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- All HBS Web
(408)
- News (110)
- Research (232)
- Events (1)
- Multimedia (1)
- Faculty Publications (151)
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- 2016
- Working Paper
Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue: The Case of Yelp.com
By: Michael Luca
Do online consumer reviews affect restaurant demand? I investigate this question using a novel dataset combining reviews from the website Yelp.com and restaurant data from the Washington State Department of Revenue. Because Yelp prominently displays a restaurant's... View Details
Keywords: Revenue; Network Effects; Reputation; Social and Collaborative Networks; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Washington (state, US)
Luca, Michael. "Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue: The Case of Yelp.com." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 12-016, September 2011. (Revised March 2016.)
- 09 Jun 2022
- HBS Case
From Truck Driver to Manager: US Foods’ Novel Approach to Staff Shortages
When COVID-19 swept across the world in 2020, more than 110,000 restaurants and bars closed at least temporarily, so demand fell for the company’s pre-chopped vegetables, prepared cheesecakes, and other products. US Foods sales dropped 12... View Details
Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds
- December 2010 (Revised February 2012)
- Case
Yum! China
By: David E. Bell and Mary Shelman
Since the first KFC opened in China in 1987, Yum--under Sam Su's leadership--had built the largest restaurant company by far in mainland China. Averaging one new restaurant opening a day for the past five years, in 2010 Yum ran over 3,600 restaurants in 650 cities and... View Details
Keywords: Business Processes; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategy; Business Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Beijing Shi
Bell, David E., and Mary Shelman. "Yum! China." Harvard Business School Case 511-040, December 2010. (Revised February 2012.)
- 2023
- Working Paper
The Benefits of Revealing Race: Evidence from Minority-owned Local Businesses
By: Abhay Aneja, Michael Luca and Oren Reshef
Is there latent demand to support Black-owned businesses? To explore, we analyze a new feature
that made it easier to identify Black-owned restaurants on a large online platform. We find that
labeling restaurants as “Black-owned” increased customer engagement and... View Details
Keywords: Black-owned Businesses; Race; Prejudice and Bias; Ownership; Knowledge Dissemination; Digital Platforms; Consumer Behavior; Food and Beverage Industry
Aneja, Abhay, Michael Luca, and Oren Reshef. "The Benefits of Revealing Race: Evidence from Minority-owned Local Businesses." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 23-042, January 2023. (Revised September 2023.)
- September 1991
- Case
Paul Olsen (A)
Paul Olsen, a doctoral management student, is considering forming a limited partnership to open a restaurant in a renovated downtown mall in Pittsburgh. He must assess the opportunity, find investors for the anticipated $250,000 start-up costs, and create a workable... View Details
Keywords: Entrepreneurship
Bhide, Amar. "Paul Olsen (A)." Harvard Business School Case 392-011, September 1991.
- May–June 2023
- Article
Which Firms Gain from Digital Advertising? Evidence from a Field Experiment
By: Weijia Dai, Hyunjin Kim and Michael Luca
Measuring the returns of advertising opportunities continues to be a challenge for many
businesses. We design and run a field experiment in collaboration with Yelp across 18,294
firms in the restaurant industry to understand which types of businesses gain more from... View Details
Dai, Weijia, Hyunjin Kim, and Michael Luca. "Which Firms Gain from Digital Advertising? Evidence from a Field Experiment." Marketing Science 42, no. 3 (May–June 2023): 429–439.
- December 2021 (Revised June 2022)
- Case
Darden Restaurants: The Nine Square Feet
By: Joshua D. Margolis and James Barnett
In June 2021, Darden Restaurants CEO Gene Lee contemplates how to position the world’s biggest full-service restaurant more than one year into the COVID-19 pandemic. View Details
Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Agribusiness; Change; Decision Making; Food; Human Resources; Leadership; Operations; Strategy; Health Pandemics; Opportunities; Food and Beverage Industry; United States
Margolis, Joshua D., and James Barnett. "Darden Restaurants: The Nine Square Feet." Harvard Business School Case 422-004, December 2021. (Revised June 2022.)
