Publications

March 2025
Case

Metaphysic AI: Rethinking the Value of Human Expertise

By: Zoë B. Cullen, Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

In early 2025, Thomas Graham, CEO of Metaphysic, a leading AI generative video company confronted fundamental questions about who should control digital identity in a world where AI could perfectly recreate human likeness. Founded in 2021, Metaphysic first rose to fame... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Ethics; AI and Machine Learning; Intellectual Property; Rights; Negotiation; Value; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

Research Summary

Overview

When information is digitized, it can be aggregated and shared nearly instantly. I am interested in how this acceleration in the aggregation and availability of information, via digitization, affects firms and firm strategy. Platforms have emerged as marketplaces for... View Details

Keywords: Market Platforms; Social Media; Information Disclosure; Platform Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Intellectual Property; Information; Technology Platform; Information Industry; Information Industry; Information Industry; Information Industry

February 2011 (Revised December 2014)
Case

RentJuice

By: Thomas Eisenmann and Liz Kind

RentJuice, founded in mid-2008, provided a subscription software service—sold via phone and live online webinars—that allowed real estate professionals like brokers and agents to manage and market rental listings, communicate with clients, and complete transaction... View Details

Keywords: Renting or Rental; Product Launch; Applications and Software; Property; Business Startups; Salesforce Management; Product Marketing; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry

October 1992 (Revised September 1993)
Case

Nopane Advertising Strategy

By: David E. Bell

Nopane is a proprietary drug that sells in much of the United States. It faces substantial competition. The brand manager is undertaking an experiment to determine whether ad copy should be emotional-based or rational-based. The data and associated regression results... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Intellectual Property; Advertising; Health Care and Treatment; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

14 Nov 2007
First Look

First Look: November 14, 2007

the market. Purchase this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=708451 Kohl Industries Harvard Business School Case 808-078 Describes a compensation dilemma with a father and his three children, who work in... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

12 Jun 2006
Research & Ideas

The Promise of Channel Stewardship

small and dispersed, and they were unsophisticated in understanding the properties of metal-cutting coolants. They were usually accessed by a second tier of dealers (industrial supply shops). These dealers in turn were served by the same... View Details

Keywords: by V. Kasturi Rangan & Marie Bell; Consumer Products

17 Apr 2007
First Look

First Look: April 17, 2007

turned their attention from local to more distant sources of news and entertainment. While the integration of media markets will raise the private welfare of many consumers, critics of a globalized information and entertainment industry... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August 1989 (Revised October 2003)
Case

Fan Pier

By: William J. Poorvu and Katherine Sweetman

The owner of the Fan Pier site in South Boston has been found legally responsible for blocking the efforts of his development partner in attaining the approval necessary to build the $800 million megaproject they had planned together. It was believed that the owner... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Law; Projects; Design; Organizational Design; Marketing Strategy; Government and Politics; Property; Real Estate Industry; Boston

21 Apr 2015
First Look

First Look: April 21

society as a whole. Publisher's link: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118646983.html April 2015 Management Science Private Equity and Industry Performance By: Bernstein, Shai, Josh Lerner, Morten Sorensen, and Per... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel & Sean Silverthorne

20 Sep 2016
First Look

September 20, 2016

distinctively African-American names are 16% less likely to be accepted relative to identical guests with distinctively White names. Discrimination occurs among landlords of all sizes, including small landlords sharing the property and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 1989 (Revised January 1992)
Case

Prospect Hill

By: William J. Poorvu and Katherine Sweetman

Bill Hassett, a partner in the Nelson Companies, has to make some important decisions regarding the expansion of Prospect Hill Executive Office Park in Waltham, Massachusetts. The pre-development issues concerning him about the Hillside Building include how to position... View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Property; Decisions; Interest Rates; Urban Development; Organizational Structure; Real Estate Industry; Massachusetts

September 1997 (Revised October 1997)
Case

Bayer AG (A)

By: John A. Quelch

Bayer's senior executives convene in Germany to consider submitting a $1 billion bid that would recover the Bayer brand name and trademark cross in North America, both of which were confiscated by the U.S. government after World War I. The group also sets out to assess... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Brands and Branding; War; Communication; Trademarks; Acquisition; Government and Politics; Biotechnology Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Germany; North America; United States

Find at Harvard

September 2006 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Warner Bros. and BitTorrent

Involves the copyright issues associated with Bram Cohen's revolutionary program BitTorrent, which makes it possible to transfer very large files, such as movies, at a high speed over the Internet. The program, which is available for free over the Internet, is used for... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Copyright; Lawfulness; Distribution; Internet and the Web; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

January 2001 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Lawyers & Leases

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Michele Lutz

Profiles Rajath Chaundry, an aspiring entrepreneur, as he attempts to secure office space for his growing team, select a lawyer, and continue to build his fledgling enterprise, eLearning.com. Designed to be used in an entrepreneurial management or small business course... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Business Ventures; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Intellectual Property; Management Succession; Leasing; Negotiation; Education Industry; Education Industry

February 2014 (Revised August 2014)
Case

3D Systems

By: Karim R. Lakhani and David Lane

In late 2013, Rajeev Kulkarni needed to decide how best to facilitate the emergence of a broad base of users and content to promote the sale of 3D Systems' consumer-focused 3D printers. As yet, neither the company nor users had identified an indispensable application... View Details

Keywords: 3D Printing; Business Ecosystems; 3D Systems; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Copyright; Two-Sided Platforms; Product Development; Customization and Personalization; Manufacturing Industry

Article

Did Bank Distress Stifle Innovation During the Great Depression?

By: Ramana Nanda and Tom Nicholas

We find a negative relationship between bank distress and the level, quality, and trajectory of firm-level innovation during the Great Depression, particularly for R&D firms operating in capital intensive industries. However, we also show that because a sufficient... View Details

Keywords: Great Depression; R＆D; Bank Distress; Patents; Research and Development; Financial Crisis; Banks and Banking; Innovation and Invention; Banking Industry; United States