Publications

April 2021
Case

Transforming BlackBerry: From Smartphones to Software

By: Ranjay Gulati and Nicole Tempest Keller

On the verge of failure, BlackBerry brought in John Chen as CEO in 2013 to orchestrate a bold turnaround of the company. Once an iconic leader in the smartphone market, BlackBerry was best known for its tactile QWERTY keyboard, strong security, and a focus on business... View Details

Keywords: Pivot; Managing Change; Turnaround; Smartphone; Change Management; Leading Change; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Platforms; Change; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Competitive Strategy; Cybersecurity; Technology Industry; Transportation Industry; Canada

11 Jul 2019
Blog Post

Meet the MBA Class of 2020

BREAKTHROUGHS PEOPLE THOUGHT IMPOSSIBLE A YEAR AGO.” HOME REGION Wayne, PA UNDERGRAD EDUCATION College of William & Mary, Economics, 2014 PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE Verily, Google, Symplivety HBS ACTIVITIES Digital Impact Initiative, The... View Details

09 May 2024
Research & Ideas

Called Back to the Office? How You Benefit from Ideas You Didn't Know You Were Missing

classrooms, labs, dining halls, and elsewhere on campuses have a unique influence on the course of scientific research, according to the study, coauthored by Eamon Duede, a postdoctoral fellow at the Digital Data Design Institute at... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

19 Nov 2014
HBS Seminar

Duane Varan, MediaScience and Murdoch University

March 2020
Case

Sizmek Chapter 11: Surviving Walled Gardens in Their Ad Tech Empire

By: Ayelet Israeli, Danilo Tauro and Sarah Gulick

This case provides a post-mortem of the advertising technology (adtech) company Sizmek. Sizmek grew via multiple acquisitions, with the vision of becoming an integrated adtech company that could leverage AI to buy digital media, while creating and serving display and... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Applications and Software; Internet and the Web; Competition; Marketing; Advertising Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; Europe

Web

Africa - Global

Africa Johannesburg, Lagos, Nairobi HBS continues its efforts to build a deep understanding of and expertise in global business practice and innovation around the world, including throughout Africa, a region that is assuming an... View Details

Profile

Monica Dodi

As a cofounder and managing director of the Women’s Venture Capital Fund (WVCF), Monica Dodi (MBA 1984) backs female-led, early-stage ventures in digital media and sustainable products and services. Dodi says these emerging consumer... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital / Private Equity; Financial Services; Entertainment / Media

Web

Help - Alumni

to those who are not also alumni. When is it appropriate to use the Harvard Business School name or shield logos? Generally, alumni are not permitted to use Harvard Business School logos for any use... View Details

February 2022
Case

NFX Capital and Moov Technologies

By: Scott Duke Kominers and Nicole Tempest Keller

In July 2019, James Currier, a general partner at San Francisco-based NFX Ventures, was considering a seed stage investment of $1.5 million in Moov Technologies, a B2B marketplace for used industrial equipment. NFX was a venture capital firm focused on seed-stage... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Network Effects; Marketplace Matching; Digital Platforms; Market Design; Applications and Software; Semiconductor Industry; Financial Services Industry; San Francisco

Web

Strategy - Faculty & Research

Jordan. The case explores platform strategy, influencer ecosystems, customer experience differentiation, and internationalization challenges in emerging markets. It is ideal for teaching courses in digital strategy, global... View Details

October 2019 (Revised August 2020)
Case

The Predictive Index

By: Lynda M. Applegate and James Weber

Mike Zani and Daniel Muzquiz needed to decide next steps to create a new category in the human resources consulting industry and scale their company.
Zani and Muzquiz, serial entrepreneurs, acquired Predictive Index in 2014. Previously, as clients of the... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Selection and Staffing; Talent and Talent Management; Recruitment; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Change Management; Disruptive Innovation; Digital Platforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Consulting Industry; Service Industry; United States

12 Sep 2023
Book

Successful, But Still Feel Empty? A Happiness Scholar and Oprah Have Advice for You

The path to becoming the very best leader—or the very best anything, really—is to become “the greatest CEO in the world of yourself, incorporated,” says Harvard Business School professor Arthur Brooks. Understanding your emotions, and how... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

Web

Introduction – The Human Relations Movement – Baker Library | Bloomberg Center, Historical Collections

and Relay Assembly Test Room Enter Elton Mayo Human Relations and Harvard Business School Women in the Relay Assembly Test Room The Interview Process Spreading the Word The "Hawthorne Effect" Research Links Baker Library | Historical... View Details

Web

Latin America - Global

greatly increased the volume of in-depth research and course materials that focus on business management issues specific to Latin American companies. This has also enabled HBS to strengthen its relationships with important companies and... View Details

July – August 2008
Article

Should You Invest in the Long Tail?

By: Anita Elberse

The blockbuster strategy is a time-honored approach, particularly in media and entertainment. When space is limited on store shelves and in traditional distribution channels, producers tend to focus on a few likely best sellers, hoping that one or two big hits will... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Distribution Channels; Sales; Marketing Strategy; Online Technology; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Retail Industry

Find at Harvard

Register to Read

November 2018 (Revised January 2022)
Case

JUUL and the Vaping Revolution

By: Michael W. Toffel, John Masko and Sarah Mehta

In late 2019, San Francisco-based electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) maker JUUL Labs (pronounced “jewel”) faced intense pressure. Sales of JUUL products exceeded $1 billion in 2018, dominating the e-cigarette category. While JUUL Labs’ stated goal was to help current... View Details

Web

Middle East & North Africa - Global

Middle East & North Africa Cairo, Dubai, Istanbul, Tel Aviv HBS continues its efforts to build a deep understanding of and expertise in global business practice and innovation around the world, including throughout the Middle East and... View Details

19 Oct 2009
Research & Ideas

Why Are Web Sites So Confusing?

stories. Indeed, all of these intermediaries are in the business of matching consumers with products. Trouble is, prior to visiting an intermediary, consumers are interested only in some products, which may not necessarily be the ones... View Details

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu & Bruno Jullien

October 2020
Supplement

OpenIDEO (B)

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Anne-Laure Fayard, Manos Gkeredakis and Jin Hyun Paik

In the midst of 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic was unfolding, OpenIDEO—an online open innovation platform focused on design-driven solutions to social issues—rapidly launched a new challenge to improve access to health information, empower communities to stay safe... View Details