Publications

December 2021
Case

Burning Glass Technologies: From Data to Product

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Amy Klopfenstein

In May 2021, Matt Sigelman, CEO of Burning Glass Technologies, a company that provided labor market analytics for a variety of markets, navigates his company’s transition from data company to product company. Burning Glass originated as a service that used artificial... View Details

Article

On the Causality and Cause of Returns to Organizational Status: Evidence from the Grands Crus Classés of the Médoc

By: Daniel Malter

This paper identifies the causal symbolic effect of status on the prices organizations charge for their products. I exploit the classification of the châteaux of the Médoc, which sorted 61 wine producers into five growth classes in 1855, as a fixed hierarchical symbol... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Status; Quality Signals; Conspicuous Consumption; Wine Classification Of 1855; Grand Cru; Status and Position; Quality; Reputation; Price; France

August 2021 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Camera IQ and the Metaverse: Building Augmented Reality Brand Experiences

By: Jill Avery and Rayan Nahas

Camera IQ, a camera marketing software company that empowered brands to create and launch augmented reality experiences (AREs) across social platforms, had just raised an additional $5 million to fund further product development and expand its marketing and sales... View Details

16 Dec 2013
News

The Way of The Blockbuster

06 Mar 2007
First Look

First Look: March 6, 2007

understand why some of the other top firms in the business, such as KKR and Apollo, have been tapping the public equity markets for their own funds, and whether they should do the same. They are also pondering how to monetize their own... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Karim R. Lakhani

Karim R. Lakhani is the Dorothy & Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He specializes in technology management, innovation, digital transformation and artificial... View Details

Keywords: internet; internet; internet; internet; internet; internet; internet; internet; internet; internet

04 Sep 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Why Do Intermediaries Divert Search?

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu & Bruno Jullien

05 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: iPads, Kindles, and the Close of a Chapter in Book Publishing

textbook market is another potential target for e-book disruption, especially as new devices such as the iPad add video and other immersive technologies to the mix. "If we as a society are concerned about the next generation... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Information; Publishing; Entertainment & Recreation

November, 2016
Article

Fixing Discrimination in Online Marketplaces

By: Ray Fisman and Michael Luca

Online marketplaces such as eBay, Uber, and Airbnb have the potential to reduce racial, gender, and other forms of bias that affect the off-line world. And in the early days of Internet commerce, the relative anonymity of transactions did make it harder for... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Race; Gender

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August 2012 (Revised October 2015)
Case

LinkedIn Corporation, 2012

By: David Yoffie and Liz Kind

Since its inception in 2003, LinkedIn had become a leading Silicon Valley institution with a brand name that was recognizable throughout the U.S. and in many countries overseas. As of March 2012, LinkedIn was the world's largest professional network on the Internet... View Details

Keywords: Social Networking; Media; Technology; Strategy; Growth Management; Internet and the Web; Corporate Strategy; Social and Collaborative Networks; Brands and Branding; Social Media; Service Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; California

July 2006 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Changan Automobile Co., Ltd.

By: Dennis Campbell and Donglin Xia

Chairman Yin Jiaxu must communicate that the company's extraordinary reported performance in 2002 reflects Changan's unique strategy within the competitive dynamics of China's automobile industry. Changan's 2002 annual report demonstrated an extraordinary level of... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Ethics; Corporate Disclosure; Media; Business and Shareholder Relations; Auto Industry; China

January 2007 (Revised December 2008)
Case

The Challenges of Launching a Start-Up in China: Dorm99.com

By: William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan and Tracy Manty

After graduating from Harvard Business School in June 2006, Ken Pao and Bill Li were ready to fully commit to the Internet start-up they had been working on since they first stepped foot on the business school campus. They moved to Beijing, rounded out their management... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Joint Ventures; Entrepreneurship; Product Launch; Business and Government Relations; Internet; China

05 Jul 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Information Dispersion and Auction Prices

Keywords: by Pai-Ling Yin; Technology; Web Services

October 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

ITC eChoupal Initiative, The

Soybean farmers in India have traditionally sold their product through ineffective and frequently dishonest physical marketplaces (mandi). Farmers are generally poor and often illiterate and are forced to be "price-takers" after an arduous journey to the mandi. They... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Fairness; Internet and the Web; Supply Chain Management; Emerging Markets; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; India

September 2008 (Revised October 2008)
Case

Marc Abrahams: Annals of an Improbable Entrepreneur

By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind

Marc Abrahams was a media entrepreneur who specialized in science humor. In 2008, he sought to boost the scale and monetization potential of his business. That business, called Improbable Research, encompassed a magazine (Annals of Improbable Research), a high-profile... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Personal Development and Career

02 Aug 2016
First Look

August 2, 2016

instead for consumer attention. We model and characterize how households allocate their scarce attention in arguably the largest market for attention: the Internet. Our characterization of household attention allocation operates along... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2013
Dissertation

Designing Freemium: A Model of Consumer Usage, Upgrade, and Referral Dynamics

By: Clarence Lee, Vineet Kumar and Sunil Gupta

Abstract. Over the past decade "freemium" (free + premium) has become the dominant business model among internet start-ups for its ability to acquire and monetize a large install-base with limited marketing resources. Freemium is a hybrid strategy where a firm offers... View Details

Keywords: Discrete-Continuous Choice Dynamic Structural Models; Bayesian Estimation; Word-of-Mouth; Digital Services; Freemium; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Motivation and Incentives; Marketing Strategy; Internet and the Web; Consumer Behavior; Marketing Reference Programs; Business Startups

14 Sep 2017
News

The Future of Retail Is Stores That Aren’t Stores

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