Publications

Article

Competition for Scarce Resources

By: Peter Eso, Volker Nocke and Lucy White

We model a downstream industry where firms compete to buy capacity in an upstream market that allocates capacity efficiently. Although downstream firms have symmetric production technologies, we show that industry structure is symmetric only if capacity is sufficiently... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Natural Environment; Technology; Production; Business Cycles; Forecasting and Prediction; Cost; Demand and Consumers; Industry Structures; Performance Capacity

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11 Jan 2011
First Look

First Look: Jan. 11

design business models to generate winner-take-all effects similar to the network externalities that high-tech companies such as Microsoft, eBay, and Facebook often create. A good business model creates virtuous cycles that, over time,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2002 (Revised February 2003)
Case

Siebel Systems: Anatomy of a Sale, Part 2

By: John A. Deighton and Das Narayandas

How does a $2 million software sale happen? This case traces efforts by Siebel Systems to sell lead management software to discount broker Quick & Reilly. The buying process is mapped out over four years. Covers in detail the last six months--from Siebel's initial... View Details

Keywords: Business Cycles; Leadership; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Organizational Structure; Behavior; Competition; Applications and Software; Technology Industry

23 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

It’s Called ‘Price Coherence,’ and It’s Surprisingly Bad for Consumers

airlines increase their retail prices. So all buyers essentially end up sharing the fees, even if they choose to forego the intermediary. Thus begins a vicious cycle of increasing costs. With price coherence in place, intermediaries need... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail; Air Transportation; Food & Beverage; Entertainment & Recreation

12 Nov 2008
First Look

First Look: November 12, 2008

commoditization continue to drive shifts in the value chain. The case examines the commoditization cycle and contrasts integrated solutions such as the iPod-iTunes software-iTunes Music Store with emerging competition from other MP3... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Winter 2009
Article

Is Private Equity Out of Control in Latin America?: The Impact of Structures on Private Equity Transactions in Latin America 1988-2007

By: Roberto Charvel

This article explores the private equity industries in 25 Latin American countries from 1988 to 2007. View Details

Keywords: Latin America; Entrepreneurial Finance; Business Startups; Business Cycles; Development Economics; Economic Systems; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Assets; Capital Markets; Venture Capital; Capital Structure; Private Equity; Latin America; North and Central America

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02 Nov 2016
Op-Ed

Government and Financial Tech Can Fix Cash Woes for Small Businesses

cycle can mean the difference between a small business growing or just staying flat. And, the good news is that we’re seeing innovative ideas in both policy and products on this front—ideas that actually help small businesses manage their... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills

28 Jun 2010
HBS Case

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

in-house education program on improvement science that emphasizes rapid cycles of small-scale change. Their finding that an accumulation of small changes can add up to significant gains is leading the way for health-care reform that is... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Health

28 Oct 2014
First Look

First Look: October 28

October 2014 Quarterly Journal of Economics Waves in Ship Prices and Investment By: Greenwood, Robin, and Samuel G. Hanson Abstract—We study the link between investment boom and bust cycles and returns on capital in the dry bulk shipping... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

September 2010 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Liza Davis and the Bargain Hunting Customer

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez and Lisa Brem

Liza Davis, an upscale women's fashion retailer, is reeling from worldwide recession and lower demand. Should the company target the fast-growing bargain hunter segment or hold the line on price discounts to preserve their brand image? Customer profitability... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Price; Product Positioning; Customer Value and Value Chain; Business Cycles; Financial Crisis; Profit; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry

25 Aug 2008
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Walking Away from a $3 Billion Deal

It's no secret that private equity firms have enjoyed massive profits in recent years. In Private Equity Finance, a course in the second-year MBA elective curriculum, students follow the life cycle of a deal in order to learn more about... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Financial Services

01 Mar 2016
First Look

March 1, 2016

economic conflicts behind the arguments put forward by the different parties. We also identify several key open questions. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=50676 Credit-Market Sentiment and the Business View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

Water, Electricity, and Transportation: Preparing for the Population Boom

By 2050, the Earth's population will likely exceed 9 billion people, up 30 percent from 6.9 billion today, according to projections from both the US Census Bureau and the United Nations. What's more, the population in the world's cities is expected to increase by 3... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

04 Oct 2004
Research & Ideas

Start to Measure Your E-commerce Success

specifically tailor their e-commerce measurement approach, but also utilize multiple measures to fully analyze their situations. Different measurement criteria are important for companies that have different strategies or may be in a different stage of their life View Details

Keywords: by Marc J. Epstein

15 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 15, 2007

the vicious cycle of poverty, and/or how aid can be used effectively. Purchase this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=707029 Aid, Debt Relief, and Trade: An Agenda for Fighting World Poverty (B) Harvard... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

19 Aug 2002
Research & Ideas

Here Comes Internet2—Time to Shed Dot Vertigo

Internet2 was born. Today, sophisticated networks are being hooked up today among Europe, North and South America, and the Asia-Pacific region. Cisco and Microsoft are involved "in a big way," Nolan said. Right now, Internet2 is probably going through the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

September 1992
Case

Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market

By: William A. Sahlman

First case in a series of six cases that follow the experience of a cable television company as it adjusts to the rapid rise and precipitous decline of the stock market in the late 1980s. In this case Don Jones, the company's founder and owner, sees the rise in public... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Finance; Financial Markets; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Restructuring; Corporate Strategy; SWOT Analysis; Wealth; Business Cycles; Entertainment and Recreation Industry