Publications

June 2007 (Revised April 2010)
Case

Comcast Corporation

By: Anita Elberse and Jason Schreiber

In October 2006, Comcast executives had entered negotiations with broadcast networks to broaden the selection of free network content distributed via its video-on-demand (VOD) service. The major broadcast networks, however, were unsure of the effect it would have on... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Consumer Behavior; Competitive Strategy; Technology Adoption; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Confronting the Challenges that Face Bricks-and-Mortar Stores

checkout counter. Similarly, IBM developed a video camera that could recognize a retailer's best customers as they walked into the store so that salespeople could offer outstanding personalized service. Unfortunately, shoppers felt it was... View Details

Keywords: by Raymond Burke; Retail

22 Apr 2013
Research & Ideas

Earth Day: Recent Research on Sustainability

underscored the importance of employee engagement, contributing to the community, and creating sustainable environment strategies. Harvard Business School at the Kumbh Mela In this video report, Senior Lecturer John Macomber visits the... View Details

June 2019 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Parrot: Navigating the Nascent Drone Industry

By: Rory M. McDonald, Emilie Billaud and Vincent Dessain

In 2018, Henri Seydoux, CEO and Founder of Parrot, believed that his company was at an inflection point in its history. Parrot had been a European leader in consumer electronics since the 1990s, first developing Bluetooth kits for cars before moving on to electronic... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Disruption; Entrepreneurship; Corporate Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Competitive Advantage; Information Technology; Competitive Strategy; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Europe; France; Paris

20 Nov 2012
First Look

First Look: November 20

Does correlation in consumer valuations make bundling more or less effective? Does bundling serve as a complement or substitute to network effects? To address these questions, we develop a consumer-choice model from micro-foundations to capture the essentials of our... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Nov 2012
First Look

First Look: November 6

Business School Case 113-018 In autumn 2011, Netflix was working to right the ship after publicly stumbling through a price hike and strategic shift and then retreat. The company was changing its business model to focus on streaming video... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2025
Case

Netflix in 2024

By: Jan Rivkin and David Allen

In 2024, Netflix appeared to emerge victorious from the “streaming wars” that it had waged in recent years with the likes of Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Apple, and Amazon. What had allowed Netflix not only to succeed in the streaming wars but also to thrive for... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Organizational Culture; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; United States

September 2017
Supplement

Actera Group: Investing in Mars Cinema Group (B)

By: Victoria Ivashina and Eren Kuzucu

In summer of 2010, Murat Çavuşoğlu (HBS MBA 1994) led private equity firm Actera Group’s investment in Mars Cinema Group (Mars), the leading movie exhibitor in Turkey. Immediately after acquiring Mars and merging it with the second larger player in the market, AFM,... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Value Creation; Transformation; Valuation; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Turkey

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; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

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August 2021
Case

Wymsee

By: Julia Austin, Sarah Mehta and Tom Quinn

Wymsee was a company that aimed to develop a mobile application (app) that would allow television audience members to identify and purchase clothing or accessories worn by characters in the program they were watching, with the Wymsee founders taking a percentage of... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Plan; Business Startups; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Acquisition; Product Positioning; Opportunities; Adaptation; Mobile Technology; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; United States; New York (city, NY)

April 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Teaching Note

Netflix's Culture: Binge or Cringe?

By: Hubert Joly, Leonard A. Schlesinger, James Barnett and Stacy Straaberg

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 522-096. View Details

22 Aug 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, August 23

opportunities to practice their skills in time frames connected to actual buying processes. They can do so by using the same technologies that are “disrupting” their customer-contact activities: videos and mobile apps that reps can view... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 Sep 2003
Research & Ideas

The Lessons of New-Market Disruption

Kittyhawk team had to weigh its market options: Sell the disk drive to DMD's existing customers, who were manufacturing increasingly portable computing devices, or explore emerging opportunities elsewhere. A leading video game... View Details

Keywords: by Clark Gilbert; Technology

October 2017
Case

NetDragon

By: William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

Keywords: NetDragon; China; E-learning; Fuzhou; Gaming; Education; Entrepreneurship; Internet; Video Game Industry; Video Game Industry; Video Game Industry; Video Game Industry; China