Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(1,960)
- Faculty Publications (668)
- 2021
- Working Paper
Consuming Contests: Outcome Uncertainty and Spectator Demand for Contest-based Entertainment
By: Patrick J. Ferguson and Karim R. Lakhani
Contests that are designed to be consumed for entertainment by non-contestants are a fixture of economic, cultural and political life. In this paper, we examine whether individuals prefer to consume contests that have more uncertain outcomes. We look to... View Details
- February 2021 (Revised February 2021)
- Case
World of Dreams Entertainment Group: Building a Resilient Business
By: Lynda M. Applegate, Sarah Endline and Michael Norris
In 2021, Ron DeShay, former American Idol producer, is launching his new business venture: World of Dreams Entertainment Group. World of Dreams rethought the existing TV production model, giving audiences more power to directly influence the creation of shows through a... View Details
- January 2021 (Revised October 2021)
- Case
iOpenEye: Theater and #MeToo in Nigeria
By: Caroline Elkins, Tarun Khanna and Joyce J. Kim
In 2014, Ifeoma Fafunwa, an award-winning playwright and director, founded iOpenEye, a commercial production company dedicated to driving social change through performance art. iOpenEye’s flagship theatrical production was called “Hear Word! Naija Woman Talk True,”... View Details
- January 2021
- Case
Cinépolis
By: Joshua D. Margolis and Fernanda Miguel
Two weeks after Cinepolis released a documentary film about corruption, a judge ordered its provisional suspension, claiming it had to be edited before it continued to be shown, against Mexican cinematography laws. Cinépolis, Latin America’s largest movie theater chain... View Details
Keywords: Movies; Entertainment; Corruption; Risk Assessment; Communication Strategy; Crime and Corruption; Decision Making; Film Entertainment; Ethics; Leadership; Risk Management; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Mexico; Latin America; North and Central America
- 2021
- Working Paper
Bollywood, Skin Color and Sexism: The Role of the Film Industry in Emboldening and Contesting Stereotypes in India after Independence
By: Sudev Sheth, Geoffrey Jones and Morgan Spencer
This working paper examines the social impact of the film industry in India during the first four decades after Indian Independence in 1947. It shows that Bollywood, the mainstream cinema in India and the counterpart in scale to Hollywood in the United States, shared... View Details
- December 2020
- Case
Tencent: Combining Technology and Culture
By: Elie Ofek, Billy Chan and Dawn H. Lau
Tencent, one of the largest Internet conglomerates in China, had a vision to become a "Tech+Culture" firm. With dominant market shares in online games and social networking, it had built a vast Internet-based entertainment ecosystem, and was now focused on cultural... View Details
Keywords: Media Franchise; Marketing; Market Entry and Exit; Product Launch; Strategy; Culture; China
- 2023
- Working Paper
Personalized Game Design for Improved User Retention and Monetization in Freemium Games
By: Eva Ascarza, Oded Netzer and Julian Runge
One of the most crucial aspects and significant levers that gaming companies possess in designing
digital games is setting the level of difficulty, which essentially regulates the user’s ability to
progress within the game. This aspect is particularly significant in... View Details
- October 2020 (Revised August 2022)
- Case
Epic Games: Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite
By: Andy Wu, Miaomiao Zhang and Christopher Zhang
In the midst of intensifying public and political attention towards the market power of big technology, Epic Games in 2020 challenged the status quo that has existed for years in the Apple iOS and Google Android mobile application marketplaces and payment systems.... View Details
- October 2020
- Case
John Branca: Negotiating the Beatles' Northern Songs Catalog (A)
By: James K. Sebenius and Alex Green
In 1985, pop music superstar Michael Jackson instructed his attorney, John Branca, to make a bid for the Northern Songs music catalog, which contained the songs of the Beatles. In a challenging negotiation with Australian media baron Robert Holmes à Court, Branca... View Details
- September 2020
- Case
Chip and Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Network
By: Anita Elberse and Julia McNicholas
Chip and Joanna Gaines, who have shot to fame as stars of the hit television show Fixer Upper, are preparing to launch their own television network. It is April 2019, a year since the home-renovation show Fixer Upper’s fifth season on cable channel HGTV ended, and more... View Details
Keywords: Entertainment; Television; Superstars; Innovation; Creative Industries; Talent; General Management; Celebrities; Television Entertainment; Entrepreneurship; Joint Ventures; Innovation and Invention; Marketing; Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry
