Publications

13 Jun 2014
Op-Ed

World Cup Soccer: 770 Billion Minutes of Attention

game, and they will forget the powerful machine that controls the most popular sport in the world. For more on The Economics of Attention, see The Rising Cost of Consumer Attention: Why You Should Care, and What You Can Do about It. View Details

Keywords: by Thales Teixeira; Sports

20 Jun 2008
News

Risk and Reward

stud fees for an additional several million in winnings? More wins could mean higher stud fees. But the sad demise of Barbaro and Eight Belles have got to give you pause. Then there’s the sport itself to consider. The number of racing... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Arts, Entertainment; Management

01 Jan 2011
News

Robert Kraft, MBA 1965

to be an extremely risky decision made by a sports fanatic, but in time it proved to be a winning business move. The decision to buy the Patriots fits a pattern that Kraft developed at a young age. He is a man who believes that anything... View Details

August 2021
Supplement

Dirk Nowitzki: Changing the Game

By: Boris Groysberg

NBA Superstar Dirk Nowitzki was unsure whether the 2018–2019 season would be his last as an NBA player. He had not faced such uncertainty since 1998, when he had navigated a difficult decision regarding the timing of his move to the NBA. He also did not know what he... View Details

Keywords: Career Decisions; Career Journey; ＂Sports Organizations,; Mentoring; Retirement; Sports; Performance; Training; Personal Development and Career; Decision Making; Talent and Talent Management; Sports Industry; United States

01 Mar 2015
News

@Soldiers Field

Twenty-five students from Brighton High School toured the Chao Center construction site as part of the Urban Neighborhood Design Alliance’s City/Build project, which teaches students about design and engineering. On campus to kick off the University-wide Deans’... View Details

01 Nov 2012
News

First and Goal

pointed to the dangers of youth football, specifically the cumulative effect of blows to the head (even of subconcussive force) in still-growing children. The Downtown Giants board, at Swearengin’s direction, resolved that it would identify and then consult with the... View Details

Keywords: Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Finance

01 Dec 2016
News

Case Study: Sweat the Technique

Science Entrepreneurship at HBS, cites studies showing that even mild dehydration can compromise performance by as much as 29 percent. Nix has garnered interest from both endurance athletes—which include about 30 million dedicated runners in the United States alone—and... View Details

Keywords: Dan Morrell

July 2005 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Real Madrid Club de Futbol (Multimedia)

By: John A. Quelch

In June 2004, Florentino Perez, a well-known Spanish businessman, was elected president of Real Madrid, one of the world's top soccer clubs. In his campaign, Perez had promised to turn around the club's finances, bring in world-class talent, and extend the club's brand... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Sports; Expansion; Sports Industry; Spain

August 2005 (Revised October 2005)
Case

Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots (A)

By: John R. Wells and Travis Haglock

What happens when an MBA buys a football team and hires a bunch of MBAs and a coach with an economics degree to run it? In this case, a historic three Super Bowls in five years. The end run Bob Kraft (HBS '65) used to acquire the New England Patriots. Why Kraft ignored... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Management Style; Motivation and Incentives; Leading Change; Management Practices and Processes; Leadership Style; Sports; Management Teams; Sports Industry; United States

August 2005
Case

Bill Belichick and the Cleveland Browns

By: John R. Wells and Travis Haglock

Genius? That is not what they were calling Bill Belichick in Cleveland. Why? Four losing seasons in five years. Fans hurled trash and insults. The media resented him. Ownership abandoned him. Players quit on him. Very different from the three Super Bowls in five years... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Sports; Sports Industry; United States

August 1988 (Revised November 1989)
Case

Reebok International Ltd.

By: John A. Quelch

Reebok executives are reviewing the company's advertising and promotion programs for the second half of 1988. These include sponsorship of the 1988 Summer Olympics and a rock concert tour organized by Amnesty International. In addition, Reebok is launching a new... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Music Entertainment; Advertising Campaigns; Sports; Sports Industry; Sports Industry; Sports Industry

2011
Article

Strike Three: Discrimination, Incentives, and Evaluation

By: Christopher Parsons, J. Sulaeman, M. Yates and D. Hamermesh

Major League Baseball umpires express their racial/ethnic preferences when they evaluate pitchers. Strikes are called less often if the umpire and pitcher do not match race/ethnicity, but mainly where there is little scrutiny of umpires. Pitchers understand the... View Details

Keywords: Wages; Motivation and Incentives; Prejudice and Bias; Ethnicity; Race; Performance Productivity; Sports; Sports Industry

Find at Harvard

25 Jan 2018
News

A Whole New Game

According to research compiled by the Federal Reserve, cities, not suburbs, are now the leading generators of US economic growth. From 2010 to 2016, urban populations grew faster than those in the suburbs, reversing a nearly 70-year-old trend. And View Details

10 Feb 2016
News

Drone Racing League Launches

Keywords: Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Arts, Entertainment

18 Jul 2014
News

Team Players

"We had 100 volunteers who worked almost around the clock," says Lehrer, who also helped host visits from HBS's Business of Sports Club and the annual Tech Trek. "There were lots of people answering questions from the same brand, so we... View Details

Keywords: Robert S. Benchley; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Arts, Entertainment; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management

February 1999 (Revised July 2004)
Case

Life as a Minor League CEO Frank Burke and The Chattanooga Lookouts

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Kirk A. Goldman

A "slice of life" depiction of the range of issues and activities experienced by Frank Burke (HBS MBA 1987), the president of a minor league baseball team (the Chattanooga Lookouts). Raises questions of the applicability of MBA skills in this role and the "quotient of... View Details

Keywords: Happiness; Managerial Roles; Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Marketing; Cost Management; Cost vs Benefits; Operations; Sports; Business Education; Sports Industry; Tennessee