Publications

Read Now

April 2025
Case

Netflix in 2024

By: Jan Rivkin and David Allen

In 2024, Netflix appeared to emerge victorious from the “streaming wars” that it had waged in recent years with the likes of Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Apple, and Amazon. What had allowed Netflix not only to succeed in the streaming wars but also to thrive for... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Organizational Culture; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; United States

September 2011 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Brightcove, Inc. in 2007

By: Andrei Hagiu and David B. Yoffie

Brightcove, a technology and services provider to content owners in the Internet television field, aimed to become a media distribution company in its own right. On October 30, 2006, it relaunched its Website—and, in effect, its business. With its new, consumer-facing... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Diversification; Digital Platforms; Business Strategy; Internet and the Web; Business Model; Distribution; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

February 2025
Case

Fly, Fix, Fly at True Anomaly

By: Joshua Lev Krieger, Jim Matheson, Fiona Murray and David Allen

How should companies learn from failure? Founded by four U.S. Space Force warfighters, the tough tech startup True Anomaly wanted to compete with major defense contractors to supply the U.S. Department of Defense with satellites and software that could help protect... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Engineering; National Security; Digital Platforms; Failure; Problems and Challenges; Business and Government Relations; Entrepreneurship; Aerospace Industry; United States; Colorado

February 1998 (Revised February 1999)
Case

FreeMarkets OnLine

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Describes the marketing strategy of an entrepreneurial start-up engaged in electronic purchasing for large manufacturers. By creating an electronic bidding platform, the company has been able to cut down procurement costs by about 15%. The case question concerns how... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Bids and Bidding; Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Production; Electronics Industry

27 Jul 2019
Op-Ed

Does Facebook's Business Model Threaten Our Elections?

unconcerned. Engagement on various applications on the Facebook platform is up. Users appear comfortable with the trade they make to give up privileged information in exchange for a range of convenient and free services. Without a push by... View Details

Keywords: by George Riedel

09 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

Warring Algorithms Could Be Driving Up Consumer Prices

allow enforcement to adapt more quickly to evolving technology, and it would have the benefit of likely being more predictable for firms. “Many economists think a digital regulator is necessary, not only for issues of pricing, but also... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Retail

07 Apr 2015
First Look

First Look: April 7

Digital Platform: A Playbook for Strategists By: Edelman, Benjamin G. Abstract—The ubiquity of Internet access has caused a sharp rise in the number of businesses offering platforms that connect users for... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Sep 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

Capitalism Works Better When I Can See What You're Doing

embarrassing—it can hurt your career. Racism and Digital Design: How Online Platforms Can Thwart DiscriminationPoor design decisions contribute to racial discrimination on many online platforms. Working for... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

31 Jul 2014
Research & Ideas

A Scholarly Crowd Explores Crowdsourcing

Cox Pahnke, Dan Wang, and Benjamin Hallen. Ripe for study. In a plenary talk on crowdsourced contests and competitions, Lakhani outlined numerous areas in need of further study, which is made much easier by hundreds of crowdsourcing View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

19 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 19, 2018

self-managed microenterprises. Platforms were Haier’s business platforms operating in five major sectors: white goods transformation, investment and incubation, financial holdings, real estate, and cultural... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

26 Feb 2018
Research & Ideas

The Airbnb Effect: Cheaper Rooms for Travelers, Less Revenue for Hotels

Farronato, a Harvard Business School assistant professor, and Andrey Fradkin, postdoctoral fellow at the Initiative on the Digital Economy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "You might find a Fifth Avenue apartment or a... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Travel

January 2017 (Revised June 2017)
Case

Chicago and the Array of Things: A Fitness Tracker for the City

By: Rajiv Lal and Scott Johnson

The city of Chicago has recently launched a project called the Array of Things. The program involves a series of sensor nodes placed around the city that capture a massive amount of data including pedestrian and vehicle flow, air quality, and cloud cover. The Array of... View Details

Keywords: Smart Connected Products; Smart Cities; Internet Of Things; Sensors; Govenment; Government Administration; Technological Innovation; Digital Platforms; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Internet and the Web; Public Administration Industry; Technology Industry; Chicago; United States

August 2008 (Revised July 2011)
Case

Consumer Payment Systems — United States

By: Benjamin Edelman and Andrei Hagiu

In 2008, the U.S. consumer payments landscape was characterized by the ongoing prevalence of credit and debit card networks, the decline of checks, the rise of stored value cards, and the growth of new payment methods such as PayPal, Bill Me Later, and decoupled debit.... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Financial Management; Personal Finance; Digital Platforms; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; United States

October 2015
Case

Facebook: The First Ten Years

By: Shane Greenstein, Marco Iansiti and Christine Snively

Facebook celebrated its ten year anniversary in February 2014. Over the past decade it has grown into the largest social network in the world with one billion users. After filing an IPO in 2012 at a $104 billion valuation (the third largest IPO in U.S. history), the... View Details

Keywords: Social Networks; Technology; Facebook; Entrepreneurship; Profit; Open Source Distribution; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Social Media; Information Technology Industry

02 Nov 2010
First Look

First Look: November 2, 2010

data and then thinking about the potential complementarities of strategies from a portfolio construction context. Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/211025-PDF-ENG News in the Digital World: Who Pays? Stephen P.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Jan 2014
First Look

First Look: January 14

http://hbr.org/2014/01/can-a-strong-culture-be-too-strong/ar/1 January 2014 MIT Sloan Management Review Strategic Decisions for Multisided Platforms By: Hagiu, Andrei Abstract—Multisided platforms such as... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 1999
Case

Sun Microsystems, Inc. (A5): Solaris 7: Rich Green on Product Strategy and Culture Change

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Jane Roessner

Solaris, Sun Microsystems' version of the UNIX operating system, was an amorphous collection of capabilities that had accumulated over the years, a product the company vaguely wished it could market and sell better. Developing and marketing Solaris 7 would help... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Applications and Software; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Product Positioning; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Success; Change; Diversification; Technology Industry; Computer Industry

August 2008 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Consumer Payment Systems — Japan

By: Benjamin Edelman and Andrei Hagiu

In 2008, the Japanese consumer payments landscape featured ongoing widespread use of cash, limited use of credit cards and rapid rise of e-money systems based on contactless technology embedded in cards and especially mobile phones. The case details the alliances that... View Details

Keywords: Personal Finance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Digital Platforms; Alliances; Competitive Strategy; Information Infrastructure; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Japan