Publications

February 2000 (Revised May 2001)
Case

eBricks.com

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

eBricks.com is developing an online marketplace for construction materials. The start-up company faces two decisions: 1) whether to merge with BluelineOnline.com, a firm providing project management solutions for the construction industry; and 2) whether to develop an... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Marketplace Matching; Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Startups; Construction Industry

February 2015
Article

Risk, Information, and Incentives in Online Affiliate Marketing

By: Benjamin Edelman and Wesley Brandi

We examine online affiliate marketing programs in which merchants oversee thousands of affiliates they have never met. Some merchants hire outside specialists to set and enforce policies for affiliates, while other merchants ask their ordinary marketing staff to... View Details

Keywords: Affiliate Marketing; Incentives; Fraud; Advertising; Internet and the Web; Marketing Communications; Ethics; Digital Marketing

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May 2000 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Sothebys.com

Sotheby's has taken 50% of its business by volume to the Internet. How do the economics change? How do logistics and customer support needs change? What leverage does the Internet provide this established bricks-and-mortar auction house? View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Internet and the Web; Auctions

01 Feb 2001
News

High Stakes: Springboard 2000 Comes to HBS

enthusiasm, his opinion changed when he began interviewing the entrepreneurs. At that point, he said, "I was sure there were some promising opportunities in this group." Before the forum was over, presenter Jill Card of IBEX Process View Details

Keywords: Singleton, Laura; Springboard 2000

June 2021
Case

HelloSelf: Launch

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In April 2021, Charles Wells, founder and CEO of HelloSelf was reflecting on the company’s progress since it launched two years earlier. HelloSelf’s goal was to help the mentally ill recover and those who were mentally fit to stay well and feel even better. To do this,... View Details

Keywords: Mental Health; Health Care and Treatment; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; Great Britain

September 2019
Teaching Note

Western Governors University: 10x Vision

By: William R. Kerr and Coelin P. Scibetta

Teaching Note for HBS No. 819-093. View Details

Keywords: Education Systems; Online Learning; Higher Education; Internet and the Web; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Education Industry; United States

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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26 Jun 2000
Research & Ideas

What’s an Internet Business Model? Ask a Health Care Professional

business: customers, products, value propositions, the capabilities and advantages any player brings that will allow the plans to meet success. And while businesses have always used a "platform" of technology of one kind or another to... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Health

08 Aug 2019
News

Cloudflare Pulls the Plug on Hate Site

In the wake of the mass shooting in El Paso, Cloudflare’s CEO Matthew Prince (MBA 2009) announced that his web performance and security company was terminating service for the 8chan message board—an online forum where the alleged shooter... View Details

17 Dec 2001
Research & Ideas

Risks and Rewards of the Intrapreneur

Globe newspaper started Boston.com, the start-up founders had to calm the waters to ensure the newspaper's execs that the Web site wouldn't be stealing stories or ad revenue, said Lisa Desisto, Boston.com's CEO. Desisto said her group... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

June 2014
Article

Mastering the Intermediaries: Strategies for Dealing with the Likes of Google, Amazon, and Kayak

By: Benjamin Edelman

Many companies depend on powerful platforms which distinctively influence buyers' purchasing. (Consider, Google, Amazon, and myriad others in their respective spheres.) I consider implications of these platforms' market power, then suggest strategies to help companies... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Market Power; Dominance; Advertising Campaigns; Marketing Channels; Agreements and Arrangements; Competitive Strategy; Negotiation; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

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December 2017
Teaching Note

Yemeksepeti: Growing and Expanding the Business Model through Data

By: William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

Teaching Note for HBS No. 817-095. View Details

Keywords: Turkey; Internet; Online Ordering; Restaurants; Big Data; Entrepreneurship; Analytics and Data Science; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Turkey

September 2006 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Warner Bros. and BitTorrent

Involves the copyright issues associated with Bram Cohen's revolutionary program BitTorrent, which makes it possible to transfer very large files, such as movies, at a high speed over the Internet. The program, which is available for free over the Internet, is used for... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Copyright; Lawfulness; Distribution; Internet and the Web; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

January 2006 (Revised March 2010)
Case

Peer-to-Peer File Sharing and the Market for Digital Information Goods

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Andres Hervas and Jordan Mitchell

We study competitive interaction between two alternative models of digital content distribution over the Internet: peer-to-peer (p2p) file sharing and centralized client-server distribution. We present microfoundations for a stylized model of p2p file sharing where all... View Details

Keywords: Price; Profit; Distribution; Competition; Internet and the Web; Information Infrastructure

01 Sep 2010
News

Leslie Gold

network, based on a breakthrough proprietary technology that we developed. It makes possible the show I do now. With a mouse click, anyone with a webcam can beam into the show, go through a screener like calling in to a radio talk show,... View Details

Keywords: Talk Radio; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Arts, Entertainment; Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

22 Feb 2022
News

Case Study: Welcome Aboard

Technology Partners, possibly the OG of remote-first companies, in the 1990s. We came together frequently as a whole company, which allowed for fun interactions and an amazing culture. As a first step, a detailed, confidential survey of... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint

February 1998 (Revised June 1999)
Case

DigitalThink: Startup

By: William A. Sahlman, Michael J. Roberts and Christina L. Darwall

Describes a recent Berkeley MBA's attempts to start a business aimed at corporate training via the Internet. Describes the very early efforts at finding an attorney, accountant, and financing, and the interrelationships among these choices. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Problems and Challenges; Business Startups; Service Industry

June 2019
Teaching Note

Michael Rubin and Fanatics (A) and (B)

By: Robert F. Higgins and John Masko

Teaching Note for HBS Nos. 819-077 and 819-082. View Details

Keywords: Fanatics; Licensed Merchandise; Sports; Internet and the Web; Vertical Integration; Expansion; Strategy; Sports Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

April 2001 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Mark Pitts

Describes Peoplestreet, an Internet business being developed at Cambridge Incubator. Peoplestreet is attempting to hire a VP of business development and has identified a candidate, Mark Pitts. Asks students to assess which interview techniques seemed most effective in... View Details

Keywords: Recruitment; Internet and the Web; Job Interviews; Massachusetts