Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(377)
- Faculty Publications (69)
- January 2022
- Article
Artificial Intelligence, Data-Driven Learning, and the Decentralized Structure of Platform Ecosystems
By: David R. Clough and Andy Wu
Gregory, Henfridsson, Kaganer, and Kyriakou (2020) highlight the important role of data and AI as strategic resources that platforms may use to enhance user value. However, their article overlooks a significant conceptual distinction: the installed base of... View Details
- August 2021
- Supplement
The London 2012 Olympic Games Video Supplement
- March 2021
- Case
Astralis Group: Determining a Brand Strategy
By: Benjamin C. Esty, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emilie Billaud
After launching a Danish esports company in July 2019, and going public in December 2019 with multiple brands associated with different games, the Astralis leadership team was contemplating a shift to a single, corporate brand. While the original arguments for... View Details
Keywords: Brand Strategy; Esports; Video Games; Corporate Scope; Positioning; Ecosystem; Brands and Branding; Strategy; Business Ventures; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Sports; Competitive Strategy; Value Creation; Diversification; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Sports Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Denmark; Europe
- February 2021
- Article
Platform Diffusion at Temporary Gatherings: Social Coordination and Ecosystem Emergence
By: Tommy Pan Fang, Andy Wu and David R. Clough
Software platforms create value by cultivating an ecosystem of complementary products and services. Existing explanations for how a prospective complementor chooses platforms to join assume the complementor has rich information about the range of available platforms.... View Details
Keywords: Innovation Ecosystems; Technology Diffusion; Hackathon; Contagion; Software Applications; Software Development; Software Engineering; Technology Strategy; Technology Adoption; Technological Innovation; Information Infrastructure; Innovation Strategy; Digital Platforms; Network Effects; Applications and Software; Information Technology; Video Game Industry; Video Game Industry; Video Game Industry; Video Game Industry
- September 2020 (Revised May 2024)
- Case
Hot Wheels: Launching The Mixed Play Experience
By: Elie Ofek, Andres Terech and Nicole Tempest Keller
Chris Down, Global Brand General Manager for Hot Wheels, and his team from the Advanced Play Group within Mattel, Inc., had developed an entirely new “mixed play” product experience that blended familiar Hot Wheels play in the physical world with breakthrough play in... View Details
- August 2020 (Revised June 2021)
- Case
Skillz: Esports and Skill-Based Mobile Gaming
By: Andy Wu, David B. Yoffie and George Gonzalez
Founded in 2012, Skillz offered a platform for mobile app developers to monetize skill-based games via prized tournaments. Skillz had over 20,000 registered developers that had created thousands of Skillz-powered games played by over 30 million registered users... View Details
- January 2020
- Case
Ninja: Which Platform Wins Esports' Biggest Star?
