Publications

June 2019
Case

Monetizing Insurance at Trov

By: Thales Teixeira, Samy Dana and Leandro A Guissoni

Trov is a disruptive startup in the insurance space (“insurtech”). It allows consumers to simply turn on and turn off insurance for each of their possessions on a mobile app with the swipe of a finger. Consumers love the simple, on-demand, single-item coverage product.... View Details

Keywords: Monetization; Decoupling; Business Startups; Insurance; Disruption; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Strategy; Insurance Industry

January 2018
Case

Viacom: Democratization of Data Science

By: Shane Greenstein and Christine Snively

In two short years, Viacom’s Data Science & Advanced Analytics team built a web platform called Science Central that allowed employees from Viacom’s 20+ cable networks to access television audience insights through three data science apps. In the past, employees would... View Details

Keywords: Data Science; Big Data; Digital Platforms; Analytics and Data Science; Expansion; Strategic Planning

November 2020 (Revised September 2021)
Case

HP Instant Ink: (Self) Disrupting the Consumer Printing Market

By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Oded Koenigsberg and George Gonzalez

Seeking to disrupt the consumer printing market (before being disrupted by others), and in response to customer pain points, in 2013 HP Inc. launched an ink replenishment service called Instant Ink, where customers pay a monthly subscription fee based on the number of... View Details

Keywords: Printing; Ink; Subscription Model; Customers; Information Infrastructure; Service Delivery; Business Model; Disruption; Growth and Development Strategy

July 2022 (Revised February 2024)
Teaching Note

The DivaCup: Navigating Distribution and Growth

By: Ayelet Israeli

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 519-055. When the mother-daughter founders of DivaCup set out with a mission to disrupt the menstrual care industry with an innovative product form, they initially struggled to gain legitimacy and convince retailers to carry their unique... View Details

March 2019 (Revised April 2021)
Case

The DivaCup: Navigating Distribution and Growth

By: Ayelet Israeli

When the mother-daughter founders of DivaCup set out with a mission to disrupt the menstrual care industry with an innovative product form, they initially struggled to gain legitimacy and convince retailers to carry their unique product. Fifteen years later, the... View Details

23 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 23

Working PapersLocal R&D Strategies and Multi-location Firms: The Role of Internal Linkages Authors:Juan Alcácer and Minyuan Zhao Abstract This study looks at the role of firms' internal linkages in highly competitive View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

27 Apr 2009
Research & Ideas

Building Businesses in Turbulent Times

opportunities. And while oil prices continue to rise and fall, energy services firms are seeing rapid growth—especially those firms that provide services to both traditional and emerging clean technology energy sectors. When approaching... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

12 Jan 2016
First Look

January 12, 2016

focus of this case is how a technology company such as Avocent, with a dramatically different business model compared to its acquirer, should be integrated into a large, multi-industry conglomerate like Emerson. Underlying this managerial... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

30 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 30, 2015

leaders focus on the few things that produce results and experiences for the right customers; (3) the best service operating strategies don't require tradeoffs, so leaders foster "both/and" thinking in designing winning... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

05 Jan 2010
First Look

First Look: January 5

strategy to provide textbooks for college accounting courses. The Joffes are trying to raise private equity financing, but market conditions have made it difficult and the company is at risk of exhausting the senior Joffe's savings. The... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

07 Aug 2007
First Look

First Look: August 7, 2007

Supplements the (A) case. Purchase this supplement: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=107052 BBC Worldwide: Global Strategy Harvard Business School Case 507-034 In January 2007, John Smith, chief executive... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2021 (Revised March 2022)
Case

TikTok in 2020: Super App or Supernova?

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Dan Maher and Dan O'Brien

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, was launched in 2012 around a simple idea – helping users entertain themselves on their smartphones while on the Beijing Subway. In less than a decade, it had become one of the world’s most valuable private companies, with investors... View Details

02 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 2

increase in demand. Lone Inventors as Sources of Technological Breakthroughs: Myth or Reality? Authors:Jasjit Singh and Lee Fleming Publication:Management Science 56, no. 1 (2010) Abstract Are lone inventors more or less likely to invent... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

28 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

Earth Day Reflections

Below are the views that faculty shared with the HBS community on Earth Day. 1. Robert G. Eccles Senior Lecturer of Business Administration and author of One Report: Integrated Reporting for a Sustainable Strategy (This article, titled,... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

May 2024
Case

Pernod Ricard: Uncorking Digital Transformation

By: Iavor Bojinov, Edward McFowland III, François Candelon, Nikolina Jonsson and Emer Moloney

This case study explores the opportunities and challenges of the digital transformation journey of French wine and spirits company Pernod Ricard. As part of the transformation, the company launched four key digital programs (KDPs) aimed at using data and artificial... View Details

Keywords: Business Organization; Business Divisions; Talent and Talent Management; Global Strategy; AI and Machine Learning; Analytics and Data Science; Digital Transformation; Digital Strategy; Advertising; Sales; Organizational Culture; Product Development; Decision Making; Technology Adoption; Alignment; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry; France; Europe

2011
Working Paper

Quantity vs. Quality: Exclusion by Platforms with Network Effects

By: Andrei Hagiu

This paper provides a simple model of platforms with direct network effects, in which users value not just the quantity (i.e., number) of other users who join, but also their average quality in some dimension. A monopoly platform is more likely to exclude low-quality... View Details

Keywords: Multi-sided Platforms; Exclusion; Quality And Quantity; Cost; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Network Effects; Market Participation; Digital Platforms; Monopoly; Quality; Motivation and Incentives; Strategy