Publications

01 Sep 2014
News

All For One

industries as diverse as automobiles and pharmaceuticals and began to interview and observe them to see how they created environments ripe for innovation. “We didn’t want to just espouse platitudes,” Hill says. “We wanted to tell full... View Details

Keywords: Michael Blanding; faculty; research; Market Research, Photo, Translation, Veterinary and Other Services; Professional Services

01 Mar 2018
News

Case Study: On the Record

Above: photo by Sarah Frankie Linder Vinyl is back. The once-anachronistic segment of the music industry was on target for its seventh straight year of double-digit growth in 2017, according to a Deloitte Global forecast, selling an... View Details

Keywords: April White

01 Dec 2002
News

Bad Times for Business

Organizational design, structure, and culture do play a role and almost always have in corporate scandals. Companies that get into trouble often do so because of minimal internal connections between many parts of the organization. With deficient View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons

12 Oct 2011
First Look

First Look: October 12

(September-October 2011) Abstract For many decades the cornerstone of corporate reporting has been financial information that is presented in a company's annual, semi-annual, and quarterly reports. These comprehensive financial... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2003 (Revised June 2010)
Case

FrontPoint Partners

By: Jay O. Light

A hedge fund platform, a new and unique kind of asset management firm, contemplates various client markets for its services. View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Investment; Demand and Consumers; Digital Platforms; Service Delivery; Financial Services Industry

Find at Harvard

April 2000 (Revised July 2000)
Case

Ameritrade Holding Corporation

By: Lisa K. Meulbroek

Some of the senior managers at Ameritrade, an Internet brokerage firm, are selling their holdings in the firm. Why are the managers selling, how will it affect shareholders, and what should the CEO do about it? The CEO is concerned that the market will interpret... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Internet and the Web; Stock Options; Risk Management; Financial Services Industry

November 1992 (Revised December 1992)
Case

Deere & Co. (A): The Computer Aided Manufacturing Services Division - A Window to the World (Abridged)

By: Robert H. Hayes

The Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) Services Division of John Deere has just received approval to sell their software and computer systems to external customers. These tools, initially developed for internal use, have been widely used throughout Deere. Still,... View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Machinery and Machining; Technological Innovation; Markets; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Outcome or Result; Computer Industry; Computer Industry

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February 2006 (Revised January 2007)
Case

MercadoLibre.com

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez, Joshua Bellin and James Robert Dillon

MercadoLibre.com, eBay's Latin-American partner, needed to decide how far it was going to follow eBay's practice of offering "free listing days" and discounted special-feature days. Was this type of promotion prudent, given MercadoLibre.com's customer base, revenue... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Auctions; Service Industry; Latin America

12 Jul 2010
Research & Ideas

Rocket Science Retailing: A Practical Guide

Harvard Business School, where he teaches courses in supply chain management, service operations, and the investor's perspective on operations to MBA students and executive education participants. Fisher, the UPS Professor of Operations and View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Retail; Auto

January 2018
Case

Scaling Swagbucks (A)

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Matthew G. Preble

In early 2014, Chuck Davis (HBS '86) has joined Swagbucks as its first professional CEO to scale a successful and profitable brand promotion and consumer research business. Davis came into the job while serving as a venture partner at TCV, a growth stage VC firm,... View Details

Keywords: Loyalty Management; Scaling; Scale; Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Leading Change; Growth Management; Religion; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Transition; Leadership; Web Services Industry; Web Services Industry

March 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Amperity: First-Party Data at a Crossroads

By: Elie Ofek, Hema Yoganarasimhan and Alexis Lefort

In the summer of 2023, Amperity management was facing a critical decision on its future direction. Given the dramatic changes occurring within the digital advertising ecosystem, as concerns over consumer privacy placed limits on the ability to engage in third-party... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Technology Adoption; Business Strategy; Digital Marketing; Price; Product; Business or Company Management; Advertising Industry

March 2002 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Genzyme: Engineering the Market for Orphan Drugs

Genzyme has made money with external technology in orphan drug markets generally considered to be too small to be attractive to other drug companies. Now competition is entering these same markets, placing Genzyme's business model under new pressures. View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Information Technology; Market Entry and Exit; Biotechnology Industry; Biotechnology Industry

January 2017
Supplement

Hello Alfred: Come Home Happy — Operating the Business Model Exercise

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Christopher Payton

On a mission to "automate the on-demand economy," Harvard Business School classmates Marcela Sapone and Jessica Beck launched Hello Alfred in 2013 to provide subscribers with an "Alfred" to complete various chores for a monthly fee. In early 2016, the company has built... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Internet and the Web; Business Startups; Service Operations; Service Industry; New York (city, NY); Boston

December 2018
Case

Choosy

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Julia Kelley

Founded in 2017, Choosy is a data-driven fashion startup that uses algorithms to identify styles trending on social media. After manufacturing similar items using a China-based supply chain, Choosy sells them to consumers through its website and social media pages.... View Details

11 Dec 2007
First Look

First Look: December 11, 2007

Working PapersThe Seer of Wellesley Hills: Roger Babson and the Babson Statistical Organization Author:Walter A. Friedman Abstract Roger Babson was a pioneer of the business-forecasting industry in the United States in the early... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 Jun 2020
News

Keeping the Beat

fan to be comfortable with consuming musical experiences in a virtual format.” —Kiran Gandhi (MBA 2015) Dan Morrell: Artist and activist Madame Gandhi got her big break in the music industry when she was invited to join the group MIA on... View Details

Keywords: Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries; Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries

05 Apr 2010
News

HBS Cases: iPads, Kindles & Publishing

Keywords: Professor Peter Olson; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Publishing Industries (except Internet); Publishing Industries (except Internet); Publishing Industries (except Internet)

December 2024
Case

5G Networks

By: Andy Wu, Levi Stroud and Ruth Page

This case, featuring Ajit Pai, Former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, explores the potential of 5G wireless networks. It illustrates how 5G works by examining its infrastructure and technological advancements. The case considers the specific... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Technology Adoption; Technological Innovation; Infrastructure; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Technology Industry; Technology Industry; United States