Corporate Profits - Publications - Faculty & Research

March 2017 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Facebook Fake News in the Post-Truth World

By: John R. Wells and Carole A. Winkler

In January 2017, Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, was surrounded by controversy. The election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States in November 2016 had triggered a national storm of protests, and many attributed Trump’s victory to... View Details

Keywords: Facebook; Fake News; Mark Zuckerberg; Donald Trump; Algorithms; Social Networks; Partisanship; Social Media; App Development; Instagram; WhatsApp; Smartphone; Silicon Valley; Office Space; Digital Strategy; Democracy; Entry Barriers; Online Platforms; Controversy; Tencent; Agility; Social Networking; Gaming; Gaming Industry; Computer Games; Mobile Gaming; Messaging; Monetization Strategy; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Headquarters; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Trends; Communication; Communication Technology; Forms of Communication; Interactive Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Talent and Talent Management; Crime and Corruption; Voting; Demographics; Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Initial Public Offering; Profit; Revenue; Geography; Geographic Location; Global Range; Local Range; Country; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government and Politics; International Relations; National Security; Political Elections; Business History; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Information Management; Information Publishing; News; Newspapers; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Dissemination; Human Capital; Law; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Management Systems; Management Teams; Managerial Roles; Marketing Channels; Social Marketing; Network Effects; Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Monopoly; Media; Product Development; Service Delivery; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Groups and Teams; Networks; Rank and Position; Opportunities; Behavior; Emotions; Identity; Power and Influence; Prejudice and Bias; Reputation; Social and Collaborative Networks; Status and Position; Trust; Society; Civil Society or Community; Culture; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Societal Protocols; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Valuation; Advertising Industry; Communications Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Industry; Information Technology Industry; Journalism and News Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; United States; California; Sunnyvale; Russia

Citation

Educators

Purchase

24 Jan 2011
HBS Case

Terror at the Taj

particularly since it can also be taught as an example of managing the postcrisis recovery of a flagship corporate brand. No Clear Answer The question of why the Taj employees demonstrated such loyalty elicited a variety of responses from... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Accommodations

17 Jun 2017
Research & Ideas

Amazon, Whole Foods Deal a Big Win for Consumers

Source: 400tmax Editor's Note. Online retailing behemoth Amazon announced June 16 that it would acquire upscale grocery chain Whole Foods Market in a deal valued at more than $13 billion. Though the company has dabbled with the idea of a brick-and-mortar footprint in... View Details

Keywords: by Jose Alvarez and Len Schlesinger; Retail

04 Feb 2014
What Do You Think?

Has Listening Become a Lost Art?

better, are there any situations that would require you to not listen deliberately?" Wayne Brewer provided one response to that one when he said, "Maybe companies (and individuals) are figuring out that listening to customers is not as View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

01 Jun 2022
What Do You Think?

Is Stakeholder Management Facing New Headwinds?

debate between economists such as the Chicago school’s Milton Friedman, who argued that the sole purpose of business is to generate profit for (and presumably transfer wealth to) shareholders by any legal and ethical means, and Yale’s... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

04 Apr 2023
Blog Post

Maersk’s Journey to Decarbonize Shipping

profit into long-term investments that aligned with the company’s decarbonization goals. Maersk has a unique scale that makes its decarbonization targets particularly important, with the company singlehandedly responsible for... View Details

13 Sep 2021
Research & Ideas

Science: The Unlikely Frontier for New Business Ideas

shrinking product lifecycles and rapidly changing technology are under pressure to bring new goods to market faster. Corporate spending on research and development (R&D) in the United States has also been outpacing inflation, raising... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

Web

Harvard Business School

Development Center, and advising the student marketing association. In 1965, Fitzhugh moved to Pepsi-Cola, where he led the development of targeted marketing strategies. Fitzhugh consulted with major corporations and helped launch the... View Details

Person Page

Julie Battilana's Most Recent Columns for "Le Monde"

By: Julie Battilana

Julie Battilana is a regular contributor to the French newspaper "Le Monde." Below are her most recent articles.

Where are the Political Ideas Being Produced?