- August 1998 (Revised June 2013)
- Case
Business Plan for Room For Dessert: Adding Unique Ingredients to Life's Balancing Act
By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Michael J. Roberts
Summarizes the business plan for a concept restaurant focused on late evening dessert service as well as its subsequent rollout plan. View Details
Keywords: Business Strategy; Planning; Business Plan; Outcome or Result; Service Operations; Experience and Expertise; Service Industry; Service Industry
Lassiter, Joseph B., III, and Michael J. Roberts. "Business Plan for Room For Dessert: Adding Unique Ingredients to Life's Balancing Act." Harvard Business School Case 899-008, August 1998. (Revised June 2013.)
- May 2016 (Revised September 2017)
- Case
Pal's Sudden Service—Scaling an Organizational Model to Drive Growth
By: Gary P. Pisano, Francesca Gino and Bradley R. Staats
Pal's Sudden Service has developed a unique operating model and organizational culture in the quick service restaurant business. With a deep emphasis on process control and improvement, zero defects, extensive training, and a high level of employee engagement, Pal's... View Details
Keywords: Growth Strategy; Corporate Culture; Operations Strategy; Motivation; Values; Motivation and Incentives; Strategy; Values and Beliefs; Service Operations; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Industry; Service Industry
Pisano, Gary P., Francesca Gino, and Bradley R. Staats. "Pal's Sudden Service—Scaling an Organizational Model to Drive Growth." Harvard Business School Case 916-052, May 2016. (Revised September 2017.)
- July 2016
- Teaching Note
Launching Yelp Reservations
By: Michael Luca, Kevin Mohan and Patrick Rooney
This teaching note accompanies "Launching Yelp Reservations (A) and (B)," which present a multi-party negotiation among Yelp, current partner OpenTable, and two startups in the online restaurant reservation industry. View Details
- September 2018
- Case
Sealed Air Corporation: Deciding the Fate of VTID (Abridged)
By: Elie Ofek
In mid-2010 the Sealed Air Corporation has to decide on next steps for its novel video tracking technology (called VTID) after unsuccessful attempts to market it in three different industry settings. The company must determine whether its most recent target market, the... View Details
Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Technological Innovation; Marketing Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Commercialization; Service Industry
Ofek, Elie. "Sealed Air Corporation: Deciding the Fate of VTID (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 519-030, September 2018.
- 2013
- Article
Where Not to Eat? Improving Public Policy by Predicting Hygiene Inspections Using Online Reviews
By: Jun Seok Kang, Polina Kuznetsova, Yejin Choi and Michael Luca
Restaurant hygiene inspections are often cited as a success story of public disclosure. Hygiene grades influence customer decisions and serve as an accountability system for restaurants. However, cities (which are responsible for inspections) have limited resources to... View Details
Keywords: Safety; Food; Governance Compliance; Mathematical Methods; Applications and Software; Public Administration Industry; Public Administration Industry; Public Administration Industry
Kang, Jun Seok, Polina Kuznetsova, Yejin Choi, and Michael Luca. "Where Not to Eat? Improving Public Policy by Predicting Hygiene Inspections Using Online Reviews." Proceedings of the Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing (2013): 1443–1448.
- July 2015 (Revised April 2016)
- Case
Launching Yelp Reservations (A)
By: Michael Luca, Kevin Mohan and Patrick Rooney
This case presents a multi-party negotiation among Yelp, current partner OpenTable, and two startups in the online restaurant reservation industry. View Details
Keywords: Information Technology; Negotiation; Business Startups; Acquisition; Technology Industry; United States
Luca, Michael, Kevin Mohan, and Patrick Rooney. "Launching Yelp Reservations (A)." Harvard Business School Case 916-003, July 2015. (Revised April 2016.)
- April 2011
- Case
Porcini's Pronto: "Great Italian cuisine without the wait!"
