Publications

August 2015
Article

Price Coherence and Excessive Intermediation

By: Benjamin Edelman and Julian Wright

Suppose an intermediary provides a benefit to buyers when they purchase from sellers using the intermediary's technology. We develop a model to show that the intermediary would want to restrict sellers from charging buyers more for transactions it intermediates. With... View Details

Keywords: Intermediaries; Platforms; Two-Sided Markets; Vertical Restraints; Two-Sided Platforms

2006
Working Paper

The Value of a 'Free' Customer

By: Sunil Gupta, Carl F. Mela and Jose M. Vidal-Sanz

Central to a firm's growth and marketing policy is the revenus and profit potential of its customer assets. As a result, there has been a recent proliferation of work regarding customer lifetime value. However, extant research in this area is silent regarding how to... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Auctions; Network Effects; Business Strategy

February 2023 (Revised March 2024)
Supplement

Shanty Real Estate: Teaching Note Supplement

By: Michael Luca and Jesse M. Shapiro

Shanty is a simulation in which students inhabit the role of either a traditional home buyer or an iBuyer, both bidding on the same condo. The traditional home buyer has access to a “comp sheet” of similar properties that have recently sold, and has done a walkthrough.... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Decision Making; Measurement and Metrics; Market Timing

Fall 2013
Article

Engaging Supply Chains in Climate Change

By: Chonnikarn Fern Jira and Michael W. Toffel

Suppliers are increasingly being asked to share information about their vulnerability to climate change and their strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Their responses vary widely. We theorize and empirically identify several factors associated with suppliers... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Sharing; Motivation and Incentives; Risk Management; Climate Change; Supply Chain Management; Environmental Sustainability

22 Jul 2015
Research & Ideas

Name Your Price. Really.

able to set their own prices, almost everyone pays something—and sometimes well over the suggested price. "I was really interested in that broad variance and who pays a little and who pays a lot and under what circumstances," says Santana. Sellers Can... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Consumer Products

19 Jan 2022
Blog Post

From Retail to HBS: How I’m Building a Career Path at the Intersection of Arts, Culture, and Business

eventually. However, it wasn’t until a few years later that I seriously considered getting an MBA. I had achieved one of my dream jobs as a fashion buyer and was ready for a new challenge, but I wasn’t sure what that next step might be.... View Details

07 Mar 2007
Research & Ideas

How Do You Value a “Free” Customer?

research is starting to look at customers whose value is not as readily apparent, and where CLV calculations break down. In a recent working paper, Harvard Business School professor Sunil Gupta calls them "free" customers—think of View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Web Services

September 1986 (Revised August 1987)
Case

Pressco, Inc.--1984

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

A marketing representative of heavy industrial equipment needs to evaluate the net present value of his equipment from the perspective of the buyer under changing tax regulations. View Details

Keywords: Machinery and Machining; Valuation; Product Positioning; Performance Evaluation; Taxation; Price; United States

October 1971 (Revised June 1985)
Case

Fisher-Price Toys, Inc.

Reviews new product introduction and pricing decisions for a riding toy designed for preschool children. Designed to provide background in buyer behavior, market analysis, and corporate strategy. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Product Launch; Consumer Products Industry

Educators

19 Jul 2018
News

Research Says This Type of Video Closes More B2B Sales

September 2018
Supplement

Advent International: Kroton Investment

By: Victoria Ivashina, Priscilla Zogbi and Ruth Kostas

Keywords: Private Equity; Acquisition; IPO; Valuation; Education; Distance Learning; Turnaround; Growth; Exit; PE; Buyer; Middle-class; Low Income; K-12; Entrepreneur; Family Business; University; College; Consolidation; Fragmentation; Penetration; Value; Shares; Control; Negotiation; Equity; Transaction; Board; Majority; Minority; Post-secondary; Leverage; Campus; Deal; Shareholder; Tag Along

July 1986 (Revised March 1989)
Case

Jim Southern

By: Howard H. Stevenson

A recent MBA graduate has reached tentative agreement for an LBO of a forms-printing business with $43 million sales. At the eleventh hour, however, the seller has demanded that the buyer personally guarantee $4 million of accounts payable. View Details

Keywords: Agreements and Arrangements; Leveraged Buyouts; Accounting

Educators

September 2021
Article

Network Interconnectivity and Entry into Platform Markets

By: Feng Zhu, Xinxin Li, Ehsan Valavi and Marco Iansiti

Digital technologies have led to the emergence of many platforms in our economy today. In certain platform networks, buyers in one market purchase services from providers in many other markets, whereas in others, buyers primarily purchase services from providers within... View Details

Keywords: Network Interconnectivity; Platform Competition; Market Entry; Networks; Digital Platforms; Competition; Market Entry and Exit

06 Sep 2005
Research & Ideas

When Product Variety Backfires

Traditional wisdom teaches that brands win market share by offering a wide variety of products, increasing the chance of appealing to a wider variety of customers. But how happy are you when trying to find a head cold remedy at the pharmacy amid an overwhelming number... View Details

Keywords: by Poping Lin; Consumer Products

winter 1989
Article

Split-Awards Procurement and Innovation

By: James J. Anton and Dennis A. Yao

In many procurement settings, it is possible for a buyer to split a production award between suppliers. In this article, we develop a model of split-award procurement auctions in which the split choice is endogenous. We characterize the set of equilibrium bids and... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Cost; Supply Chain; Investment; Balance and Stability

2023
Working Paper

Pulp Friction: The Value of Quantity Contracts in Decentralized Markets

By: Olivier Darmouni, Simon Essig Aberg and Juha Tolvanen

Firms in decentralized markets often trade using quantity contracts, agreements that specify quantity prior to the point of sale. These contracts are valuable because they provide quantity assurance, as trading frictions could prevent a buyer and seller from matching... View Details

Keywords: Decentralized Markets; Trading Frictions; Market Structure; Transaction Costs; Contracts; Market Transactions; Pulp and Paper Industry

SSRN

Research Summary

Engaging supply chains in climate change and sustainability issues

This research aims to develop a better understanding of the dynamics between supply chain partners in issues regarding climate change and sustainability. I am particularly interested in better understanding factors that motivate suppliers to share climate change... View Details

August 2007
Case

New York Magazine

By: Guhan Subramanian and David Chen

Describes the events surrounding the sale of New York Magazine to Bruce Wasserstein in 2003. Wasserstein's last-second cash bid of $55 million surprised other potential buyers and allowed him to win ownership of the magazine. View Details

Keywords: Journals and Magazines; Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Negotiation Deal; Publishing Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry