Publications

February 1990 (Revised April 1991)
Background Note

Quick Response in the Apparel Industry

By: Janice H. Hammond

It has been estimated that the U.S. apparel industry wastes over $25 billion annually due to inefficient practices, long lead times, and insufficient coordination between channel partners. In response to intense competition from off-shore producers, the industry has... View Details

Keywords: Information; Distribution Channels; Performance Efficiency; Partners and Partnerships; Adaptation; Business Strategy; System; Technology; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

2022
Working Paper

Distributional Consequences of Monetary Policy Across Races: Evidence from the U.S. Credit Register

By: Laura Alfaro, Ester Faia and Camelia Minoiu

We examine the consequences of monetary policy on racial disparities, focusing on the role of bank lending to firms through collateral and selection channels. Leveraging comprehensive loan-level data from the U.S. credit register (Y-14Q) of the Federal Reserve, we show... View Details

Keywords: Monetary Policy Transmission; Inequity; Credit Registry; Wealth; Collateral Channel; Selection; Racial Disparity; Racial Inequality; Equality and Inequality; Banks and Banking; Credit; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Banking Industry; United States

Read Now

February 2007
Case

Update: The Music Industry in 2006

By: John R. Wells and Elizabeth Raabe

The global recorded music industry was undergoing a major transition in 2006. Sales had been declining for a decade, and consumers were buying music in new formats and through different distribution channels. CD sales still accounted for the majority of revenues, but... View Details

Keywords: History; Arts; Music Entertainment; Intellectual Property; Market Timing; Performance Evaluation; Trends; Music Industry

March 1996
Case

Germany and the Bonn-Berlin Split: Supporting Distributed Work Through IT

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Keywords: Information Technology; Information Technology Industry; Germany

Article

Syndication Networks and the Spatial Distribution of Venture Capital Investments

By: Olav Sorenson and Toby E. Stuart

Keywords: Media; Networks; Venture Capital; Investment; Media and Broadcasting Industry

July 2006 (Revised March 2010)
Case

Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-virus Industry

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Jordan Mitchell

Symantec and McAfee hold 53.6% and 18.8% respectively, of the anti-virus software market as of 2006. While the market is concentrated with five firms controlling over 90%, Microsoft is on the eve of releasing a consumer security subscription packed called OneCare Live.... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Market Entry and Exit; Competitive Strategy; Software; Information Technology Industry

January 1995 (Revised July 1996)
Case

Pharmaceutical Industry in the 1990s, The

Describes the pharmaceutical industry in the 1990s, with particular emphasis on the mergers between American manufacturers and prescription-benefits managers (PBMs). PBMs are distributors with unprecedented access to information on patient and physician... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Use and Leverage; Distribution; Mergers and Acquisitions; Knowledge Management; Distribution Industry; Distribution Industry; United States

December 2003 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Blockbuster Inc. & Technological Substitution (D): The Threat of Direct Digital Distribution

Examines the emergence of technologies for delivering video content to consumer homes via direct digital distribution and investigates the strategic options facing video rental giant Blockbuster Inc. as it tries to respond to the new technological substitutes. Examines... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Risk and Uncertainty; Decisions; Technological Innovation; Competition; Change Management; Service Industry; Service Industry

October 2020 (Revised July 2023)
Case

The Walt Disney Company: The 21st Century Fox Acquisition and Digital Distribution

By: David J. Collis

This case describes the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by the Walt Disney Company and the subsequent launch by Disney of three streaming channels to compete with Netflix. View Details

Keywords: Disney; Streaming; Corporate Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Distribution; Competitive Strategy; Vertical Integration; Media and Broadcasting Industry

October 1993 (Revised June 1995)
Teaching Note

Wholesale Club Industry TN

By: David E. Bell

Teaching Note for (9-594-035). View Details

Keywords: Distribution Industry

24 Jul 2006
Research & Ideas

How Kayak Users Built a New Industry

and the sport of rodeo kayaking quickly emerged from the rapids. Harvard Business School professor Carliss Baldwin and her colleagues Christoph Hienerth and Eric von Hippel were drawn to the sport as well, but not to get their feet wet. Instead, they realized that both... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Entertainment & Recreation

November 2015
Article

Cannibalization and Option Value Effects of Secondary Markets: Evidence from the U.S. Concert Industry

By: Victor Manuel Bennett, Robert Seamans and Feng Zhu

We examine how reducing search frictions in secondary markets affects the value appropriated by firms in primary markets. We characterize two effects on primary market firms caused by intermediaries entering secondary markets: the "cannibalization" and "option value"... View Details

Keywords: Cannibalization Effect; Option Value Effect; Secondary Markets; Concert Industry; Craigslist; Competition; Distribution Channels; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

SSRN

January 1989
Case

Cathay Pacific Airways (A): Globalization of Airline Reservation and Distribution Systems Technology

By: James I. Cash Jr.

Keywords: Air Transportation; Information Technology; Air Transportation Industry

July 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Background Note

Note on the Mail Order Industry

By: David E. Bell and Dinny Starr Gordon

Keywords: Distribution Industry

Fast Answer

Company, topic, & industry alerts

innovative products and services. Distributed biweekly each semester. ABI/Inform: Run a search on the company, topic, or industry of interest. Click Save search/alert., then click Create... View Details

March 2024
Case

Ava DuVernay's Array: Disrupting the Hollywood Film Industry

By: Anita Elberse and Morgan Brewton-Johnson

In February 2023 acclaimed filmmaker Ava DuVernay is filming her latest movie, Origin, a daring adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. With Origin, DuVernay is pioneering a method to finance the endeavor—through a combination of... View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Intellectual Property; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Disruption; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

August 2002
Teaching Note

HP Consumer Products Business Organization: Distributing Printers via the Internet, TN

By: Rajiv Lal

Teaching Note for (9-500-021). View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products Industry

2009
Working Paper

Industry Equilibrium with Open Source and Proprietary Firms

By: Gaston Llanes and Ramiro de Elejalde

We present a model of industry equilibrium to study the coexistence of Open Source (OS) and Proprietary (P) firms. Two novel aspects of the model are: (1) participation in OS arises as the optimal decision of profit-maximizing firms, and (2) OS and P firms may (or may... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Sharing; Industry Structures; Open Source Distribution; Research and Development