Publications

2015
Working Paper

Markets with Price Coherence

By: Benjamin Edelman and Julian Wright

In markets with price coherence, the purchase of a given good via an intermediary is constrained to occur at the same price as a purchase of that same good directly from the seller (or through another competing intermediary). We examine ten markets with price... View Details

Keywords: Intermediaries; Platforms; Two-Sided Markets; Vertical Restraints; Price; Distribution Channels; Business History; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

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Other Unpublished Work

Cross Sectional Analysis of Phantom Products at Retail Stores

By: Zeynep Ton and Ananth Raman

Keywords: Distribution; Logistics; Retail Industry

August 2018
Teaching Note

Magpie: Developing and Using Buyer Personas

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Teaching Note for HBS No. 818-013. Magpie is a startup with a platform that allows publishers to natively tag the products discussed in their content and thus allows consumers to purchase those products without needing to leave that publisher’s web page. A key aspect... View Details

Keywords: Buying Process; Marketing; Sales; Distribution Channels; Segmentation; Entrepreneurship; Social Media; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

Keywords: Allison Webster; Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution; Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution; Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution; Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution

02 Dec 2018
News

An Investor’s Guide to Climate Change: Risks and Opportunities

sustainability at Citigroup; Michael Ellis (MBA 2008), managing director of Inherent Group; Claire Broido Johnson (MBA 2002), president of CBJ Energy; and Jackson Lehr (MBA 2007), director of distributed energy ventures at National Grid.... View Details

17 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

Where Did My Shopping Mall Go?

other place where you are seeing malls thrive is at the high end. The luxury malls, what the industry calls A-class malls, are doing very, very well. It's the B- and C-class malls that are in trouble. These malls are targeting the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

October 2003
Supplement

Strategic Inflection: TiVo in 2003 (B)

By: Christina Darwall, Pai-Ling Yin and David B. Yoffie

Spreadsheet for use with case (9-704-429). Download Only. (Examines the possibility of TIVo being a content distributor). View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Distribution Channels; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

December 2005
Case

IBM and Eclipse (A)

IBM faces a collective action problem: It open sourced its $40 million application platform and has to convince other companies to contribute. Explores the events leading up to IBM's decision to make the Eclipse platform available as an Open Source project. In 1998,... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Open Source Distribution; Cooperation; Adoption; Computer Industry; Computer Industry

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January 2014 (Revised March 2015)
Technical Note

The Market Power of Platform-Mediated Networks

By: Benjamin Edelman

This note provides criteria to evaluate the power of a platform-mediated network. For a company considering building such a network or an investor considering funding such an effort, this analysis reveals the scope and desirability of the opportunity. Meanwhile, for a... View Details

Keywords: Intermediaries; Platforms; Platform Strategy; Business Model; Agreements and Arrangements; Distribution Channels; Networks; Technology Platform; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry

01 Mar 2013
News

Delivering the Power to Dream Big

technology will not only increase solar adoption in the United States, but help people in the developing world as well. In industrialized countries, "you can imagine the impact on portable electronics—it can give you freedom from the... View Details

Keywords: solar power; Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution; Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution

08 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

How to Fashion Your New E-Business Model

and infrastructure to launch new product lines or businesses, or enter new markets. Industrial Age business innovation's favored producers. The innovations included: Physical or analog production and View Details

Keywords: by Lynda M. Applegate

03 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

Marketing Your Way Through a Recession

Industrial customers prefer to see products and services unbundled and priced separately. Gimmicks are out; reliability, durability, safety, and performance are in. New products, especially those that address the new consumer reality and... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

01 Sep 2006
News

Faculty Books

evolving, mutually beneficial channel strategies. To navigate the complex distribution environment successfully, companies must map the industry channel, build and continually edit their own channel to best... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

December 2013
Case

Clique Pens: The Writing Implements Division of U.S. Home

By: Frank V. Cespedes and James Kindley

The Clique Pens Writing Implements division of U.S. Home is a manufacturer of a full line of pens, pencils, markers, and art supplies. Despite solid sales, division president Elise Ferguson has seen gross margins drop from 42% in 2010 to just over 36% in 2012 as a... View Details

Keywords: Production; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Compensation and Benefits; Sales; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

21 Nov 2017
News

Alumni Peer into the Future of Energy

Justin Dawe (MBA 2007), president, Scoot Networks (photo courtesy of Scoot Networks) What do you think the state of the energy industry will be in 2030? HBS students in the Energy and Environment Club asked alumni working in the field to... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley; solar power; wind power

September 2008 (Revised February 2009)
Case

BMW's Project Switch (A): Importers vs. National Sales Companies

By: Das Narayandas and Kerry Herman

BMW is faced with potential channel conflicts across several EU country markets. The case highlights BMW's approach to redesigning its channel in Greece. The case provides details on both headquarter and country head perspective on BMW's channel strategy. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Conflict and Resolution; Auto Industry; European Union; Greece

December 2019
Case

Walmart Ecommerce (B): Omnichannel Pursuits

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case is an abridged version (part 2 of 2) of "Walmart's Omnichannel Strategy: Revolution or Miscalculation?" HBS Case No. 720-370. The (B) case describes Walmart’s omnichannel strategy in 2018 as it battled Amazon for online retail market share. Walmart aimed to... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry; Bentonville; Arkansas; United States