Publications

14 Sep 2017
News

Global work orientation: A case study

06 May 2015
What Do You Think?

Are You Ready for Personalized Predictive Analytics?

(postpone) committing inventory to a particular supply point for as long as possible through such things as careful forecasting of demand, rapid manufacture, and fast transport. The other is to invest... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

January 2009
Case

Microsoft's Search

By: Jan W. Rivkin and Eric J. Van den Steen

In 2008, executives at Microsoft must decide how to compete against Google in the market for Internet search and advertising. The case describes how Microsoft has responded to a set of competitive threats in the past, how Google has gained a dominant position in... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; United States

May 2004 (Revised May 2006)
Case

AsiaInfo: The IPO Decision

The cofounder and CEO of AsiaInfo, a Chinese system integrator that built 70% of China's Internet backbone, must decide whether to list equity in the United States to fund future growth. Describes the company and the decision. A rewritten version of a previous case. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Initial Public Offering; Growth Management; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Equity; Information Technology Industry; China; United States

October 2011
Case

CSN Stores

By: William A. Sahlman and Neil Tolaney

In March 2011, CSN Stores is a collection of nearly 200 Internet retail websites, including Cookware.com, Strollers.com, and Luggage.com. Co-founders Niraj Shah and Steve Conine were considering making a major investment to build brand equity at the corporate level. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Distribution Channels; Investment; Brands and Branding; Equity; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry

02 Nov 2020
What Do You Think?

Is Antitrust Just a Quaint Notion in the Digital Age?

to be as much as $12 billion, or 21 percent of Apple’s profits. The larger point is that Google pays Apple large heaps of money to help it preserve its 92 percent share of the... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Retail; Technology; Telecommunications; Communications; Consumer Products; Service

31 Mar 2022
Video

Case Method Centennial: Is the Hybrid Classroom an Opportunity or a Threat?

21 Jan 2014
First Look

First Look: January 21

competition intensity need not improve consumer privacy when consumers exhibit low willingness to pay. Our findings are particularly relevant to the business models of Internet firms and contribute to inform... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2001 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Mark Pitts

Describes Peoplestreet, an Internet business being developed at Cambridge Incubator. Peoplestreet is attempting to hire a VP of business development and has identified a candidate, Mark Pitts. Asks students to assess which interview techniques seemed most effective in... View Details

Keywords: Recruitment; Internet and the Web; Job Interviews; Massachusetts

18 Jul 2019
News

Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins Reflects on the 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing

like all of sudden I was lying on my back one night looking up into the night sky and, bingo, next thing you know I was on the moon,” Collins told the magazine. “It was a very long, stair step system View Details

02 May 2022
News

Case Method Centennial: Is the Hybrid Classroom an Opportunity or a Threat?

September 2000 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Netflix (2000)

By: E. Scott Mayfield

The CEO of a successful Internet start-up must decide whether to delay the company's initial public offering following a significant decline in the NASDAQ market during the spring of 2000. The company's CFO is asked to reevaluate the company's projected cash flow needs... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Contracts; Initial Public Offering; Cash Flow; Service Delivery; Financial Strategy; Web Services Industry

April 1999
Case

Steve Perlman and WebTV (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Ron Fortgang

The dynamics of a linked series of internal and external negotiations involved in launching, growing, and selling a high-tech, Internet start-up are explored. Steve Perlman unfurled an impressive new technology, recruited a top technical and management team, secured... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Tactics; Alliances; Internet; Communications Industry

April 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

Livedoor

By: Robin Greenwood and Michael Schor

The president of Fuji Television must decide how to respond to a competing bid for the shares of Nippon Broadcasting Systems (NBS). Livedoor, the other bidder, is a highly valued Internet company that has been accused of financial wizardry to keep its stock price high. View Details

Keywords: Stock Shares; Internet and the Web; Ethics; Television Entertainment; Behavioral Finance; Corporate Finance; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Japan

April 1999
Case

Steve Perlman and WebTV (B)

By: James K. Sebenius and Ron Fortgang

The dynamics of a linked series of internal and external negotiations involved in launching, growing, and selling a high-tech, Internet start-up are explored. Steve Perlman unfurled an impressive new technology, recruited a top technical and management team, secured... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Process; Value Creation; Alliances; Technological Innovation; Business Exit or Shutdown; Television Entertainment; Media and Broadcasting Industry

09 Apr 2025
HBS Seminar

Marc Rysman, Boston University

2011
Working Paper

Temptation at Work

By: Alessandro Bucciol, Daniel Houser and Marco Piovesan

To encourage worker productivity, offices prohibit Internet use. Consequently, many employees delay Internet activity to the end of the workday. Recent work in social psychology, however, suggests that using willpower to delay gratification can negatively impact... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Performance Productivity; Behavior; Power and Influence; Internet