- September 2020
- Case
Jan Swartz: Steering Princess Cruises Through the COVID-19 Crisis
By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Norris
In the summer of 2020, Jan Swartz, President of Princess Cruises, was persevering to lead her company back from the depths of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Diamond Princess, one of Princess Cruises’ 18 ships was the site of one of the earliest large outbreaks of COVID-19... View Details
Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; COVID-19; Leading Change; Crisis Management; Ship Transportation; Health Pandemics; Human Resources; Business Strategy; Gender; Personal Development and Career; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Japan; United States
- August 2020
- Teaching Note
Sesame Workshop (B): Celebrating 50 Years of Helping Kids Grow Smarter, Stronger, and Kinder
By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Joyce J. Kim
Teaching Note for Case No. 321-015. In 2019, Sesame Workshop celebrated its 50th anniversary while on a winning streak of social impact, innovation, and peak media and financial results. Over the past four years, CEO Jeff Dunn and his turnaround team exhibited... View Details
- August 2020 (Revised June 2021)
- Case
Skillz: Esports and Skill-Based Mobile Gaming
By: Andy Wu, David B. Yoffie and George Gonzalez
Founded in 2012, Skillz offered a platform for mobile app developers to monetize skill-based games via prized tournaments. Skillz had over 20,000 registered developers that had created thousands of Skillz-powered games played by over 30 million registered users... View Details
- Article
Music's Last Best Hope Lies in Live-Streaming
With big crowds and concerts off limits, there is almost no other way for performers to make money. View Details
- July 2020 (Revised November 2020)
- Case
Pricing at Netflix
By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Oded Koenigsberg and Amy Klopfenstein
Since its launch in 1998 as “the Amazon.com of DVDs,” Netflix had evolved from a DVD rental company to a video streaming platform and producer of original films and television shows. As the company matured, it regularly increased prices and adjusted its product... View Details
Keywords: Pricing; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Finance; Price; Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Business Strategy; Adaptation; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Customers; Customer Satisfaction; Customer Value and Value Chain; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; North and Central America; United States
- July 2020
- Supplement
Sesame Workshop (B): Celebrating 50 Years of Helping Kids Grow Smarter, Stronger, and Kinder
By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Joyce J. Kim
In 2019, Sesame Workshop celebrated its 50th anniversary while on a winning streak of social impact, innovation, and peak media and financial results. Over the past four years, CEO Jeff Dunn and his turnaround team exhibited values-driven leadership, instituted... View Details
- July 2020 (Revised April 2022)
- Case
Paris Saint-Germain: Building One of the World's Top Sports Brands
By: Anita Elberse and David Moreno Vicente
In March 2020, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the president of French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain (‘PSG’) sees his team clinch a spot among the last eight clubs to compete in the UEFA Champions League. Established in 1970 and initially a club with only moderate success, PSG’s... View Details
- July 2020 (Revised July 2023)
- Case
Live Nation and Pharrell Williams
By: Anita Elberse and Kate Christensen
“We’re in business together, and whether we lose a few million dollars or make a few million dollars, let’s do this. If you think you can pull it off, I’m behind you.” Michael Rapino, chief executive officer of Live Nation, the world’s leading live entertainment... View Details
- June 2020 (Revised July 2023)
- Case
Time Out: The Evolution from Media to Markets
By: Kate Barasz and Eva Ascarza
In February 2020, Time Out’s chief executive officer Julio Bruno is evaluating the strategic direction of the company. Over the span of five decades, Time Out — the global media and entertainment brand — had gone from a self-published counterculture publication in... View Details
- June 2020
- Case
Big Hit Entertainment and Blockbuster Band BTS: K-Pop Goes Global
By: Anita Elberse and Lizzy Woodham
Bang Si-Hyuk (‘Hitman Bang’) is the founder and co-chief executive officer of Big Hit Entertainment, the company behind BTS, a ‘K-pop’ band that has found unparalleled success around the globe—a remarkable feat given that most of their songs are in Korean. It is March... View Details