Publications

Find at Harvard

Read Now

01 Jun 2009
News

Crisis and Creativity

from People magazine to CNN, happened during downturns, as did the growth of cosmetic companies such as Estée Lauder and Revlon. How to Deliver. A common outcome of downturns is an abundance of underutilized... View Details

Keywords: Bhaskar Chakravorti

March 1991 (Revised October 1994)
Case

Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi-Cola and the Soft Drink Industry

By: Michael E. Porter

Describes the competition between Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola. Provides a summary of the history of the soft drink industry prior to World War II, and over the period 1950-1990 in greater detail. Major strategic competitive moves and countermoves are described. Also... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Industry Growth; Business Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry

January 2022 (Revised September 2022)
Teaching Note

White Claw: Defending Market Share as Competition Encroaches

By: Jill Avery

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 521-073. View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Competition; Growth Strategy; First-mover Advantage; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Competitive Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; North America

February 2022
Teaching Note

AptDeco: Circular Economy Furniture Marketplace

By: Ayelet Israeli

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 521-069. AptDeco, a used furniture marketplace, was growing rapidly in the tri-state area. The co-founders were confident that the business model, financial position, and unit economics positioned AptDeco for scaling in the massive $120... View Details

Keywords: E-Commerce Strategy; Mobile; Word-of-Mouth; Word Of Mouth; Word-of-mouth Marketing; Internet Marketing; Growth Strategy; Platform; Platforms; Two Sided Markets; Two-sided Market; Two-sided Marketplace; Two-Sided Markets; Two-sided Network; Black Entrepreneurs; Black Leadership; African Americans; African-American Protagonist; Circular; Peer-to-peer Markets; Furniture Industry; Growth Hacking; Monetization Strategy; Growth Management; Marketing Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; Marketing Channels; Digital Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Acquisition; Retention; Growth and Development Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Expansion; Brands and Branding; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Technology Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; North America; New York (city, NY); New York (state, US)

Editorial

Why CEOs Should Share Their Long-Term Plans with Investors

By: Christina Rehnberg, George Serafeim and Brian Tomlinson

Rather than requiring less short-term information, the key to combating short-termism is to encourage companies to share more information about their long-term plans. Analysis of companies that have done so suggests that long-term plans are not mere marketing... View Details

Keywords: CEO; Investor Relations; Disclosure; Long-term Growth; Investing; Business and Shareholder Relations; Strategy; Corporate Disclosure

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

Keywords: Video Games; Mobile; Esports; Applications and Software; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology; Digital Platforms; United States

Article

Invention and Agglomeration in the Bay Area: Not Just ICT

By: Chris Forman, Avi Goldfarb and Shane Greenstein

We document that the Bay Area rose from 4% of all successful US patent applications in 1976 to 16% in 2008. This is partly driven by the increase in the prevalence of information and communication technology; however, even for patents unrelated to information and... View Details

Keywords: Agglomeration; Information Technology; Patents; San Francisco

Find at Harvard

April 2025 (Revised May 2025)
Background Note

Customer Acquisition and the Cash Flow Trap

By: E. Ofek, Barak Libai and Eitan Muller

Startups as well as existing firms recognize the need to invest in order to acquire customers for their new ventures. And as each customer is expected at some point to have generated sufficient gross margins to cover their CAC, management expects that, soon enough, the... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Customers; Forecasting and Prediction; Cash Flow; Business or Company Management

June 2019
Article

Social Risk, Fiscal Risk, and the Portfolio of Government Programs

By: Samuel G. Hanson, David S. Scharfstein and Adi Sunderam

We develop a model of government portfolio choice in which a benevolent government chooses the scale of risky projects in the presence of market failures and tax distortions. These two frictions generate motives to manage social risk and fiscal risk. Social risk... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Government and Politics; Programs

Find at Harvard

Read Now

September 2020
Teaching Note

Miami's Tech Future (A): Twenty-first Century Changes and Challenges

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Joyce J. Kim

In the decade starting in 2000, a new mayor focused on infrastructure and leadership from a foundation investing in arts and culture helped the Miami region transform and attract younger people to a newly vibrant central city and arts district. In 2011, the Knight... View Details

Keywords: Change; Leadership; Business and Community Relations; Strategic Planning; Technology Industry; Miami; Florida

29 Aug 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Entrepreneurship and Urban Growth: An Empirical Assessment with Historical Mines

Keywords: by Edward L. Glaeser, Sari Pekkala Kerr & William R. Kerr; Manufacturing

November 2012 (Revised September 2013)
Case

The JOBS Act of 2012

By: Lena G. Goldberg

This Note summarizes the potential of the Jobs Act of 2012 to change the way in which emerging growth companies, or EMGs, access capital markets. Described as among the most significant change to US securities laws in over 20 years, the Jobs Act may reduce the burdens... View Details

Keywords: Laws And Regulation; Crowdfunding; IPO; Quiet Period; Business Ventures; Entrepreneurship; Law; North and Central America