Publications

30 Mar 2018
What Do You Think?

What Should Mark Zuckerberg Do?

most memorably: “I find myself in a Claude Rains Casablanca moment here: ‘I’m shocked, shocked to find that FB and others are making money off my data when they give me their services for free.’” But “shocked” or not, reality probably... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Web Services; Web Services

February 2011
Case

oDesk: Changing How the World Works

By: Boris Groysberg, David A. Thomas and Jennifer M. Tydlaska

It is 2010, and Gary Swart, CEO of oDesk, is contemplating the next steps for his organization. Founded in 2004 in California, oDesk operates an online marketplace which matches Employers with Contractors. oDesk provides fact-based information on Contractors, including... View Details

Keywords: Recruitment; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Corporate Strategy; Internet and the Web; Consulting Industry

June 2005 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Amazon.com's European Distribution Strategy

By: Janice Hammond and Claire Chiron

Describes how Amazon's distribution system evolved from the company's inception. In 2003, Amazon Europe must decide how to reconfigure its distribution network in light of expected growth, products proliferation, and geographical expansion in Europe. Examines how... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Supply and Industry; Distribution; Supply Chain; Risk and Uncertainty; Expansion; Web Services Industry

Web

Alternative Investments Course | HBS Online

taken a lot of paid online courses, but the HBS Online experience was close to that of the classroom and highly immersive." Swaminathan Aiyer Head of Private Equity at Amazon Web Services Learn to speak the... View Details

October 2009 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Zappos.com 2009: Clothing, Customer Service, and Company Culture

By: Frances X. Frei, Robin J. Ely and Laura Winig

On July 17, 2009, Zappos.com, a privately held online retailer of shoes, clothing, and other soft line retail categories, learned that Amazon.com, a $19 billion multinational online retailer, had won its board of directors' approval to offer to merge the two companies.... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Governing and Advisory Boards; Service Delivery; Organizational Culture; Internet and the Web; Valuation; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry

01 Jun 2002
News

Up to the Challenge: Ipsita Dasgupta - Global Perspective, Local Results

provide microfinance to entrepreneurs. “People in developing countries grasp technology very quickly, but the big battle is literacy,” she remarks. Creating Web sites that use images and numbers instead of text is one tactic for crossing... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; development; leadership; social issues; management; technology; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services

19 Nov 2013
First Look

First Look: November 19

"codification" with a focus on IT applications. More recently, with Web 2.0, there is an increasing emphasis on collaboration so that individuals are interacting with each other, not simply documents. This note, based on... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Jan 2010
Research & Ideas

Mixing Open Source and Proprietary Software Strategies

profit is by selling complementary goods and services. For example, IBM sells consulting services and proprietary software that are complementary to the OS software it develops, and Sun sells complementary hardware such as servers.... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Web Services

19 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

A Brand Manager’s Guide to Losing Control

chips, now sold by the company. This year's submissions include Smoky Brisket and Tzaziki. The glut of easily accessible information on the Web has birthed The Age of Transparency, turning millions of consumers into amateur journalists.... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising

January 2013 (Revised March 2017)
Case

CloudFlare, Inc.: Running Hot?

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alex Godden

In July 2012, the cofounders of CloudFlare, a Silicon Valley startup that protects websites and accelerates their traffic, are considering the implications of five employees' resignations over the prior three months. Was this natural attrition for a high-tech venture... View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth Management; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Resignation and Termination; Business Startups; Web Services Industry; Web Services Industry; California

August 1998
Case

Electronic Commerce at Air Products

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Melissa Dailey

In 1998,chief information officers (CIOs) in the highly competitive international gases and chemicals business faced the reality that electronic commerce capability was a strategic necessity. The results of annual surveys of technology officers in the chemical industry... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Information Technology; Globalized Markets and Industries; Infrastructure; Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption; Business Strategy; Chemical Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

31 Jan 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Addressing Racial Discrimination on Airbnb

Keywords: Web Services

September 2023 (Revised July 2024)
Case

Going Mobile-First? The Digital Transformation of Davivienda Bank in Colombia

By: Jorge Tamayo and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

Set in 2017, this case describes the digital transformation strategy of Davivienda—a leading player in Colombia’s commercial banking and one of the companies belonging to Grupo Bolívar, a major Colombian financial conglomerate. The case also describes the pioneer role... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Information Technology; Digital Strategy; Digital Transformation; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Banking Industry; Latin America; Central America; South America; Colombia

October 2011 (Revised July 2013)
Case

Delta/Signal Corp.

By: V.G. Narayanan, Lisa Brem and Matthew Packard

This auto parts company has just ousted its longtime CEO and founder, and the new, professional CEO is badly in need of a coherent strategy, clear objectives and metrics, and initiatives that are aligned with the strategy and objectives. Will the balanced scorecard... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Business Strategy; Financial Reporting; Leading Change; Performance Evaluation; Growth and Development Strategy; Web Services Industry; Web Services Industry

October 2011
Case

Strategy and Governance at Yahoo! Inc.

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Suraj Srinivasan, David Lane and Ian McKown Cornell

Yahoo! faces a number of governance and strategic challenges in late 2011 as it tries to compete with rivals such as Google and find ways to monetize its shareholding and business links with Alibaba Group in China and Yahoo! Japan. The company is now valued at almost... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Corporate Governance; Web Services Industry