Publications

January 2011
Case

Aardvark

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Alison Berkley Wagonfeld and Lauren Barley

Aardvark is an online social search service that allows users to pose questions and receive answers from other users in their extended social network. The case explores the process that Aardvark's founders used to design and develop their product based on intensive... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Entrepreneurship; Product Design; Product Development; Social and Collaborative Networks; Internet and the Web

01 Mar 2010
News

Money Matters

Sigma aficionado, Agarwala puts it this way: “Our business is about setting up systems and processes that result in good customer service.” On the technology front, a first-rate in-house IT team built the company’s View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Finance

16 Dec 2014
First Look

First Look: December 16

compare those clicks with users' subsequent purchases. Ever-cheaper IT makes this tracking cost effective and routine. In addition, a web of interlocking ad networks trades inventory and offers to show the right ad to the right person at... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

30 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Entering the Age of Alliances

other chemical companies and government actors into the alliance in order to bring in more capabilities and resources and expand job placement opportunities. Similarly, MCI WorldCom, a major communications technology company, has... View Details

Keywords: by James Austin

March 2006 (Revised December 2009)
Compilation

Skype

By: Peter A. Coles and Thomas R. Eisenmann

Presents eBay's rationale for its $2.6 billion acquisition in late 2005 of Skype, a fast growing voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) provider. Describes Skype's history, technology, business model, and competition, as well as government regulation of VoIP services. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Communication Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Network Effects; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; Information Infrastructure; Telecommunications Industry

June 2018
Supplement

Valuing Snap After the IPO Quiet Period (C)

By: Marco Di Maggio, Benjamin C. Esty and Gregory Saldutte

Analyzes Snap’s value and analyst recommendations following the events described in the (B) case. View Details

December 2019 (Revised September 2020)
Case

Facebook Faces the Regulators

By: Debora L. Spar

In the fall of 2019, Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg are facing increased scrutiny on multiple fronts. Regulators from around the globe are threatening the company with punitive measures. Users are organizing against it. But there is little consensus around what,... View Details

Keywords: Facebook; Regulation; Media; Internet and the Web; Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations; Social Media; Europe

Web

Winners & Success Stories | New Venture Competition

@hoc enables e-business to significantly strengthen the critical relationship between the business and its customers. @hoc’s Persistent Communications technology creates a continuous Channel of communication between a company and its... View Details

16 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

The Inner Workings of Corporate Headquarters

compare to the networks of line workers within those divisions. If theory is correct, corporate staff networks should be larger and more centralized than those of line workers. Stuart and Kleinbaum hit upon the idea of using workers' e-mail networks, creating a... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

2015
Working Paper

Online Word of Mouth and Product Review Disagreement

By: Frank Nagle and Christoph Riedl

Studies of online word of mouth have frequently posited―but never systematically conceptualized and explored―that the level of disagreement between existing product reviews can impact the volume and the valence of future reviews. In this study we develop a theoretical... View Details

Keywords: Online Word Of Mouth; Online Communities; Viral Marketing; Online Product Reviews; Quality; Internet and the Web; Consumer Behavior; Marketing Reference Programs; Social and Collaborative Networks; Digital Marketing; Analytics and Data Science

SSRN

Read Now

01 Jun 1999
News

Conference Brings Global Perspective to Cape Town

Africa's challenges, Sachs noted that the fates of the temperate and tropical zones are intrinsically linked, that information technology will be a tremendous help in overcoming many difficulties, and that the reliance on natural... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

June 2016
Teaching Note

$19B 4 txt app WhatsApp...omg!

By: David J. Collis

Teaching note for HBS No. 715-441 on Facebook's $22 billion acquisition of WhatsApp. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Finance; Management; Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

July 2001 (Revised September 2005)
Case

USA TODAY: Pursuing the Network Strategy (A)

By: Michael L. Tushman, Michael J. Roberts and David Kiron

Describes the evolution of USA TODAY Online, the electronic version of the newspaper, within the organizational structure of the newspaper. Describes the tensions and issues that develop and the pressure from the Online division to be spun off. At the same time, CEO... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Integration; Internet and the Web; Organizational Design; Groups and Teams; Newspapers; Innovation and Invention; Journalism and News Industry

July 2007 (Revised July 2008)
Case

The Beijing Dream

By: Arthur I Segel, Voon Siang Lee, Jialei Tian and Ying Laura Wang

The purchase of a single-family home is generally the major investment for most young couples in China. Shows in detail the process that a young couple goes through in late April 2007 to find, finance, and close on an apartment in Beijing within what they believe to be... View Details

Keywords: Property; Investment; Cost; Emerging Markets; Financing and Loans; Acquisition; Activity Based Costing and Management; Internet and the Web; Management Practices and Processes; Real Estate Industry; Beijing; United States

October 2000 (Revised May 2001)
Case

Digitas (A): Strategic Interactive Group

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, David Lane and Courtenay Sprague

Kathy Biro, president of Digitas, an e-strategy consulting firm, has successfully grown out of the company's roots in the strategic interactive group. Her challenges now include managing the integration of the SIG with Digitas's other component, direct marketing firm... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Business Strategy; Internet and the Web; Integration; Expansion; Business or Company Management; Business Model; Organizational Design; Consulting Industry; Massachusetts

Find at Harvard

October 1998 (Revised May 2001)
Case

Preview Travel (A)

By: William A. Sahlman, Nicole Tempest, Daniel H Case III and Robert Keller

Preview Travel was a leader in the online travel industry, having generated $80 million in bookings in 1997 and growing at a 34% compound annual growth rate per quarter. This case describes the evolution of Preview Travel's business plan and financing strategy and... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Business Model; Initial Public Offering; Valuation; Internet and the Web; Business Plan; Capital; Financial Strategy; Travel Industry; United States

09 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 9, 2019

April 4, 2019 Palgrave Macmillan Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream: How Technology Is Transforming Lending and Shaping a New Era of Small Business Opportunity By: Mills, Karen G. Abstract—Fintech, Small Business & the... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

June 2011
Teaching Note

Curt Schilling's Next Pitch (TN)

By: Noam Wasserman

Teaching Note for 810053. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Problems and Challenges; Selection and Staffing; Groups and Teams; Leadership Style; Business Startups; Internet and the Web; Financing and Loans; Games, Gaming, and Gambling