Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(2,738)
- Faculty Publications (502)
- January 2025 (Revised April 2025)
- Case
Duolingo: On a 'Streak'
By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Nicole Tempest Keller and Nicole Luo
In December 2024, Severin Hacker, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Duolingo, reflected on the remarkable evolution of the language-learning app he helped launch in 2011. As the #1 most downloaded education app in the world, Duolingo had over 100 million... View Details
- January 2025
- Case
Davivienda Bank's Upskilling and Reskilling Strategy in Colombia (Abridged)
By: Jorge Tamayo, Raffaella Sadun and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago
Set in 2022, this abridged case examines the digital transformation strategy of Davivienda—a leading player in Colombia’s commercial banking sector and one of the companies belonging to Grupo Bolívar, a major Colombian conglomerate—and the bank’s upskilling and... View Details
Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Digital Strategy; Digital Transformation; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Talent and Talent Management; Training; Organizational Culture; Banking Industry; Latin America; Central America; South America; Colombia
- Working Paper
AI in Disguise—How AI-generated Ads' Visual Cues Shape Consumer Perception and Performance
By: Yannick Exner, Jochen Hartmann, Oded Netzer and Shunyuan Zhang
Generative AI’s recent advancements in creating content have offered vast potential to transform the advertising industry. This research investigates the impact of generative AI-enabled visual ad creation on real-world advertising effectiveness. For this purpose, we... View Details
- January 2025
- Case
Ontra: Embracing GenAI in the Legal Technology Industry
By: Christopher Stanton and George Gonzalez
Ontra built a network of legal professionals to enable financial institutions to outsource contract negotiations. The rise of generative AI inspired the company to build software solutions to streamline its processes through automation. Now company leadership must... View Details
- January 2025
- Case
The VideaHealth AI Factory: CEO Florian Hillen on Speed, Scale, and Innovation (A)
By: Tsedal Neeley, Levi Stroud, Ruth Page and Dave Habeeb
Pre-abstract:
This multimedia case should be assigned to students in advance of class. Instructors should consider the timing of making the (B) Case videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.
Abstract: Florian Hillen, co-founder... View Details
Abstract: Florian Hillen, co-founder... View Details
- January 2025
- Supplement
The VideaHealth AI Factory: CEO Florian Hillen on Speed, Scale, and Innovation (B)
By: Tsedal Neeley, Levi Stroud, Ruth Page and Dave Habeeb
Pre-abstract:
This multimedia case should be assigned to students in advance of class. Instructors should consider the timing of making the (B) Case videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.
Abstract: Florian Hillen, co-founder... View Details
Abstract: Florian Hillen, co-founder... View Details
- January 2025
- Case
Apax Partners: Deciding Whether to Bid for Trader Corp.
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Edward A. Meyer
Apax Partners’ investment committee was schedule to meet on March 21, 2011, to decide whether to invest in Trader Corporation, a Canadian classified advertising business for used automobiles with both print (magazines) and digital (website) distribution. What made this... View Details
Keywords: Value Creation; Network Effects; Private Equity; Growth Management; Digital Marketing; Business Strategy; Competitive Advantage; E-commerce; Valuation; Competition; Digital Platforms; Digital Strategy; Digital Transformation; Transition; Investment; Risk and Uncertainty; Information Industry; Information Industry; Information Industry; Canada; United Kingdom; New York (state, US); New York (city, NY)
- January 2025
- Article
Communication Within Firms: Evidence from CEO Turnovers
By: Stephen Michael Impink, Andrea Prat and Raffaella Sadun
This paper uses novel, firm-level communication measures derived from communications metadata several months before and after a CEO transition for 102 firms to study whether and how this organizational event is reflected in employees’ communication flows. We find that... View Details
- December 2024
- Case
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM): The AI Journey
By: Shikhar Ghosh
In early 2024, Bill Fandrich, Executive VP and CIO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM), faced a critical decision about AI adoption within the organization. Fandrich had championed AI implementation at BCBSM. After successfully developing three AI... View Details
Keywords: Blue Cross; Automation; Generative Ai; Health Insurance; Insurance Companies; Innovation; IT Strategy; Organizational Transformations; Technology; Non-profit; AI and Machine Learning; Health; Digital Strategy; Digital Transformation; Leadership; Technology Adoption; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Innovation Strategy; Health Industry; Insurance Industry; Michigan
- November 2024 (Revised January 2025)
- Case
MiDAS: Automating Unemployment Benefits
By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai
In 2015, the state of Michigan considered whether to nominate its Michigan Integrated Data Automated System (MiDAS) for a prestigious state technology award. Launched in 2013 amid severe budget pressures, the $47 million automated fraud detection system was designed to... View Details
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; AI; Machine Learning Models; Algorithmic Data; Automation; Benefits; Compensation; Cost Reduction; Government; Fraud; Government Technology; Public Sector; Systems; Systems Integration; Unemployment Insurance; Waste Heat Recovery; AI and Machine Learning; Government Administration; Insurance; Decision Making; Digital Transformation; Employment; Public Administration Industry; United States; Michigan
