Publications

July 2000 (Revised August 2000)
Case

AllHerb.com: Evolution of an E-tailer

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Christina L. Darwall

Serial entrepreneur Ken Hakuta, in the second year of his latest venture, reconsiders his original strategy of maintaining an independent, self-funded, self-led company. His Internet herbal remedy company, AllHerb.com, has already enjoyed considerable success with its... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Strategic Planning; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Web Services Industry

February 2000 (Revised April 2000)
Case

RadioShack

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Youngme E. Moon and Marie Bell

Outlines the transformation of RadioShack stores from a parts and accessories business to a provider of high bandwidth Internet access. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Marketing Strategy; Risk and Uncertainty; Internet

March 2002
Background Note

Virtuous Cycles: Improving Service and Lowering Costs in E-Commerce

Illustrates how various elements in a customer's encounter with Internet services relying on physical service (labor-intensive customer support and/or logistics) affect one another. Presents a framework that suggests: 1) that improving service quality in specific... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Service Delivery; Performance Efficiency; Performance Effectiveness; Service Industry

February 2001 (Revised June 2001)
Case

ClubTools, Inc.

By: Paul W. Marshall and Kristin Perry

Discusses the development of an Internet start-up by a recent HBS graduate. Details the company's business plan, incubation, technology development, marketing strategy, and search for funding. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Business Plan; Cash Flow; Marketing Strategy; Financing and Loans; Technological Innovation; Internet and the Web; Forecasting and Prediction

02 May 2017
News

Are You A Victim Of Price Discrimination?

07 Mar 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Net Neutrality: A Fast Lane to Understanding the Trade-offs

Keywords: by Shane Greenstein, Martin Peitz, and Tommaso Valletti; Media & Broadcasting; Technology; Telecommunications

17 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Why E-commerce Didn’t Die With the Fall of Webvan

taking to Staples.com and Merck-Medco. Why didn't they embrace Webvan, Kozmo.com, and grocery deliverers such as Homeruns to the same extent? A: There's a simple answer. It's the idea that there's a direct migration path from direct mail businesses to View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Consumer Products; Retail

June 2002 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Online Music Distribution in a Post-Napster World

By: Youngme E. Moon

Provides a description of the rise and decline of Napster, the free Internet music-swapping service. Also describes second-generation peer-to-peer services (e.g., Gnutella) as well as paid subscription services (e.g., MusicNet, pressplay). View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Internet and the Web; Price; Marketing Channels; Service Operations; Music Industry

May 2000 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Sothebys.com

Sotheby's has taken 50% of its business by volume to the Internet. How do the economics change? How do logistics and customer support needs change? What leverage does the Internet provide this established bricks-and-mortar auction house? View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Internet and the Web; Auctions

17 Feb 2017
News

Tecnología de punta al servicio de los oficios artesanales

23 May 2016
Research & Ideas

A Little Understanding Motivates Copyright Abusers to Pay Up

Obtaining an image from the Internet is as easy as right-clicking and downloading. We’ve all done it—or, ahem, know someone who has. We rarely think about who created these images or whether we have the rights to use them. This leaves the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Media & Broadcasting; Publishing

May 2016 (Revised January 2018)
Case

Airbnb, Etsy, Uber: Acquiring the First Thousand Customers

By: Thales S. Teixeira and Morgan Brown

By 2016, two-sided online platforms (or marketplaces) were pervasive among the highest growing internet startups around. These marketplaces sought to match suppliers of assets for rent, physical products or services with customers demanding them. Among the most notable... View Details

Keywords: Airbnb; Etsy; Uber; Growth Hacking; Two-sided Market; Internet and the Web; Marketing Strategy; Digital Platforms; Digital Marketing; Business Startups; Transportation Industry; Accommodations Industry

November 1999
Case

net.Genesis, Inc.

By: Robert J. Dolan, Rajiv Lal and Perry Fagan

Net.Genesis is planning a strategy for the developing Internet market. In particular, it is creating the category of e-business intelligence and striving to be the brand leader in it. View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Strategic Planning; Expansion; Brands and Branding; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Marketing Communications; Internet and the Web; Change Management

15 Dec 2017
News

Forget Net Neutrality

February 2000 (Revised May 2001)
Case

BET.com

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Pauline M Fischer

Black Entertainment Television, a leading cable programmer, is launching BET.com, an Internet portal targeted toward African-Americans. This case examines the challenges facing BET management as it defines its service offerings and target customer segments in a... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Ethnicity; Internet and the Web; Age; Race; Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Startups; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

November 2000 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Yahoo!'s Stock-Based Compensation

By: Paul M. Healy and Jacob Cohen

Amy Maislos, an investor in Internet and technology companies, was excited to read that Yahoo! had reported a positive net income for 1998 operations. During the late 1990s, stock prices of Internet companies had risen rapidly even though most companies were reporting... View Details

Keywords: Stock Options; Internet and the Web; Financial Statements; Corporate Disclosure; Business Earnings; Earnings Management; Information Technology Industry

December 1999 (Revised September 2000)
Case

Excite@Home: Betting on a Broadband Revolution

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Matthew Sandoval

In January 1999, @Home, a high-speed Internet access provider, announced the $6.7 billion purchase of Excite, the second largest of the major Internet "portals." This purchase marked a continuing consolidation of companies in the Internet "content" and "access"... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Joint Ventures; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Internet and the Web; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry