Publications

June 2014
Teaching Note

Andreessen Horowitz

By: Thomas Eisenmann

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a venture capital firm launched in 2009, has quickly broken into the VC industry's top ranks, in terms of its ability to invest in Silicon Valley's most promising startups. The case recounts the firm's history; describes its co-founders'... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Venture Capital; Disruption; Organizational Structure; Entrepreneurship; Industry Structures; Service Industry; United States

04 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

Attention Medical Shoppers: What Health Care Can Learn from Walmart and Amazon

panel discussion held at Harvard Business School, where several experts talked about how to treat the troubled industry at a time when the year-old Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 is still in its relative infancy.... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

September 2007 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Compass Box Whisky Company

Compass Box Whisky Company is facing a changing supply situation and is evaluating switching to a business model with high inventory and long lead times. The company must consider what the change will mean for operations, risk, and measuring profitability. View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Business Model; Profit; Product; Supply Chain; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Risk and Uncertainty

06 Aug 2012
News

Family Offices Seeing Fastest Growth as Firms Oust Banks

Winter 2017
Article

Google, Mobile and Competition: The Current State of Play

By: Benjamin Edelman

I present Google practices that have raised objections from competition regulators. I consider the key impediments to competition and examine the business models foreclosed by Google's restrictions. View Details

Keywords: Antitrust; Mobile; Mobile Technology; Search Technology; Technology Platform; Contracts; Lawfulness; Competition; Information Technology Industry; European Union; Russia; South Korea

Read Now

13 May 2015
News

Health Innovation: Institutionalizing the Teachable Moment with GENiE

Article

How History Shaped the Innovator's Dilemma

By: Tom Nicholas

In 1993, four years prior to the publication of Clayton Christensen’s highly influential book, The Innovator’s Dilemma, the Business History Review (BHR) published an article by Christensen titled “The Rigid Disk Drive Industry: A History of... View Details

Keywords: Clayton Christensen; Impact; Innovation and Invention; Disruptive Innovation; Research

Find at Harvard

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Anita Elberse is the Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

Professor Elberse develops and teaches an MBA course covering the "Businesses of Entertainment, Media, and Sports," which ranks among the most sought-after... View Details

Keywords: advertising; arts; broadcasting; communications; consumer products; e-commerce industry; electronics; entertainment; fashion; home video games; information; marketing industry; motion pictures; music; publishing industry; sports; telecommunications; video games

April 2004
Case

D-Wave Systems: Building a Quantum Computer

By: Alan D. MacCormack, Ajay Agrawal and Rebecca Henderson

D-Wave Systems is a start-up seeking to commercialize a quantum computer. Its business model is unique: as of 2003, it had very few technical resources within the firm. Instead, it financed a series of projects undertaken at universities and government labs. In return... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Engineering; Investment; Intellectual Property; Product Development; Research and Development; Commercialization; Computer Industry

February 1999
Case

Tektronix, Inc.: Global ERP Implementation

By: Robert D. Austin, Richard L. Nolan, George Francis Westerman III and Mark J. Cotteleer

Reviews Tektronix's implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution in all three of its global business divisions. This case tells the story of three implementations, each with its own character and requirements. Tektronix managers needed to... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Transformation; Globalized Markets and Industries; Information Management; Management Skills; Management Style; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Electronics Industry

07 Dec 2011
News

Cautious capitalism

Video

Should You Go to Graduate School? Factors to Consider Before Deciding

30 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Market Makers Bid for Success

indirect materials, which are primarily downward auctions. Although, there are some market situations where you would use an upward auction just to have people bid on certain kinds of pricing. Basically, we've evolved our business View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Web Services; Technology

January 2025
Supplement

Hippo: Weathering the Storm of the Home Insurance Crisis (B)

By: Lauren Cohen, Grace Headinger and Sophia Pan

Rick McCathron, CEO of Hippo, was optimistic about the InsurTech's path to profitability after navigating the financial uncertainties of 2022. By bundling their home insurance services with third-parties and established insurance incumbents, Hippo was adopting a... View Details

February 2007 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Urban Video Game Academy: Getting in the Game

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Susan Saltrick

Urban Video Game Academy was founded to enhance the academic and career prospects of urban youth. How will its founder grow it into a sustainable business? Provides an opportunity to discuss the challenges of social entrepreneurship and how to create a sustainable... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Social Enterprise; Change Management; Education; Education Industry; Video Game Industry

January 2011 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Intellectual Property Intermediaries

By: Andrei Hagiu

During the past 5 to 10 years, several different intermediation business models have emerged for the intellectual property (IP) market. This note describes the most prominent ones: non-practicing entities (or patent trolls), defensive patent aggregators, online IP... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Intellectual Property; Auctions; Digital Platforms; Information Technology; Service Industry

February 2010
Supplement

Valuing Visa? Priceless (CW)

By: Peter Tufano

Students must determine whether or not Visa, which had an IPO one month prior, is a good investment. The case provides an overview of multisided platform businesses and the payments industry in general. Visa's business model and economics are reviewed. View Details

Keywords: Credit Cards; Initial Public Offering; Valuation; Multi-Sided Platforms; Microeconomics