July, 16 2014

Click View Details

27 Aug 2013
First Look

First Look: August 27

Publications August 2013 Journal of Financial Economics The Performance of Corporate Alliances: Evidence from Oil and Gas Drilling in the Gulf of Mexico By: Beshears, John Abstract—I use data on oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Business Economics Online Course | HBS Online

different forms of auctions See how conjoint analysis can be used to understand customer preferences 12 hrs Module 3 Suppliers and Cost Understand fixed versus variable costs and economies of scale. Highlights The Profitability of Going... View Details

22 May 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, May 22, 2018

content, mobile is less important than advertised, one day of the week isn’t better than others, and case studies are most preferred. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54512 forthcoming Organization Science View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

01 Dec 2009
News

One Man Crime Wave

newspaper column, he wrote, “No matter how much feeling of public obligation the executive staff of any corporation might possess, the corporate entity is involved in maximizing short and long run View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; fiction writing; Arts, Entertainment; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

September 2017
Case

Tencent

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Tencent had undergone many transformations since it was founded in 1998 as a simple messaging service. In 2017, it was the largest online games provider in China with a wide range of game types, China’s largest social networking service provider with several of the... View Details

Keywords: Tencent; Tencent Holdings; WeChat; Social Networking; Social Networks; Gaming; Gaming Industry; Video Games; Computer Games; Mobile Gaming; Portals; Payments; Mobile Payments; O2O; Online-to-offline; E-commerce; Messaging; Subscription Model; Freemium; Mobile App Industry; Smartphone; PC; Monetization Strategy; Antitrust; Streaming; Cloud Computing; Artificial Intelligence; Big Data; Alibaba; Facebook; JD.com; Tesla; Bundling; Synergies; Digital Strategy; Imitation; Licensing; Agility; Entry Barriers; Online Platforms; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Joint Ventures; Restructuring; Communication; Communication Technology; Blogs; Interactive Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Investment; Investment Portfolio; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business History; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Social Marketing; Network Effects; Emerging Markets; Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Industry Growth; Monopoly; Media; Distribution Channels; Product Development; Service Delivery; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Government Relations; Groups and Teams; Networks; Opportunities; Social and Collaborative Networks; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Cooperation; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Value Creation; Communications Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Financial Services Industry; Information Industry; Information Technology Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; Asia; China; Canton (province, China)

Citation

Educators

Purchase

18 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

How Economic Clusters Drive Globalization

business interests, while Malaysia’s government took a softer approach, allowing companies to continue operations in exchange for training and development programs that helped smallholder farmers switch from rubber—which, with the introduction of synthetics, was no... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Agriculture & Agribusiness

09 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Leadership Lessons of the Great Recession: Options for Economic Downturns

profitability and returns for shareholders. During the last two recessions, layoffs were an almost universal go-to cost-saving choice in the United States. Compared with other recessions since 1973, companies were much more likely to lay... View Details

Keywords: by Sandra Sucher & Susan Winterberg; Aerospace; Electronics

27 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

Want a Happy Customer? Coordinate Sales and Marketing

Financial performance is the result of operating performance. Operating performance includes all the things that a company must do to win the competitive battle in its industry to attract, retain, and profitably serve customers. It varies... View Details

Keywords: by Benson Shapiro

01 Mar 2014
News

Generation Next

ethos of concentrated ownership—the business group over the individual stock owner. After the "Licence Raj," the period of tight government control of the private sector that ended in 1991, corporate families could finally stretch... View Details

Keywords: Mark Bergen; Godrej Group; Management

24 Jun 2021
Blog Post

Celebrating the Past, Crafting the Future Part 2: The First HBS/HKS Class

into HBS and HKS. However, she knew she wanted to make an impact in agriculture and found that starting her own businesses was her ideal path forward. Now, as the CEO and Co-Founder of a Fork and Goode, Gupta is building on her experience in View Details

27 Nov 2000
Research & Ideas

The Dynamics of Standing Still: Firestone Tire & Rubber and the Radial Revolution

widespread acceptance would prove a bane for incumbent U.S. tire makers. Radials' longer life would decrease unit demand in the profitable replacement market, providing an opening for foreign producers and smaller players like B.F.... View Details

Keywords: by Donald N. Sull; Manufacturing; Transportation

Publications