Publications

June 2002 (Revised September 2002)
Case

Pokemon: Gotta Catch 'Em All (Abridged)

By: Youngme E. Moon

Pokemon, the colloquial name given to a collection of 150 fantastic, animal-inspired creatures with organic powers and the capacity to evolve, are the stars of video games, trading card games, and TV cartoons. Conceived in Japan in 1996, Pokemon quickly became that... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Age; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Copyright; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Japan; Asia; United States

March 2019 (Revised March 2020)
Case

Choosing the Right Esports Business Model

By: David Collis and Alexander MacKay

Two esports entrepreneurs must choose on which business model to focus their time and money. After successfully launching an online esports coaching platform, a number of new opportunities emerge in the rapidly growing esports space that now has close to one billion... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Ecosystems; Business Development; Esports; Business Ventures; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Management; Strategy; Sports; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; North and Central America; Europe; Asia

05 Jul 2006
Working Paper Summaries

The Motion Picture Industry: Critical Issues in Practice, Current Research & New Research Directions

Keywords: by Jehoshua Eliashberg, Anita Elberse & Mark A. A. M. Leenders; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

05 Jul 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Advertising and Expectations: The Effectiveness of Pre-Release Advertising for Motion Pictures

Keywords: by Anita Elberse & Bharat N. Anand; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

10 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Cable TV: From Community Antennas to Wired Cities

John Walson launched the first commercial cable television system in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, an Appalachian town eighty-six miles from Philadelphia. 1,2 Walson worked as a lineman for Pennsylvania Power & Light and also owned a local appliance store, which held... View Details

Keywords: by Thomas R. Eisenmann; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

August 2018
Teaching Note

Wilderness Safaris: Ecotourism Entrepreneurship

By: James E. Austin, Megan Epler Wood and Herman B. "Dutch" Leonard

Teaching Note for HBS No. 318-040. View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Conservation Planning; Corporate Social Responsibility; Ecotourism; Strategy; Social Enterprise; Social Entrepreneurship; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Africa; Botswana

September 2007 (Revised September 2007)
Teaching Note

RealNetworks Rhapsody (TN)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Keywords: Media; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

August 2007 (Revised February 2013)
Teaching Note

Oprah Winfrey (TN)

By: Nancy F. Koehn, Marya Besharov, Katherine Miller and Nora Khan

Keywords: Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

October 2005 (Revised June 2006)
Case

The Turnaround of Chris-Craft

By: William A. Sahlman, Geremy Connor, Brian Doherty, Andrew Murphy and Taylor Smith

Describes a set of issues confronting the owners of Chris-Craft, a manufacturer of high-end boats. The company can invest in new monobrand stores, new boat designs, and brand extensions (e.g., apparel). The owners have also recently purchased Indian Head Motorcycle out... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Luxury; Brands and Branding; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

April 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

News Corporation

By: Bharat N. Anand and Kate Attea

In 2001, News Corp. is the smallest of the major media and entertainment conglomerates, but it has the broadest global presence. In an effort to establish a major distribution presence in the United States, News Corp. had looked to acquire DirecTV, the largest U.S.... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Conglomerates; Globalization; Distribution; Organizational Culture; Family Ownership; Competition; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States; Australia

03 Apr 2019
Book

Fintech's Game-Changing Opportunities for Small Business

PayPal, and Square developed lending operations, and American Express and Capital One entered the field. Now there is a wide array of large and small companies investing deeply in tech, all centered around recreating the lending... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Banking; Financial Services

06 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

Should Entrepreneurs Pitch Products or Ideas for Products?

In trying to secure financial backing for a new product, independent innovators generally face the question of how much to invest in development before showing it around. Should they create, say, a working prototype (and maybe even generate sales) or pitch the idea for... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

20 Feb 2006
HBS Case

Oprah: A Case Study Comes Alive

The best and brightest executives in the world are common visitors to the MBA classrooms at Harvard Business School, giving students a personal opportunity to talk to the likes of Ann Fudge, Lou Gerstner, Meg Whitman, and Jack Welch. Still, when Professor Nancy Koehn... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

16 Feb 2004
Research & Ideas

Marketing Wine to the World

There's more in that glass than meets the eye—or the palate. According to Michael Roberto, important strategic differences have bubbled up between winemakers in Europe and those in the "New World"—the U.S., Australia, South Africa, Chile, and other countries.... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

March 2024
Case

Expanding the Bicester Collection to New York

By: Boris Vallee, Kirby Brand, Kristina Brown, Julie McCrimlisk, Chloe Sztabnik and Arthur Segel

Secretariat, if anyone remembers, won the triple crown at the Belmont Race Track on Long Island, located at the nexus of La Guardia, JFK Airports, the Long Island Railroad and multiple major highways. Belmont Race Track is now being rebuilt along with an adjacent UBS... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Urban Development; Brands and Branding; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; New York (state, US)

June 17, 2016
Comment

Companies Need to Start Marketing Security to Customers

By: John A. Quelch

Recent events in Orlando underscore an important marketing truth: consumer safety and security are mission critical. A popular nightclub, Pulse, known as a safe place for the LGBT community, is put out of business at least temporarily by a terrorist act. Not far away... View Details

Read Now

October 2014 (Revised December 2016)
Case

NBCUniversal

By: Anita Elberse

In September 2014, Stephen Burke, chief executive officer at media and entertainment company NBCUniversal, has to decide between possible priorities for the company's 'Project Symphony,' guaranteeing the winners a high level of visibility and support across the media... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Film Entertainment; Product Marketing; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

April 1986
Supplement

Lyric Dinner Theatre: Deborah Denenberg, General Manager, Video

By: Richard G. Hamermesh

Presents Deborah Denenberg, general manager, answering questions about her successful turnaround of an ailing dinner theatre. View Details

Keywords: Managerial Roles; Restructuring; Business Ventures; Arts; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry