Publications

Article

Entry into Platform-based Markets

By: Feng Zhu and Marco Iansiti

This paper examines the relative importance of platform quality, indirect network effects, and consumer expectations on the success of entrants in platform-based markets. We develop a theoretical model and find that an entrant's success depends on the strength of... View Details

Keywords: Platform-based Markets; Winnter-take-all; First-mover Advantage; Indirect Network Effects; Video Game Industry; Quality; Network Effects; Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

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July 2015 (Revised April 2016)
Case

Lomography: Analog in a Digital World

By: John T. Gourville, Karol Misztal and Emer Moloney

In spite of the world's move to digital photography, in 2013 Lomography continues to design and offer analog (film) cameras to a loyal following of artistic photographers. Now it must decide whether to stick to its traditional offerings, to expand into artistic lenses... View Details

Keywords: Positioning; Product Lines; Product Line Management; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Brands and Branding; Fine Arts Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Technology Industry

November 2014
Case

Taryn Rose Launches Dresr: Street Marketing a Luxury Brand

By: Lena G. Goldberg, Marcel Saucet and Christine Snively

Serial entrepreneur and shoe designer Taryn Rose, M.D., prepared to launch a new e-commerce platform, Dresr, which would connect shoppers with tastemakers online. Dresr would bring the service element found in brick and mortar luxury stores into the online shopping... View Details

Keywords: E-commerce; Online Platforms; Online Marketing; Footwear; Legal Aspects Of Business; Street Marketing; Entrepreneurship; Internet and the Web; Luxury; Marketing Strategy; Digital Platforms; Legal Liability; Fashion Industry; Technology Industry

January 1988 (Revised March 1995)
Supplement

Digital Equipment Corp.: The Endpoint Model (C1)

By: David A. Garvin

To follow Digital Equipment Corp.: The Endpoint Model (B2). The division has just received a request for dramatically increased production. If it complies with the request, it will have to expedite production, override the MRP II system and the planned schedule. Should... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Markets; Production; Planning; Risk and Uncertainty; Situation or Environment; System

Aug 03 2017
Testimonial

At the Forefront of a Digital World

2016
Article

Peer-to-Peer Markets

By: Liran Einav, Chiara Farronato and Jonathan Levin

Peer-to-peer markets such as eBay, Uber, and Airbnb allow small suppliers to compete with traditional providers of goods or services. We view the primary function of these markets as making it easy for buyers to find sellers and engage in convenient, trustworthy... View Details

Keywords: Peer-to-peer; Online Platforms; Matching; Innovation; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Market Design; Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption; Network Effects; Market Entry and Exit

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February 2020
Case

Klöckner & Co: Steeling for a Digital World

By: Scott Duke Kominers and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Hoping to get ahead of potential digital disruption at Klöckner & Co.—one of the world’s largest steel and metal distributors—CEO Gisbert Rühl set up both kloeckner.i (KCI), an internal transformation arm, and XOM Materials (XOM), an independent industry platform. KCI... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Market Design; Digital Platforms; Markets; Industry Structures; Supply and Industry; Technology Adoption; Transformation; Digital Transformation; Steel Industry; Information Technology Industry; Europe; Germany

Article

Regulatory, Legal, and Market Aspects of Smart Wearables for Cardiac Monitoring

By: Jan Benedikt Brönneke, Jennifer Müller, Konstantinos Mouratis, Julia Hagen and Ariel Dora Stern

In the area of cardiac monitoring, the use of digitally driven technologies is on the rise. While the development of medical products is advancing rapidly, allowing for new use-cases in cardiac monitoring and other areas, regulatory and legal requirements that govern... View Details

Keywords: Wearables; Regulatory Changes; Medical Technology; Medical Devices; Market Access; Market Entry and Exit; Information Technology; Health Care and Treatment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; United States; Germany; Belgium

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August 2017 (Revised June 2018)
Case

Enpara.com: Digital Bank at a Crossroad

By: Sunil Gupta and Eren Kuzucu

In March 2017, Elsa Pekmez Atan (MBA 2004), was wondering about the future of Enpara.com, a digital-only banking platform of QNB Finansbank. Since its launch in October 2012, Enpara had been successful in attracting over 600,000 customers by appealing to digital savvy,... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Competition; Banks and Banking; Business Model; Product Launch; Competitive Strategy; Integration; Innovation and Invention; Decision Making; Strategy; Emerging Markets; Digital Transformation; Banking Industry; Turkey

February 2022 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Huazhu: A Chinese Hotel Giant's Journey of Digital Transformation

By: Feng Zhu, Yulin Fang, Bonnie Yining Cao and Duan Yang

Based in Shanghai, China, Huazhu Group, the world’s third-largest hotel operator, was known for its standardized IT system. It helped the company boost efficiency during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chief Digital Officer Xinxin Liu also faced some longer-term challenges:... View Details

Keywords: Hotel Industry; COVID-19 Pandemic; Labor; Business or Company Management; Emerging Markets; Information Technology; Operations; Strategy; Digital Transformation; Accommodations Industry; China; United States; Singapore; Germany; Hong Kong

2007
Working Paper

Digital Interactivity: Unanticipated Consequences for Markets, Marketing, and Consumers

By: John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

The digital interactive transformation in marketing is not unfolding, as many thought it would, on the model of direct marketing. That model anticipated that digital media using rich profiling data would intrude marketing messaging more deeply and more precisely into... View Details

Keywords: Communication Intention and Meaning; Interactive Communication; Marketing Communications; Consumer Behavior; Social and Collaborative Networks; Internet and the Web

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August 1999 (Revised October 1999)
Case

RCA Records: The Digital Revolution

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

In 1995, Bertelsmann-owned RCA Records was considered a "tired and old" record label. By 1999, the company represented a number of the "hottest" acts in the music industry. Nevertheless, the company's position (as well as that of the entire music industry) was under... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Business Model; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Internet and the Web; Change Management; Marketing Strategy; Music Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

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July–August 2016
Article

The Decoupling Effect of Digital Disruptors

By: Thales S. Teixeira and Peter Jamieson

A new wave of Internet startups is disrupting established businesses by the process of “decoupling.” In this article, the authors discuss how these new digital disruptors allow consumers to benefit from one activity (e.g., watching shows) without incurring the cost of... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Internet and the Web; Business Startups; Product Marketing; Customization and Personalization

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July 2005 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Kansai Digital Phone: Zutto, Gaining Japanese Loyalty

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez and James Robert Dillon

Ted Katagi, marketing strategy manager of Kansai Digital Phone (KDP), utilizes customer lifetime value as a key metric to prioritize initiatives in an emergency plan to turn around the company. KDP is a regional phone company in Japan with less than stellar... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Customer Value and Value Chain; Customer Satisfaction; Telecommunications Industry; Electronics Industry; Japan; United States