Publications

August 2019
Case

Preserving Trust at Care.com (A)

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Julia Kelley

Care.com was an online platform designed to match caregivers with individuals seeking care for themselves, others, and pets, through job postings, caregiver profiles, and directories of local day care centers. In March 2019, the Wall Street Journal had just published a... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Corporate Governance; Digital Platforms; Market Design; Emerging Markets; Trust; Technology Industry; United States

08 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

The Critical Computer Science Principles Every Strategic Leader Needs to Know

of digital technology that can help leaders achieve their strategic priorities. It’s vital for managers to engage with some of the basics of computer science because “they give people a framework to think about the direction that... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Technology; Information Technology

April 2009 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Linden Lab: Crossing the Chasm

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

In early 2008, managers at Linden Lab, creator of the virtual world Second Life, faced decisions about the company's growth strategy. Despite profound initial skepticism about demand for a user-generated virtual world that was not a traditional game, Second Life had... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Infrastructure; Technology Adoption; Digital Platforms

March 2004 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Akamai Technologies

By: Benjamin Edelman, Thomas R. Eisenmann and Eric J. Van den Steen

As the leading content delivery network, Akamai helps Internet companies deliver Web site content to end users with fewer delays and lower costs. Describes the strategic management challenges facing Akamai in early 2004. The company is poised to offer its next... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Partners and Partnerships; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Information Infrastructure

July 2020 (Revised November 2020)
Case

Pricing at Netflix

By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Oded Koenigsberg and Amy Klopfenstein

Since its launch in 1998 as “the Amazon.com of DVDs,” Netflix had evolved from a DVD rental company to a video streaming platform and producer of original films and television shows. As the company matured, it regularly increased prices and adjusted its product... View Details

November 2002 (Revised February 2003)
Case

Amazon.com-2002

By: Stig Leschly, Michael J. Roberts, William A. Sahlman and Todd H Thedinga

Describes the evolution of Amazon.com and its business model since its founding. Specifically, discusses Amazon's transformation from an e-Tailer to a commerce platform and its marketplace initiative, which has driven this. Also describes the economics of various... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Transformation; Retail Industry

14 Dec 2016
HBS Seminar

Siobhan O'Mahony and Rebecca Karp, Boston University

February 2006
Case

Millions of Customers and the Search for a Business: the Challenge of IRC-Hispano

Like many online services, IRC-Hispano, the world's largest Spanish-language chat organization, has many customers but sees few revenues. As an association, its structure presents many limitations and hurdles to overcome involving investing in technology platform... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Decision Choices and Conditions; Digital Platforms; Technology Adoption; Internet and the Web; Organizational Structure; Technological Innovation; Revenue; Web Services Industry; Technology Industry; Spain

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15 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

Apple Pay’s Technology Adoption Problem

When Apple introduced the iPod, it had a simple but compelling tag line for music fans: "1,000 thousand songs in your pocket." The company sold 300 million of them. On the eve of debuting its digital payment system, Apple Pay,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Technology; Retail

August 2006 (Revised March 2008)
Case

iPod vs. Cell Phone: A Mobile Music Revolution?

By: David B. Yoffie, Travis D. Merrill and Michael Slind

In 2006, a nascent market for music-enabled mobile phones was emerging to challenge Apple Computer's dominant position in the digital music industry. Through its iPod line of portable digital music devices and its iTunes Music Store, Apple controlled more than half of... View Details

Keywords: Music Entertainment; Emerging Markets; Brands and Branding; Sales; Opportunities; Price; Business Model; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Digital Platforms; Service Delivery; Communications Industry; Music Industry

26 Feb 2001
Research & Ideas

Evolving for Success [Part One]

A whole new way of working, leading, and living is in store for every human being, thanks to the Internet, according to HBS professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter. But how best can people and businesses make their mark? In her new book Evolve!: Succeeding in the View Details

Keywords: by Staff

May 24, 2021
Article

What Makes an Online Marketplace Disruptive?

By: Clifford Maxwell and Scott Duke Kominers

Platforms like Airbnb, eBay, and Angie’s List have changed how markets work. But while many are innovative and make life easier for consumers, which are truly disruptive? Hewing to Clay Christensen’s theory of disruption, platforms—which operate as online... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Disruption; Framework

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January 2008
Article

Learning the Fine Art of Collaboration

By: Alan MacCormack and Theodore Forbath

Innovations are increasingly brought to the market by networks of firms, selected for their unique capabilities and operating in a coordinated manner. This collaborative model demands that firms develop different skills, yet despite this need, there is little guidance... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms

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02 Nov 2016
HBS Seminar

Gillian Hadfield, University of California, Gould School of Law

29 Aug 2018
Blog Post

From the Classroom to the Workplace: How I Applied Learnings to my Internship

The first year at Harvard business School gives you a breadth of courses to sink your teeth into. One of the real benefits of studying such a range of materials in the first year, is how easily I was able to apply my learnings while interning at Zalando, the leading... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

April 2021 (Revised July 2021)
Case

StockX: The Stock Market of Things (Abridged)

By: Chiara Farronato, John J. Horton, Annelena Lobb and Julia Kelley

Founded in 2015 by Dan Gilbert, Josh Luber, and Greg Schwartz, StockX was an online platform where users could buy and sell unworn luxury and limited-edition sneakers. Sneaker resale prices often fluctuated over time based on supply and demand, creating a robust... View Details

June 2013 (Revised August 2013)
Case

AVA.ph: Growing a Filipino E-Commerce Company

By: William R. Kerr and Henry Motte-Munoz

AVA is a three-year old e-commerce company in the Philippines. From its early start mimicking the Gilt Groupe concept of online flash sales, the company has grown into a broader e-commerce platform for local fashion commerce. Oliver Segovia needs to evaluate where AVA... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Business Growth and Maturation; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; Philippines