Publications

August 2008 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Consumer Payment Systems — Japan

By: Benjamin Edelman and Andrei Hagiu

In 2008, the Japanese consumer payments landscape featured ongoing widespread use of cash, limited use of credit cards and rapid rise of e-money systems based on contactless technology embedded in cards and especially mobile phones. The case details the alliances that... View Details

Keywords: Personal Finance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Digital Platforms; Alliances; Competitive Strategy; Information Infrastructure; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Japan

21 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

What Health Care Managers Need to Know--and How to Teach Them

digital platform, and the increased fiscal pressures created by the worldwide economic crisis. Unfortunately, the educational programs for future health care leaders fail to provide many of the needed skills, according to a survey of CEOs... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Guttry; Health; Education

2021
Working Paper

The Value of Data and Its Impact on Competition

By: Marco Iansiti

Common regulatory perspective on the relationship between data, value, and competition in online platforms has increasingly centered on the volume of data accumulated by incumbent firms. This view posits the existence of "data network effects," where more data leads to... View Details

Keywords: Online Platforms; Data Network Effects; Analytics and Data Science; Value; Competition; Digital Platforms

SSRN

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2017
Working Paper

Explaining the Vertical-to-Horizontal Transition in the Computer Industry

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

This paper seeks to explain the technological forces that led to the rise of vertically integrated corporations in the late 19th century and the opposing forces that led to a vertical-to-horizontal transition in the computer industry 100 years later. I first model the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Business History; Vertical Integration; Horizontal Integration; Digital Platforms; Computer Industry

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2007
Working Paper

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

By: Feng Zhu and Marco Iansiti

This paper seeks to answer three questions. First, which drives the success of a platform, installed base, platform quality or consumer expectations? Second, when does a monopoly emerge in a platform-based market? Finally, when is a platform-based market socially... View Details

Keywords: Price; Network Effects; Digital Platforms; Monopoly; Quality; Competitive Advantage; Digital Platforms

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02 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Stuck in Gear: Why Managers Don’t Act

re-tooled to successful and profitable strategic ends. In Revival of the Fittest, he draws on his extensive global research in such diverse industries as personal computers, brewing, tires, and consumer banking to outline the pitfalls that managers should be aware of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

24 Jul 2007
First Look

First Look: July 24, 2007

Company Harvard Business School Case 307-093 Digital China is the largest Chinese independent systems integrator (IBM and HP are larger). Describes their history and their current strategy and invites the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 2019
Teaching Note

SeatGeek

By: Robert F. Higgins and Sarah Mehta

Teaching Note for HBS No. 819-013. View Details

Keywords: Event Ticketing; Sports Ticketing; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Business Model; Decision Making; Digital Platforms; Sports; Strategy; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Information Technology; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Sports Industry; New York (city, NY)

27 Jul 2011
Research & Ideas

Customer Loyalty Programs That Work

The customer rewards cards that clutter wallets and clog key chains of many a shopper may soon be no more, as retailers move from physical to digital (read: mobile apps) forms of loyalty program member identification. It's a smart... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Retail

28 Oct 2015
Research & Ideas

A Dedication to Creation: India's Ad Man Ranjan Kapur

the General Management Program at Harvard Business School. In the discussion, conducted last August in Mumbai, Kapur reflects on some 50 years in the advertising industry, starting in the “Mad Men” era of the 1960s, experiencing the dawn of the View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Advertising

01 Dec 2021
What Do You Think?

How Will the Metaverse Affect Productivity?

[expletive] out of the U-Stor-It.” Recently, Mark Zuckerberg reminded us that the notion of the Metaverse has been flourishing in the tech world. Let’s assume that his adoption of the notion as a central organizing strategy for Facebook... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

26 Mar 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, March 26, 2019

strategies aimed at improving working conditions in global supply chains. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51347 Harvard Business School Case 919-411 AIME High: A Social Entrepreneur's Moon Shot... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

October 2020 (Revised November 2023)
Case

COVID-19 Testing at Everlywell

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull

In March 2020, as COVID-19 spreads rapidly across the U.S., Everlywell founder Julia Cheek considers how to respond as a small start-up specializing in at-home lab testing. After making dramatic budget cuts, she decides to pivot the organization to address the... View Details

20 Feb 2001
Research & Ideas

What’s Next for Japan

In the opening panel of the conference, titled "Japan Towards the 21st Century: How Should Japan Compete?" moderator and Harvard University professor Michael Porter laid a framework for experts from Japanese business, government, and politics to discuss... View Details

Keywords: by Hilah Geer

02 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 2, 2019

strategies in response to Google’s entry threat and actual entry into their markets. We find that, after Google’s entry threat increases, affected developers reduce innovation and raise the prices for the affected apps. Once Google... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

07 Jan 2015
What Do You Think?

SUMMING UP: What Are the Limits On Workplace Transparency?

problems." Nevertheless, there was enthusiasm for disclosure, perhaps using a system of disclosing "pay bands" within which holders of specific jobs are compensated. Pete described a specific example this way. "Back in the 90's View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

February 2024 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Uniswap: Fighting a Vampire Attack (A)

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Shweta Bagai and Liang Wu

This is the first of a three-case series that explores the challenges faced by Uniswap, a key player in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. Founded by Hayden Adams, the case traces Uniswap's rapid growth from a simple idea inspired by a Reddit post to becoming one... View Details

April 2025
Case

Netflix in 2024

By: Jan Rivkin and David Allen

In 2024, Netflix appeared to emerge victorious from the “streaming wars” that it had waged in recent years with the likes of Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Apple, and Amazon. What had allowed Netflix not only to succeed in the streaming wars but also to thrive for... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Organizational Culture; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Success; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; United States

August 2019
Case

Preserving Trust at Care.com (A)

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Julia Kelley

Care.com was an online platform designed to match caregivers with individuals seeking care for themselves, others, and pets, through job postings, caregiver profiles, and directories of local day care centers. In March 2019, the Wall Street Journal had just published a... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Corporate Governance; Digital Platforms; Market Design; Emerging Markets; Trust; Technology Industry; United States