Publications

March 2020
Case

Maven Clinic: Women's Health in the Digital Age

By: Ariel D. Stern and Sarah Mehta

In late 2017, Kate Ryder, the founder and CEO of digital women’s health telemedicine company Maven Clinic, faced an important decision. Maven offered both a direct to consumer (D2C) product that anyone could use to book virtual appointments with health practitioners... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Strategy; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Health Industry; Technology Industry; United States

August 2014
Background Note

The Structure and Functioning of Art Markets

By: Mukti Khaire and Eleanor Kenyon

The production, valuation, and consumption of contemporary art are guided by cultural and economic forces that play out in primary and secondary markets. Artists seek the attention of art dealers, who, along with auction houses, play a large role in determining what is... View Details

Keywords: Art Dealer; Art Market; Arts; New York (city, NY)

December 2003 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Blockbuster Inc. & Technological Substitution (C): The Internet Changes the Game

Investigates how the rise of the Internet as a vehicle for renting and buying movies has disrupted the video rental industry and how market leader Blockbuster Inc. can and should respond to these developments. Explores how the emergence of e-commerce affects the degree... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Risk and Uncertainty; Decisions; Technological Innovation; Competition; Change Management; Service Industry; Service Industry

Profile

Angela R. Hicks Bowman

contractor. He grew frustrated by the dearth of a dependable rating service such as Unified Neighbors, an effective such resource in Indianapolis where he used to live. He... View Details

February 2024 (Revised July 2024)
Case

Korea Venture Investment Corporation

By: Paul A. Gompers and Billy Chan

Financial service sector Korea Venture Investment Corporation (KVIC) is the venture capital arm of the Korean government with a founding mission to build a domestic startup ecosystem that would be as competitive as Silicon Valley. KVIC manages a basket of... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Society; Investment; Venture Capital; Mission and Purpose; State Ownership; Financial Services Industry; Asia; South Korea

26 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

When Other Companies Compete Like Crazy, Dare to Be Different

Want to be different? Change your world, not your tactics. As HBS professor Youngme Moon argues in Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd, competition too often breeds conformity. Yet there is plenty of space for adventurous companies... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

February 2021 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Shopify: The Conquest for Chinese E-Commerce

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Avani Patel, Samantha Lin and Ariel Yang

In mid-2020, Tobias Lütke, CEO of Shopify, faced a critical decision on how to time potential expansion into the China market. Over the prior 15 years, his Canadian software-as-a-service company had grown from a small e-commerce solutions provider to a full service... View Details

Brian Trelstad is a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School in the General Management Unit and the Faculty Chair of the Advanced Leadership Initiative. He teaches elective courses on Social Entrepreneurship and Systems... View Details

Keywords: service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry

July 2016 (Revised January 2019)
Case

Cyber Breach at Target

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Lynn S. Paine and Neeraj Goyal

In November and December of 2013, Target Corporation suffered one of the largest cyber breaches to date. The breach that occurred during the busy holiday shopping season resulted in personal and credit card information of approximately 110 million Target customers... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Credit Cards; Customer Relationship Management; Internet and the Web; Governing and Advisory Boards; Crisis Management; Retail Industry

October 2016 (Revised April 2017)
Case

Succession Planning at Samsung: The Merger Formula of Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T

By: Gwen Yu and Tim Gray

A merger deal of two Samsung group companies becomes a center of a corruption scandal. The merger of Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T was seen as a crucial step to transfer power to Lee Jae Yong, the heir of Samsung group. The deal was criticized to purposefully... View Details

Keywords: Merger; Mergers and Acquisitions

September 1995 (Revised February 1996)
Case

Apollo Hospitals of India (A)

Dr. Prathap Reddy has created India's first corporate hospital, Apollo Hospitals of Madras. The hospital is managed according to an integrated philosophy of customer service and support to employees. A new hospital, in the city of Hyderabad, has not performed as well,... View Details

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Franchise Ownership; Health Care and Treatment; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business Strategy; Health Industry; India

January 2011
Case

Masdar and Tianjin: Eco-Cities

By: John D. Macomber

Compares Masdar City and Tianjin Eco-City, two high profile "sustainable cities." Each showcases technological and financial innovation. Is it real? Is it replicable and defensible? The case is intended to introduce main concepts and tradeoffs with respect to rapid... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Business Model; Development Economics; Urban Development; Cash Flow; Project Finance; Competitive Advantage; Environmental Sustainability; City; Infrastructure

George A. Riedel is the Henry B. Arthur Fellow and Senior Lecturer in the General Management Unit, where he currently teaches TEM (The Entrepreneurial Manager) and acts as a Section Chair in the Required Curriculum (RC). He has also taught TOM (Technology and... View Details

June 2023
Teaching Note

From Cradle to Heaven: Taikang Insurance Group

By: William C. Kirby and Noah B. Truwit

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 320-088. The case explores the rise of Taikang Insurance Group and its quest to be a leader of one of China's fastest-growing industries. Due to China's underdeveloped social welfare state, Taikang saw an opportunity for the private... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Government and Politics; Health Industry; China

Sara Torti is a senior product and operating executive who has focused extensively on creating and scaling technology-based businesses that require a combination of detailed execution, business insight and technical acumen. She has grown products... View Details

November 2018 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Michael Rubin and Fanatics (A)

By: Robert F. Higgins and John Masko

In 2016, Michael Rubin’s Fanatics was the U.S.’ largest sports e-commerce company and operator of the official online store for all the major American sports leagues. That year, Fanatics began to dabble in manufacturing licensed sports merchandise, securing limited... View Details

Keywords: Fanatics; Licensed Merchandise; E-commerce; Entrepreneurship; Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Sports; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States