Publications

Register to Read

January 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Rural Taobao: Alibaba's Expansion into Rural E-Commerce

By: Tarun Khanna, Ryan Allen, Adam Frost and Wesley Koo

Alibaba's Rural Taobao initiative had been launched in 2014 as a public service initiative to increase e-commerce adoption in China’s remote rural areas. In the first two iterations of the initiative, dubbed “1.0” and “2.0,” Alibaba had partnered with local businesses... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Business Growth; Ecommerce; Corporate Social Responsibility; Business And Government; Emerging Market; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Emerging Markets; Rural Scope; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations; Decision Making; E-commerce; China

May 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Market by Met Council: Revolutionizing Food Pantries in the Digital Age

By: Elisabeth Paulson and Michael W. Toffel

In fall 2023, the Food Program of Met Council—America’s largest Jewish charity dedicated to fighting poverty—completed the rollout of the newest version of its digital pantry platform to twelve food pantries in the Met Council food pantry network. The digital... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Digital Transformation; Nonprofit Organizations; Service Operations; Human Needs

30 Jan 2018
First Look

January 30, 2018

largely meant to protect online platforms from defamation lawsuits. The CDA has been stretched beyond recognition to prevent all manner of prudent regulation. We offer specific suggestions to correct this... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Apr 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, April 24, 2018

April 2018 Management Science Offline Showrooms in Omni-channel Retail: Demand and Operational Benefits By: Bell, David R., Santiago Gallino, and Antonio Moreno Abstract—Omnichannel environments where customers shop online and offline at... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Research Summary

Overview

By: Kris Johnson Ferreira

Professor Ferreira's research primarily focuses on how retailers can use algorithms to make better revenue management decisions, including pricing, product display, and assortment planning. In the retail industry, anticipating consumer demand is arguably one of the... View Details

Keywords: E-commerce; Analytics; Revenue Management; Pricing; Assortment Planning; Field Experiments; Operations; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Retail Industry

Winter 2021
Editorial

Introduction

By: Michael A. Wheeler

This issue of Negotiation Journal is dedicated to the theme of artificial intelligence, technology, and negotiation. It arose from a Program on Negotiation (PON) working conference on that important topic held virtually on May 17–18. The conference was not the... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Information Technology; Negotiation; AI and Machine Learning

Find at Harvard

April 2023
Article

Perceptions Related to Engaging in Non-driving Activities in an Automated Vehicle While Commuting: A Text Mining Approach

By: Yilun Xing, Linda Ng Boyle, Raffaella Sadun, John D. Lee, Orit Shaer and Andrew Kun

Automated vehicles (AVs) offer human operators the opportunity to participate in non-driving activities while on the move. In this study, we examined and compared drivers' perception of non-driving activities in two driving modes: highly AVs in the future and current... View Details

Keywords: Perception; Behavior; Surveys; Auto Industry

Many firms can choose between an employment mode, in which the firm controls service provision by employing professionals, sales representatives or other types of agents, and an agency (or platform) mode, in which these agents take control... View Details

16 Jun 2020
Blog Post

Delivering Solutions During a Crisis with Hans Kristian Furuseth (MBA 2019)

unique way. The Building Blocks for a Beautiful Career Prior to joining HBS, Furuseth began his career in consulting at Bain working across Europe and India. He then went on to found his first company, Vaniday, an online booking View Details

19 Oct 2016
HBS Seminar

Luís Cabral, NYU Stern School of Business

20 Sep 2016
First Look

September 20, 2016

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51607 Designing Online Marketplaces: Trust and Reputation Mechanisms By: Luca, Michael Abstract—Online marketplaces have proliferated over the past decade, creating new markets where none... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2001
Case

Meg Whitman and eBay Germany

By: Linda A. Hill and Maria Farkas

After acquiring the German online auction company Alando.de, eBay CEO Meg Whitman and her team must integrate Alando's Web site with the company's existing platform. The acquisition is the first step of eBay's journey to become a global trading platform. In addition to... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Integration; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Globalized Markets and Industries; Germany

10 Apr 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research, April 10, 2018

developing fresh capabilities for organizations. Based on a study of all the programs offered by the business schools, consultancies, corporate universities, and online education providers, we analyze the advantages, and the constraints,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Article

Network Effects Aren't Enough

By: Andrei Hagiu and Simon Rothman

In many ways, online marketplaces are the perfect business model. Since they facilitate transactions between independent suppliers and customers rather than take possession of and responsibility for the products or services in question, they have inherently low cost... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Competition; Internet and the Web; Network Effects; Market Participation

Find at Harvard

Register to Read

13 Jul 2016
HBS Case

How Uber, Airbnb, and Etsy Attracted Their First 1,000 Customers

New businesses often struggle finding their first customers. The challenge is even more difficult with startups in the sharing economy that launch as platforms connecting independent service providers with consumers. Take Uber. Its View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail; Service; Transportation

14 Oct 2009
First Look

First Look: October 14

relies on platforms and horizontal ecosystems of firms producing complementary products. Using three case studies—software, animation and mobile telephony—we illustrate two key sources of inefficiencies that this mismatch can create, all... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

23 Sep 2008
First Look

First Look: September 23, 2008

Working PapersSecuring Online Advertising: Rustlers and Sheriffs in the New Wild West Author:Benjamin G. Edelman Abstract Read the news of recent computer security guffaws, and it's striking how many problems stem from View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

September 2011 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Brightcove, Inc. in 2007

By: Andrei Hagiu and David B. Yoffie

Brightcove, a technology and services provider to content owners in the Internet television field, aimed to become a media distribution company in its own right. On October 30, 2006, it relaunched its Website—and, in effect, its business. With its new, consumer-facing... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Diversification; Digital Platforms; Business Strategy; Internet and the Web; Business Model; Distribution; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

March 2021 (Revised February 2025)
Teaching Note

Afterpay U.S.: The Omnichannel Dilemma

By: Antonio Moreno and Anibha Singh

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 519-086. In 2018, Nick Molnar, the founder of the Australia-based online payment service Afterpay began its expansion to the U.S. market. The service had gained a loyal following in Australia by enabling customers to pay for online... View Details