Publications

February 2023
Case

Roblox: Virtual Commerce in the Metaverse

By: Ayelet Israeli and Nicole Tempest Keller

In 2022, Roblox had 58.8 million daily active users, including over half of all children and teens under the age of 16 in the United States. Roblox, a free-to-use “co-experience platform”, allowed users to come together in immersive 3D experiences to socialize, work,... View Details

August 2014 (Revised October 2014)
Case

Beyoncé

By: Anita Elberse and Stacie Smith

In December 2013, music superstar Beyoncé is about to surprise her fans with the release of her self-titled album. The team at her company Parkwood Entertainment, which general manager Lee Anne Callahan-Longo described as "a management, music, and production company... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Beyoncé; Internet and the Web; Music Entertainment; Distribution Channels; Product Launch; Music Industry

Web

Profiles - MBA

my own startup.” Tech areas of interest My tech areas of interest lie in data management and analytics. Data drives the major industries in the world from health and economics to entertainment and government. Through the gathering and... View Details

11 Sep 2023
Blog Post

Reflections on My First Semester Teaching at HBS

traditions which remind us not to take ourselves too seriously. The students lightly roast their professors at the end of the semester, usually coinciding with a special gift, such as a signed portrait of the section. It’s surreal and View Details

22 Oct 2014
HBS Seminar

Koleman Strumpf, University of Kansas School of Business

06 Jun 2018
Research & Ideas

Cut Salaries or Cut People? The Best Way to Survive a Downturn

because those agents deciding to leave had other options. For instance, customer service reps at a nearby call center for a global entertainment provider earned $15 an hour when first hired, and $.50 raises every six months. “While the... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

Web

Jana Kierstead | About

opportunities for HBS students and maintained strong recruiting relationships with hundreds of global organizations. Before HBS, Jana worked in the private sector as a director at A. T. Kearney’s media and entertainment executive search... View Details

01 Dec 2023
News

Drop Everything, Read This

The Bookshelf Rick Rubin is one of the greatest music producers of all time. His book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being, is about the creative process and is based on his experiences with era-defining musicians. He encourages the reader to be open to clues and... View Details

Keywords: Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

08 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

Keep Your Weary Workers Engaged and Motivated

basket looks pretty exciting. Especially good are rewards that will ease workers’ daily strains—deliveries, dog-walking, online entertainment or classes for children. With so many companies in flux, it may be possible to get good... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

01 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Encouraging Dissent in Decision-Making

calculation this way: "The potential costs to me for speaking out seem reasonably certain and somewhat immediate; the potential benefit to me for speaking out seems rather uncertain and definitely long-range." In the corporate world, Detroit's V-8 car culture... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons

July 2012
Case

Droga5: Launching Jay-Z's Decoded

By: Anita Elberse and Kwame Owusu-Kesse

In 2010, David Droga and Andrew Essex, co-founders of advertising agency Droga5, hope to convince both John Meneilly, manager of hip-hop star Shawn Carter—better known as Jay-Z—and a partner in Carter's company Roc Nation and Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

15 Feb 2024
Blog Post

How I Spent My 2+2 Deferral: Carol Wright

in high school and have been working on it ever since. Did 2+2 change your path or alter your post-undergraduate plans? After undergrad, I knew that the industry I wanted to enter was entertainment and media, and that did not change my... View Details

August 2022 (Revised March 2023)
Case

Pricing at Netflix: The Sequel

By: Elie Ofek and Amy Klopfenstein

This case continues the themes discussed in "Pricing at Netflix" (Case 521-004). Following the conclusion of the original case, Netflix developed new, high-profile original content, added millions of subscribers, and introduced another price increase in January 2022.... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Advertising; Marketing Strategy; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Finance; Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Business Strategy; Adaptation; Internet and the Web; Customers; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; North and Central America; United States

16 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restaurant Revolution: How the Industry Is Fighting to Stay Alive

my life,” said RJ Melman, president of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises and creator and developer of more than 13 restaurant concepts. “I know a good chunk of those people, this is a family business.” In 2012, the World Economic Forum... View Details

Keywords: by Michael S. Kaufman, Lena G. Goldberg, and Jill Avery; Food & Beverage

July 2012
Case

LEGO

By: Jan W. Rivkin, Stefan Thomke and Daniela Beyersdorfer

LEGO has emerged as one of the most successful companies in the toy industry. The case describes LEGO's gradual rise, rapid decline, and recent revitalization as it is keeping up with a changing market place. Central to LEGO's management model is the ability to find... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Management; Innovation; Operations Management; Organizational Change And Transformation; Operations; Competitive Strategy; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

March 2020
Case

Hotstar

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Kairavi Dey

Hotstar was an online video streaming platform owned by Star India Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Walt Disney Corporation. Since its launch in 2015, the platform had grown to offer over 100,000 hours of TV content, movies in nine Indian languages... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Television Entertainment; Disruption; Business Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; India; Mumbai