Publications

Winter 2020
Article

The Sky above and the Mud below: Two Books about Steve Jobs

By: Richard S. Tedlow

Steve Jobs was the most charismatic businessperson in the modern era. When he died, on October 5, 2011, Apple was inundated with condolence messages from all over the United States and from around the world. These notes were sent not only to Apple headquarters in... View Details

Keywords: Steve Jobs; Impact

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October 2020 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Epic Games: Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite

By: Andy Wu, Miaomiao Zhang and Christopher Zhang

In the midst of intensifying public and political attention towards the market power of big technology, Epic Games in 2020 challenged the status quo that has existed for years in the Apple iOS and Google Android mobile application marketplaces and payment systems.... View Details

Keywords: Mobile Platforms; Mobile App Industry; Mobile Payment Systems; Antitrust; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Lawsuits and Litigation; Entrepreneurship; Competitive Strategy; Digital Platforms; United States

09 Dec 2014
News

The Discipline of Business Experimentation

29 Sep 2015
First Look

September 29, 2015

organizations (NGOs), stepped up to discuss their responsibilities for improving conditions for Bangladeshi garment workers. Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/516014-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 716-401 Apple's Future: View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2012 (Revised January 2013)
Case

J.C. Penney's 'Fair and Square' Pricing Strategy

By: Elie Ofek and Jill Avery

As a he gets ready to release 2nd quarter 2012 results, Ron Johnson, the new CEO of department store J.C. Penney, is reconsidering the dramatic changes he initiated for the business model and brand image of his company. A new pricing scheme he put in place in February,... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Consumer Behavior; Management Teams; Business Model; Marketing Strategy; Price; Brands and Branding; Decision Making; Retail Industry; United States

08 Sep 2011
What Do You Think?

What’s Apple’s Biggest Challenge: Replacing Steve or Wall Street?

Summing Up The first impression I get from respondents to this month's column is that Steve Jobs can't be replaced as CEO of Apple by just one person. Rather the succession must include at least a head of design (according to Yadeed Lobo)... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Computer

October 2013 (Revised January 2016)
Case

J.C. Penney's 'Fair and Square' Strategy (Abridged)

By: Elie Ofek and Jill Avery

As he gets ready to release 2nd quarter 2012 results, Ron Johnson, the new CEO of department store J.C. Penney, is reconsidering the dramatic changes he initiated for the business model and brand image of his company. A new pricing scheme he put in place in February,... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Change Management; Marketing Strategy; Price; Consumer Behavior; Decision Making; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; United States

16 Feb 2016
First Look

February 16, 2016

process within apps with a single touch and without needing to repeatedly enter credit card information, the billing address, or shipping address. On October 20, 2014, U.S. consumers could start using Apple Pay in View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2023 (Revised June 2023)
Case

Metaverse Wars

By: Andy Wu, David B. Yoffie and Matt Higgins

In 2023, the term metaverse — a combination of “meta” and “universe” — had become a catch-all for a diverse set of expectations about online virtual worlds and the future of the internet. To some, the metaverse conjured images of a massive participatory videogame... View Details

Keywords: Metaverse; Technology; Virtual Reality; Facebook; Social Media; Technological Innovation; Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption

14 Jan 2014
First Look

First Look: January 14

adjustments to the initial pricing scheme that were set to go into effect August 1. Were these changes enough to turn things around? Should Johnson stay the course on the other elements of his repositioning efforts? Is Johnson's experience in setting up View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

23 Jan 2007
First Look

First Look: January 23, 2007

entrepreneurs. Designed for entrepreneurial and international business courses. Purchase this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=807075 Bill Gates and Steve Jobs Harvard Business School Case 407-028 Bill Gates and Steve jobs, founders... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

10 Jul 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Platform Envelopment

Keywords: by Thomas Eisenmann, Geoffrey Parker & Marshall Van Alstyne; Technology

19 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 19

decided to make adjustments to the initial pricing scheme that were set to go into effect August 1. Were these changes enough to turn things around? Should Johnson stay the course on the other elements of his repositioning efforts? Is Johnson's experience in setting up... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

Delivering the Digital Goods: iTunes vs. Peer-to-Peer

collections, other online stores (such as allofmp3.com), p2p file sharing networks, and other forms of piracy (like sharing between friends). A thriving p2p community acts as an engine for iPod sales. ITunes's 99 cents per song is... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Music

30 Nov 2009
Research & Ideas

Tracks of My Tears: Reconstructing Digital Music

should be about providing real value to consumers, not about tricking them into buying something they do not want. Q: Apple appears to be making some changes in the iTunes store that could help labels.... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Music

01 May 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, May 1, 2018

largest organized chai retailer. It has missed its target for retail store openings by approximately 25%, goals that are very important to its investors who are also board members. However, it has developed an exciting new internet-based... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Jul 2023
HBS Case

What Kind of Leader Are You? How Three Action Orientations Can Help You Meet the Moment

Ron Johnson as chief executive officer of JCPenney. Johnson joined from Target and previously worked for Apple, where he’s credited with developing the Apple Store concept. “The trap is when you rely too... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

Article

Assessing the Food and Drug Administration's Risk-Based Framework for Software Precertification with Top Health Apps in the United States: Quality Improvement Study

By: Noy Alon, Ariel Dora Stern and John Torous

BACKGROUND: As the development of mobile health apps continues to accelerate, the need to implement a framework that can standardize categorizing these apps to allow for efficient, yet robust regulation grows. However, regulators and researchers are faced with numerous... View Details

Keywords: Mobile Health; Smartphone; Food And Drug Administration; Risk-based Framework; Health Care and Treatment; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Framework