Publications

09 Jun 2015
News

Facing digital disruption

2021
Working Paper

MLS as a Sports Product—The Prominence of the World's Game in the U.S.

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Kenneth Cortsen

The purpose of this Working Paper is to analyze how soccer at the professional level in the U.S., with Major League Soccer as a focal point, has developed over the span of a quarter of a century. It is worthwhile to examine the growth of Major League Soccer (MLS) from... View Details

Keywords: Soccer; Major League Soccer; Sports; Growth and Development; Organizational Structure; Business Model; Sports Industry; United States

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November 1999 (Revised July 2003)
Case

Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.

By: Paul M. Healy and Jacob Cohen

Pre-Paid Legal Services' business model reveals two key issues--managing the sales force and sales growth and managing claims. Students analyze the economics of the business and consider how to measure firm performance, how to evaluate and reward the sales force, and... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Salesforce Management; Marketing Strategy; Accrual Accounting; Business Cycles; Forecasting and Prediction; Insurance; Business Growth and Maturation; Insurance Industry

05 Sep 2013
News

Prescriptive freedom

09 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Clayton Christensen’s “How Will You Measure Your Life?”

called Netflix emerged in the 1990s with a novel idea: rather than make people go to the video store, why don't we mail DVDs to them? Netflix's business model made profit in just the opposite way to... View Details

13 Jun 2021
News

Rocket Men: Bezos, Musk and Branson Scramble for Space Supremacy

January 2002 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Computer Associates International, Inc.

In late 2000, Computer Associates (CA) changed its business model and the way it recognized revenue, ostensibly to better serve its stakeholders. The new subscription-based license model offered customers greater flexibility. Clients could subscribe to any CA software... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Valuation; Corporate Disclosure; Revenue Recognition; Corporate Governance; Technology Industry

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April 18, 2023
Article

The Rebirth of Software as a Service

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Jacco van der Kooij

Traditional sales models focus on customer acquisition and the “funnel” or “pipeline” metrics that dominate talk about sales. But this approach falls short when applied to a recurring revenue business, where the customer life cycle looks more like a bowtie, not a... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Sales; Technology Industry

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November 2020
Case

Guild Education: Unlocking Opportunity for America's Workforce

By: William A. Sahlman, Michael D. Smith, Nicole Tempest Keller and Alpana Thapar

Founded in 2015, Guild Education is an education marketplace that connects employers and universities to provide employees with ‘education as a benefit.’ The Denver-based company is transforming traditional tuition assistance programs by facilitating direct payment by... View Details

Keywords: Education; Digital Platforms; Information Technology; Employees; Social Enterprise; Education Industry; Technology Industry; Colorado

07 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 7, 2015

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=49331 Working Papers The Business Model: Nature and Benefits By: Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon, and John Heilbron Abstract—This paper considers the nature of the View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

04 Feb 2020
News

How we know that Tesla is a bubble that is going to pop

March 2020
Case

Forbidden City: Launching a Craft Beer in China

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Carole Carlson

This case describes a difficult choice faced by Victor Wang, Managing Director of Singapore-based Eurasian Brewing Company (EBC), concerning the competing product launch plans of Le Jie, Vice President of EBC's China and East Asian operations, and Vivian Chin, EBC's... View Details

Keywords: Subsidiary Management; Craft Brewing; Strategy; Decision Making; Organizational Structure; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Management Style; Food and Beverage Industry; China; East Asia

November 1999 (Revised June 2001)
Case

Compaq Computer Corporation: The DEC Acquisition

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and Barbara Feinberg

Compaq's board of directors is faced with responsibility for setting the price range and terms for the proposed acquisition of Digital Equipment Corp. The transaction is described in the context of the rapidly evolving markets and business models of the computer... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Situation or Environment; Negotiation Offer; Acquisition; Computer Industry

26 Apr 2023
In Practice

Is AI Coming for Your Job?

percent believe the technology will affect them personally. Harvard Business School faculty members share their thoughts below about how AI will reshape the workforce and the skills necessary to succeed in the years ahead. Joseph Fuller:... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Technology

January 2010 (Revised October 2010)
Background Note

News in the Digital World: Who Pays?

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Nancy Bartlett

Models to monetizing news in the digital landscape, which is real-time, searchable, sharable, multi-sourced, anytime, and any screen, were emerging in 2010. Could content creators get people to pay for what they watched, read, listened to, and shared online? Were news... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Newspapers; Disruptive Innovation; Technological Innovation; Online Technology; Journalism and News Industry; Publishing Industry

12 Nov 2019
Video

Christoph Schiess

Christoph Schiess, President of TANICA, a Chilean business group with diversified activities in real estate, tourism and hotels, mineral water, and other activities, discusses his strong commitment to... View Details

July 2011 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Game Time Decision for AppDirect

By: Andrei Hagiu, Laura Arjona and Emily Zhang

AppDirect is a start-up that offers small businesses software-as-a-service solutions through a business app marketplace and portal. Daniel Saks, co-founder and co-CEO, is faced with the key question of deciding distribution strategy: should AppDirect find channel... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Distribution; Applications and Software; Innovation Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Business Growth and Maturation; Competitive Strategy; Information Technology Industry; United States

July 2023 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Vytal: Packaging-as-a-Service

By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel, Lena Duchene and Daniela Beyersdorfer

The Germany-based startup Vytal operated the largest digital-native reusable packaging-as-a-service network globally, having raised nearly €15 million, established a large network of restaurant partners, and prevented the use of millions of single-use take-out food... View Details

January 2011 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Triangulate (A)

By: Thomas Eisenmann and Lauren Barley

In October 2010, Triangulate's founder/CEO must determine what product features to develop and what marketing programs to pursue in order to boost the odds of successfully raising another venture capital round for his nine month-old Facebook dating application. The... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Product Launch; Social and Collaborative Networks; Internet and the Web