Publications

Web

Evolution of the Social Enterprise Conference | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

problems. We say “unsolvable” because communities around the world face such daunting, complex problems - ranging from providing safe, healthy water and food for all, to ensuring educational and economic opportunity - and it can be easy to accept the state View Details

15 Apr 2016
News

First African American Woman to Receive Harvard MBA Talks Power of Persistence, Resilience, and Courage

ride the half mile from their Radcliffe College dorm. A graduate of Howard University who was rejected on her first try applying to HBS (she freely admits she wasn’t adequately prepared), Lambert went on to a long and successful career as... View Details

Keywords: Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management of Companies and Enterprises

14 Dec 2007
Op-Ed

When Your Product Becomes a Commodity

speed from launch to maturity is faster than ever before. Marketers can do three things to delay the inevitable forces of commoditization. Innovate. A new product that better meets consumer needs, even an... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

Web

Breaking the Cycle of Intergenerational Poverty | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Breaking the Cycle of Intergenerational Poverty Background When I first got to Harvard Business School, I joined the Social Enterprise Club , and quickly realized that these students were my compatriots. These were people who had similar... View Details

22 Jul 2019
Book

How to Be a Digital Platform Leader

controversial thing that we discuss in the book is the question of whether platforms need to be curated. Curation would try to eliminate disinformation, fake news, promotion of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

December 1999 (Revised September 2000)
Case

Excite@Home: Betting on a Broadband Revolution

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Matthew Sandoval

In January 1999, @Home, a high-speed Internet access provider, announced the $6.7 billion purchase of Excite, the second largest of the major Internet "portals." This purchase marked a continuing consolidation of companies in the Internet "content" and "access"... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Joint Ventures; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Internet and the Web; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry

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07 Mar 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Net Neutrality: A Fast Lane to Understanding the Trade-offs

Keywords: by Shane Greenstein, Martin Peitz, and Tommaso Valletti; Media & Broadcasting; Technology; Telecommunications

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

14 Jul 2011
News

Amazon Takes On California

August 1998 (Revised June 2000)
Case

FairMarket, Inc.: Where Buyers and Sellers Connect

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Jack Wieland and Chad M. M Raube

On February 20, 1997, FairMarket, an Internet-based business-to-business auction site, was launched. CEO, founder Scott Randall, drew on his experience building Internet businesses at NECX Direct, Yahoo, and Internet Shopping Network to build his business. This case,... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Debates; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development; Growth Management; Management Style; Product Launch; Multi-Sided Platforms; Problems and Challenges; Information Technology; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry

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2011
Book

Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader

By: Linda A. Hill and Kent Lineback

You never dreamed being the boss would be so hard. You're caught in a web of conflicting expectations from subordinates, your supervisor, peers, and customers. You're constantly fighting fires. You're mired in office politics. You end each day exhausted and... View Details

Keywords: Management; Leadership; Management Skills; Employee Relationship Management; Personal Development and Career; Groups and Teams; Social and Collaborative Networks

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March 2002
Background Note

Virtuous Cycles: Improving Service and Lowering Costs in E-Commerce

Illustrates how various elements in a customer's encounter with Internet services relying on physical service (labor-intensive customer support and/or logistics) affect one another. Presents a framework that suggests: 1) that improving service quality in specific... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Service Delivery; Performance Efficiency; Performance Effectiveness; Service Industry

November 1999
Case

net.Genesis, Inc.

By: Robert J. Dolan, Rajiv Lal and Perry Fagan

Net.Genesis is planning a strategy for the developing Internet market. In particular, it is creating the category of e-business intelligence and striving to be the brand leader in it. View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Strategic Planning; Expansion; Brands and Branding; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Marketing Communications; Internet and the Web; Change Management

27 Mar 2014
Video

Listening at Four Levels

04 Feb 2022
Blog Post

Learning from the Entrepreneurs-in-Residence as a Harvard MS/MBA Student

there are an infinite number of ways to spend your time learning – each equally compelling but vastly unique and tailored to various learning styles. One of the most powerful ways View Details

May 2016 (Revised January 2018)
Case

Airbnb, Etsy, Uber: Acquiring the First Thousand Customers

By: Thales S. Teixeira and Morgan Brown

By 2016, two-sided online platforms (or marketplaces) were pervasive among the highest growing internet startups around. These marketplaces sought to match suppliers of assets for rent, physical products or services with customers demanding them. Among the most notable... View Details

Keywords: Airbnb; Etsy; Uber; Growth Hacking; Two-sided Market; Internet and the Web; Marketing Strategy; Digital Platforms; Digital Marketing; Business Startups; Transportation Industry; Accommodations Industry