Publications

October 2013 (Revised July 2024)
Teaching Note

Amazon in 2024

By: Sunil Gupta

Amazon launched its website in July 1995 to sell books online and by 2020 it has grown to become a digital giant with over $280 billion in annual sales. A large part of its growth came from expanding into a variety of businesses that some see as unrelated. Has it... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Marketing Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Business Model; Competitive Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry

10 Jan 2011
Research & Ideas

Is Groupon Good for Retailers?

At first blush, the two-year-old online start-up Groupon seems a bit audacious. For starters, there's the news that the deal-of-the-day website turned down a $6 billion acquisition offer from Google last month. Then there's the company's... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising; Technology

May 2016 (Revised January 2018)
Case

Airbnb, Etsy, Uber: Acquiring the First Thousand Customers

By: Thales S. Teixeira and Morgan Brown

By 2016, two-sided online platforms (or marketplaces) were pervasive among the highest growing internet startups around. These marketplaces sought to match suppliers of assets for rent, physical products or services with customers demanding them. Among the most notable... View Details

Keywords: Airbnb; Etsy; Uber; Growth Hacking; Two-sided Market; Internet and the Web; Marketing Strategy; Digital Platforms; Digital Marketing; Business Startups; Transportation Industry; Accommodations Industry

Tony Mayo is the Thomas S. Murphy Senior Lecturer of Business Administration and C. Roland Christensen Distinguished Management Educator in the Organizational Behavior Unit of Harvard Business School (HBS). He currently teaches and serves as the course head for... View Details

Keywords: advertising; airline; education industry; nonprofit industry; publishing industry; service industry

04 Feb 2019
News

Betting on Books: Can the Indie Bookstore Revival Last?

January 1995 (Revised September 1997)
Case

TV Guide (B)

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

TV Guide, the nation's most profitable and largest magazine, attempts entry into the world of electronic publishing. The crux of TV Guide's strategy is to transform the magazine's content into a centralized database that can be accessed by new businesses, like... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Service Delivery; Information Technology; Marketing; Information Publishing; Service Industry; Publishing Industry

10 Apr 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research, April 10, 2018

developing fresh capabilities for organizations. Based on a study of all the programs offered by the business schools, consultancies, corporate universities, and online education providers, we analyze the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Sep 2021
News

OpenSea, Amid Insider Trading Controversy, Rolls Out NFT Marketplace App

27 Apr 2020
News

Key tools for remote working

17 Mar 2011
News

The gods that have failed—so far

26 Aug 2015
News

The Company We Keep

29 Jun 2017
News

HBX Launches New Certificate Program, Becoming a Better Manager

30 Mar 2016
News

Mastering a Facebook World

September 2002 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Siebel Systems: Organizing for the Customer

By: Robert Simons and Antonio Davila

Siebel Systems is one of the fastest growing companies in America. Tom Siebel, the company's founder, has organized the business to accommodate growth and focus on the customer. Innovative information technology systems and clear accountability prove to be essential to... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Applications and Software; Business Growth and Maturation; Information Technology; Performance Evaluation; Performance Expectations; Innovation and Management; Technological Innovation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Management Teams; Information Technology Industry; North and Central America