Publications

March 2018 (Revised September 2020)
Background Note

Short Note on Game Theory

By: Eric Van den Steen and Dennis Yao

This note provides a very concise (2 page) introduction to game theory. View Details

Keywords: Competitive Interaction; Commitment; Game Theory; Competitive Strategy

2014
Working Paper

The NTU-Value of Stochastic Games

By: Elon Kohlberg and Abraham Neyman

Since the seminal paper of Shapley, the theory of stochastic games has been developed in many different directions. However, there has been practically no work on the interplay between stochastic games and cooperative game theory. Our purpose here is to make a first... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Game Theory

Read Now

March 2008 (Revised April 2008)
Case

Sony PlayStation 3: Game Over?

By: Elie Ofek

Outlines the challenges faced by Sony with the launch of its PlayStation 3. Information on the 2006 and 2007 holiday seasons and the success of rival consoles is outlined. In addition, the case allows examining the costs and revenues associated with a business model... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Cost; Revenue; Product Launch; Sales; Competition; Hardware; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

April 1987 (Revised April 1992)
Background Note

Games of Strategy: An Introduction

An introduction to the formal analysis of strategic situations. Ideas of game trees, backwards induction, and dominated strategies are introduced. The methods of backwards induction to find optimal strategies is related to the method of successive eliminations of... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Game Theory

08 Apr 2015
Working Paper Summaries

The Cooperative Solution of Stochastic Games

Keywords: by Elon Kohlberg & Abraham Neyman

2025
Book

Negotiation: The Game Has Changed

By: Max Bazerman

The world has changed dramatically in just the past few years—and so has the game of negotiation. COVID-19, Zoom, political polarization, the online economy, increasing economic globalization, and greater workplace diversity—all have transformed the who, what, where,... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Change

Research Summary

Game Theory for Business Strategy

Game theory--the mathematical study of strategic interactions--came of age, in a sense, when three of the field's pioneers were awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1994. Yet despite the development of the theory and the widespread use of game-theoretic jargon in... View Details

November 2023
Case

Axie Infinity: Video Game Meets Blockchain

By: Marco Di Maggio and Wenyao Sha

The narrative unfolds from the perspective of Sky Mavis's leadership team, facing a high-stakes, rapidly evolving digital frontier. They navigate the exhilarating yet tumultuous journey of Axie Infinity, balancing innovation with sustainability. It explores the game's... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Business Model; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Currency; Innovation and Management; Business Strategy; Video Game Industry

June 2001
Case

Competitive Dynamics in Home Video Games (E): The Rise of 3DO and 32-bit Gaming

Describes the launch of the innovative home video game company, 3DO, which had developed a groundbreaking system featuring 32-bit processing and CD-ROM software. Examines the competitive dynamics in the home video game industry from 1970 into the new millennium. View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Competition; Product Launch; Video Game Industry

January 1982
Background Note

Constant Sum Games

By: Elon Kohlberg

Keywords: Game Theory

Find at Harvard

03 Mar 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Cooperative Strategic Games

Keywords: by Elon Kohlberg and Abraham Neyman; Education

30 Aug 2006
Op-Ed

The Compensation Game

Confronting greater media scrutiny and an ever-increasing number of shareholder resolutions focusing on executive pay, Corporate America continues to support current pay practices as a product of "the market." Not too long ago, former Treasury Secretary John... View Details

Keywords: by Lucian Bebchuk & Rakesh Khurana

October 2005
Game

Venture Capital Game

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

Keywords: Venture Capital

December 1973
Article

On Non-Atomic Games

By: Elon Kohlberg

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling

Find at Harvard

October 1977 (Revised August 1978)
Case

Pure Coalition Game

By: Howard Raiffa

Find at Harvard

Research Summary

The Game Has Changed

By: Max H. Bazerman

Many prior books on negotiation, including books co-authored by Max Bazerman, have addressed how to create and claim value in negotiation. These ideas have proliferated in business schools, where negotiation is often the most popular course. Class participants... View Details

October 2000 (Revised November 2018)
Exercise

Web-Based Beer Game Exercise

By: Janice H. Hammond

The Web-based beer game is an exercise that demonstrates supply channel dynamics. Simulates the flow of material and information in a simplified channel of beer production and distribution, focusing on the linkages between a beer manufacturer, its distributors, a... View Details

Keywords: Distribution Channels; Production

2015
Working Paper

The Cooperative Solution of Stochastic Games

By: Elon Kohlberg and Abraham Neyman

Building on the work of Nash, Harsanyi, and Shapley, we define a cooperative solution for strategic games that takes account of both the competitive and the cooperative aspects of such games. We prove existence in the general (NTU) case and uniqueness in the TU... View Details

Keywords: Economics; Game Theory