Publications

02 Sep 2014
News

The Joys of Rentership In The Sharing Economy

04 Feb 2019
News

Betting on Books: Can the Indie Bookstore Revival Last?

12 PM – 1 PM EDT, 21 May 2020
Webinars: Career

Executive Presence (Behind a Screen)

Speaking up on a conference call, presenting your analysis to your boss, or simply showing up online as your best self how do you make your presence known in a powerful and compelling way? Please join Jodi Glickman, CEO of Great on the Job, to Learn what executive... View Details

November 1999 (Revised June 2006)
Case

DLJdirect: "Putting Our Reputation Online"

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Gillian Morris

Online broker DLJdirect faced two decisions during the fall of 1999: what customer segments should it target and how much should it spend on marketing? Unlike its competitors, who focused either on day traders or more mainstream investors, DLJdirect differentiated its... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Marketing Communications; Competitive Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment; Cost Management; Business Plan; Research and Development; Customers; Budgets and Budgeting; Online Advertising; Internet; Financial Services Industry

April 2021
Case

Etsy: Crafting a Turnaround to Save the Business and Its Soul

By: Ranjay Gulati, Luciana Silvestri and Monte Burke

Etsy, the online seller of handmade goods, was founded in 2005 on an almost utopian ideal—a responsible, caring company that offered individual crafters a place to sell their wares, a wholesome alternative to companies that sold mass-manufactured products. The company... View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; Organizational Culture; Financial Condition; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Transformation; Leadership

October 2013 (Revised July 2024)
Teaching Note

Amazon in 2024

By: Sunil Gupta

Amazon launched its website in July 1995 to sell books online and by 2020 it has grown to become a digital giant with over $280 billion in annual sales. A large part of its growth came from expanding into a variety of businesses that some see as unrelated. Has it... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Marketing Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Business Model; Competitive Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry

December 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Case

Todovino: Can Your Rival be Your Friend?

Todovino sells Spanish wines through wine clubs and web sites. Founder-CEO Gonzalo Verdera has partnered with many companies to create cobranded wine clubs, but now he is pondering a joint venture with one of his rivals, a brick-and-mortar wine chain, where Todovino... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Growth and Development Strategy; Agreements and Arrangements; Partners and Partnerships; Competition; Cooperation; Online Technology; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry

February 2008 (Revised June 2011)
Background Note

Social Networks: The Portals of Web 2.0

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Nancy Bartlett

Social networks have evolved into influential, compelling and persuasive systems, the portals of Web 2.0 and one of the most powerful media phenomena in 2008. This note provides a brief background and description of various social network sites including MySpace,... View Details

Keywords: Web; Technology; Networks; Information Technology Industry

September 2006 (Revised January 2007)
Background Note

Where to Get Your News and Information: The Digital Disruption

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Nancy Bartlett

What is the response by traditional news and information deliverers (newspapers and television networks) to declining audiences as media consumption moves to the digital medium? Provides a view of the news industry in mid-2006 and discusses the impact of an... View Details

Keywords: News; Media; Emerging Markets; Internet and the Web; Disruption; Perspective; Advertising; Journalism and News Industry

Find at Harvard

September 1999 (Revised June 2001)
Case

eBay, Inc.

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Kelley Porter

eBay was the world's largest and most popular person-to-person trading community on the Internet. In early 1999, the company was doing very well and seemed to have solved many of its early problems. However, on March 30, 1999, Amazon.com announced that it was entering... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Planning; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Retail Industry; Web Services Industry

11 Jun 2014
News

Messaging Secrets From eHarmony And OKCupid Databanks

28 Jan 2014
News

Harvard Study Suggests Racial Bias In Airbnb Rentals

03 Jan 2022
News

Pushing Social Media Platforms to Self-Regulate

05 Apr 2021
News

Defining a Post-Pandemic Channel Strategy

08 Jan 2020
News

How Corporate Cultures Differ Around the World

14 Nov 2016
News

'The Content Trap' and the HBX Story

June 2019
Case

Airbnb, Etsy, Uber: Expanding from One to Many Millions of Customers

By: Thales S. Teixeira

By 2019, two-sided online platforms (or marketplaces) were among the highest-growing internet startups around. These marketplaces sought to match suppliers of assets for rent, physical products, or services with customers demanding them. Among the most notable... View Details

Keywords: Airbnb; Etsy; Uber; Growth Hacking; Two-Sided Markets; Digital Marketing; Customer Acquisition; Two-Sided Platforms; Growth Management; Marketing Strategy; Customers; Acquisition; Organizational Change and Adaptation

Program

Senior Executive Leadership Program—India

your current responsibilities, goals, and challenges A letter of reference from someone familiar with your work To review both the application and letter of reference, download the Application PDF. You can submit your application via our View Details

June 2014
Case

Going Social: Durex in China

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski and Aaron Smith

When Reckitt Benckiser (RB), a leading consumer goods company, first entered China, it encountered significant challenges. RB's strategy relied on selling high margin products supported by cost-effective advertising and distribution, but the highly competitive Chinese... View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Multinational Firms and Management; Internet and the Web; Marketing Communications; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; China