Publications

15 Aug 2023
HBS Case

(Virtual) Reality Check: How Long Before We Live in the 'Metaverse'?

definitely happen. I ask my students to reflect on two questions. First, will people use the internet more in the future? Second, will more of View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald; Technology; Computer; Information Technology

July 2015
Case

Vita: Cosmetics in the Nordics

By: Das Narayandas, Krishna Palepu and Kerry Herman

Vita is a Norwegian cosmetics retailer owned by FSN Capital, a Scandinavian private equity company. The company has a strong market position in Norway. The case focuses on two strategic issues: how to develop an e-commerce strategy to supplement the company's... View Details

Keywords: E-Commerce Strategy; Norway; Cosmetics; Managing Under Private Equity Ownership; Strategy; Private Equity; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; E-commerce; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Norway

05 Jan 2009
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Articles and Working Papers 2008

marketing resources is particularly difficult because decisions need to be made at many different levels—across countries, products, marketing mix elements, and different vehicles within elements of the mix... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

Web

Strategy & IT - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

resource planning. See below for “How Information Gives You Competitive Advantage.” The rise of the internet unleashed the second wave of... View Details

2020
Working Paper

Aggregate Advertising Expenditure in the U.S. Economy: What's Up? Is It Real?

By: Alvin J. Silk and Ernst R. Berndt

The two components of the advertising industry—the creative sector that develops and produces messages, and the communications sector that transmits messages via various media—have each been greatly affected by advances in creative design and communications... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Advertising; Spending; Media

Find at Harvard

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01 Jun 2004
News

Cyberposium: Pros and Cons of Outsourcing

point of view, it will create a new paradigm,” said Gupta. Radio frequency ID tags, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and online gaming were among the other topics covered.... View Details

Keywords: cyberposium; cost; Corporate Services

01 Dec 2003
News

Spreading the Words

When the youngest of his three sons went off to college in 1994, Carey Cook (MBA 1969) finally had time to pursue a lifelong dream: creating word games and puzzles designed to build View Details

Keywords: Educational Support Services; Educational Services

2011
Working Paper

Inside the Black Box of the Corporate Staff: An Exploratory Analysis Through the Lens of E-Mail Networks

The corporate staff is central in theories of the multi-business firm, but empirical evidence on its function is limited. In this paper, we examine the high-level role of two units of a corporate staff through analysis of electronic communications. We find sharp... View Details

Keywords: Theory; Business Ventures; Internet and the Web; Communication; Employment; Management Teams; Networks

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February 2001
Case

PlanetFeedback: The Voice of One ... The Power of Many (A)

By: James L. Heskett

The management of PlanetFeedback in proposes a merger with Intelliseek. Their goal is to create a comprehensive C2B and B2B business focused on the generation and analysis for business clients of consumer feedback data via the Internet, Planet Feedback's board of... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Decisions; Information Management; Analytics and Data Science; Business Strategy; Internet and the Web; Information Technology Industry

14 May 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Quantity vs. Quality and Exclusion by Two-Sided Platforms

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu; Web Services; Web Services

2024
Chapter

Corporations as the Central Institutions of Society

By: Joseph L. Badaracco

Mark Twain observed that, “Prediction is very difficult—particularly when it involves the future,” and he was right. One way to reduce the risk of becoming an infamous forecaster—like the experts who told us the Internet would quickly collapse, that Apple would never... View Details

Keywords: Trends; Business and Government Relations; Organizations; Power and Influence; Society

2015
Working Paper

Online Word of Mouth and Product Review Disagreement

By: Frank Nagle and Christoph Riedl

Studies of online word of mouth have frequently posited―but never systematically conceptualized and explored―that the level of disagreement between existing product reviews can impact the volume and the valence of future reviews. In this study we develop a theoretical... View Details

Keywords: Online Word Of Mouth; Online Communities; Viral Marketing; Online Product Reviews; Quality; Internet and the Web; Consumer Behavior; Marketing Reference Programs; Social and Collaborative Networks; Digital Marketing; Analytics and Data Science

SSRN

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10 Jan 2005
Research & Ideas

The Knowledge Coach

"Deep smarts," as Harvard Business School professor emerita Dorothy Leonard and collaborator Walter Swap see the term, is the intuition, judgement, View Details

Keywords: by Dorothy Leonard & Walter Swap

02 Apr 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

Making the Move to General Manager

needs as possible. And that's what we try to do in Modules 3 and 5 with the proprietary Web sites and access to... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

May 2021 (Revised February 2024)
Teaching Note

THE YES: Reimagining the Future of E-Commerce with Artificial Intelligence (AI)

By: Ayelet Israeli and Jill Avery

THE YES, a multi-brand shopping app launched in May 2020 offered a new type of buying experience for women’s fashion, driven by a sophisticated algorithm that used data science and machine learning to create and deliver a personalized store for every shopper, based on... View Details

Keywords: Data; Data Analytics; Artificial Intelligence; AI; AI Algorithms; AI Creativity; Fashion; Retail; Retail Analytics; E-Commerce Strategy; Platform; Platforms; Big Data; Preference Elicitation; Predictive Analytics; App Development; ＂Marketing Analytics＂; Advertising; Mobile App; Mobile Marketing; Apparel; Online Advertising; Referral Rewards; Referrals; Female Ceo; Female Entrepreneur; Female Protagonist; Analytics and Data Science; Analysis; Creativity; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Forecasting and Prediction; Marketing Channels; Digital Marketing; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; AI and Machine Learning; E-commerce; Digital Platforms; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

January 2022 (Revised November 2023)
Supplement

Uber in China (C): The Cost of Success for Didi

By: William C. Kirby and Noah B. Truwit

On June 30, 2021, ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing (Didi) raised $4.4 billion in its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the largest IPO of a Chinese company listed on an American exchange since Alibaba raised $25 billion in 2014.... View Details

Keywords: Uber; Didi Chuxing; Start-up Growth; Regulation; Ride-sharing; Transportation; Business Startups; Business and Government Relations; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Growth and Development; Policy; Competition; Laws and Statutes; Transportation Industry; Technology Industry; China

December 2003 (Revised May 2004)
Case

Blockbuster Inc. & Technological Substitution (A): Achieving Dominance in the Video Rental Industry

Provides a comprehensive background of the video rental industry and home entertainment giant, Blockbuster Inc. Follows the life of Blockbuster Inc. from its first days under founder Wayne Huizenga to its most recent developments under 2003 CEO John Antioco. By looking... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Decisions; Technological Innovation; Competition; Change Management; Economics; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry