Publications

05 Jun 2019
Blog Post

Exploring the Beauty Industry through an Independent Project

Alessia Vettese is a second-year MBA student with a background in consulting and social impact. Alessia enjoys discovering innovative skincare products and hopes to pursue a career at the intersection of business and beauty. After a... View Details

October 2021 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Ant Group (A)

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Feng Zhu, Susie L. Ma and Kerry Herman

In 2004, Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba created Alipay, an app to facilitate payments on its e-commerce sites. As Alibaba grew, so did Alipay, until Alipay spawned its own ecosystem of financial technology products and services under the name of Ant Group. By 2020,... View Details

Keywords: Payment Systems; Information Technology; Value Creation; Network Effects; Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Initial Public Offering; Technology Industry; Financial Services Industry; China

March 2023 (Revised May 2025)
Case

On

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karolin Frankenberger and Sascha Mader

Founded in 2010, in just one decade, the Swiss company On had established itself as a main player in global sports footwear and apparel. Based on an unconventional strategy which one of the founders labeled as “obsessively distinct,” On grew its sales with a compound... View Details

17 Jan 2019
Blog Post

MBA Curriculum Spotlight: Short Intensive Programs (SIPs)

will be a combination of case discussions, guests, panels, and workshops. Fintech: Disruptions in Credit, Payments and Real Estate The advent of new technologies and big data promise to revolutionize the finance world by disintermediate... View Details

18 Jul 2019
Lessons from the Classroom

The Internet of Things Needs a Business Model. Here It Is

in the business-to-business space.” Indeed, the kinds of innovation possible in the B2B world seem limitless. By placing sensors on machinery and connecting them to the internet, companies can capture real-time data on their assets and... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Computer

24 Feb 2020
Research & Ideas

The Hidden Vulnerabilities of Open Source Software

underscore the importance of understanding where open source is most used and could be vulnerable to attack. The report, ‘Vulnerabilities in the Core,’ a Preliminary Report and Census II of Open Source Software, was prepared by the Laboratory for View Details

Keywords: by Frank Nagle and Jenny Hoffman; Computer

December 2023
Case

TikTok: The Algorithm Will See You Now

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

In a world where attention is a scarce commodity, this case explores the meteoric rise of TikTok—an app that transformed from a niche platform for teens into the most visited domain by 2021—surpassing even Google. Its algorithm was a sophisticated mechanism for... View Details

Keywords: Social Media; Applications and Software; Disruptive Innovation; Business and Government Relations; International Relations; Cybersecurity; Culture; Technology Industry; China; United States; India

Web

Strategy Execution Online Course | HBS Online

Disruptive Strategy Professors Rory McDonald & Clayton Christensen Strengthen your capacity to create winning strategies and bring innovations to market by discovering customer jobs to be done and aligning... View Details

01 Feb 1999
News

Too Much of a Good Thing?

down; that's good for the consumer's pocketbook as well as for those industries benefiting from low-priced materials or commodities. In addition, overcapacity often springs from innovation - an improved product muscles into the market... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons

11 May 2016
Research & Ideas

Fix This! Why is it so Painful to Buy a New Car?

when buying a new car: Forget the dealerships altogether. Instead, he works with an out-of-state online auto broker who offers a fair price, good selection, and delivers the car to his driveway. Tesla Motors, for one, has hit on an View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Auto

July 2019 (Revised March 2020)
Case

At-Bay Cyber Insurance

By: Marco Di Maggio and David Lane

At-Bay was a cyber insurance startup that offered companies coverage against a wide array of cyber risks—exposure to which the firm was able to quickly assess and price on the basis of technical expertise that traditional insurance carriers lacked. In mid-2019, At-Bay... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Insurance; Disruptive Innovation; Risk Management; Product Marketing; Distribution Channels; Information Technology; Salesforce Management; Insurance Industry

23 Mar 2023
News

Winners Crowned in 2023 Alumni New Venture Competition

Competition, cohosted by the Rock Center for Entrepreneurship and HBS Alumni Relations, serves as a launch pad for innovative new ventures from HBS alumni, providing access and exposure to potential investors, mentors, and advisors. The... View Details

24 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 24

responsibility. Working PapersInducement Prizes and Innovation Authors:Liam Brunt, Josh Lerner, and Tom Nicholas Abstract We examine the effect of prizes on innovation using data on awards for... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

22 Feb 2024
News

GCC Crossroads Aims for a Bright Future; Seattle Alumni Talk Leadership in Tech; Italy Preps for European Alumni Summit

Clubs News Clubs News Crossroads Forum Explores Future of Gulf Region More than 1,300 public and private leaders convened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on January 30 and 31 for the Crossroads GCC Future Impact Forum, co-hosted by the HBS Club of the Gulf Cooperation Council... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

19 May 2015
First Look

First Look: May 19

server or set of servers to store transactions and also avoiding any single party that can ban certain participants or certain types of transactions. Bitcoin is of interest to economists in part for its potential to disrupt existing... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2019 (Revised August 2020)
Case

The Predictive Index

By: Lynda M. Applegate and James Weber

Mike Zani and Daniel Muzquiz needed to decide next steps to create a new category in the human resources consulting industry and scale their company.
Zani and Muzquiz, serial entrepreneurs, acquired Predictive Index in 2014. Previously, as clients of the... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Selection and Staffing; Talent and Talent Management; Recruitment; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Change Management; Disruptive Innovation; Digital Platforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Consulting Industry; Service Industry; United States

06 Sep 2022
Blog Post

Student Spotlight: Summer Internships in Business & Environment

is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage climate tech start-ups that reduce CO2 emissions by at least 2.5 Gt by 2050. The $110M fund focuses on early-stage companies commercializing novel technologies and innovating business... View Details

August 2014
Case

Netflix: Designing the Netflix Prize (A)

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Wesley M. Cohen, Kynon Ingram, Tushar Kothalkar, Maxim Kuzemchenko, Santosh Malik, Cynthia Meyn, Greta Friar and Stephanie Healy Pokrywa

In 2006, Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, was looking for a way to solve Netflix's customer churn problem. Netflix used Cinematch, its proprietary movie recommendation software, to promote individually determined best-fit movies to customers. Hastings determined that a... View Details

Keywords: Crowdsourcing; Prizes; Digitization; Algorithms; Recommendation Software; Disruption; Transformation; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Sharing; Applications and Software; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Technology Industry; United States