Publications

Find at Harvard

September 2004 (Revised April 2005)
Case

U.S. Market Framework for Gasoline, The: Individual Incentives and Societal Goals in Global Markets

By: Bruce R. Scott and Edward Murphy

Traces the role of gasoline taxes in financing U.S. highways and the use of regulations to increase fuel economy to show how and why the U.S. market framework for gasoline is so different from that in Europe. Focuses on whether the U.S. tax should be raised, as... View Details

Keywords: Taxation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Energy Sources; Digital Platforms; Sovereign Finance; Growth and Development Strategy; United States; Europe

19 May 2016
Research Event

Crowdsourcing, Patent Trolls, and Other Research Insights Highlighted at Harvard Business School Symposium

already been done, especially when a costly court battle drags on for as long as 18 months. “If you’re a small, innovative firm, you don’t have that kind of time. Your technology will be obsolete,” Cohen said. Cohen said it makes sense to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman & Carmen Nobel

21 Mar 2016
Lessons from the Classroom

When Your Classmate is an NBA Superstar (or Fashion Model, or Movie Actress)

Boston. Elberse is remaining mum on celebrities planning to attend the next session in order to protect their privacy. Participants sign up to learn strategies for launching creative products, managing talent, coping with advances in View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Entertainment & Recreation; Sports; Media & Broadcasting; Education

24 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

Uncovering Racial Discrimination in the ‘Sharing Economy’

racial discrimination. In Digital Discrimination: The Case of Airbnb.com, Benjamin G. Edelman and Michael Luca investigate the possibility of racial discrimination against people who advertise properties on Airbnb, a popular online... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Construction; Real Estate; Advertising

29 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Work 3.0: Redefining Jobs and Companies in the Uber Age

Are Uber drivers and HourlyNerd consultants independent contractors or employees? Interesting question, but the wrong one. Better to ask: Are we stifling innovation across the digital economy by forcing a simplistic choice, contractor vs.... View Details

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu; Transportation; Web Services

July 2011 (Revised January 2012)
Teaching Note

Demand Media (TN)

By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

Teaching Note for 512021. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Media; Society; Transformation; Digital Marketing; Business Model; Initial Public Offering; Customers; Behavior; Value; Information Technology Industry; California

18 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 18

processing, storage, and communication costs have long been an important constraint on innovation and a reason for innovative activities to take place inside the boundaries of an organization. However, exponential technological progress... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2013
Technical Note

Raising the Level of Abstraction

By: Willy Shih

This technical note discusses abstraction as a way of generalizing a process or component for wider application. By hiding complexity inside a module, abstraction enables system designers to think at a higher level. This lowers entry barriers to using (and reusing) a... View Details

Keywords: Abstraction; Modularity; Commercialization; Information Technology; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Digital Platforms; United States; Asia; Europe

03 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

Why Fierce Competitors Apple and Amazon Became ’Frenemies’ Over eReaders

other, along certain dimensions they are collaborating” So why would Amazon release a version of its Kindle Reader on Apple's iPad, allowing users to access its library of exclusive digital books? "Doesn't that diminish interest in the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology; Technology; Technology

November 2022 (Revised March 2023)
Supplement

JUUL and the Vaping Revolution: A 2022 Update

By: Michael W. Toffel and Sarah Mehta

This slide deck provides a brief update (2019-2022) on the rise and fall of JUUL Labs, the maker of the popular JUUL e-cigarette. View Details

November 2022 (Revised March 2023)
Supplement

JUUL and the Vaping Revolution: A 2022 Update

By: Michael W. Toffel and Sarah Mehta

This case provides a brief update (2019-2022) on the rise and fall of JUUL Labs, the maker of the popular JUUL e-cigarette. View Details

07 Aug 2007
First Look

First Look: August 7, 2007

downloads, and other emerging digital media (such as Internet Protocol TV). BBC WW delivered its profits back to the BBC. Since 2004, BBC WW profits had more than doubled. Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

November 2008 (Revised August 2011)
Case

UnME Jeans: Branding in Web 2.0

By: Thomas J. Steenburgh and Jill Avery

This case introduces emerging Web 2.0 social media in virtual worlds, social networking sites, and video-sharing sites and encourages students to explore the opportunities and risks they present for brands. The case allows students to grapple with the strategic and... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Risk and Uncertainty; Social and Collaborative Networks; Internet and the Web; Apparel and Accessories Industry

19 Dec 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 19, 2017

working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53636 Scale versus Scope in the Diffusion of New Technology: Evidence from the Farm Tractor By: Gross, Daniel P. Abstract—Using the farm tractor as a case study, I show that lags in View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

23 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 23, 2018

virtually irresistible. But long-term assessments could differ, particularly if the free service reduces quality and consumer choice. In this short paper, we examine these concerns. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55137 Design Rules,... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

May 2003 (Revised October 2003)
Case

BEA Systems, Inc.: Constant Reinvention to Cope with Market Waves

Developed in 1995 as a specialist software vendor, BEA Systems, Inc. had already transformed itself twice from a transaction processing product company to a server application provider. By July 2002, it had become the fastest company in history to reach $1 billion in... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Platforms; Business Growth and Maturation; Management Practices and Processes; Applications and Software; Entrepreneurship; Organizational Culture; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

April 2021
Case

Codecademy: Where to Next?

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Max Mailman and Sarah Ascherman

In March 2020, Zach Sims, co-founder and CEO of online education platform Codecademy, prepared for a meeting with his Chief of Staff Kunal Ahuja to discuss the company’s goals. Codecademy billed itself as the largest online resource for computer science literacy and... View Details

Keywords: Monetization Strategy; Business Model; Change Management; Venture Capital; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Teams; Marketing Channels; Product Marketing; Network Effects; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategic Planning; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; United States

29 May 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, May 29, 2018

from digital platforms have the potential to improve our understanding of gentrification and enable new measures of how neighborhoods change in close to real time. Combining data on businesses from Yelp with data on gentrification from... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

August 2009 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Slanket: Responding to Snuggie's Market Entry

By: John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

How does a pioneer in a new product category deal with the runaway success of a follower? Can search engine marketing and social media help? In 2008 Slanket CEO, Gary Clegg, found that his product, a blanket with sleeves, had been eclipsed by The Snuggie, another... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Market Entry and Exit; Social and Collaborative Networks; Internet and the Web