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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(2,074)
- People (2)
- News (469)
- Research (1,238)
- Events (24)
- Multimedia (2)
- Faculty Publications (716)
- 2019
- Working Paper
Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 17 The Wintel Standards-based Platform
The purpose of this chapter is to use the theory of bottlenecks laid out in previous chapters to better understand the dynamics of an open standards-based platform. I describe how the Wintel platform evolved from 1990 through 2000 under joint sponsorship of Intel and... View Details
Keywords: Open Platforms; Bottlenecks; Wintel Platform; Disintermediation; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Business History; Digital Platforms; Computer Industry
Baldwin, Carliss Y. "Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 17 The Wintel Standards-based Platform." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-055, November 2019.
- 01 Mar 2018
- News
Can a Digital Platform Open Up the Opaque Metals Industry?
them to downsize and slash jobs. “It was a commodity price down cycle across almost all metals. We were obviously expecting a large negative impact,” recalls Chernilovskiy, then an asset manager at Kazakhstani zinc-producer Kazzinc, a subsidiary View Details
Keywords: Nicole Torres
- November 2021 (Revised December 2022)
- Case
Farfetch: Digital Transformation for Luxury Brands
By: Sunil Gupta, Jill Avery, Elena Corsi and Federica Gabrieli
Farfetch, a global luxury technology platform and digital marketplace had been surfing the wave of digital transformation in the luxury fashion industry since 2008. While the company’s stock price and market valuation had fluctuated since its IPO in 2018, it had... View Details
Keywords: Digital Marketing; Marketplaces; Retailing; Internet Marketing; E-Commerce Strategy; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Channels; Brands and Branding; Luxury; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Transformation; E-commerce; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; Web Services Industry; Technology Industry; United Kingdom; Europe; Portugal; China
Gupta, Sunil, Jill Avery, Elena Corsi, and Federica Gabrieli. "Farfetch: Digital Transformation for Luxury Brands." Harvard Business School Case 522-051, November 2021. (Revised December 2022.)
- October 2021 (Revised December 2021)
- Case
PhonePe: Democratizing Payments in India
By: Michael Chu and Rachna Tahilyani
The co-founders of PhonePe, India’s leading digital payment platform are considering pursuing various growth opportunities in a huge country just entering the digital age. In a highly competitive industry, the founders are keenly aware that making the right choices is... View Details
Keywords: Digital Platform; Digital Banking; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; Financial Services Industry; Asia; India
Chu, Michael, and Rachna Tahilyani. "PhonePe: Democratizing Payments in India." Harvard Business School Case 322-053, October 2021. (Revised December 2021.)
- July 2021
- Article
The Effect of Price on Firm Reputation
By: Michael Luca and Oren Reshef
While a business's reputation can affect its pricing, prices can also affect its reputation. To explore the effect of prices on reputation, we investigate daily data on menu prices and online ratings from a large rating and ordering platform. We find that a price... View Details
Keywords: Pricing; Reputation Systems; IT Policy And Management; Economics Of Digital Platforms; Business Ventures; Reputation; Price; Consumer Behavior; Analysis
Luca, Michael, and Oren Reshef. "The Effect of Price on Firm Reputation." Management Science 67, no. 7 (July 2021): 4408–4419.
- 2018
- Working Paper
The Digital Commons: Tragedy or Opportunity? A Reflection on the 50th Anniversary of Hardin's Tragedy of the Commons
By: Frank Nagle
On the 50th anniversary of Garrett Hardin’s “The Tragedy of the Commons,” this article considers the benefits and potential downsides of the digital commons, which emerged well after Hardin wrote his seminal article. Unlike the physical world Hardin wrote about, the... View Details
Nagle, Frank. "The Digital Commons: Tragedy or Opportunity? A Reflection on the 50th Anniversary of Hardin's Tragedy of the Commons." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-060, December 2018.
