Publications

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September 2017 (Revised July 2018)
Technical Note

Virtual Reality and the Gaming Sector 2017

By: David B. Yoffie, Natalia Prieto Nino, Prasad Raman, Brad Kowalk and Ruby Tamberino

This brief note explores the emerging possibilities of virtual reality and its potential as a gaming platform. View Details

Keywords: Virtual Reality; Gaming; Strategy; Technological Innovation; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Technology Platform

15 Dec 2024
News

Origin Story: Tasila Banda (MBA/MPP 2025)

First love: Performing. “I spent pretty much every weekend from the age of five singing, acting, and dancing at the local theater school.” Take a bow: “My dad is originally from Zambia. Back in the day he bought rudimentary music software and laid down guitar tracks... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna

01 Sep 2013
News

The New Rules of E-Commerce

thing. Shoppers want value but also a stimulating experience, or "discovery shopping." Rakuten helps its vendors, many of them small-shop owners, use social media to offer unique content, such as the fashion shop that chronicles its buyers' global adventures, or the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne; e-commerce; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information; Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Retail Trade

12 Jul 2011
News

Phone Fun

marketing costs down by targeting the teens and twenties age group and by focusing — unlike some competitors — mainly on selling mobile phones. Although Phones 4u offers a range of mobile communication and entertainment equipment,... View Details

Keywords: Telecommunications; Information; Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services; Professional Services

18 May 2016
Working Paper Summaries

The Impact of Mass Shootings on Gun Policy

Keywords: by Michael Luca, Deepak Malhotra, and Christopher Poliquin; Entertainment & Recreation

12 May 2015
Research & Ideas

How Crowds and Experts Kickstart the Arts

Philosophers have talked by turns about both the "wisdom" and "madness" of crowds. But when it comes to assessing and funding the arts, just how wise are crowds—and how does their wisdom compare to that of art experts? HBS Associate Professor Ramana Nanda sought to... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment & Recreation

10 Nov 2011
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Making Lincoln Center Cool Again

When Reynold Levy took over as president of New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in 2002, he faced a classic challenge for any nonprofit leader navigating a complex environment: staying relevant to the next generation. Levy knew that 18- to 44-year-olds... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Entertainment & Recreation

04 Dec 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Dynamics of Platform Competition: Exploring the Role of Installed Base, Platform Quality and Consumer Expectations

Keywords: by Feng Zhu & Marco Iansiti; Entertainment & Recreation

31 Aug 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Exclusivity and Control

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu & Robin S. Lee; Entertainment & Recreation

01 Dec 2007
News

In the Spotlight

Because the New York City Opera’s new general manager and artistic director, Gérard Mortier, won’t take over full-time until 2009, a distinguished stand-in has stepped into that role: NYCO board chair Susan Baker (MBA ’76). After a highly successful career in finance,... View Details

Keywords: Arts, Entertainment; Arts, Entertainment

2016
Chapter

Navigating Natural Monopolies: Market Strategy and Nonmarket Challenges in Radio and Television Audience Measurement Markets

By: Hillary Greene and Dennis Yao

This paper explores how firms within the audience measurement industry, specifically its radio and television markets, have navigated myriad market and nonmarket challenges. The market strategies and the nonmarket forces that constrain those strategies are largely... View Details

Keywords: Measurement and Metrics; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Monopoly; Television Entertainment; Public Opinion; Geographic Scope; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

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August 1991 (Revised February 1992)
Case

Gain Sharing at Star Cablevision Group

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Sarah Ann Greene

Describes Star's experiment with gain sharing over a three-year period. Background on the industry and company's history are provided to establish the context for the shift to pay-for-performance. Describes the three different gain sharing programs, the resulting... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Service Delivery; Performance Productivity; Television Entertainment; Compensation and Benefits; Media and Broadcasting Industry

01 Sep 2006
News

Notebook

type of service — video, voice, data, entertainment — as efficiently as possible. The industry is changing fast, and while it means opportunity for us, it also means investment and change. — Margie Kelley View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services; Telecommunications; Information

01 Sep 2014
News

Feedback

percent. Screen Saver Re: AMC Theatres’ quest for a third place Very interesting story of what brick-and-mortar can do to compete in a tough video entertainment market. The puzzle is if this is a strategy of building better mousetraps or... View Details

01 Jun 2014
News

Book Review: Hooray for the Huddled Masses

wheel." — Jack Legare, the hero of Goddesses and Doormats, the forthcoming thriller by Norb Vonnegut (MBA 1986) What I'm Reading "An LA native, I thought I understood the entertainment industry—that is, until I read HBS professor Anita... View Details

Keywords: Maureen Harmon

March 2025
Case

Taylor Guitars: Making Employee Ownership Work the Taylor Way

By: Dennis Campbell, Petros Kusmu and Stacy Straaberg

In 2013, guitar manufacturer Taylor Guitars’ co-founders Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug were considering several exit options including selling to a competitor or to a private equity firm. The co-founders decided, instead, to embark on a seven-year process to transfer 100%... View Details

07 Jun 2010
Research & Ideas

Improving Brand Recognition in TV Ads

searching for valuable information that is relevant to them. They also want to be entertained, and the 'hard sell' that turns them off can be at the level of simply presenting the brand's logo for more than a few seconds." Mystery ads try to View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

21 Oct 2024
Research & Ideas

What Happens in Vegas Could Shape the Metaverse

company’s investment in the online social entertainment world. The researchers started playing Fortnite during the pandemic “to break the monotony of constant Zoom meetings,” Wu says. But soon, they found themselves spending real money on... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Nover; Computer; Information Technology

September 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Bill Connors and The Farm, a Comcast NBCUniversal Innovation Hub (Powered by Boomtown)

By: Linda A. Hill and Eric Mankin

In 2017, Bill Connors, the President of Comcast’s Central Division, launched a startup accelerator in Comcast’s new Atlanta Regional headquarters. Comcast was America's largest cable and internet service provider, having built a profitable business bundling television... View Details