Publications

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February 2000 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Staples.com

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Joanna M. Jacobson and Gillian Morris

Staples.com, the online unit of the U.S. office supplies retailing chain Staples, faces a range of strategic and organizational issues as it accelerates its growth. Should it pursue only existing Staples customers or consumers who do not shop in Staples stores? How... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain; Business Units; Business Model; Growth and Development; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Business Strategy; Service Industry; United States

September 2016 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20

By: Robert J. Dolan and Ayelet Israeli

In 1995, before people “googled” or “yelped,” Angela Hicks (HBS, 2000) was establishing her Angie’s List as a pioneer in the accumulation and dissemination of consumer rating information. Hicks focused on the home repair and maintenance market and, as she put it,... View Details

March 2008 (Revised June 2011)
Case

MySpace

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, David T. Chen and Carin-Isabel Knoop

The case, set in late 2007, examines what MySpace—the largest online social network—should do to respond to its agile competitor, Facebook. Since its inception MySpace had experienced phenomenal growth, acquiring 20 million members in its first 20 months of operation,... View Details

Keywords: Open Source Distribution; Partners and Partnerships; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Information Technology Industry

19 May 2009
First Look

First Look: May 19, 2009

provides a mandate for restructuring. But survival is not the end goal. In fact, cost cutting and restructuring are simply the first steps in repositioning and leading a company and industry through the crisis and in defining how business... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

13 Jul 2010
First Look

First Look: July 13

Review 88, nos. 7-8 (July-August 2010) An abstract is unavailable at this time. Read the Article: http://hbr.org/2010/07/are-you-ignoring-trends-that-could-shake-up-your-business/ar/1 Vision Statement: Mapping the Social Internet... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2019
Case

Data.gov (Abridged)

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Robert D. Austin and Yumi Yi

This case presents the logic and execution underlying the launch of Data.gov, an instantiation of President Obama's initiative for transparency and open government. The process used by Vivek Kundra, the federal CIO, and his team to rapidly develop the website and to... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Rights; Analytics and Data Science; Internet and the Web; Ethics; Cost vs Benefits; Innovation and Management; Information Management; Public Administration Industry; Public Administration Industry; United States

December 2002 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Tesco Plc.

By: David E. Bell

Tesco, a supermarket chain, has been transformed from a third-rate retailer to a global leader in the past ten years. This case describes how that was accomplished. Interviews with Tesco employees explain the company's approach to understanding customers, motivating... View Details

Keywords: History; Motivation and Incentives; Leadership; Internet and the Web; Supply Chain Management; Global Strategy; Globalization; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business Strategy; Retail Industry

January 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Silverado (A)

By: Jan W. Rivkin and Charles J. Woodard

Silverado has raised $50 million and launched its first product: an Internet-based trivia game with innovative software. In a highly uncertain environment, the young management team must decide whether to continue developing the product and whether to branch out into... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Technological Innovation; Strategic Planning; Internet and the Web; Decision Choices and Conditions; Product Launch; Business Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

February 2017
Case

BlaBlaCar: The Road Ahead...

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Arun Sundararajan, Emilie Billaud and Caroline Caltagirone

In 2017, the co-founders of BlaBlaCar—the world’s largest long-distance carpooling company—reflected on the evolution of their venture and the way forward. BlaBlaCar had reached critical mass and size; yet staying still was not going to be enough to be relevant and... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Transformation; Decision Making; Values and Beliefs; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Platforms; Network Effects; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Internet and the Web; Transportation Networks; Transportation Industry; Transportation Industry; France; Europe

November 1995
Case

InterZine Productions, Inc.

By: William A. Sahlman and Jason Green

Brian Henley founded InterZine Productions to develop interactive multimedia content for America Online (AOL) and the Internet. With funding and support from AOL's Greenhouse program, Henley has launched Golf, a unique interactive golf service. While he has operated on... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Capital; Financing and Loans; Internet and the Web; Management Teams; Innovation and Invention; Media and Broadcasting Industry

Find at Harvard

February 2001 (Revised August 2001)
Case

Dialpad Communications (A)

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Kerry Herman

Describes the evolution of Dialpad, a voice-over-Internet-protocol telephony company. Set in September 2000, CEO Brad Garlinghouse faces a dilemma: what to do about the large number of international users who use Dialpad to call the United States for free. He must also... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Organizational Design; Competitive Strategy; Investment; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Venture Capital; Telecommunications Industry; California

December 2010 (Revised March 2012)
Teaching Note

Alibaba Group

By: Julie M. Wulf

Teaching Note for 710436. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Business Subsidiaries; Competition; Motivation and Incentives; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Structure; Retail Industry; China

February 1999 (Revised May 1999)
Case

Onsale, Inc.

By: Youngme E. Moon

Onsale has been a pioneer in electronic commerce, offering excess and refurbished goods using an online auction format. The company is now planning to become a player in the highly competitive world of first-run computer merchandise as well. However, unlike other... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Transformation; Customers; Brands and Branding; Auctions; Network Effects; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; Retail Industry

12 Oct 2011
First Look

First Look: October 12

School Note 812-016 Technology transfer from U.S. universities to industry has increased dramatically in the last 25 years. The case reviews the history of technology transfer with particular emphasis on the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980. It then... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2020 (Revised January 2021)
Case

Comviva: Exploring New Frontiers (A)

By: Dante Roscini and Mahima Rao-Kachroo

Comviva, a mobile solutions provider active in India and 94 other countries, has had a rich history and been successful across many emerging and complex markets: Latin America, South-East Asia, Africa. What are the lessons learnt from expansion, cultural fits, and... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Acquisition; Emerging Markets; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Telecommunications Industry; India; South Asia

October 2016 (Revised October 2023)
Case

Bootstrapping at Lightricks

By: Robert White, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Christine Snively

By August 2015, two-year-old mobile imaging software startup Lightricks had developed and released two best-selling paid mobile apps, grown to a team of 30, earned a revenue run rate of nearly $10 million, and achieved modest profitability. The bootstrapped company had... View Details

Keywords: Business Startup; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Information Infrastructure; Business Startups; Digital Marketing; Finance; Strategy; Technology Industry; Israel

October 2000 (Revised May 2001)
Case

Digitas (A): Strategic Interactive Group

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, David Lane and Courtenay Sprague

Kathy Biro, president of Digitas, an e-strategy consulting firm, has successfully grown out of the company's roots in the strategic interactive group. Her challenges now include managing the integration of the SIG with Digitas's other component, direct marketing firm... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Business Strategy; Internet and the Web; Integration; Expansion; Business or Company Management; Business Model; Organizational Design; Consulting Industry; Massachusetts