Publications

March 2010 (Revised November 2010)
Case

Pandora Radio: Fire Unprofitable Customers?

By: Willy C. Shih and Halle Alicia Tecco

Pandora Radio is at a crossroads. Founder Tim Westergren has just been told by a well known VC to get rid of his unprofitable customers in order to get his costs down, but Westergren is not sure that such actions are consistent with his company's business model.... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Customer Satisfaction; Music Entertainment; Venture Capital; Profit; Growth and Development Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Internet; Media and Broadcasting Industry

23 Oct 2012
First Look

First Look: October 23

customer vehicles at higher rates and are more likely to lose customers whom they fail, suggesting that competition intensifies pressure on facilities to provide illegal leniency. We also show that, at least in markets in which pricing is... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

VCs Survey Post-Bubble Opportunities

individuals in any given field," said Hirshland. His advice? Develop the ability to identify opportunities and judge character; over time, you can focus on various specialties and sub-specialties and hone your knowledge of these... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Hanna; Financial Services

June 2025
Case

AI at QuantumBlack: McKinsey's Open Source Dilemma

By: Frank Nagle, Sam Boysel and Susan Pinckney

The case describes the history of QuantumBlack. In 2015, McKinsey acquired data analytics company QuantumBlack. QuantumBlack produced Kedro, a ML data pipeline tool that helped McKinsey’s customers manage their data in an effective manner to gain insights from machine... View Details

12 Apr 2011
First Look

First Look: April 12

limitations of governance and information-intermediation institutions worldwide, should IFRS limit the use of fair-value accounting? How should the IASB respond to the growing power of emerging markets such as China in international... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Aug 2024
In Practice

Election 2024: What's at Stake for Business and the Workplace?

market conditions—accepting more immigrants when labor markets are tighter and in sectors where labor demand is higher, and protecting US workers during recessions. 2. Immigrants—of all skills—would help the... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

30 May 2005
Research & Ideas

Germany’s Pioneering Corporate Managers

this interview he discusses the development of the German corporation and what modern managers can learn from that history. The book was edited by Thomas K. McCraw, the Isidor Straus Professor of Business History at HBS, and was... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

22 Jul 2014
First Look

First Look: July 22

the optimal exchange-rate regime when developing countries can borrow internationally with local-currency-denominated debt. We find that, as local-currency-bond markets develop, a "pseudo-flexible... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Dec 2008
Lessons from the Classroom

How Many U.S. Jobs Are ‘Offshorable’?

team.) Team members could click on each occupation ("Architectural Drafters," for example) to review information from a database developed for the U.S. Department of Labor. The database, O*NET, describes hundreds of occupations and breaks... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

April 2017 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Wal-Mart Update, 2017

By: David B. Yoffie and Eric Baldwin

In 2017 Wal-Mart was still the world’s largest company, with over $480 billion in annual revenue and operations in 28 countries. Although it had mostly vanquished its rival discount retailers in the U.S., it was struggling to find the right growth strategy. Facing a... View Details

Keywords: E-Commerce Strategy; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Growth and Development Strategy; Global Range; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; E-commerce; Retail Industry