- November 2024
- Case
Ather Energy: The Future of Mobility
By: Shunyuan Zhang, Kannan Srinivasan and Malini Sen
Ather Energy, India’s third-largest electric scooter maker by volume, was founded in 2013. Five years later, the start-up launched its first electric scooter, Ather 450, which was powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), to navigate... View Details
Keywords: Energy Policy; Climate Change; Alternative Energy; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Transportation; Transformation; Green Technology; Technology Adoption; Communication Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Business Strategy; Segmentation; Asia; India
- October 2024
- Case
Parexel: Scaling Up and Industry Dynamics
By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Ben Creo
Through the lens of biopharmaceutical contract research organization (CRO) PAREXEL, this case traces the evolution of the firm as it reinvents itself in response to the transformation of the CRO sector from a small, secondary cluster of firms into a major player with... View Details
- 2025
- Working Paper
Global Evidence on Gender Gaps and Generative AI
By: Nicholas G. Otis, Solène Delecourt, Katelynn Cranney and Rembrand Koning
Generative AI has the potential to transform productivity and reduce inequality, but only if adopted broadly. In this paper, we show that recently identified gender gaps in generative AI use are nearly universal. Synthesizing data from 18 studies covering more than... View Details
- September 2024
- Case
Navigating Digital Transformation at Carrefour
By: Sunil Gupta and Emilie Billaud
In 2023, Elodie Perthuisot, Carrefour’s Executive Director for e-commerce and digital transformation, met with CEO Alexandre Bompard to discuss strategies for the company’s digital initiatives. Carrefour, a global retail giant with over 14,300 stores across 40... View Details
Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Talent and Talent Management; Decisions; Digital Strategy; Technology Adoption; Leading Change; Goals and Objectives; Resource Allocation; Digital Marketing; E-commerce; Operations; Logistics; Business Processes; Organizational Culture; Strategic Planning; Alliances; Partners and Partnerships; Competitive Advantage; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe
- August 2024 (Revised March 2025)
- Case
DBS' AI Journey
By: Feng Zhu, Harold Zhu and Adina Wong
Headquartered in Singapore, DBS Bank, one of Asia's leading financial services groups, embarked on a multi-year digital transformation under CEO Piyush Gupta in 2014. It was then that DBS also began experimenting with AI to drive value for the business and customers.... View Details
- 2025
- Working Paper
Narrative AI and the Human-AI Oversight Paradox in Evaluating Early-Stage Innovations
By: Jacqueline N. Lane, Léonard Boussioux, Charles Ayoubi, Ying Hao Chen, Camila Lin, Rebecca Spens, Pooja Wagh and Pei-Hsin Wang
Do AI-generated narrative explanations enhance human oversight or diminish it? We investigate this question through a field experiment with 228 evaluators screening 48 early-stage innovations under three conditions: human-only, black-box AI recommendations without... View Details
- 2024
- Working Paper
Immodest Victims: Victims Who Broadcast Their Victimization Are Seen as Less Morally Virtuous
By: Nathan Dhaliwal, Jillian J. Jordan, Anoushka Kiyawat and Pat Barclay
How do people evaluate victims who advertise their victim status? Because such broadcasting can elicit sympathy and support, we propose that declining to broadcast serves as a costly act of modesty: one is withholding a fact about oneself that could garner resources... View Details
- July 2024
- Case
The Voice Wars Continues 2024: Hey Google vs. Alexa vs. Siri vs. ChatGPT
By: David B. Yoffie and Sarah von Bargen
In 2024, the Voice War was transforming from a relatively simple index-based technology system, which relied on a list of commands and answers, to a generative AI system, which offered the promise to enable free flowing conversations between people and machines. The... View Details
- July 2024
- Case
Jacqueline Cook at Vendasta: Debating an IPO
By: Reza Satchu, Tom Quinn and Andrew Kosc
In May 2021, after a surge in demand for digital services that prompted high valuations for startups across the Canadian tech sector, Saskatchewan-based Vendasta entered the final stages of the initial public offering (IPO) process. COO Jacqueline Cook had invested her... View Details
Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Interpersonal Communication; Cost vs Benefits; Forecasting and Prediction; Business Cycles; Entrepreneurship; Fairness; Capital Markets; Private Equity; Investment Banking; Stock Options; Financial Markets; Initial Public Offering; Institutional Investing; Price Bubble; Digital Platforms; Digital Transformation; Internet and the Web; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Managerial Roles; Agreements and Arrangements; Going Public; Ownership Stake; Performance Expectations; Work-Life Balance; Strategic Planning; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Rank and Position; Risk and Uncertainty; Opportunities; Happiness; Reputation; Status and Position; Well-being; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Canada
- July 2024
- Case
Freelancer, Ltd.
By: Christopher Stanton, Karim R. Lakhani, Jin Hyun Paik and Nina Cohodes
Over the course of the 2010s, the rapid advancement of mobile technologies and the rise of online freelancing platforms seemed to portend a radical transformation of labor markets into on-demand, flexible talent pools. Even though several Fortune 500... View Details