Publications

August 2004
Case

Microsoft.NET (Abridged)

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Kerry Herman

Set in the summer of 2000, following the unveiling of Microsoft's .NET initiative to the public. Three of the key figures in .NET's development are considering the next steps they would have to take to keep the initiative moving forward. Specifically, the challenges... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Leadership; Management Skills; Organizational Structure; Digital Platforms

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September 2017
Case

NBCUniversal Telemundo: Transforming Latino Television

By: Henry W. McGee, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Christine Snively

In August 2017, Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal International Group and NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, considered how the Miami-based Spanish-language TV network Telemundo could succeed in a rapidly shifting media landscape. Over the past few years,... View Details

Keywords: Television Industry; Television Advertising; Broadcasting; Telecommunications; Internet; Television Entertainment; Internet and the Web; Advertising; Digital Platforms; Digital Marketing; Telecommunications Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Miami

Profile

Tiffany Pham

learning, for change. After graduating from Yale and Harvard Business School, I knew that I had to get into the industry that had impacted me as a young woman, so I could ultimately use media to impact other women like me. “I subsequently founded MOGUL, a worldwide... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Entertainment / Media; Technology

October 2013
Article

Ad Revenue and Content Commercialization: Evidence from Blogs

By: Monic Sun and Feng Zhu

Many scholars argue that when incentivized by ad revenue, content providers are more likely to tailor their content to attract "eyeballs," and as a result, popular content may be excessively supplied. We empirically test this prediction by taking advantage of the... View Details

Keywords: Ad-sponsored Business Models; Media Content; Blog; Revenue Sharing; User-generated Content; Platform-based Markets; Blogs; Business Model; Digital Platforms; Commercialization; Digital Marketing

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February 2024
Case

Does “Matter” Matter? Amazon and Open Standards in the Smart Home Industry

By: Frank Nagle

In early 2023, the smart home industry stood at a pivotal juncture. The recent launch of “Matter” version 1.0, an ambitious interoperability standard developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), promised to unify a fragmented market plagued by incompatible... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Resource Allocation; Standards; Business Strategy

19 Jun 2019
News

Connecting Patients and Providers

digital healthtech sector in late 2016. Today, the platform is available to doctors in any specialized medical field; the company will launch partnerships with large healthcare providers in Switzerland,... View Details

Keywords: April White

September 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Supplement

Apple Pay and Mobile Payments in Australia (B)

By: Feng Zhu, Susan Athey and David Lane

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Payment Methods; Mobile Payment; Apple; Banks and Banking; Cooperation; Problems and Challenges; Policy; Digital Platforms; Banking Industry; Australia

11 Jun 2019
Book

These Aren't Beach Books, but Managers Should Read Them Anyway

Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation, and Power David Yoffie and colleagues reveal the principles that have made platform businesses the most valuable firms in the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

01 Jun 2023
News

The Exchange: The Tech Leader’s Tightrope

revisions of the case reflect this—is that the issues in the Apple case have become core issues throughout the digital economy. Initially, when we taught this case, we were talking about US government surveillance, whereas now many people... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities; Government

January 2017
Background Note

Making Virtual Reality Real

By: Feng Zhu, Sarah Mehta and David Lane

This note describes virtual reality and augmented reality technologies and describes the main consumer products on offer in 2016 as well as their manufacturers. It also surveys existing applications of virtual and augment reality technologies. View Details

Keywords: Virtual Reality; Augmented Reality; Oculus; Google; HTC; Magic Leap; Microsoft; Samsung; Software; Niantic; Digital Platforms; Technology Adoption; Applications and Software; Technology Industry

Web

Strategic Plan | Information Technology

who make a difference in the world. Underpinning our mission, vision, and priorities is a set of strategic initiatives that will help us ensure a cutting-edge digital and technology landscape. The strategic plan was developed in close... View Details

Web

Marketing - HBS Online

New Credential of Digital Innovation and Strategy Build the skill set and strategic acumen to compete in the digital world through a combination of forward-looking coursework, unique team activities with a... View Details

January 2018 (Revised February 2018)
Technical Note

Making Markets

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Scott Duke Kominers

Explains how to identify and capitalize on marketplace design opportunities. Defines markets and marketplaces and describes the basic functions of each. Discusses attributes (e.g., heterogeneity of participants' preferences and asymmetry in available information) that... View Details

Keywords: Marketplaces; Two-Sided Markets; Entrepreneurship; Market Design; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Market Participation; Market Transactions; Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Auctions

01 Jul 2019
Research & Ideas

The Airbnb Lesson for Startups? Success Takes More Than Technology

seen before. More people are employed today, so it would be harder to start those kinds of businesses. The opportunities are different when you’re at the economic bonanza. This article was featured in the HBS Digital Initiative's The New... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Travel; Tourism

29 Jun 2022
Blog Post

Harvard Business School Announces the 2022-2023 Blavatnik Fellows

digital health platforms since he worked at Sanofi Genzyme and Medumo, a health tech startup acquired by Philips. Matt received an AB in economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from HBS. Shardule Shah,... View Details

2016
Working Paper

Controlling Versus Enabling

By: Andrei Hagiu and Julian Wright

Revenue sharing between principals and agents is commonly used to balance double-sided moral hazard. We provide a theory of how, when such revenue-sharing is optimal, a principal allocates control rights over decisions that either party could make. We show that the... View Details

Keywords: Control Rights; Decision Authority; Employment; Independent Contractors; Organizational Theory; Digital Platforms; Governance Controls; Ethics; Vertical Integration

SSRN

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December 1999 (Revised November 2000)
Background Note

Pricing and Market Making on the Internet

By: Robert J. Dolan and Youngme E. Moon

Considers the impact of the Internet on how market exchanges will take place. Discusses the role of shopping agents and alternatives to fixed prices such as negotiations, auctions, and exchanges. View Details

Keywords: Price; Marketing Strategy; Auctions; Digital Platforms; Negotiation; Internet and the Web

01 Mar 2015
News

New Idea: State of the Art

Photos courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum On the subject of art’s relevance in the digital age, Scott Belsky (MBA 2008) has never been one to mince words. “Art institutions need to change the way we think about the... View Details

Keywords: Francis Storrs; Adobe; Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions; Arts, Entertainment; Computer Systems Design and Related Services; Professional Services

February 2001
Case

Sun Microsystems, Inc.: Solaris Strategy

In the late 1990s, Sun Microsystems' Solaris has emerged as the dominant UNIX-based alternative to Microsoft for server operating systems. At the same time, the open source operating system Linux has appeared unexpectedly, and it is generating significant excitement... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Competition; Open Source Distribution; Standards