Publications

Research Summary

Overview

By: Ryan W. Buell

From creating flight itineraries online, to interacting with tellers to complete complex banking transactions, to engaging with the government to address civic problems, customers are playing an increasingly vital role in the performance of operations in a broadening... View Details

January 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Case

ZappRx

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull

In October 2015, ZappRx founder Zoe Barry is deciding between two business models for her health technology start-up. Her product, a software application that aims to expedite the prescription fulfillment process for patients with rare diseases, has attracted interest... View Details

Keywords: Speciality Drugs; Hub Services; Pivot; Speciality Prescriptions; Health Care and Treatment; Customization and Personalization; Internet and the Web; Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Pharmaceutical Industry; Massachusetts

June 2000
Case

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

Four Seasons has a love/hate relationship with technology, including the best Web site in the industry. This case examines how a leading service delivers high-tech/high-touch, and looks at its progressive human resource strategy. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Service Operations; Accommodations Industry

March 2017 (Revised May 2019)
Case

Marketing Transformation at Mastercard

By: Sunil Gupta, Srinivas K. Reddy and David Lane

Since 2013, Mastercard CMO M.V. Rajamannar (Raja) had transformed the firm's marketing by using unique experiences, digital technology, and social media to intensify linkages not only with cardholders, but also with Mastercard's direct bank and merchant stakeholders.... View Details

Keywords: Mastercard; Financial Services; Ingredient Brand; B2B2C; Experiential Marketing; Digital Marketing; ROI; Marketing; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Brands and Branding; Internet and the Web; Investment Return; Financial Services Industry

November 1999 (Revised June 2000)
Case

FairMarket: Managing Business Development

By: William A. Sahlman, Michael J. Roberts and Cathy Taylor

Describes the evolution of FairMarket, a provider of turnkey auction services to community and merchant Web sites. Describes several deals that the CEO must negotiate, requiring a view of the company's valuation. View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Internet and the Web; Valuation; Negotiation Deal; Auctions; Growth and Development Strategy; Web Services Industry

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2013
Working Paper

Where do the Most Active Customers Originate and How Can Firms Keep Them Engaged?

By: Clarence Lee, E. Ofek and Thomas Steenburgh

In this paper, we study how firms offering Web services can acquire and develop an active customer base. We focus on two basic questions. First, how does the method of customer acquisition affect the way customers use the service to meet their own needs and to interact... View Details

Keywords: Customer Engagement; Adoption Routes; Hidden Markov Models; Search; Word-of-Mouth; Digital Media; Customer Relationship Management; Internet and the Web; Mathematical Methods; Consumer Behavior; Entrepreneurship; Marketing Reference Programs; Web Services Industry

December 2015 (Revised February 2016)
Case

Ocado

By: José Alvarez, David E. Bell and Damien McLoughlin

In 2015, U.K.-based Ocado was the world's largest pure player in the online home-delivery grocery business and was gaining a growing share of the highly competitive U.K. grocery market. Ocado had made heavy investments in technology, including a highly automated... View Details

December 1996 (Revised July 2002)
Background Note

Note on Marketing and the Internet

By: John A. Deighton, Alison Berkley and John Barabino

The World Wide Web is new, a comprehensive marketing environment. It is a medium for direct marketing, for retailing and distribution, for the delivery of service and product elements, for marketing research, and even for posting and testing prices. This note explores... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Internet and the Web; Digital Marketing

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October 2015
Case

Bigbelly

By: Mitch Weiss and Christine Snively

To accelerate Bigbelly's sales growth and its "smart cities" positioning, its CEO planned to shift his company from equipment sales to a subscription service. Jack Kutner hoped to re-position Bigbelly's solar-powered trash compacting stations beyond trash and recycling... View Details

23 Mar 2012
News

Consumer tech takes off in Massachusetts

September 2017
Teaching Note

Marketing Transformation at Mastercard

By: Sunil Gupta and Srinivas K. Reddy

Teaching Note for HBS No. 517-040. View Details

Keywords: Mastercard; Financial Services; Ingredient Brand; B2B2C; Experiential Marketing; Digital Marketing; ROI; Marketing; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Brands and Branding; Internet and the Web; Investment Return; Financial Services Industry

September 2016 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Angie's List: Ratings Pioneer Turns 20

By: Robert J. Dolan and Ayelet Israeli

In 1995, before people “googled” or “yelped,” Angela Hicks (HBS, 2000) was establishing her Angie’s List as a pioneer in the accumulation and dissemination of consumer rating information. Hicks focused on the home repair and maintenance market and, as she put it,... View Details

25 Nov 2008
First Look

First Look: November 25, 2008

stable mechanism is Pareto-optimal if and only if it prevents unravelling. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-068.pdf Cases & Course Materials Amazon Web Services Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2004 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Akamai Technologies

By: Benjamin Edelman, Thomas R. Eisenmann and Eric J. Van den Steen

As the leading content delivery network, Akamai helps Internet companies deliver Web site content to end users with fewer delays and lower costs. Describes the strategic management challenges facing Akamai in early 2004. The company is poised to offer its next... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Partners and Partnerships; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Information Infrastructure

2013
Dissertation

Designing Freemium: A Model of Consumer Usage, Upgrade, and Referral Dynamics

By: Clarence Lee, Vineet Kumar and Sunil Gupta

Abstract. Over the past decade "freemium" (free + premium) has become the dominant business model among internet start-ups for its ability to acquire and monetize a large install-base with limited marketing resources. Freemium is a hybrid strategy where a firm offers... View Details

Keywords: Discrete-Continuous Choice Dynamic Structural Models; Bayesian Estimation; Word-of-Mouth; Digital Services; Freemium; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Motivation and Incentives; Marketing Strategy; Internet and the Web; Consumer Behavior; Marketing Reference Programs; Business Startups

June 2010
Article

The Pathologies of Online Display Advertising Marketplaces

By: Benjamin Edelman

Display advertising marketplaces place "banner" ads on all manner of popular sites. While these services are widely used, they suffer significant challenges, including weak user response and low accountability for both advertisers and web site publishers. I survey a... View Details

Keywords: Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Online Advertising; Cost; Corporate Accountability; Information Publishing; Consumer Behavior; Relationships; Web Sites