Publications

June 1998 (Revised August 2000)
Case

Microsoft CarPoint

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

CarPoint.com was Microsoft's Web-based entry into on-line automobile retailing. While it could not, in fact, "sell" or deliver any cars, it could shift much of consumer search, comparison, and decision-making, including pricing, the traditional car dealer to the Web.... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Service Operations; Market Entry and Exit; Consumer Behavior; Auto Industry; Retail Industry

Article

Positioning Brands Against Large Competitors to Increase Sales

By: Neeru Paharia, Jill Avery and Anat Keinan

We explore the effect of having a large dominant competitor and show the conditions under which focusing on a competitive threat, rather than hiding it, can actually help a brand. We demonstrate through lab and field studies that highlighting a large competitor's size... View Details

Keywords: Brands; Brand Management; Brand Positioning; Competitive Positioning; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Air Transportation Industry; United States

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July 2023
Case

HealthVerity: Real World Data and Evidence

By: Satish Tadikonda

Andrew Kress (CEO and founder) and his team had built a promising marketplace business at HealthVerity serving its core market in healthcare, with a focus on pharmaceutical R&D and services. Thus far, HealthVerity’s products had been unique to the pharma and pharma... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Product Marketing

Profile

Hiroshi Mikitani

the concept of online shopping—it was in the execution of the efforts made by those big companies. Internet malls just needed another chance.” It is fine to start slow and small. “When you step off the expected path of... View Details

Research Summary

Overview

By: Antonio Moreno

One major theme of Professor Moreno’s research has been retail channel integration and so-called “omnichannel retail.” In omnichannel retail, retailers provide their customers with a shopping experience that may involve different channels in a way that aims to be... View Details

October 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Loris

By: Shunyuan Zhang, Das Narayandas, Stacy Straaberg and David Lane

In December 2022, Loris’s executive team considered their go-to-market strategy. Loris was an artificial intelligence (AI) software startup for the customer service industry with two products on the market: 1) Agent Assist which provided customer service agents (CSAs)... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Business Startups; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Marketing Strategy; Sales; Technology Industry; United States

October 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Hulu: An Evil Plot to Destroy the World?

By: Anita Elberse and Sunil Gupta

In July 2009, Jason Kilar, the chief executive officer of Hulu, is debating whether the online video aggregator should move away from a purely advertising-supported model, and whether it should participate in an industry-wide initiative to develop and test... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Business Model; Television Entertainment; Distribution Channels; Service Operations; Internet and the Web; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

October 2003 (Revised January 2009)
Case

Transforming Matsui Securities

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Masako Egawa, Jamie Ladge and Haruki Umezawa

Michio Matsui, president and CEO of Matsui Securities, transformed a small regional securities company into a leading player in the online broking industry in Japan. Discusses how he transformed the business model and culture of the company and took advantage of the... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Innovation and Invention; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Model; Organizational Culture; Financial Markets; Competitive Advantage; Japan

07 Jun 2016
First Look

June 7, 2016

likelihood of meeting or beating analyst expectations. Collectively the results shed light on the effect of increased ownership concentration on tax avoidance. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51123 June 2016 View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

30 Jan 2018
First Look

January 30, 2018

Physical: Federal Limitations on Regulating Online Marketplaces By: Edelman, Benjamin, and Abbey Stemler Abstract—Online marketplaces have transformed how we shop, travel, and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Mar 2021
News

Oprah Winfrey’s Prince Harry and Meghan interview netted her $7 million and 17 million viewers. It also validated her larger business strategy.

18 Oct 2022
Cold Call Podcast

Chewy.com’s Make-or-Break Logistics Dilemma

Keywords: Re: Jeffrey F. Rayport; Retail

July 2021 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Supreme: Remaining Cool While Pursuing Growth

By: Jill Avery, Sandrine Crener, Marie-Cecile Cervellon and Ranjit Thind

Following VF Corporation’s acquisition of cult streetwear brand Supreme, consumers and industry pundits were nervous that becoming part of a large, public corporation would put an end to Supreme’s slow and careful growth trajectory as pressure for quarterly results... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Brands and Branding; Luxury; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Growth Management; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; United States; North America

June 2020
Article

In Generous Offers I Trust: The Effect of First-offer Value on Economically Vulnerable Behaviors

By: M. Jeong, J. Minson and F. Gino

Negotiation scholarship espouses the importance of opening a bargaining situation with an aggressive offer, given the power of first offers to shape concessionary behavior and outcomes. In our research, we identify a surprising consequence to this common prescription.... View Details

Keywords: Attribution; Interpersonal Interaction; Judgment; Social Interaction; Inference; Open Data; Open Materials; Preregistered; Negotiation Offer; Strategy; Behavior; Interpersonal Communication; Trust; Outcome or Result

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The authors explore the effects of having a large dominant competitor and show conditions under which focusing on a competitive threat, rather than hiding it, can actually help a brand. Through lab and field studies, the authors demonstrate that highlighting a large... View Details

New Twitter Research: Men Follow Men and Nobody Tweets

Twitter has attracted tremendous attention from the media and celebrities, but there is much uncertainty about Twitter's purpose. Is Twitter a communications service for friends and groups, a means of expressing yourself freely, or simply a marketing... View Details

November 1999 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Webvan: Groceries on the Internet

By: John A. Deighton and Kayla Bakshi

What are the prospects for grocery shopping on the Web? This case invites a comparison of seven business models, with particular emphasis on Webvan. Why does the investment community value Webvan at $7.8 billion after less than six months of operating experience, and... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Experience and Expertise; Investment; Information; Marketing; Distribution Channels; Service Delivery; Cognition and Thinking; Internet and the Web; Service Industry; Service Industry