Publications

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May 2014
Case

Groupon, Inc.

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Blythe J. McGarvie and James Weber

Internet coupon site "Groupon" grew revenues rapidly and went public, but struggled to impress investors or operate profitably. Did it have a sustainable business model? Groupon sold coupons called Groupons which purchasers used to acquire goods or services at... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Corporate Governance; Entrepreneurship; Financial Management; Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Organizational Culture; Strategy; Web Services Industry; United States

December 2014
Case

Groupon: A New CEO Takes Charge

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Arnold B. Peinado

On August 7, 2013, Eric Lefkofsky, the chairman and largest shareholder of Groupon was named CEO, replacing founder Andrew Mason, who had run the company since its inception in 2009. When Groupon had its initial public offering (IPO) in November 2011, the company's... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Management; Disruptive Technologies; Growth Strategy; Customer Relations; Service Management; International Business; Business Models; Strategy Execution; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Model; United States

2011
Other Teaching and Training Material

Immersion Experience Program Note: Brazil

By: Aldo Musacchio, Thales S. Teixeira, Stephanie Galloway, Cassie Bordeau and Felix Oberholzer-Gee

Companies visited: Allied Advanced Technologies, BrasilAgro, Clearsale, Dafiti.com.br, Globo, Groupon Brazil, Insper, JGP Investimentos, LIGHT, Maracana Stadium, Petrobras S.A., Vale S.A. View Details

Keywords: Brazil

02 Oct 2012
News

The Secrets to TripAdvisor's Impressive Scale

December 2012
Background Note

Are Daily Deals Good for Merchants?

By: Sunil Gupta, Timothy Keiningham, Ray Weaver and Luke Williams

In the relatively short time since Groupon was founded, the response to "daily deals"—services that promote businesses by marketing deeply discounted, pre-paid vouchers to an online subscriber base—has by all accounts been spectacular. Our evaluation of daily deals is... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Technology; Business Strategy; Digital; Marketing Strategy; Web Services Industry

17 Sep 2020
Blog Post

HBS Grads Launch Cybersecurity Nonprofit to Fight Infodemic

Bastian Purrer (MBA 2020), a native German, spent most of his career before HBS launching international offices for Groupon and Rocket Internet. After a few years in Europe and Asia, Bastian enrolled at HBS hoping to continue his... View Details

15 Aug 2011
Research & Ideas

A New Model for Business: The Museum

At first blush, the consumer appeal of a business like Groupon seems pretty obvious. The popular deal-of-the-day Internet start-up sells vouchers to restaurants, spas, and other local businesses at major markdowns--and who wouldn't want... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

February 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

What's the Deal with LivingSocial?

By: Michael I. Norton, Luc Wathieu, Betsy Page Sigman and Marco Bertini

Tim O'Shaughnessy, the 29-year-old CEO of LivingSocial, is growing a revolutionary worldwide business of "daily deals"—in which retailers offer a heavily-discounted product or service available for purchase for brief (often 24-hour) windows. The case explores the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Innovation and Invention; Advertising; Brands and Branding; Management; Web Services Industry

June 2011 (Revised June 2012)
Case

Sephora Direct: Investing in Social Media, Video, and Mobile

By: Elie Ofek and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

Julie Bornstein, senior vice president of Sephora Direct, is seeking to double her budget for social media and other digital marketing initiatives for 2011. A number of digital efforts implemented in the past two years seem to be bearing fruit and there is a desire to... View Details

Keywords: History; Leadership; Marketing Strategy; Marketing; Emerging Markets; Investment Return; Investment Funds; Budgets and Budgeting

28 Jun 2011
First Look

First Look: June 28

Cardio-Metric itself. Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/411009-PDF-ENG Purchase this supplement (B):http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/411054-PDF-ENG Groupon Sunil Gupta, Ray Weaver, and Dharmishta RoodHarvard... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2011
Module Note

Orientation to Leadership Intelligence Days, 2011

By: Joshua D. Margolis and Anthony J. Mayo

Julie Bornstein, senior vice president of Sephora Direct, is seeking to double her budget for social media and other digital marketing initiatives for 2011. A number of digital efforts implemented in the past two years seem to be bearing fruit and there is a desire to... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Borrowing and Debt; Investment Return; Resource Allocation; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Online Technology; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry