Publications

November 1999 (Revised June 2000)
Case

FairMarket: Managing Business Development

By: William A. Sahlman, Michael J. Roberts and Cathy Taylor

Describes the evolution of FairMarket, a provider of turnkey auction services to community and merchant Web sites. Describes several deals that the CEO must negotiate, requiring a view of the company's valuation. View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Internet and the Web; Valuation; Negotiation Deal; Auctions; Growth and Development Strategy; Web Services Industry

Find at Harvard

June 1999 (Revised June 2000)
Case

Eckerd Corporation

By: Michael E. Porter and John E. Kelleher

Describes the history and current situation in the retail pharmacy industry, including competition from new merchants and Internet drugstores. Eckerd, one of the top four drug chains, must decide how to position itself for the future. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Alignment; Supply and Industry; Retail Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

10 Jan 2011
Research & Ideas

Is Groupon Good for Retailers?

First, discount vouchers can provide price discrimination, letting merchants reach customers who value the merchant less than the merchant's ordinary customers do. For instance, some customers are willing to... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising; Technology

15 Jun 2011
News

Groupon Abuse of Consumer Protection Laws Alarming, Says Harvard Business Expert

March 2000 (Revised February 2005)
Case

Thomas Weisel Partners (A)

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Ashish Nanda, Boris Groysberg, Matthew C. Lieb and Scott D Landry

Thomas Weisel, longtime leader of Montgomery Securities, realizes that the sale of Montgomery to NationsBank was the biggest mistake of his life. After his exit from NationsBanc Montgomery Securities, Weisel develops a business plan for a new merchant bank, Thomas... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Business Plan; Financial Institutions; Management Teams; Financial Services Industry

May 2014
Case

Groupon, Inc.

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Blythe J. McGarvie and James Weber

Internet coupon site "Groupon" grew revenues rapidly and went public, but struggled to impress investors or operate profitably. Did it have a sustainable business model? Groupon sold coupons called Groupons which purchasers used to acquire goods or services at... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Corporate Governance; Entrepreneurship; Financial Management; Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Organizational Culture; Strategy; Web Services Industry; United States

27 Jul 2011
Research & Ideas

Customer Loyalty Programs That Work

merchant and shopper has left a lot of customers wandering the desert. Well-run loyalty schemes are a way to bring them back into the fold. Such programs can also help remedy the commoditization that has occurred in the retail sector on... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Retail

09 Jun 2011
News

Will Groupon Survive Until 2016?

30 Jan 2018
Blog Post

HBS Global Opportunity Fellowship: Making a Difference in Africa

manufacturing client with a senior corporate relationship manager. We drove through a dusty, potholed two-lane road and it took us the better part of the afternoon to make the visit in the hot sun, passing many street merchants along the... View Details

September 2016 (Revised February 2017)
Case

MyTime

By: Juliane Begenau and Robin Greenwood

Ethan Anderson, the CEO of San Francisco–based e-commerce company MyTime, must decide on the company's growth strategy. MyTime’s first product was a website and mobile app that offered consumers a convenient way to book appointments with local merchants throughout the... View Details

Keywords: Customer Valuation; Discounted Cash Flow; Software; Valuation Methodologies; Subscriber Models; Financial Management; Corporate Finance; Growth and Development Strategy; Valuation; Applications and Software; Information Technology Industry; North and Central America

19 Oct 2014
News

All You Need to Know About Apple Pay

2008
Working Paper

Where Does It Go? Spending by the Financially Constrained

By: Shawn A. Cole, John Thompson and Peter Tufano

In this paper, we analyze the spending decisions of over 1.5 million Americans who vary in their degree of revealed credit constraints. Specifically, we analyze how these Americans spend their income tax refunds, using transaction-level data from a stored-value card... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Credit; Personal Finance; Spending; Taxation; Consumer Behavior; United States

Read Now

02 Aug 2011
Working Paper Summaries

To Groupon or Not to Groupon: The Profitability of Deep Discounts

Keywords: by Benjamin Edelman, Sonia Jaffe & Scott Duke Kominers; Retail; Technology

April 2003 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Leadership in Crisis: Ernest Shackleton and the Epic Voyage of the Endurance

By: Nancy F. Koehn, Erica Helms and Philip Mead

Provides an opportunity to examine leadership and entrepreneurship in the context of Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Antarctic expedition, a compelling story of crisis, survival, and triumph. Summarizes Shackleton's career as an officer in the British Merchant Marine, his... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; History; Leadership; Crisis Management; Management Practices and Processes; Groups and Teams; Behavior; Antarctica

11 Aug 2011
News

Groupon IPO dented by market, new numbers

15 Jan 2022
News

Tiktok Isn’t Silly. It’s Serious

July 2007 (Revised September 2007)
Module Note

Managing Networked Businesses: Summary Module

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Offers pedagogical guidance for instructors teaching the summary module of Managing Networked Businesses, an elective course described in "Managing Networked Businesses: Course Overview for Educators." Also describes how the module materials can be adapted for use in... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Business Organization

November 2012
Teaching Note

Groupon (TN)

By: Sunil Gupta, Ray Weaver and Yien Hao Lock

On November 4, 2011, Groupon, a marketing services company that promoted local businesses by selling deeply discounted vouchers for their products and services, completed its initial public offering that valued the company at $17 billion. Within a year Groupon's share... View Details

Keywords: Social Networking; Media; Technology; Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Marketing Strategy; Marketing; Internet and the Web; Social Media; Retail Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; North America; United States

March 2011 (Revised August 2012)
Case

Groupon

By: Sunil Gupta, Ray Weaver and Dharmishta Rood

On November 4, 2011, Groupon, a marketing services company that promoted local businesses by selling deeply discounted vouchers for their products and services, completed its initial public offering that valued the company at $17 billion. Within a year Groupon's share... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Customers; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development; Marketing Channels; Competitive Strategy; Value Creation