Publications

Read Now

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

June 2007 (Revised April 2010)
Case

Comcast Corporation

By: Anita Elberse and Jason Schreiber

In October 2006, Comcast executives had entered negotiations with broadcast networks to broaden the selection of free network content distributed via its video-on-demand (VOD) service. The major broadcast networks, however, were unsure of the effect it would have on... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Consumer Behavior; Competitive Strategy; Technology Adoption; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

2009
Working Paper

Informed and Interconnected: A Manifesto for Smarter Cities

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Stanley S. Litow

The need for a fresh approach to U.S. communities is more urgent than ever because of the biggest global economic crisis since the Great Depression. Through examination of the barriers to solving urban problems (and the ways they reinforce each other), this paper... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Investment; Urban Scope; Leadership; Safety; Civil Society or Community; Technology Networks; United States

Read Now

21 Jun 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Multi-Sided Platforms: From Microfoundations to Design and Expansion Strategies

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu; Technology

September 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Atomwise: Strategic Opportunities in AI for Pharma

By: Satish Tadikonda

Abraham Heifets and his co-founder, Izhar Wallach, had founded Atomwise to develop i) an AI engine to transform drug discovery by creating better medicines faster, and ii) a machine learning-based discovery engine that combined the power of convolutional neural... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; AI and Machine Learning; Science-Based Business; Technological Innovation; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

2004
Chapter

Measuring the Value of Political Connections After Liberalization: Some Thoughts on Theoretical Constructs and Improved Research Design

By: Jordan I. Siegel

Scholars have recently begun to focus heightened attention on how firms in emerging economies react and even thrive during deep liberalization. Yet one fundamental question remains less than satisfactorily answered. How much in terms of scarce resources should firms in... View Details

Keywords: Liberalization; Emerging Economies; Political Connections; Business and Government Relations; Emerging Markets; Strategy

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18 Jun 2001
Research & Ideas

Tech Investment the Wise Way

Excerpted with permission from "The Dual Edged Role of the Business Model in Leveraging Corporate Technology Investments," in Taking Technical Risks: How Innovators, Executives, and Investors Manage High Tech Risks, article ©... View Details

Keywords: by Henry Chesbrough & Richard S. Rosenbloom

Teaching Interest

Harvard Business Analytics Program: Operations and Supply Chain Management

By: Dennis Campbell

Digital technologies and data analytics are radically changing the operating model of an organization and how it connects to its broader supply chain and ecosystem. This course emphasizes managing product availability, especially in a context of rapid product... View Details

12 Jan 2022
News

Take-Two’s $12.7 Billion Purchase of Zynga Will Combat Apple’s Privacy Changes

June 2010 (Revised February 2011)
Case

The Fox Islands Wind Project (A)

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, James Thomas Corcoran, Max Gazor, Dylan Hogarty and Alexander H. Somers, Jr.

The market for electricity on the Fox Islands of North Haven and Vinalhaven, Maine is unique and costly for residents. Historically, electricity prices on the islands had been three times the national average because of the high cost of importing electricity via an... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Renewable Energy; Social Entrepreneurship; Cost; Financing and Loans; Projects; Business and Community Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology Industry; Maine

Clubs

West Coast Club

Keywords: Technology; Technology

16 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

The Inner Workings of Corporate Headquarters

"black box." Peering Into The Black Box In a new working paper written with Adam M. Kleinbaum (HBS DBA'08) of Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, titled Inside the Black Box of Corporate Staff: Social Networks and the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

02 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

The Secret of How Microsoft Stays on Top

importance of architecture. This theme emerges at multiple levels—in the design of Microsoft's products, its platforms, and its intellectual property. At the product and platform level, the key idea is that in today's networked economy,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

16 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Getting the Message: How the Internet is Changing Advertising

compelling than today's television spots. Don Law, for instance, believes it won't be long before new technologies delivered over Internet Protocol (IP) networks will provide the ability "to have the... View Details

Keywords: by Susan Young

February 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Chari: Exploring Fintech in Morocco

By: Karen G. Mills and Ahmed Dahawy

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Morocco. It highlights Morocco’s unique economy where cash remains a dominant player in the market despite global advancements in digitalization. The case also explores the various cultural and... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Business History; Business and Government Relations; Technological Innovation; Distribution Industry; Financial Services Industry; Morocco

20 May 2013
Op-Ed

Making America an Industrial Powerhouse Again

As part of his administration's strategy to rejuvenate American manufacturing, President Obama has called for the creation of a National Network of Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) to advance and diffuse novel manufacturing technologies.... View Details

Keywords: by Gary Pisano; Manufacturing

August 2022 (Revised February 2023)
Case

NewLab: Scaling an Innovation Engine

By: Tarun Khanna and George Gonzalez

Silicon Valley-veteran Shaun Stewart is the CEO of NewLab, a dynamic technology hub headquartered in the storied Brooklyn Navy Yard. Founded in 2016, NewLab fostered a community of entrepreneurs, corporate and government partners, and investors, all seeking to apply... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Social and Collaborative Networks; Global Range; Partners and Partnerships; Networks; Growth and Development Strategy; Opportunities; Brooklyn

03 Mar 2020
News

From Disruption to Collision: The New Competitive Dynamics

April 2020
Supplement

Cisco Systems and OpenDNS: Strategic Integration (B)

By: Andy Wu and David Wang

With more than 72,000 employees and revenues approaching the $50B mark, Cisco Systems is one of the largest information technology and networking firms globally. As the company grew and expanded into different lines of businesses, Cisco consistently looked outwards for... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Integration; Corporate Strategy; Change Management; Entrepreneurship; Organizational Culture; Information Technology Industry