Publications

March 2008 (Revised April 2008)
Supplement

Opening Dot EU (B)

By: Benjamin Edelman

EURid considers possible market mechanisms to allocate initial domain names within the Internet's newly-created "dot EU." European Union regulations and community norms substantially constrain EURid's approach, preventing the use of the most natural economic mechanisms... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Internet and the Web; Resource Allocation; Auctions; Information Industry; Europe

February 2001 (Revised June 2001)
Case

eSurg (A): Negotiating the Start-Up

By: Jay O. Light and Anthony Massaro

The founders of an online medical supplies firm must negotiate with an established hospital distributor and a venture capital firm. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Negotiation; Internet and the Web; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

09 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 9, 2019

April 4, 2019 Palgrave Macmillan Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream: How Technology Is Transforming Lending and Shaping a New Era of Small Business Opportunity By: Mills, Karen G. Abstract—Fintech, Small Business & the... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

October 2011 (Revised August 2017)
Case

PunchTab, Inc.

By: Ramana Nanda, William R. Kerr and Lauren Barley

PunchTab was a Silicon Valley startup, founded in 2011, that was developing an Internet-based turnkey customer loyalty program for website owners, mobile applications developers, and brands. Founder/CEO Ranjith Kumaran must make strategic decisions about how to fund... View Details

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Investment; Investment Funds; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; San Francisco

January 2019
Case

Data.gov (Abridged)

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Robert D. Austin and Yumi Yi

This case presents the logic and execution underlying the launch of Data.gov, an instantiation of President Obama's initiative for transparency and open government. The process used by Vivek Kundra, the federal CIO, and his team to rapidly develop the website and to... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Rights; Analytics and Data Science; Internet and the Web; Ethics; Cost vs Benefits; Innovation and Management; Information Management; Public Administration Industry; Information Industry; United States

24 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Global Brands: Connecting With Consumers Across Boundaries

significant advances in technology and productivity, was the pottery firm founded by Josiah Wedgwood in 1760—"the first example I can find," said Koehn, "of a company using a brand as a strategic tool to interest consumers... View Details

Keywords: by James E. Aisner

August 2015
Case

Yabbly (A)

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Christopher Payton

In November 2013, with less than 10 months of cash on hand, Tom Leung, the founder and CEO of Yabbly, must decide where to focus his resources. His startup, a question-and-answer application for shopping decisions, had benefited from a strong showing at the SXSW... View Details

Keywords: Startup; Mobile; Online Product Reviews; Consumer Products; Business Model; Business Plan; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Innovation Strategy; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; North America; United States; Washington (state, US); Seattle

2023
Working Paper

The International Price of Remote Work

By: Agostina Brinatti, Alberto Cavallo, Javier Cravino and Andres Drenik

We study how the price of remote work is determined in a globalized labor market using data from a large web-based job platform, where workers from around the world compete for remote jobs. Despite the global nature of the platform, we find that remote wages are higher... View Details

Keywords: Remote Work; Exchange Rates; Purchasing Power Parity; Offshoring And Outsourcing; Macroeconomics; Developing Countries and Economies; Wages; Trade; Globalization; Marketplace Matching; Currency Exchange Rate; Web Services Industry; Web Services Industry; Web Services Industry

February 2011
Case

oDesk: Changing How the World Works

By: Boris Groysberg, David A. Thomas and Jennifer M. Tydlaska

It is 2010, and Gary Swart, CEO of oDesk, is contemplating the next steps for his organization. Founded in 2004 in California, oDesk operates an online marketplace which matches Employers with Contractors. oDesk provides fact-based information on Contractors, including... View Details

Keywords: Recruitment; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Corporate Strategy; Internet and the Web; Consulting Industry

November 2017
Teaching Note

Tencent

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Teaching Note for HBS No. 718-426. Tencent had undergone many transformations since it was founded in 1998 as a simple messaging service. In 2017, it was the largest online games provider in China with a wide range of game types, China’s largest social networking... View Details

April 1998
Case

E! Online (A): www.eonline.com

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

E! Online is the on-line brand extension of the cable-TV channel dedicated to entertainment news. E! Online must compete with other entertainment sites on the web, as well as create synergy between E! Online and E! Entertainment Television in order to build a... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Internet and the Web; Service Operations; Television Entertainment; Brands and Branding; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

Find at Harvard

14 Dec 2009
Research & Ideas

Can Entrepreneurs Drive People Movers to Success?

Harvard Business School, Edelman recently wrote about Vectus, Ltd., a Sweden-based PRT firm, on his Web site; a case study is available from Harvard Business Press. Other firms in the PRT business landscape include Advanced Transport... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Transportation

01 Oct 1999
News

New Chairman Updates Development in MBA Program

features of today's MBA experience. We all know that the effective use of technology is a priority at the School. How is this influencing the MBA Program? Technology is a huge part of the MBA experience. It... View Details

07 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

The Organizational Model for Open Source

three projects: Debian, a complete non-commercial distribution of Linux; the GNU Object Model Environment (GNOME), which is a graphical user interface for Linux-based operating systems; and Apache, a public domain open source Web server.... View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark

October 1999 (Revised July 2002)
Case

WingspanBank.com (A)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Daniel Galvin

The case describes the new product development process for WingspanBank.com, an Internet-only financial services "infomediary" created by a team from Bank One's First USA division. The creation of the bank is described from concept development to prelaunch decision... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Making; Information Management; Management Practices and Processes; Managerial Roles; Product Development; Performance Consistency; Competitive Advantage; Internet; Web Services Industry; Web Services Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

March 2000
Exercise

Developing Products on Internet Time: A Process Design Exercise

By: Stefan H. Thomke

This team exercise allows students to experience some of the dynamics of developing products in the fast-paced Internet environment and was inspired by the browser war between Netscape and Microsoft. Designed to be taught in a single class session, the exercise... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Internet and the Web; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty; Design; Decisions; Management Practices and Processes; Integration; Organizations; Competition

01 Oct 2002
News

Bozidar Djelic

has profoundly changed the way people think about business. What's important about it to me today are its applications as a way to organize society and as a basis for Œe-government' supported by broadband and other technologies.” View Details

October 2000 (Revised March 2001)
Case

BizRate.com

By: Youngme E. Moon

BizRate is a market research firm that collects point-of-purchase customer feedback data from retailing merchants. It then makes its findings available to consumers in the form of "BizRate star ratings," which are displayed on its website. To date, its primary revenue... View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Marketing Channels; Internet and the Web; Customer Relationship Management; Trust; Business Model; Marketing Strategy; Internet and the Web; Business Divisions; Debates; Retail Industry

June 2021
Case

HelloSelf: Search

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In August 2018, after nearly six months of searching, Charles Wells was convinced that he should found HelloSelf to help people improve their sense of mental wellbeing. Those feeling mentally unwell would receive support from fully qualified clinical psychotherapists,... View Details

Keywords: Mental Health; Health Care and Treatment; Internet and the Web; Business Model; Product Launch