Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(2,118)
- Faculty Publications (628)
- 2019
- Working Paper
Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 14 Introducing Open Platforms and Ecosystems
The purpose of this chapter is to lay the groundwork for a comprehensive theoretical investigation of open platform systems. To do this, we must first recognize that, although there is a strong family resemblance among all platform systems, there are different types of... View Details
- October 2018
- Article
Competing with Complementors: An Empirical Look at Amazon.com
By: Feng Zhu and Qihong Liu
Platform owners sometimes enter complementors' product spaces to compete against them directly. Prior studies have offered two possible explanations for such entries: platform owners may target the most successful complementors so as to appropriate value from their... View Details
- September 2018 (Revised January 2020)
- Case
Apple Pay and Mobile Payments in Australia (A)
By: Feng Zhu, Susan Athey and David Lane
In summer 2016, four of Australia’s top five banks petitioned regulators for permission to bargain collectively with Apple over the terms under which they would support its digital wallet, Apple Pay. They argued that doing so would force concessions from Apple that... View Details
- September 2018 (Revised April 2019)
- Case
AMC Entertainment: Creating a Spectacular Moviegoing Experience (A)
By: Henry McGee and Aldo Sesia
In 2018, the Hollywood film industry is facing tough headwinds. Fewer and fewer Americans are going to movie theaters, opting instead to watch movies on demand in the comfort of their own homes or on portable devices. Adam Aron, the head of the world’s largest movie... View Details
- August 2018 (Revised February 2022)
- Case
Lexoo: Building a Long-Lasting Platform
By: Chiara Farronato and Elena Corsi
Daniel van Binsbergen, Lexoo’s CEO, and web developer Chris O’Sullivan, CTO, had set up Lexoo, a UK legal marketplace, to help small and medium enterprises (SME) find legal advice at low prices. Lexoo had recently invested in a new vertical focused on larger companies.... View Details
- August 2018
- Teaching Note
IguanaFix
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Thomas Eisenmann
Teaching Note for HBS No. 817-056. IguanaFix, based in Argentina, is a platform business that connects consumers with home improvement contractors. The founders are evaluating growth options and an investment offer. The case focuses on scaling issues for a venture... View Details
- August 2018 (Revised October 2019)
- Case
C3.ai—Driven to Succeed
By: Robert Simons and George Gonzalez
CEO Tom Siebel navigates his artificial intelligence (ai) startup through a series of pivots, market expansions, and even an elephant attack to become a leading platform ad service provider. The case describes his unusual management approach emphasizing employee... View Details
Keywords: Strategy Execution; Performance Measurement; Critical Performance Variables; Strategic Boundaries; Internet Of Things; Artificial Intelligence; Software Development; Big Data; Machine Learning; Business Startups; Management Style; Business Strategy; Performance; Measurement and Metrics; Organizational Culture; AI and Machine Learning; Digital Transformation; Applications and Software; Digital Marketing; Analytics and Data Science; Technology Industry; United States; California
- August 2018 (Revised October 2020)
- Case
Tailor Brands: Artificial Intelligence-Driven Branding
By: Jill Avery
Using proprietary artificial intelligence technology, startup Tailor Brands set out to democratize branding by allowing small businesses to create their brand identities by automatically generating logos in just minutes at minimal cost with no branding or design skills... View Details
Keywords: Startup; Services; Artificial Intelligence; Machine Learning; Digital Marketing; Brand Management; Big Data; Internet Marketing; Analytics; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Information Technology; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Business Model; Consumer Behavior; AI and Machine Learning; Analytics and Data Science; Advertising Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; United States; North America; Israel
- 2018
- Book
Driving Digital Strategy: A Guide to Reimagining Your Business
By: Sunil Gupta
Disruption and transformation get a lot of hype and for good reason. Digital technologies have disrupted entire industries and incumbents have often struggled in this new world. Typical approaches used by legacy players such as using technology to improve efficiency,... View Details
- August 2018 (Revised February 2023)
- Case
Hubble Contact Lenses: Data Driven Direct-to-Consumer Marketing
By: Jill Avery and Ayelet Israeli
As its Series A extension round approaches, the founders of Hubble, a subscription-based, social-media fueled, direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand of contact lenses, are reflecting on the marketing strategies that have taken them to a valuation of $200 million and debating... View Details
Keywords: DTC; Direct To Consumer Marketing; Health Care; Mobile; Attribution; Experimentation; Experiments; Churn/retention; Customer Lifetime Value; Internet Marketing; Big Data; Analytics; A/B Testing; CRM; Advertising; Marketing; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Media; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Digital Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Acquisition; Growth and Development Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Social Media; E-commerce; Analytics and Data Science; Health Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; North America; Europe
