Publications

June 2024
Teaching Note

Dirk Nowitzki: Changing the Game

By: Boris Groysberg, Katherine Connolly Baden and Robin Abrahams

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 420-031. NBA Superstar Dirk Nowitzki was unsure whether the 2018-19 season would be his last as an NBA player. He had not faced such uncertainty since 1998, when he had navigated a difficult decision regarding the timing of his move to... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Practice; Retirement; Work-Life Balance; Success; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Sharing; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Growth and Development; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Performance; Sports Industry; United States

July 2011 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Game Time Decision for AppDirect

By: Andrei Hagiu, Laura Arjona and Emily Zhang

AppDirect is a start-up that offers small businesses software-as-a-service solutions through a business app marketplace and portal. Daniel Saks, co-founder and co-CEO, is faced with the key question of deciding distribution strategy: should AppDirect find channel... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Distribution; Applications and Software; Innovation Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Business Growth and Maturation; Competitive Strategy; Information Technology Industry; United States

September 2009 (Revised May 2019)
Case

The London 2012 Olympic Games

By: John T. Gourville and Marco Bertini

It's 2009 and Paul Williamson, Head of Ticketing, must finalize ticket prices for the 2012 London Olympic Games. Yet, there are many criteria to consider. First, given the importance of ticketing to the Games' bottom line, he has a strong incentive to maximize... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Customer Satisfaction; Price; Strategy; Profit; Revenue; Sales; Sports Industry; London

June 2005
Case

Billy Beane: Changing the Game

Describes how Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland A's baseball team, employs statistical methodologies to select who is undervalued in the marketplace. Examines why few teams have imitated his organization's successful strategy. Explores threats to Oakland's... View Details

Keywords: Resource Allocation; Competitive Advantage; Sports; Sports Industry; California

21 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

The $15 Billion Question: Have Loot Boxes Turned Video Gaming into Gambling?

Camp. That same year, the US Federal Trade Commission said it would investigate loot boxes, which critics liken to a slot machine or a scratch ticket that's more accessible to children. The video game View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis; Video Game; Video Game

2003
Case

Competitive Dynamics in Home Video Games

By: Hirotaka Takeuchi

Keywords: Competition; Technology; Video Game Industry

April 1995 (Revised July 1995)
Case

Power Play (C): 3DO in 32-bit Video Games

The 1980s were the "Nintendo" decade in video-games, while the early 1990s saw Sega rise to prominence on the basis of next-generation, 16-bit technology. By early 1994, Nintendo and Sega split the worldwide installed base of 16-bit home video-game systems about... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Competition; Product Marketing; Video Game Industry

August 2008 (Revised April 2012)
Supplement

Real Property Negotiation Game (B): Seller, Las Vegas Pines

By: Arthur I Segel and John H. Vogel, Jr.

The Real Property Negotiation Game simulates the experience negotiating the sale, purchase, or financing of a property. The class competes as either a lender, buyer, or one of two groups of sellers, Raleigh, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada. The seller case, Las... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Property; Price; Sales; Financing and Loans; Real Estate Industry; Las Vegas

August 2008 (Revised April 2012)
Case

Real Property Negotiation Game (A): Buyer Case, Celia Hernandez

By: Arthur I Segel and John H. Vogel, Jr.

The Real Property Negotiation Game simulates the experience negotiating the sale, purchase, or financing of a property. The class competes as either a lender, buyer, or one of two groups of sellers, Raleigh, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada. This is the buyer case... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Negotiation; Property; Real Estate Industry

August 2008 (Revised April 2012)
Case

Real Property Negotiation Game (A): Seller Case, Raleigh Commons

By: Arthur I Segel and John H. Vogel, Jr.

The Real Property Negotiation Game simulates the experience negotiating the sale, purchase, or financing of a property. The class competes as either a lender, buyer, or one of two groups of sellers, Raleigh, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada. This is the seller... View Details

Keywords: Price; Negotiation; Property; Sales; Financing and Loans; Real Estate Industry; Raleigh

April 1999 (Revised August 2004)
Case

Tarnished Rings? Olympic Games Sponsorship Issues

By: John A. Clendenin and Stephen A. Greyser

Focuses on the impacts for Olympic sponsor companies of the bribery allegations related to the Salt Lake City Olympic Committee's successful bid for the 2002 Winter Games. The spread of the scandal to the International Olympic Committee board members and the recent... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Crisis Management; Marketing Channels; Consumer Behavior; Value Creation; Sports Industry

Find at Harvard

October 2006 (Revised September 2007)
Teaching Note

Electronic Arts in Online Gaming (TN)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Arts; Technology; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

August 2008 (Revised April 2012)
Case

Real Property Negotiation Game : Lender Case, Porus Bank

By: Arthur I Segel and John H. Vogel, Jr.

The Real Property Negotiation Game simulates the experience negotiating the sale, purchase, or financing of a property. The class competes as either a lender, buyer, or one of two groups of sellers, Raleigh, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada. This is the lender case... View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Negotiation; Property; Real Estate Industry

April 1995 (Revised July 1995)
Case

Power Play (B): Sega in 16-bit Video Games

Home video-game systems were pioneered by the U.S. company Atari in the mid-1970s. After going through boom and bust in the early 1980s, the industry was resurrected in the mid-1980s by the Japanese company Nintendo. With its 8-bit video-game system, Nintendo... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Competition; Video Game Industry; Japan; United States

October 30, 1994
Article

Sports Strikes: Let the Games Continue

By: James K. Sebenius and Michael A. Wheeler

Keywords: Labor; Disruption; Sports Industry

Find at Harvard

April 2008
Teaching Note

Sony PlayStation 3: Game Over? (TN)

By: Elie Ofek

Teaching Note for [508076]. View Details

Keywords: Entertainment and Recreation Industry

21 Nov 2011
News

Mobile Gaming is a Big Play

Keywords: mobile-gaming; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries

July 2011
Teaching Note

Game Time Decision for AppDirect (TN)

By: Andrei Hagiu, Laura Arjona and Emily Zhang

Teaching Note for 712-410. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology Industry

July–August 1983
Article

End-Game Strategies for Declining Industries

By: Kathryn Rudie Harrigan and M. E. Porter

Many companies are faced with declining product demand beyond their control. A study of the strategies of over 95 companies that confronted declining markets suggests that companies can often be very successful if they analyze all the characteristics that shape... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Business Ventures