Publications

Fall 2011
Article

Exclusivity and Control

By: Andrei Hagiu and Robin S. Lee

We analyze platform competition for content in the presence of strategic interactions between content distributors and content providers. We provide a model of bargaining and price competition within these industries and show that whether or not a piece of content ends... View Details

Keywords: General Strategy; Entertainment And Leisure; Software; Quality; Competition; Price; Sales; Expansion; Digital Platforms; Revenue; Negotiation

September 1997 (Revised June 1999)
Teaching Note

Bankruptcy and Restructuring at Marvel Entertainment Group, Teaching Note

By: Benjamin C. Esty

Teaching Note for (9-298-059). View Details

Keywords: Publishing Industry

Clubs

Gaming and Game Industry Club

Keywords: Entertainment / Media / Sports; Entertainment / Media / Sports

August 2011 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Ramesh Patel at Aragon Entertainment Limited

By: Anthony J. Mayo and Joshua D. Margolis

Ramesh Patel, a high potential employee, was excited to be named to the company's New Horizons Board, a select team responsible for producing recommendations for new products or line extensions for Aragon Entertainment. Patel's co-worker and friend, Jeremy Gibson was... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Conflict and Resolution; Conflict Management; Interpersonal Communication; Spoken Communication; Communication Intention and Meaning; Jobs and Positions; Performance; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

March 2001 (Revised January 2009)
Case

Walt Disney Company, The: The Entertainment King

By: Michael G. Rukstad, David J. Collis and Tyrell Levine

The first ten pages of this case are comprised of the company's history, from 1923 to 2001. The Walt years are described, as is the company's decline after his death and its resurgence under Eisner. The last five pages are devoted to Eisner's strategic challenges in... View Details

Keywords: History; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Managerial Roles; Creativity; Corporate Strategy; Boundaries; Brands and Branding; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

September 2020
Case

Chip and Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Network

By: Anita Elberse and Julia McNicholas

Chip and Joanna Gaines, who have shot to fame as stars of the hit television show Fixer Upper, are preparing to launch their own television network. It is April 2019, a year since the home-renovation show Fixer Upper’s fifth season on cable channel HGTV ended, and more... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Television; Superstars; Innovation; Creative Industries; Talent; General Management; Celebrities; Television Entertainment; Entrepreneurship; Joint Ventures; Innovation and Invention; Marketing; Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

February 2021 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Walt Disney: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

This case describes the rise of Walt Disney, founder of the worldwide entertainment company. The case describes how Disney, as a young artist, created memorable figures such as Mickey Mouse and went on to produce Academy-award-winning films and build the world’s most... View Details

Keywords: Creativity Teams; Entertainment Industry; Family; Entertainment; Creativity; Personal Characteristics; Business Startups; Work-Life Balance; Personal Development and Career; Success; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

2008
Case

Eli Lilly: Recreating Drug Discovery for the 21st Century

By: Rebecca Henderson and C. Reavis

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Health Care and Treatment; Pharmaceutical Industry

Web

Entertainment & Media Club | MBA

Entertainment & Media Club The Entertainment & Media Club aims to facilitate student interest in the Entertainment industry through career... View Details

1997
Chapter

Winners and Losers--Industry Structure in the Converging World of Telecommunications, Computing, and Entertainment

By: D. J. Collis, P. W. Bane and S. P. Bradley

Keywords: Supply and Industry; Communication; Information Technology; Entertainment; Competition; Conflict and Resolution; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry

30 Jan 2014
Blog Post

Big Media, Big Business! Inside scoop on the upcoming Entertainment & Media Club Conference

Each year, the Entertainment & Media conference at the Harvard Business School brings together hundreds of students, alumni, faculty, and industry leaders to share... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment / Media / Sports

summer 1981
Article

Blockbusters: The Economics of Mass Entertainment

By: David A. Garvin

Keywords: Economics; Media; Media and Broadcasting Industry

October 2021
Article

Judgment Aggregation in Creative Production: Evidence from the Movie Industry

By: Hong Luo, Jeffrey T. Macher and Michael Wahlen

We study a novel, low-cost approach to aggregating judgment from a large number of industry experts on ideas that they encounter in their normal course of business. Our context is the movie industry, in which customer appeal is difficult to predict and investment costs... View Details

Keywords: Judgment Aggregation; Quality Uncertainty; Creative Industry; Project Evaluation And Selection; Creativity; Film Entertainment; Judgments; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

Read Now

18 Apr 2019
Blog Post

Evolution in Entertainment: A Recap of the 2019 Entertainment & Media Conference

and over 30 speakers who are at the frontiers of change in entertainment. Hosted by HBS’s Entertainment & Media Club, the conference each year brings industry leaders to... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment / Media / Sports

22 Nov 2022
News

Merlin Entertainments Taps Scott O’Neil as CEO

Entertainments is second in size only to Disney in the theme park space, with more than 140 attractions in 24 countries, featuring partnerships with Lego, Hasbro, and Sony Pictures Entertainment. “We will be... View Details

Forthcoming
Chapter

Media & Entertainment in Argentina: Doing Business in a Fragmented Society

By: Luciana Silvestri and Roberto Vassolo

We explore the issues of vertical and horizontal fragmentation in Argentina by examining how consumers relate to media and entertainment content and technologies. We focus on belly-of-the-market consumers (the most affluent at the bottom of the pyramid) and observe the... View Details

Keywords: Demographics; Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Argentina