Publications

October 2006 (Revised February 2007)
Background Note

How Media Choices are Changing Online Advertising

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Nancy Bartlett

What is the response by advertisers as media consumption moves to the digital medium? Provides an overview of online advertising in mid-2006 and discusses the impact of an increasingly fractured media landscape and its accompanying expanding advertising options. View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; News; Media; Emerging Markets; Internet and the Web; Perspective; Disruption; Journalism and News Industry

May 2018 (Revised February 2019)
Case

The Powers That Be (Internet Edition): Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Julia Kelley and Nathaniel Schwalb

As of early 2018, five U.S. technology companies—Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft—were among the largest companies in the world. Similarly, three Chinese technology firms—Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent, or BAT—had emerged as global players due in part to the... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Business Ventures; Customers; Analytics and Data Science; Safety; Corporate Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Technology Industry

05 Jan 2009
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Articles and Working Papers 2008

industry is in turmoil. Many business schools are revisiting their offerings to see if they still have relevance in the 21st century. And HBS is using its centennial year to convene worldwide experts on business education and plot its... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

21 Feb 2005
Research & Ideas

The VC Quandary: Too Much Money

It might be hard for the ordinary business owner or consumer to imagine having "too much" money. But that's exactly where the venture capital industry finds itself: with too much money available for the number of emerging... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette; Financial Services

November–December 2022
Article

The Value of Descriptive Analytics: Evidence from Online Retailers

By: Ron Berman and Ayelet Israeli

Does the adoption of descriptive analytics impact online retailer performance, and if so, how? We use the synthetic difference-in-differences method to analyze the staggered adoption of a retail analytics dashboard by more than 1,500 e-commerce websites, and we find an... View Details

Keywords: Descriptive Analytics; Big Data; Synthetic Control; E-commerce; Online Retail; Difference-in-differences; Martech; Internet and the Web; Analytics and Data Science; Performance; Marketing; Retail Industry

June 2001
Case

GetConnected

By: Jay O. Light and Daniel J. Green

An embryonic Internet-based telecom marketing firm considers its first (seed) round of funding. They are choosing between a fixed price round and a discounted convertible round. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Telecommunications Industry

Find at Harvard

October 2013
Case

Rhythm & Blues

By: Willy Shih

The bankruptcy filing of Rhythm & Hues, who received an Oscar for the arresting visual effects in Life of Pi, raised questions about the challenges faced by the firms like it as well as the broader post-production industry. The rapid pace of technology certainly... View Details

Keywords: Post-production; Visual Effects; Digital; Entertainment; Animation Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Los Angeles

08 Apr 2014
First Look

First Look: April 8

firearms industry company in its community is examined. Publisher's link: https://archive.harvardbusiness.org/cla/web/pl/product.seam?c=32094&i=32096&cs=80fcfaa8da53da1a3cdd0ea8f861eeed August 2013 Journal of Finance Is a VC... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2011
Teaching Note

PatientsLikeMe: An Online Community of Patients (TN)

By: Sunil Gupta and Jason Riis

Teaching Note for 511093. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Social and Collaborative Networks; Health Disorders; Growth and Development; Product Launch; Web Services Industry

January 2018
Supplement

Scaling Swagbucks (B)

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Matthew G. Preble

“Swagbucks (B),” HBS No. 817123, picks up in mid-2014 following the events described in “Swagbucks (A),” HBS No 817122. Davis and Gorowitz were successful in their efforts to position the company for scale without negatively affecting the company’s foundational... View Details

Keywords: Loyalty Management; Scaling; Scale; Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Leading Change; Growth Management; Religion; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Transition; Leadership; Web Services Industry; Web Services Industry

March 2005
Case

Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), The

By: George C. Chacko, Anders Sjoman, Daniela Beyersdorfer and George Robert Nelson

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBEO) must decide how to respond to new competition in the market for financial options. Options have typically been a very liquid asset class, despite the fact that many single-name options are listed on the CBOE, the second largest... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Financial Liquidity; Financial Markets; Financial Services Industry; Chicago

January 2017
Case

Flatiron School

By: Thomas Eisenmann and Halah AlQahtani

In late 2016, the founders of Flatiron School, a startup offering 12-week coding bootcamps, are formulating their growth strategy. Their new online-only program has matched the excellent job placement results for their in-person bootcamps. Should Flatiron shift... View Details

Keywords: Scaling Start-ups; Growth Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Distribution Channels; Growth and Development Strategy; Internet and the Web; Business Startups; Diversification; Expansion; Education Industry; United States

February 2013
Case

YouTube Channels

By: Sunil Gupta and Dharmishta Rood

In December 2011 YouTube launched a website redesign that made Channels the central focus of the site. This redesign was the company's first foray into a strategy designed to foster long-form user engagement. YouTube invested $100 million in 100 Channels, often created... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Internet and the Web; Entertainment; Growth and Development Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

January 2020
Case

The June Oven

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Christian Godwin

The June Oven was a smart oven which was capable of identifying food and cooking it accordingly. This type of smart oven represented the next step in the long history of oven and stove development. Due to the widespread use of traditional ovens, the market for the June... View Details

February 2010
Teaching Note

Saffronart.com: Bidding for Success (TN)

By: Mukti Khaire

Teaching Note for [808027]. View Details

Keywords: Auctions; Arts; Innovation and Invention; Internet and the Web; Revenue; Competition; Market Entry and Exit; Risk and Uncertainty; Web Services Industry; Web Services Industry; India

November 2000
Case

FireDrop

By: William A. Sahlman and Michael J. Roberts

Describes the evolution of FireDrop, a new venture-backed company that has developed a new platform for e-mail communication. The FireDrop application--called a Zaplet--allows for e-mails to be continually updated so they are current when read (rather than when sent).... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Internet and the Web; Communication Technology; Venture Capital; Technological Innovation; Information Technology Industry