Publications

July 2006
Background Note

Out of Frame: The Coming Digital Disruption of Hollywood

By: Stephen P. Bradley, Brian DeLacey and Reed Martin

The record opening of the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, starring Johnny Depp, had finally provided the industry with incontrovertible proof that it was still possible to draw massive audiences to movie theaters. Grossing $136 million during its opening... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Film Entertainment; Revenue; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

September 2021
Case

Francoise Brougher (A)

By: Edward H. Chang, Nour Kteily and Kathleen McGinn

Francoise Brougher was a high-powered technology executive in Silicon Valley. After successful stints at Google (where she rose to lead a $16 billion ad sales business) and Square (which she helped take public), she joined Pinterest as its first Chief Operating Officer... View Details

Keywords: Gender Discrimination; Personal Development and Career; Gender; Prejudice and Bias; Resignation and Termination; Negotiation

January 2005 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Gretta Enterprises

Describes Gretchen ("Gretta") Monahan's founding and management of Gretta Enterprises, which has grown to five outlets--salons, day spas, and fashion boutiques--and $10 million in annual revenue in 10 years. Monahan's role as a television host on TLC's A Makeover Story... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Entrepreneurship; Leadership Style; Fashion Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

Find at Harvard

25 Oct 2020
News

How Consumers Really Use Online Reviews

David A. Thomas

David Thomas is H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. His research addresses issues related to executive development, cultural diversity in organizations, leadership and organizational change. He recently served as a... View Details

Keywords: biotechnology; consulting; consumer products; education industry; financial services; media

April 2016 (Revised November 2017)
Case

InMobi: Reimagining Mobile Advertising

By: Sunil Gupta and Saloni Chaturvedi

InMobi, a mobile advertising company, considered one of India's first unicorns, has launched a new product called Miip. InMobi hopes that the product will grow its revenue eight times by 2018. Visually identified by a mascot, Miip seeks to reimagine adverting by... View Details

Keywords: Mobile App; Advertising; India; Applications and Software; Globalization; Digital Marketing; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Advertising Industry; China; India

July 2004 (Revised December 2004)
Case

RelayHealth

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Elizabeth Kind

RelayHealth provides secure, online communications for doctors, patients, and health plans. The company's services include online consultations, prescription renewals, and appointment scheduling. RelayHealth's business model derives subscription revenue from doctors... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Internet and the Web; Consumer Behavior; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Growth and Development Strategy; Health Industry; Telecommunications Industry

December 2021 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Katerra (A)

By: Lindsay N. Hyde, Thomas R. Eisenmann and Tom Quinn

In April 2020, Katerra executives struggled with a series of decisions that would determine the fate of one of the best-funded construction startups in history. Katerra was founded in 2015 by technology-industry executive Michael Marks and commercial real estate... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Entrepreneurship; Failure; Construction; Real Estate Industry; Technology Industry; United States

October 2005
Case

Kinko's

Over the decades, Kinko's had forged a deep emotional bond with consumers by easing their anxiety and helping them solve pressing document processing problems. By 2003, however, consumer research revealed that a confusing retail experience had eroded some of this good... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Customer Satisfaction; Service Industry

June 1999 (Revised August 2004)
Case

NFL-Network Television Contracts, 1998-2005, The

By: Stephen A. Greyser

The National Football League (NFL) is negotiating its next round of national television contracts with its broadcast and cable TV partners. The revenues from these contracts constitute a major source of income for the individual NFL teams. The case provides information... View Details

Keywords: History; Rights; Contracts; Business Earnings; Negotiation; Partners and Partnerships; Budgets and Budgeting; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

January 1998
Case

Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (C)

By: H. Kent Bowen, Massimo Russo and Steven J. Spear

Andy Youmans, executive vice president of CSSC, joins a group of U.S. executives on a tour of Japanese factories that practice the TPS. Three of the factories produce products similar to CSSC's, and even though they use similar equipment, they are significantly more... View Details

Keywords: Managerial Roles; Performance Improvement; System; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Productivity; Training; Quality; Business Ventures; Competency and Skills; Production; Adoption

1999
Other Unpublished Work

Estimating Industry Multiples

By: Malcolm Baker and R. S. Ruback

We analyze industry multiples for the S&P 500 in 1995. We use Gibbs sampling to estimate simultaneously the error specification and small sample minimum variance multiples for 22 industries. In addition, we consider the performance of four common multiples: the simple... View Details

Keywords: Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Performance; Mathematical Methods

Read Now

02 Feb 2016
News

Hiring Star Salespeople Isn’t the Best Way to Grow

11 May 2022
Video

LEVEL UP: Rise Above the Hidden Forces Holding Your Business Back

The Socioeconomic Impact of Internet Tracking

At a time when the future of cookies in ad tracking is in doubt, this report contributes to understanding online tracking and its positive and negative consequences, both economic and social. We describe how tracking works to circulate data and affect privacy, how data... View Details

2013
Tool

Harvard Business Review's Go to Market Tools: Market Sizing

By: Jill Avery and Thomas Steenburgh

Market size matters. On the hook to launch your division's next great product or service? Need to convince higher ups that your product will fit that gaping revenue hole—and is worth the team's scarce marketing and product development resources? You need hard data to... View Details

Keywords: Quantitative Analysis; Tools; Go To Market Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Marketing