By: Anita Elberse and Michal T. Leszczynski
It is July 2019, and the business of esports and gaming is booming. Tyler Blevins—better known as Ninja—has risen to stardom playing the immensely popular shooter game Fortnite. He has become the most followed streamer in the world and, helped by his management company... View Details
- October 2019 (Revised October 2019)
- Case
Epic Games
By: Andy Wu and Christopher Zhang
Epic Games entered a stagnant market with its PC-games digital storefront in 2018, in the context of incumbent competitors such as Steam, its meteoric rise via Fortnite, and imminent industry shifts in gaming distribution. On the surface, Epic Games Store’s competitive... View Details
- March 2019 (Revised March 2020)
- Case
Choosing the Right Esports Business Model
By: David Collis and Alexander MacKay
Two esports entrepreneurs must choose on which business model to focus their time and money. After successfully launching an online esports coaching platform, a number of new opportunities emerge in the rapidly growing esports space that now has close to one billion... View Details
- November 2018
- Case
Sportradar (A): From Data to Storytelling
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karen Elterman and Oliver Gassmann
In 2013, the Swiss sports data company Sportradar debated whether to expand from its core business of data provision to bookmakers into sports media products. Sports data was becoming a commodity, and in the future, sports leagues might reduce their dependence on... View Details
Keywords: Sports Data; Data; Sport; Sportradar; Football; Soccer; Gambling; Betting; Betting Markets; Statistics; Odds; Live Data; Bookmakers; Betradar; Visualization; Integrity; Monitoring; Gaming; Streaming; 2013; St.Gallen; Algorithm; Mathematical Modeling; Carsten Koerl; Betandwin; Bwin; Wagering; Probability; Sports; Analytics and Data Science; Mathematical Methods; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Transition; Strategy; Media; Sports Industry; Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Europe; Switzerland; Asia; Austria; Germany; England
- June 2018 (Revised January 2020)
- Case
Sony
By: Stefan Thomke, Atsushi Osanai and Akiko Kanno
Sony used to be synonymous with "innovation" and "cool products." The case reveals how the company lost its edge and describes the leadership initiatives to restore its former glory. In 2012, Kazuo (Kaz) Hirai becomes CEO and successfully transforms Sony, including a... View Details
- October 2017
- Case
NetDragon
By: William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell
- April 2017 (Revised May 2022)
- Case
King Digital Entertainment
By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Davide Sola, Federica Gabrieli and Elena Corsi
Riccardo Zacconi was the co-founder and CEO of King Digital Entertainment, the video game company that had quickly established itself as the world’s leading maker of casual games for mobile devices after the sensational success of its game “Candy Crush Saga.” Zacconi... View Details
- October 2016
- Case
Supercell
By: William R. Kerr, Benjamin F. Jones and Alexis Brownell
Supercell is a young Finnish smartphone game company with an unusual team structure and company philosophy. It is already one of Finland’s most valuable companies, and despite being only six years old, it has put up some impressive numbers: as of 2016, it has released... View Details
- 2016
- Other Teaching and Training Material
Organizational Behavior Reading: Decision Making
By: Francesca Gino, Max Bazerman and Katherine Shonk
This Reading argues that decision making is systematically flawed and introduces methods to improve decision-making effectiveness. The Essential Reading section covers the rational decision-making model and three important ideas that challenge it: Herbert Simon's... View Details
- April 2016 (Revised February 2018)
- Teaching Note
Riot Games: Can Culture Survive Growth?
By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Norris
This teaching note gives instructors a guide for a discussion of Riot Games, a fast growing videogames firm with a strong, player-centric culture. It also offers references to research on culture that will allow students to decide whether or not Riot Games’ culture... View Details
- January 2016
- Teaching Note
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
By: Sunil Gupta and Margaret Rodriguez
In September 2010, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (T2) reported an unexpectedly high third quarter profit of $5.92 million, driven largely by the success of its video game, Red Dead Redemption (which sold over 6.9 million copies since launching in May). Red Dead... View Details
- 2015
- Comment
In the Shadow of the Crowd: A Comment on 'Valve's Way'
There are many ways to exercise authority. Perrow (1986), in his review of March and Simon's Organizations (1958), offers a threefold classification of the ways authority can be exercised in organizations: (1) direct, "fully obtrusive" controls such as giving orders... View Details
- August 2015 (Revised May 2016)
- Case
Riot Games: Can Culture Survive Growth?
By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Norris
In 2015, Riot Games, the maker of the top PC game League of Legends, considers its growth strategy as it moves into a new campus in Los Angeles. View Details
- 2015
- Other Teaching and Training Material
Competitive Strategies Marketing Reading
By: Jill Avery and Sunil Gupta
Core Curriculum Readings in Marketing cover the fundamental concepts, theories, and frameworks that business students must study.
This Reading illuminates the dynamics of companies in competition and offers a process for planning and executing marketing... View Details
This Reading illuminates the dynamics of companies in competition and offers a process for planning and executing marketing... View Details
Keywords: Competitive Strategy