Publications

21 Nov 2016
Research & Ideas

It Matters That Your CEO Doesn't Know Much About Sales

targets, but a tactical tool that’s rarely part of strategy formulation. Develop the best product, and let the sales department figure out the best way to get it to the customer, they think. And many sales leaders like it that way.... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

26 Feb 2018
Research & Ideas

The Airbnb Effect: Cheaper Rooms for Travelers, Less Revenue for Hotels

Farronato, a Harvard Business School assistant professor, and Andrey Fradkin, postdoctoral fellow at the Initiative on the Digital Economy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "You might find a Fifth Avenue apartment or a... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Travel

03 Apr 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 3, 2018

leads to a 14% increase in the likelihood of exit for a 3.5-star restaurant (which is the median rating on Yelp) but has no discernible impact for a 5-star restaurant (on a 1 to 5 star scale). Our analysis also highlights how digital data... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Nov 2020
In Practice

How Retailers Can Thrive in a Shopping Season Like No Other

retailers’ annual sales, so it is a critical time to get retail execution right. Dynamic pricing strategies must be carefully executed to maximize margins while driving volume. Inventory turns must be carefully monitored so that physical... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Retail

01 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

What it Takes to Lead Through Turmoil

Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow. Denial The "change journeys" of the leaders and laggards, which often come in three phases, could not be more different. For laggards, that journey looks like this, Kanter said.... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

01 Nov 2024
In Practice

Layoffs Surging in a Strong Economy? Advice for Navigating Uncertain Times

companies laying off employees to acknowledge the fact that they made a historic mistake. Something went wrong in your internal forecasting, either the demand you over-confidently predicted or the strategy you assumed would work. That... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Technology; Information Technology

May 2008 (Revised March 2010)
Supplement

Palm (C): 2005

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Kevin Boudreau and Jordan Mitchell

This case series looks at three important inflection points in Palm's history that relate to decisions about its platform: when the company was debating whether to open its operating system (OS) for licensing to third-party hardware manufacturers; 2001, when the... View Details

Keywords: History; Decisions; Business Model; Technological Innovation; Value Creation; Digital Platforms; Rights; Competition

May 2022
Case

Thinking Outside the Wine Box (A): Mekanism and the Franz for Life Campaign

By: Tomomichi Amano, Elie Ofek, Mengjie Cheng and Amy Klopfenstein

This case provides an overview of “Franz for Life,” an advertising campaign that independent advertising agency Mekanism created and executed to revitalize the brand image of Franzia, a low-cost boxed wine. For several years, Franzia’s popularity declined among... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Digital Marketing; Social Marketing; Marketing Communications; Product Positioning; Food and Beverage Industry; Advertising Industry; United States

October 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Global Unichip Corporation (A)

By: Willy Shih and Chen-Fu Chien

Global Unichip Corporation (GUC) is a design services company that acts as a front-end to TSMC, the world's largest semiconductor foundry. In so doing, it masked the complexity of the latest process technologies, and reduced the entry barriers for small firms to... View Details

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

29 Apr 2014
First Look

First Look: April 29

http://ssrn.com/abstract=1934217 Elevating Repositioning Costs: Strategy Dynamics and Competitive Interactions in Grand Strategy By: Menon, Anoop R., and Dennis A. Yao Abstract—This paper proposes an... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 18

village in China. Purchase this case: http://hbr.org/product/value-retail-b-china-opportunities-for-expansion/an/814013-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 514-087 Digital Marketing Strategy View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2000 (Revised June 2001)
Case

DoubleClick Buys Abacus (A)

By: John A. Deighton

By acquiring Abacus, DoubleClick won the power to serve ads with unprecedented precision, because it brought together Web surfers' online and offline identities. Several competitors had developed advanced systems for serving ads on the web, but DoubleClick had the... View Details

Keywords: Information; Rights; Internet and the Web; Ethics; Competitive Advantage; Social Issues; Customer Focus and Relationships; Digital Marketing; Advertising Industry

Find at Harvard

24 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Why the Internet Doesn’t Change Everything

deal of time trying to concoct a strategy for dealing with this unsettling cyber-priest. But there really wasn't much that they could do, so they left Gaillot and his liberal site alone. Partenia had won. In cyberspace, Partenia is... View Details

Keywords: by Debora L. Spar

March 2008 (Revised March 2013)
Teaching Note

MySpace (TN)

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski

Teaching Note for 708499. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Competitive Advantage; Social and Collaborative Networks; Decisions; Growth and Development; Digital Platforms; Web Services Industry; United States

October 2013 (Revised December 2013)
Case

Intuit QuickBooks: From Product to Platform

By: Andrei Hagiu and Elizabeth J. Altman

This case focuses on the challenges and opportunities faced by a successful incumbent organization attempting to transform a large portion of its business from a traditionally product-centric operating mode to a platform-based one that leverages network effects to... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Platforms; Competitive Advantage; Network Effects; Consumer Products Industry

03 Nov 2009
First Look

First Look: Nov. 3

self-report of the licensee. The self-reporting aspect of the environment gives rise to demand for auditing by the licensor or third-party attestation by the licensee. We characterize the optimal royalty contract, accounting system choice by the licensee, and audit... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2018
Case

Amazon, Google, and Apple: Smart Speakers and the Battle for the Connected Home

By: Rajiv Lal and Scott Johnson

Amazon, Google, and Apple all offer their own smart speaker. The devices represent each firm's entry point into the connected home market. All three companies come into the space with their own strengths and weaknesses. Who will win? View Details