- 22 Jan 2020
- Podcast
From opt-in to check-out: How digital platforms are transforming retail
Dan O’Connor, retail expert and executive-in-residence with the HBS Managing the Future of Work project, traces the evolution of retail from the corner store through big-box, e-commerce, and the emergence of omni-faceted digital platforms. What are the implications for... View Details
- Forthcoming
- Article
Digital Lending and Financial Well-Being: Through the Lens of Mobile Phone Data
By: AJ Chen, Omri Even-Tov, Jung Koo Kang and Regina Wittenberg-Moerman
To mitigate information asymmetry about borrowers in developing economies, digital lenders use machine-learning algorithms and nontraditional data from borrowers’ mobile devices. Consequently, digital lenders have managed to expand access to credit for millions of... View Details
Keywords: Informal Economy; Digital Banking; Mobile Phones; Developing Countries and Economies; Mobile and Wireless Technology; AI and Machine Learning; Analytics and Data Science; Credit; Borrowing and Debt; Well-being; Banking Industry; Kenya
Chen, AJ, Omri Even-Tov, Jung Koo Kang, and Regina Wittenberg-Moerman. "Digital Lending and Financial Well-Being: Through the Lens of Mobile Phone Data." Accounting Review (forthcoming). (Pre-published online April 22, 2025.)
- Article
Platform Competition: Betfair and the U.K. Market for Sports Betting
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Neil Campbell
We examine two episodes of strategic interaction in the U.K. betting industry: (i) Betfair (an entrant multi-sided platform or MSP) vs. Flutter (also an MSP) and (ii) Betfair vs. traditional bookmakers. We find that although Betfair was an underfunded second mover in... View Details
Keywords: Platform Design; Betting; Complements; Competing Business Models; Co-opetition; Entry; Multi-Sided Platforms; Design; Network Effects; Business Model; Competition; Cooperation
Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon, and Neil Campbell. "Platform Competition: Betfair and the U.K. Market for Sports Betting." Special Issue on Platforms. Journal of Economics & Management Strategy 28, no. 1 (Spring 2019): 29–40.
- 2011
- Working Paper
Quantity vs. Quality: Exclusion by Platforms with Network Effects
By: Andrei Hagiu
This paper provides a simple model of platforms with direct network effects, in which users value not just the quantity (i.e., number) of other users who join, but also their average quality in some dimension. A monopoly platform is more likely to exclude low-quality... View Details
Keywords: Multi-sided Platforms; Exclusion; Quality And Quantity; Cost; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Network Effects; Market Participation; Digital Platforms; Monopoly; Quality; Motivation and Incentives; Strategy
Hagiu, Andrei. "Quantity vs. Quality: Exclusion by Platforms with Network Effects." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 11-125, May 2011.
- Summer 2014
- Article
When Does a Platform Create Value by Limiting Choice?
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Hanna Halaburda
We present a theory for why it might be rational for a platform to limit the number of applications available on it. Our model is based on the observation that even if users prefer application variety, applications often also exhibit direct network effects. When there... View Details
Keywords: Platform Governance; Direct Network Effects; Indirect Network Effects; Complements; Tragedy Of The Commons; Equilibrium Selection; Coordination; Foresight; Strategy; Value Creation; Digital Platforms; Balance and Stability; Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Behavior; Applications and Software; Network Effects
Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon, and Hanna Halaburda. "When Does a Platform Create Value by Limiting Choice?" Journal of Economics & Management Strategy 23, no. 2 (Summer 2014): 259–293.
- 2021
- Chapter
Digital Infrastructure
By: Shane Greenstein
What determines the supply of innovative digital infrastructure and how does variance in supply shape the performance of digital services? The essay reviews research into the economic impact of deployment, innovation, and adoption of digital infrastructure. It... View Details
Keywords: Information Technology; Infrastructure; Economics; Policy; Research; Analysis; United States
Greenstein, Shane. "Digital Infrastructure." In Economic Analysis and Infrastructure Investment, edited by Edward L. Glaeser and James Poterba. National Bureau of Economic Research, and University of Chicago Press, 2021.
