Publications

14 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: February 14

most prominent explanations for the onset and occurrence of civil conflict—variation in economic conditions—and apply it to the intensity and dynamics of civil conflict. Using an instrumental variables strategy and a rich set of empirical... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2000
Case

Quokka Sports

By: Stephen P. Bradley, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Stephanie Mason Ogborne and Julie C. Toscano

Quokka Sports is an example of one of the new broadband services focused in total immersion sports. Quokka faces two issues: 1) the broadband infrastructure is emerging slowly so the type of services offered needs to be decided on. 2) Quokka faces an explosion of... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Decisions; Information Publishing; Infrastructure; Competition; Advertising Industry; Web Services Industry

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2018
Working Paper

Product Quality and Entering Through Tying: Experimental Evidence

Dominant platform businesses often develop products in adjacent markets to complement their core business. One common approach used to gain traction in these adjacent markets has been to pursue a tying strategy. For example, Microsoft pre-installed Internet Explorer... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Competitive Strategy; Product Marketing; Quality

SSRN

2021
Working Paper

The Value of Data and Its Impact on Competition

By: Marco Iansiti

Common regulatory perspective on the relationship between data, value, and competition in online platforms has increasingly centered on the volume of data accumulated by incumbent firms. This view posits the existence of "data network effects," where more data leads to... View Details

Keywords: Online Platforms; Data Network Effects; Analytics and Data Science; Value; Competition; Digital Platforms

SSRN

2007
Working Paper

Exclusivity and Control

By: Andrei Hagiu and Robin S. Lee

We analyze platform competition for content in the presence of strategic interactions between content distributors and content providers. We provide a model of bargaining and price competition within these industries, and show that whether or not a piece of content... View Details

Keywords: Price; Revenue; Governance Controls; Digital Platforms; Competition

29 Oct 2007
HBS Case

Marketing Maria: Managing the Athlete Endorsement

possesses a number of qualities that fit with its PowerShot digital camera brand." Fortunately, one of my students, Margarita Golod came to the rescue and connected me with Maria Sharapova. Sharapova was the ideal study subject in... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Sports

March 2013
Case

Grupo ABC and Nizan Guanaes's Path from Brazil to the World

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Gustavo Herrero and Ricardo Reisen De Pinho

Internationally recognized Brazilian Nizan Guanaes, co-founder of Grupo ABC, a rapidly growing global advertising firm ranked 18th in 2011, had aspirations to be in the top 10 by 2015. Grupo ABC thrived by identifying national (Brazilian) challenges and incorporating... View Details

Keywords: Management; Global Business; Advertising Agency; Opportunities; Globalized Firms and Management; Advertising; Global Strategy; Business Strategy; Digital Marketing; Advertising Industry; Brazil

08 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

How to Fashion Your New E-Business Model

Information Age business innovations include: Digital production and distribution technologies (broadband and wireless networks, sophisticated content creation, flexible knowledge management) An operating model (integrated supply chains... View Details

Keywords: by Lynda M. Applegate

June 21, 2019
Article

When Tech Companies Compete on Their Own Platforms

By: Feng Zhu

One common complaint from third parties about platform businesses is that they see what succeeds on their platforms and then enter the most profitable areas themselves, often decimating third parties in the process. Studies have identified several motivations for... View Details

Keywords: Platform-based Markets; Platform-owner Entry; Digital Platforms; Market Entry and Exit; Competition

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2018
Working Paper

The Welfare Effects of Peer Entry in the Accommodation Market: The Case of Airbnb

By: Chiara Farronato and Andrey Fradkin

We study the effects of enabling peer supply through Airbnb in the accommodation industry. We present a model of competition between flexible and dedicated sellers - peer hosts and hotels - who provide differentiated products. We estimate this model using data from... View Details

Keywords: Peer To Peer; Digital Platforms; Market Entry and Exit; Competition; Accommodations Industry

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22 Dec 2009
First Look

First Look: Dec. 22

in a Systems Business J. Bruce HarreldHarvard Business School Case 810-071 This short case describes the tensions that often arise between finance executives attempting to curtail unproductive activities and strategy executives trying to... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

03 Dec 2001
What Do You Think?

What Happens When the Sumo Master Learns Judo?

does not trust Microsoft and its use of 'customer' information to market to customers and hold them digitally captive. This demographic will continue to provide sales to (a judo master competitor)." These comments reflect general... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

September 2000 (Revised October 2006)
Teaching Note

Wildfire Communications, Inc. (A) and (B) (TN)

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and John T. Gourville

Teaching Note for (9-396-305) and (9-396-306). View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Performance Effectiveness; Business Processes; Digital Platforms; Business Strategy; Markets

May 2017
Supplement

Betfair (B)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, John Heilbron and Neil Campbell

Buoyed by success in the market for gambling contracts, Betfair attempts to enter the market for financial products using its exchange model. View Details

Keywords: Betfair; Exchange; Business Model; Betting; Leisure Industry; Market Design; Digital Platforms; Diversification; Financial Services Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Europe

July 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

AdMob (A)

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, Samuel Cohen and Nithya Vaduganathan

AdMob's CEO is deciding between international expansion and increasing the number of publishers to strengthen the company's advantage in the mobile advertising industry. AdMob displayed advertising on global devices, powered 6,000 websites and 1,000 applications, and... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Growth and Development Strategy; Resource Allocation; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Advertising Industry

05 Jul 2004
Research & Ideas

Radical Change, Entrepreneurial Opportunity

advantage? It's a conscious strategy to play to their strengths? A: I think that's right. For instance, Polaroid identified digital imaging as an opportunity very early on; in fact, you could argue that its... View Details

Keywords: by Michael J. Roberts; Technology

April 2025
Case

Netflix in 2024

By: Jan Rivkin and David Allen

In 2024, Netflix appeared to emerge victorious from the “streaming wars” that it had waged in recent years with the likes of Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Apple, and Amazon. What had allowed Netflix not only to succeed in the streaming wars but also to thrive for... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Organizational Culture; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Success; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; United States

June 2014
Article

Pitfalls and Fraud in Online Advertising Metrics: What Makes Advertisers Vulnerable to Cheaters, and How They Can Protect Themselves

By: Benjamin Edelman

How does online advertising become less effective than advertisers expect and less effective than measurements indicate? The current research explores problems that result, in part, from malfeasance by outside perpetrators who overstate their efforts to increase their... View Details

Keywords: Online Advertising; Measurement; Mismeasurement; Fraud; Invisible; Digital Marketing; Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Marketing Strategy

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