Publications

08 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

NFL Head Coaches Are Getting Younger. What Can Organizations Learn?

quality nowadays. That young candidates are being selected for the most prestigious and critical positions in the NFL means, to some extent, that they are bypassing older colleagues for job opportunities. This phenomenon is occurring outside of the View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Evan M.S. Hecht, and Abhijit Naik; Sports

24 Apr 2020
Op-Ed

Lessons from the NFL: Virtual Hiring, Leadership, Building Teams and COVID-19

iPhoto This weekend the NFL is concluding its annual draft. Up to 255 college football players will be distributed over three days across the 32 NFL teams. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made the decision to go ahead with the... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Abbott , Boris Groysberg, Tali Groysberg, and Abhijit Naik; Sports

July 2005 (Revised September 2016)
Case

24 Hour Fitness (A): The Rise, 1983–2004

By: John R. Wells, Elizabeth A. Raabe and Gabriel Ellsworth

In October 2004, Mark S. Mastrov, CEO of 24 Hour Fitness, reflected on how far his company had come in just over 20 years. From humble beginnings in 1983 in San Leandro, California, 24 Hour Fitness had grown to become the largest privately-owned health-club chain in... View Details

Keywords: 24 Hour Fitness; Mark Mastrov; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Weight Loss; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Sales Force Compensation; Incentive Systems; Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Private Equity; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Nutrition; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Operations; Service Operations; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Technology Platform; Web; Web Sites; Capital Structure; Performance; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Health Industry; United States; California; San Francisco

21 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

The Pandemic Conversations That Leaders Need to Have Now

the heyday of the suggestion box, some overflowed with penciled index cards while others sported cobwebs. Dialogue is necessary for creating a shared reality—especially now. People’s pandemic experiences have varied widely depending on... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Robin Abrahams, and Katherine Connolly Baden

September 2013 (Revised August 2015)
Background Note

Leadership and Teaming

By: Ethan Bernstein

Small differences in the leadership of teams can have large consequences for the success of their efforts. Many initiatives fail not because of a fatal error in judgment or insufficient ideas, knowledge, motivation, or capabilities to deliver a solution. They fail... View Details

June 2006
Teaching Note

Hala Madrid: Managing Real Madrid Club de Futbol, the Team of the Century (TN)

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez

Keywords: Sports; Management; Sports Industry; Spain

06 Mar 2006
Research & Ideas

Winners and Losers at the Olympics

glory on the slopes or on the ice are looking for endorsement opportunities that will lead to a post-Olympics pot of gold. In short, the Olympic Games are big business. Harvard Business School professor emeritus Stephen A. Greyser has been studying, teaching, and... View Details

Keywords: Re: Stephen A. Greyser; Sports; Sports; Sports

June 2005 (Revised October 2005)
Supplement

Coach Roy Williams: What Next? (B)

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Christopher Chang and Scott Schweitzer

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Sports; Sports Industry

Find at Harvard

10 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Retailing Revolution: Category Killers on the Brink

near 20 percent online market share. Apparel, greeting cards, party supplies, and office products have reached double-digit penetration as well while sporting goods and cosmetics will likely reach double-digit share in 2011. Pet products... View Details

Keywords: by Rajiv Lal & Jose B. Alvarez; Retail

07 Aug 2012
Research & Ideas

Off and Running: Professors Comment on Olympics

of the American Marketing Association's 2010 Sports Marketing Lifetime Achievement Award. The power of "The Rings"—the brand power of the Olympics—derives from the global recognition of the five rings (representing the five... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty; Sports

January 2006
Teaching Note

The Augusta National Golf Club Controversy (TN) (A), (B) and (C)

By: Herman B. Leonard, Marc J. Epstein and Melissa Tritter

Keywords: Sports; Diversity; Sports Industry

August 2015 (Revised May 2017)
Case

TSG Hoffenheim: Football in the Age of Analytics

By: Feng Zhu, Karim R. Lakhani, Sascha L. Schmidt and Kerry Herman

In 2015, Dietmar Hopp, owner of Germany's Bundesliga football team TSG Hoffenheim and co-founder of the global enterprise software company SAP, was considering how to ensure long-term sustainability and competitiveness for TSG Hoffenheim. While historically a small... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Measurement and Metrics; Sports; Sports Industry

January 2012 (Revised November 2012)
Supplement

Ultimate Fighting Championship: License to Operate (B)

By: George Serafeim and Kyle Welch

The case describes the financial performance and business development of UFC after the change in ownership that happened in 2000, until 2004, when the owners are considering exiting the business. View Details

Keywords: Sports; Sports Industry

November 2007
Teaching Note

Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki and the 2004 Athens Olympic Games (TN) (A) & (B)

By: Christopher Marquis and Alison Comings

Keywords: Sports; Sports Industry

November 1981 (Revised December 1992)
Case

Gotham Giants

The owner of a professional baseball team is trying to figure out if promotions are having an effect on ticket sales, and if televising games is hurting attendance. He considers renegotiating the television contract. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Sports; Television Entertainment; Sports Industry

2013
Working Paper

How Major League Baseball Clubs Have Commercialized Their Investment in Japanese Top Stars

By: Isao Okada and Stephen A. Greyser

When a Major League Baseball club signs a Japanese star player, it obviously tries to commercialize its investment in the player. The initial focus is on home attendance (ticket sales) and television audiences, plus merchandise sales. These elements are similar to... View Details

Keywords: Commercialization; Sports; Revenue; Sports Industry; Japan; United States