Publications

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

01 Jun 2003
News

Books

turn, moving ideas on new paths to market and perhaps even publishing research to enhance industry knowledge will provide new and important ways for companies to realize the value of their discoveries. — Laura Singleton (MBA ’88) Artful... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; Laura Singleton; Donald; Sull; Henry; Chesbrough; Rob; Austin; Leslie; Perlow; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Publishing Industries (except Internet)

December 2001 (Revised June 2002)
Case

Shenzhen Stock Exchange

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Guoqing Chen, David Kiron and Iris T. Li

The second largest stock exchange in China, shows a surprising sophistication. This case describes the company's growth and underlying technology. View Details

Keywords: Networks; Internet and the Web; Business Growth and Maturation; Infrastructure; Financial Services Industry; China

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07 Jun 2016
First Look

June 7, 2016

Automated Text Analysis By: Mankad, Shawn, Hyunjeong "Spring" Han, Joel Goh, and Srinagesh Gavirneni Abstract—Customer reviews submitted at Internet travel portals are an important yet underexplored new resource in obtaining... 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

May–June 2023
Article

Need for Speed: The Impact of In-Process Delays on Customer Behavior in Online Retail

By: Santiago Gallino, Nil Karacaoglu and Antonio Moreno

The impact of delays has been widely studied in various offline services. The focus of this study is online services, and we explore the impact of in-process delays—measured by website speed—on customer behavior. We leverage novel retail and website speed data to... View Details

Keywords: Online Retail; Quasi-experiments; Abandonment; Synthetic Control; E-commerce; Internet and the Web; Consumer Behavior; Policy; Retail Industry

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Winter 2016
Article

Analytics for an Online Retailer: Demand Forecasting and Price Optimization

By: Kris J. Ferreira, Bin Hong Alex Lee and David Simchi-Levi

We present our work with an online retailer, Rue La La, as an example of how a retailer can use its wealth of data to optimize pricing decisions on a daily basis. Rue La La is in the online fashion sample sales industry, where they offer extremely limited-time... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Price; Forecasting and Prediction; Revenue; Sales; Retail Industry

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Read Now

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

Web

What Happened When TikTok Songs Went Silent for Three Months | Working Knowledge

popular music platforms, such as Apple Music and Soundcloud. Lessons from the standoff While the battle between UMG and TikTok is internet history, the researchers say others in the media and entertainment View Details

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

January 2020 (Revised March 2020)
Case

LOLA: Do You Know What's in Your Tampon?

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Aldo Sesia

LOLA is a direct-to-consumer (DTC) business launched in 2015. What started as a company to provide women with organic and transparent material-labeled tampons via a subscription model, had, by 2019 evolved to include additional menstrual and sexual wellness products.... View Details

Keywords: Direct-to-consumer; Channels; Disruption; Business Model; Brands and Branding; Internet and the Web; Strategy; Retail Industry; United States; Canada

January 2017 (Revised August 2019)
Case

X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: Is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (A)

By: Feng Zhu and Angela Acocella

Three years after launching his brick-and-mortar store, X Fire Paintball and Airsoft, Steve Herbert Sr. and his sons began selling products on Amazon.com’s third-party Marketplace, and online sales expanded rapidly. Over time, X Fire noticed that products of which it... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Competition; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Small Business; Retail Industry; Canada

April 2016
Teaching Note

Flipkart: Transitioning to a Marketplace Model

By: Sunil Gupta and Das Narayandas

In 2015, Sachin and Binny Bansal, co-founders of India's largest e-tailer, Flipkart, announced that the company would switch to a marketplace model and move its logistics arm into a separate company. At the time of the announcement, Snapdeal already claimed to be... View Details

Keywords: India; Marketplaces; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Market Entry and Exit; E-commerce; Retail Industry; India

January 2014 (Revised March 2015)
Case

Google Car

By: Karim R. Lakhani, James Weber and Christine Snively

By 2013, Google, while not a traditional manufacturer of automobiles, had invested millions of dollars in its self-driving cars which had logged over 500,000 miles of testing. The Google management team faced several questions. Should Google continue to invest in the... View Details

Keywords: Digital Services; Innovation; Technology; Technological Innovation; Internet and the Web; Market Entry and Exit; Transportation; Auto Industry; United States

September 2010
Case

Angie's List

Angie's List is a paid subscription-based service that gives consumers online access to member-submitted reviews of plumbers, electricians, and other home service providers. Customer and revenue growth are strong, but customer acquisition costs are high and the company... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Price; Competitive Advantage; Product Launch; Service Industry; United States

May 2007 (Revised July 2011)
Background Note

Retail Shopping in 2007: The Net Versus the Mall

By: Stephen P. Bradley, Nancy Bartlett and James Weber

Provides an overview of the retail sector within the United States as online shopping captures an increased percentage of consumer spending. The role of enabling technologies and applications, including comparison shopping sites and recommendation systems, are covered.... View Details

Keywords: Spending; Marketing Channels; Demand and Consumers; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Retail Industry; United States