By: James L. Heskett and Richard Luecke
Porcini's Inc. operates a chain of 23 full-service restaurants located near shopping malls and downtown areas in the northeastern United States. Known for providing excellent service, Porcini's serves high-quality Italian cuisine made from fresh ingredients. Looking... View Details
Keywords: Franchising; Syndication; Quantitative Analysis; Performance Measurement; Human Resource Management; Incentives; Motivation; Consumer Behavior; Measurement and Metrics; Quality; Customer Value and Value Chain; Selection and Staffing; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Service Delivery; Franchise Ownership; Customer Focus and Relationships; Product Marketing; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Northeastern United States
Heskett, James L., and Richard Luecke. Porcini's Pronto: "Great Italian cuisine without the wait!". Harvard Business School Brief Case 114-277, April 2011.
- September 1997 (Revised August 1999)
- Case
Boston Chicken, Inc.
By: Paul M. Healy
This case examines Boston Chicken's franchise strategy for growing its innovative restaurant business, and the associated accounting reporting issues that arise. View Details
Keywords: Financial Reporting; Franchise Ownership; Financial Strategy; Business Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry
Healy, Paul M. "Boston Chicken, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 198-032, September 1997. (Revised August 1999.)
- March 1999 (Revised April 2004)
- Case
TelePizza
Describes TelePizza, is Spain's leading chain of pizza restaurants and delivery services. TelePizza has experienced rapid growth to 500 stores since its creation in 1987. The company went public on the Spanish stock market in late 1996. Franchising has played an... View Details
Kuemmerle, Walter, Juan Roure, and Chad S Ellis. "TelePizza." Harvard Business School Case 899-080, March 1999. (Revised April 2004.)
- April 2021 (Revised May 2021)
- Case
Kitopi: The Brave New World of Cloud Kitchens
By: Antonio Moreno and Gamze Yucaoglu
The case opens in February 2021 as Mohamad Ballout, co-founder and CEO of Kitopi, a Dubai-based managed cloud kitchen platform, is looking over the company’s 2020 results. Propelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, delivery orders had been on the rise globally and dine-in... View Details
Keywords: Cloud Kitchens; Food; Operations; Growth and Development Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Food and Beverage Industry; Middle East; North Africa
Moreno, Antonio, and Gamze Yucaoglu. "Kitopi: The Brave New World of Cloud Kitchens." Harvard Business School Case 621-102, April 2021. (Revised May 2021.)
- 2015
- Working Paper
Fake It Till You Make It: Reputation, Competition, and Yelp Review Fraud
By: Michael Luca and Georgios Zervas
Consumer reviews are now part of everyday decision-making. Yet, the credibility of these reviews is fundamentally undermined when businesses commit review fraud, creating fake reviews for themselves or their competitors. We investigate the economic incentives to commit... View Details
Keywords: Information; Competition; Internet and the Web; Ethics; Reputation; Social and Collaborative Networks; Retail Industry; Retail Industry
Luca, Michael, and Georgios Zervas. "Fake It Till You Make It: Reputation, Competition, and Yelp Review Fraud." Working Paper. (May 2015. Revise and resubmit, Management Science.)
- November 2014 (Revised July 2019)
- Case
Cravia: Launching High Growth Ventures in the Middle East
By: Lynda Applegate and Michael Norris
Walid Hajj (HBS '95), CEO of Dubai-based restaurant franchising company Cravia considers how best to expand his business in the fast-growing Gulf region. Should he add more American brands, expand to nearby countries, or open more of his current lineup of restaurants? View Details
Keywords: Entrepreneurship In Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurs; Middle East; Franchise; Food Retail Franchising; Franchise Ownership; Entrepreneurship; Emerging Markets; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry; United Arab Emirates; Dubai
Applegate, Lynda, and Michael Norris. "Cravia: Launching High Growth Ventures in the Middle East." Harvard Business School Case 315-049, November 2014. (Revised July 2019.)
- July 2008 (Revised March 2010)
- Case
McDonald's Plan to Win (A)
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karla Ingrid Gravis and Annette Kristine Rodriguez
As of 2007, McDonald's had made significant progress on its “Plan to Win,” and the company was rewarded by reaching an all-time high share price. However, McDonald's competitors had expanded beyond the typical fast food giants, such as Wendy's and Burger King, as... View Details