Publications

June 2014
Teaching Note

Steve Carpenter at Cake Financial

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

After investing $9 million of venture capital, Cake Financial had failed to reach critical mass. In early 2010 Cake's assets were sold and the company was dissolved. Founded in 2006, the San Francisco-based Internet company allowed users to monitor their investments... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Internet; Financial Services Industry; Web Services Industry

01 Mar 2024
News

The Internet's Next Frontier

While the Crypto, Fintech, and Web3 Lab—one of 13 labs contained within Harvard’s Digital Data Design Institute—might not have the Bunsen burners and test tubes found in science and engineering labs, it does share a philosophical construct: it is a sandbox—an... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie

10 May 2017
News

Who's Receiving An Honorary Degree This Sunday?

Web

Published CSV Cases - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

its retail stores. In 2015, the U.S. health care system continued to evolve. Health systems were expanding and consolidating, new health care delivery models were emerging, reimbursement was changing, while some physician lobbying groups... View Details

May 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Case

MassChallenge

By: Rembrand Koning, Andy Wu, Nataliya Langburd Wright and Tarun Khanna

The case explores the strategic decision of global non-profit startup accelerator MassChallenge on whether to pursue a for-profit spinoff, discussing: (1) the costs and benefits of this decision, (2) how best to manage the risks of the decision, and (3) alternative... View Details

Keywords: Accelerators; Nonprofit Organizations; Business Startups; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Cost vs Benefits; Risk Management; Decision Making; Strategy

16 Feb 2021
Blog Post

The Rise of The Sixes: Interview with CEO and Founder Franci Girard

classmates and many of her teachers, and making it a challenge to find clothes that fit. In the years that followed, Girard grew into “the sixes” now standing proudly at 6’1’’ and the idea for the business she would one day start, a View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Consumer Products / Retail

07 Nov 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas: November 7, 2017

model for integrating diverse values offers some grounds for thinking about parallel virtues in the business case. Our goal is not to offer any general prescription for organizational democracy at this stage... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

15 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

High Ambition Leadership

every part of the business and set targets and rewarded based on those targets. "Our model is that if we do a good job for our customers, they will recommend us to others, and they will become our... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

16 Jan 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, January 16, 2018

that forces of inertia constrict how TMTs perceive innovations but that frame flexibility can overcome these perceptions, increasing the likelihood of adoption and the breadth of the organization’s View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Aug 2012
Research & Ideas

Strategic Intelligence: Adapt or Die

strategic inertia. What did it do wrong? A: In the 1980s Circuit City discovered a good business model and started rolling it out across the United States. The company was growing very, very fast-20 to 30... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

January 2023 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Belden and Digital Transformation: From Product Sales to Solutions Sales

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amy Klopfenstein

This case concerns the industrial automation division at Belden, a hardware manufacturer. While Belden historically sold products such as cables, wires, and other networking devices, EVP of Industrial Automation Ashish Chand recognized that IT vendors were entering the... View Details

Keywords: Implementation; Sales Cycle; Digital Transformation; Sales; Product Positioning; Business Model; Market Entry and Exit; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Supply and Industry; Technology Industry; North America; United States

2010
Working Paper

Trade Policy and Firm Boundaries

By: Laura Alfaro, Paola Conconi, Harald Fadinger and Andrew F. Newman

We study how trade policy affects firms' ownership structures. We embed an incomplete contracts model of vertical integration choices into a standard perfectly-competitive international trade framework. Integration decisions are driven by a trade-off between the... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Policy; Vertical Integration; Business and Government Relations; Boundaries; Ownership; Mathematical Methods

03 Apr 2007
First Look

First Look: April 3, 2007

Business School Case 307-077 Describes the opportunities and strategy facing one of the most innovative global supply-chain companies, and the strategy it has chosen to deal with the expanding demand for its... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Web

Strategy Execution Online Course | HBS Online

Tensions of Strategy Execution Understand the various tensions managers face as they execute strategy and implement a framework for managing those tensions effectively. Highlights Making Tough Choices Push to Profitability Analyzing Management Tensions at Your View Details

August 2004 (Revised June 2005)
Case

Fate of the Vasa, The

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Richard Mason

In 1628, the royal warship Vasa was launched. It was Sweden's most expensive naval vessel ever built, costing over 5% of GNP. On its maiden voyage, the ship sailed 1,400 yards in its own harbor, heeled over to the side, and then sank. One third of the 150 crew and... View Details

Keywords: History; Risk and Uncertainty; Technological Innovation; Ship Transportation; Product Design; Technology Adoption; Failure; Business and Government Relations; Product Development; Sweden

January – February 2009
Article

Content vs. Advertising: The Impact of Competition on Media Firm Strategy

By: David Godes, Elie Ofek and Miklos Sarvary

Media firms compete in two connected markets. They face rivalry for the sale of content to consumers, and at the same time, they compete for advertisers seeking access to the attention of these consumers. We explore the implications of such two-sided competition on the... View Details

Keywords: Monopoly; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Business Model; Price; Media; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Advertising; Profit; Media and Broadcasting Industry