- Article
How to Launch Your Digital Platform: A Playbook for Strategists
By: Benjamin Edelman
The ubiquity of Internet access has caused a sharp rise in the number of businesses offering platforms that connect users for communication or commerce. Entrepreneurs are particularly drawn to these platforms because they create significant value and have modest... View Details
Keywords: Platforms; Launch; Mobilization Strategy; Two-Sided Platforms; Network Effects; Adoption; Entrepreneurship; Information Technology Industry; Advertising Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Transportation Industry; Financial Services Industry
Edelman, Benjamin. "How to Launch Your Digital Platform: A Playbook for Strategists." Harvard Business Review 93, no. 4 (April 2015): 90–97. (Reprinted in Launch a Start-Up That Lasts, Harvard Business Review OnPoint, Winter 2016.)
- 2007
- Working Paper
Dynamics of Platform Competition: Exploring the Role of Installed Base, Platform Quality and Consumer Expectations
By: Feng Zhu and Marco Iansiti
This paper seeks to answer three questions. First, which drives the success of a platform, installed base, platform quality or consumer expectations? Second, when does a monopoly emerge in a platform-based market? Finally, when is a platform-based market socially... View Details
Keywords: Price; Network Effects; Digital Platforms; Monopoly; Quality; Competitive Advantage; Digital Platforms
Zhu, Feng, and Marco Iansiti. "Dynamics of Platform Competition: Exploring the Role of Installed Base, Platform Quality and Consumer Expectations." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 08-031, November 2007.
- 2015
- Working Paper
Multi-Sided Platforms
By: Andrei Hagiu and Julian Wright
We study the economic tradeoffs that drive organizations to position themselves closer to or further away from a multi-sided platform (MSP) business model, relative to three traditional alternatives: vertically integrated firms, resellers or input suppliers. These... View Details
Hagiu, Andrei, and Julian Wright. "Multi-Sided Platforms." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 15-037, November 2014. (Revised March 2015.)
- October 2024
- Case
EU's Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act
By: David B. Yoffie and Sarah von Bargen
Since the early 2020s, the EU began passing regulations on digital platforms and their marketplaces. One of the first was the Digital Services Act package, consisting of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA). These regulations were focused on... View Details
Yoffie, David B., and Sarah von Bargen. "EU's Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act." Harvard Business School Case 725-372, October 2024.
- July 2018
- Article
Does Copyright Affect Reuse? Evidence from Google Books and Wikipedia
By: Abhishek Nagaraj
While digitization has greatly increased the reuse of knowledge, this study shows how these benefits might be mitigated by copyright restrictions. I use the digitization of in-copyright and out-of-copyright issues of Baseball Digest magazine by Google Books to... View Details
Nagaraj, Abhishek. "Does Copyright Affect Reuse? Evidence from Google Books and Wikipedia." Management Science 64, no. 7 (July 2018): 3091–3107.
- January 2002 (Revised May 2002)
- Case
Digital China Holdings Limited: ERP as a Platform for Building New Capabilities
By: F. Warren McFarlan, Guoqing Chen and Kai Reimers
This case analyzes a complex ERP implementation that takes place in one of the leading companies in China. The issues are indistinguishable from those facing a U.S. organization. View Details
Keywords: Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption; Information Technology; Complexity; Problems and Challenges; China
McFarlan, F. Warren, Guoqing Chen, and Kai Reimers. "Digital China Holdings Limited: ERP as a Platform for Building New Capabilities." Harvard Business School Case 302-080, January 2002. (Revised May 2002.)
- July 2021
- Article
Outsourcing Tasks Online: Matching Supply and Demand on Peer-to-Peer Internet Platforms
By: Zoë Cullen and Chiara Farronato
We study the growth of online peer-to-peer markets. Using data from TaskRabbit, an expanding marketplace for domestic tasks at the time of our study, we show that growth varies considerably across cities. To disentangle the potential drivers of growth, we look... View Details
Keywords: Two-sided Market; Two-sided Platforms; Peer-to-peer Markets; Platform Strategy; Sharing Economy; Platform Growth; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Strategy; Market Design; Network Effects
Cullen, Zoë, and Chiara Farronato. "Outsourcing Tasks Online: Matching Supply and Demand on Peer-to-Peer Internet Platforms." Management Science 67, no. 7 (July 2021): 3985–4003.