Publications

November 2000
Case

FireDrop

By: William A. Sahlman and Michael J. Roberts

Describes the evolution of FireDrop, a new venture-backed company that has developed a new platform for e-mail communication. The FireDrop application--called a Zaplet--allows for e-mails to be continually updated so they are current when read (rather than when sent).... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Internet and the Web; Communication Technology; Venture Capital; Technological Innovation; Information Technology Industry

15 May 2022
News

Layoffs on Zoom: Is There a Better Way?

07 Sep 2021
News

Harvard Business School Study Says Software Overlooks Millions Of Qualified Job Candidates: Here’s How To Fight Back Against The Bots

16 Jan 2018
News

Facebook, BlackRock, and the Case for Purpose-Driven Companies

November 2023
Article

Open Source Software and Global Entrepreneurship

By: Nataliya Langburd Wright, Frank Nagle and Shane Greenstein

This is the first study to consider the relationship between open source software (OSS) and entrepreneurship around the globe. This study measures whether country-level participation on the GitHub OSS platform affects the founding of innovative ventures, and where it... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Applications and Software; Business Ventures; Development Economics; Innovation and Invention; Global Range

SSRN

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October 2024
Article

Sampling Bias in Entrepreneurial Experiments

By: Ruiqing Cao, Rembrand Koning and Ramana Nanda

Using data from a prominent online platform for launching new digital products, we document that ‘sampling bias’—defined as the difference between a startup’s target customer base and the actual sample on which early ‘beta tests’ are conducted—has a systematic and... View Details

Keywords: Target Market; Sampling Biases; Beta Testing; Product Launch; Entrepreneurship; Gender

12 Mar 2019
HBS Seminar

Giorgos Zervas, Boston University

November 2018
Case

Swissgrid: Enterprise Risk Management in a Digital Age

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Anette Mikes

Kurt Meyer, chief risk officer of Swissgrid, the Swiss national electricity transmission system operator, reflects on the risk management system he installed after the deregulation and liberalization of the European energy market. With 41 connections to other European... View Details

Keywords: Enterprise Risk Management; Energy Transmission; Risk and Uncertainty; Risk Management; Energy; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry; Switzerland

June 2014
Case

Going Social: Durex in China

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski and Aaron Smith

When Reckitt Benckiser (RB), a leading consumer goods company, first entered China, it encountered significant challenges. RB's strategy relied on selling high margin products supported by cost-effective advertising and distribution, but the highly competitive Chinese... View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Multinational Firms and Management; Internet and the Web; Marketing Communications; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; China

2025
Working Paper

The Value of Silence: The Effect of UMG’s Licensing Dispute with TikTok on Music Demand

By: Mengjie (Magie) Cheng, Elie Ofek and Hema Yoganarasimhan

Social media platforms like TikTok have transformed how music is discovered, consumed, and monetized. This study examines the implications of the dispute between TikTok and Universal Music Group (UMG), which resulted in UMG excluding its music from TikTok from... View Details

Keywords: Demand And Consumers; Monetization; Social Media; Revenue; Conflict and Resolution; Music Industry

SSRN

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March 2024
Teaching Note

Sonder Holdings Inc.: Using Technology to Solve Hospitality's Frictions

By: John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 922-039. Digital disruption is challenging the hospitality industry. Traditional hotels face competition from platforms, most visibly Airbnb but also the homeshare divisions of online travel agencies such as Expedia and Booking.com, that... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Disruptive Innovation; Competition; Market Participation; Accommodations Industry

October 2017
Case

LeBron James: Building a Hollywood Empire

By: Anita Elberse

It is June 2016. Superstar basketball player LeBron James and his childhood friend and business partner Maverick Carter are celebrating James’ third NBA championship. The duo will soon have to decide on a strategy for their media businesses—their film and television... View Details

June 2018
Supplement

Knowledge Sharing at REMA 1000 (B)

By: Tatiana Sandino and Olivia Hull

Supplement to HBS No. 118-007, "Knowledge Sharing at REMA 1000 (A)." Chief Human Resources Officer Tore Høylie was proud of REMA 1000 (REMA)’s strong employee engagement with Workplace, Facebook’s corporate social media platform; however, some users complained that the... View Details

Keywords: Social Network; Enterprise Social Media; Facebook; Workplace; Social and Collaborative Networks; Communication Technology; Problems and Challenges; Social Media; Retail Industry; Norway

February 2001 (Revised August 2001)
Case

WholesalerDirect

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Kerry Herman

Describes the development of WholesalerDirect, a B2B electronic commerce venture in the plumbing, heating, cooling, and piping industry. Adam Berger, the CEO, is trying to raise funding to roll out the company's e-commerce platform to the industry's more than 3,000... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Valuation; Business Plan; Financing and Loans; Financial Strategy

Find at Harvard

05 May 2015
News

HBX Announces Additional Agreements with Liberal Arts Colleges

22 May 2014
News

Professor Bharat Anand Discusses Online Classes

23 Mar 2021
News

Should Gig Work Be Government-Run?

May 20, 2024
Article

Porter’s Five Forces and Competitive Advantage in Web3

By: Scott Duke Kominers and Liang Wu

Competitive strategy — the art of crafting and executing plans to achieve an advantageous position in the market — is integral to any business, and especially relevant for platforms because it determines their ability to achieve network effects and scale. But web3... View Details

Keywords: Five Forces Framework; Competitive Strategy; Business Strategy; Network Effects; Digital Transformation