategic analysis that led to their decision to increase their annual marketing budget from $1 million to $100 million. CNET is an online information intermediary that helps consumers make purchase decisions about PC hardware and software,... View Details