Publications

March 2019 (Revised March 2020)
Case

Choosing the Right Esports Business Model

By: David Collis and Alexander MacKay

Two esports entrepreneurs must choose on which business model to focus their time and money. After successfully launching an online esports coaching platform, a number of new opportunities emerge in the rapidly growing esports space that now has close to one billion... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Ecosystems; Business Development; Esports; Business Ventures; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Management; Strategy; Sports; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; North and Central America; Europe; Asia

03 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

Marketing Your Way Through a Recession

furnishings and home entertainment will hold up well, as uncertainty prompts us to stay at home but also stay connected with family and friends. Now may be the time to drop your weaker distributors and upgrade your sales force. 3.... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

November 2006
Background Note

Technical Game Theory Note #6: Multiple-Round Games and Reputations

By: Dennis A. Yao

Provides a game theory-based interpretation of reputations and reputation building. View Details

Keywords: Game Theory; Mathematical Methods; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Reputation; Debates; Strategy; Performance Consistency; Performance Improvement; Strategic Planning; Education Industry

02 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 2

our time period. Publisher's link: http://www.people.hbs.edu/tnicholas/Anna_tom.pdf 2006 pub How Caesars Entertainment Is Betting on Sustainability: Response By: Toffel, Michael W Abstract—One of the largest gaming companies in the world... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

August 2014 (Revised August 2015)
Supplement

Opening the Valve: From Software to Hardware (B)

By: Ethan Bernstein, Francesca Gino and Bradley Staats

Valve, one of the world's top video game software companies, has also become an iconic example of an organization with virtually no hierarchy. A 400-person organization, Valve's unique organizational form (described in detail in the case and accompanying employee... View Details

28 Jun 2018
Cold Call Podcast

L.A. Philharmonic Shows the American Symphony Orchestra Isn’t Dead Yet

Keywords: Re: Rohit Deshpande; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

28 Jan 2002
Research & Ideas

Read All About It! Newspapers Lose Web War

Many newspapers saw the emergence of the Internet as an attack on their core business, and responded with online products of their own. Unfortunately, says HBS professor Clark Gilbert, the papers failed to take advantage of the Web as a unique medium. He discusses the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

19 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

Ground-Floor Opportunities for Retail in India

to the monsoon season that makes shopping indoors an attractive prospect. There's also an entertainment factor, he added—more and more Indians are beginning to see shopping as an enjoyable pastime. Ground Level Opportunity The forecast... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Consumer Products; Retail

February 2011 (Revised August 2012)
Teaching Note

Emotiv Systems Inc.: It's the Thoughts that Count (TN)

By: Elie Ofek and Natalie Kindred

Teaching Note for 510050. View Details

Keywords: Product Launch; Technological Innovation; Applications and Software; Decision Choices and Conditions; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Marketing Channels; Price

April 2025
Case

Giving Up on a Passion: Elizabeth Rowe at the Boston Symphony Orchestra

By: Jon M. Jachimowicz, Maisie Wiltshire-Gordon and Alexis Lefort

For 20 years, Elizabeth Rowe was a world-renowned principal flutist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. But in 2024, Rowe decided to leave her position to pursue a new full-time career as a leadership coach. At 50, Rowe was well under the typical retirement age, and,... View Details

September 2022 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Wordle

By: Karen G. Mills, Christina Wallace, Ebehi Iyoha, Gabriella Elanbeck and Morgane Herculano

After sourdough bread, countertop chive gardens, and vaccine selfies came a pandemic-era trend that everyone seemed to be in on: one daily chance to guess a five-letter word and crow about your success on social media via little green and yellow squares. From a... View Details

Keywords: Games; Innovation; General Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Trends; Entrepreneurship; Bids and Bidding; Consumer Behavior; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

July 2011 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Ultimate Fighting Championship: License to Operate (A)

By: George Serafeim and Kyle Welch

The case describes the challenges that Ultimate Fighting Championship faced as a result of regulatory opposition and loss of the license to operate. The genesis of the business idea, the subsequent growth, and the fall of the UFC are described. The case concludes with... View Details

Keywords: Governance Compliance; Ethics; Judgments; Investment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

November 2004 (Revised November 2004)
Supplement

Martha Stewart (C)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Christopher Bruner

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

December 2003 (Revised October 2005)
Case

High-Definition TV: The Grand Alliance

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Describes political and economic forces that influenced the development of an all-digital, high-definition television (HDTV) standard in the United States between 1986 and 1996. Outlines the stakes for various government and industry participants in the... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment; Policy; Management Practices and Processes; Emerging Markets; Standards; Business and Government Relations; Networks; Research and Development; Technology Adoption; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Japan; Europe; United States

December 2000
Teaching Note

BET.com TN

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Pauline M Fischer

Teaching Note for (9-800-283). View Details

Keywords: Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Africa; United States

May 1992
Case

Sunday River Ski Resort

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Martha Epstein

Sunday River is a ski area in Bethel, ME which has been run by entrepreneur Les Otten since 1980. The year before Otten purchased the area, it posted a loss of $235,000 on revenues of $541,000. Under Otten's leadership, however, Sunday River posted year after year of... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Competitive Advantage; Entrepreneurship; Success; Transformation; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Maine