- July 2018
- Case
Financing Anghami's Growth
By: Ramana Nanda and Eren Kuzucu
In December 2012, less than two years into the founding of their music-streaming platform Anghami, cofounders Elie Habib and Eddy Maroun found themselves evaluating an unorthodox term sheet. Habib and Maroun needed to make a decision vis-à-vis the proposal put forth by... View Details
Keywords: Growth; Startups; Copyright; Business Startups; Business Model; Music Entertainment; Decisions; Technological Innovation; Venture Capital; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Strategy; Product Marketing; Product Launch; Product Development; Expansion; Digital Platforms; Agreements and Arrangements; Valuation; Decision Making; Middle East; Lebanon
- June 2018 (Revised October 2018)
- Teaching Note
Valuing Snap After the IPO Quiet Period (A), (B), and (C)
By: Marco Di Maggio and Benjamin C. Esty
Teaching Note for HBS Nos. 218-095, 218-096, and 218-116. View Details
Keywords: Sell-side Analysts; Underwriters; Investment Banking; Social Network; Discounted Cash Flow; Cost Of Capital; Conflicts Of Interest; Corporate Governance; Advertising; Quiet Period; Business Startups; Digital Marketing; Initial Public Offering; Information Infrastructure; Valuation; Venture Capital; Forecasting and Prediction; Social Media; Advertising Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; California
- June 2018 (Revised January 2020)
- Case
Voice War: Hey Google vs. Alexa vs. Siri
By: David B. Yoffie, Liang Wu, Jodie Sweitzer, Denzil Eden and Karan Ahuja
By early 2018, voice-controlled intelligent assistants had become a major new front in the battle between the giants of the technology sector. "Voice War" focuses on Alphabet’s strategy for Google Assistant, its entrant in the voice assistant space, and asks how the... View Details
- June 2018 (Revised April 2021)
- Supplement
Valuing Snap After the IPO Quiet Period
By: Benjamin C. Esty, Marco Di Maggio and Greg Saldutte
Keywords: Sell-side Analysts; Underwriters; Investment Banking; Social Network; Discounted Cash Flow; Cost Of Capital; Conflicts Of Interest; Corporate Governance; Advertising; Quiet Period; Business Startups; Digital Marketing; Initial Public Offering; Information Infrastructure; Valuation; Venture Capital; Forecasting and Prediction; Social Media; United States; California
- June 2018 (Revised April 2021)
- Case
Valuing Snap After the IPO Quiet Period (A)
By: Marco Di Maggio, Benjamin C. Esty and Gregory Saldutte
Snap, the disappearing message app, went public at $17 per share on March 2, 2017, making its two 20-something founders the youngest self-made billionaires in the country. Over the next three weeks, 14 analysts made investment recommendations on Snap: two with buy... View Details
Keywords: Sell-side Analysts; Underwriters; Investment Banking; Social Network; Discounted Cash Flow; Cost Of Capital; Conflicts Of Interest; Corporate Governance; Advertising; Quiet Period; ＂DCF Valuation,＂; Business Startups; Digital Marketing; Initial Public Offering; Information Infrastructure; Valuation; Venture Capital; Forecasting and Prediction; Social Media; Advertising Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; California
- June 2018
- Supplement
Valuing Snap After the IPO Quiet Period (B)
By: Marco Di Maggio and Benjamin C. Esty
Analyzes Snap’s value and analyst recommendations following the events described in the (A) case. View Details
Keywords: Sell-side Analysts; Underwriters; Investment Banking; Social Network; Discounted Cash Flow; Cost Of Capital; Conflicts Of Interest; Corporate Governance; Advertising; Quiet Period; Business Startups; Digital Marketing; Initial Public Offering; Information Infrastructure; Valuation; Venture Capital; Forecasting and Prediction; Social Media; Advertising Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; California
- June 2018
- Supplement
Valuing Snap After the IPO Quiet Period (C)
By: Marco Di Maggio, Benjamin C. Esty and Gregory Saldutte
Analyzes Snap’s value and analyst recommendations following the events described in the (B) case. View Details
Keywords: Sell-side Analysts; Underwriters; Investment Banking; Social Network; Discounted Cash Flow; Cost Of Capital; Conflicts Of Interest; Corporate Governance; Advertising; Quiet Period; Business Startups; Digital Marketing; Initial Public Offering; Information Infrastructure; Valuation; Venture Capital; Forecasting and Prediction; Social Media; Advertising Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; California
- 2018
- Chapter
Digital Labor Markets and Global Talent Flows
By: John Horton, William R. Kerr and Christopher Stanton
- June 2018
- Article
Personal and Social Usage: The Origins of Active Customers and Ways to Keep Them Engaged
By: Clarence Lee, Elie Ofek and Thomas Steenburgh
We study how digital service firms can develop an active customer base, focusing on two questions. First, how does the way that customers use the service postadoption to meet their own needs (personal usage) and to interact with one another (social usage) vary across... View Details
- May 2018 (Revised September 2018)
- Case
BuzzFeed—What Future for Native Advertising and Branded Content?
Jonah Peretti, CEO of digital publishing company BuzzFeed, needs to decide how to respond to Facebook’s announcement that it would prioritize posts from friends over content from publishers. View Details