Publications

Find at Harvard

2007
Working Paper

Competition in Modular Clusters

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and C. Jason Woodard

The last twenty years have witnessed the rise of disaggregated "clusters," "networks," or "ecosystems" of firms. In these clusters the activities of R&D, product design, production, distribution, and system integration may be split up among hundreds or even thousands... View Details

Keywords: Price; Profit; Digital Platforms; Industry Clusters; Competition; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration

2007
Working Paper

Dynamics of Platform Competition: Exploring the Role of Installed Base, Platform Quality and Consumer Expectations

By: Feng Zhu and Marco Iansiti

This paper seeks to answer three questions. First, which drives the success of a platform, installed base, platform quality or consumer expectations? Second, when does a monopoly emerge in a platform-based market? Finally, when is a platform-based market socially... View Details

Keywords: Price; Network Effects; Digital Platforms; Monopoly; Quality; Competitive Advantage; Digital Platforms

22 Jul 2019
Book

How to Be a Digital Platform Leader

most platform launches fail, what mistakes should managers and entrepreneurs avoid? Yoffie: We see four common problems across the data. The number one problem is how to price the product. The vast majority... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

August 2022 (Revised March 2023)
Case

Pricing at Netflix: The Sequel

By: Elie Ofek and Amy Klopfenstein

This case continues the themes discussed in "Pricing at Netflix" (Case 521-004). Following the conclusion of the original case, Netflix developed new, high-profile original content, added millions of subscribers, and introduced another price increase in January 2022.... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Advertising; Marketing Strategy; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Finance; Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Business Strategy; Adaptation; Internet and the Web; Customers; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Advertising Industry; North and Central America; United States

2008
Simulation

Pricing Simulation: Universal Car Rental

By: John T. Gourville

This web-based simulation presents an engaging context in which students develop their knowledge of pricing by managing a rental car operation (Universal) in Florida and improve regional performance by developing a pricing strategy. The simulation involves three... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Consumer Behavior; Price; Profit; Renting or Rental; Auto Industry; Service Industry; Miami; Orlando; Tampa

17 Apr 2014
News

York Street Partners, Busbud Take Top Honors in Alumni New Venture Competition

With online crowd votes from more than 1,200 alumni and MBA students, the winners of the 2014 alumni New Venture Competition have been crowned. Winner of the crowd-voted Most Innovative and Greatest Impact categories is York Street... View Details

Keywords: New Venture Competition; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information

September 1993 (Revised December 1993)
Background Note

Note on Pricing and Public Policy

By: Willis M. Emmons III

Surveys a number of essential issues related to pricing and public policy in market economies. Begins with a brief review of the price-determination process in competitive markets, then examines a range of topics involving pricing and public policy in monopoly and... View Details

Keywords: Price; Business Strategy; Policy; Valuation; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Competition; Economic Systems; Monopoly; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Cost

31 Jul 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Investment Incentives in Proprietary and Open-Source Two-Sided Platforms

Keywords: by Ramon Casadesus-Masanell & Gastón Llanes

17 Jan 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Price Coherence and Adverse Intermediation

Keywords: by Benjamin G. Edelman & Julian Wright; Consumer Products

June 2013 (Revised November 2022)
Exercise

Competition Simulator Exercise

By: Eric J. Van den Steen

In the Competition Simulator Exercise, students explore through trial and error some important economic foundations of competitive strategy and managerial economics. In particular, the nine simulator exercises let students explore horizontal differentiation with and... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Economics; Game Theory; Competitive Strategy; Learning; Mathematical Methods; Analysis

February 2021 (Revised July 2024)
Case

White Claw: Defending Market Share as Competition Encroaches

By: Jill Avery

By the end of 2019, two brands accounted for 84% of hard seltzer sales, a segment that had recently taken the U.S. beer market by storm, growing from $3 million in 2015 to over $2.7 billion by the start of the summer of 2020. White Claw was the dominant market leader... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Alcoholic Beverages; Beer/brewing Industry; Brand Positioning; Growth; Competitive Positioning; Consumer Products; Beverage Industry; Value Proposition; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Competition; Product Positioning; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

2009
Working Paper

Gray Markets and Multinational Transfer Pricing

By: Romana L. Autrey and Francesco Bova

Gray markets arise when a manufacturer's products are sold outside of its authorized channels, for instance when goods designated for a foreign market are resold domestically. One method multinationals use to combat gray markets is to increase internal transfer prices... View Details

Keywords: Price; Multinational Firms and Management; Demand and Consumers; Distribution Channels; Business and Government Relations; Sales; Competitive Strategy

June 2024
Case

Aidoc: Building a Hospital-Centric AI Platform

By: Ariel D. Stern and Susan Pinckney

In 2023, Israel-based AI health care company Aidoc evaluated its future. The company, founded in 2016, had grown from commercializing a single AI product for radiologists to a software platform that could detect 20 conditions and immediately notify care teams of... View Details

15 Aug 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Legislating Stock Prices

Keywords: by Lauren Cohen, Karl Diether & Christopher Malloy; Financial Services

February 2018
Article

Auctions versus Posted Prices in Online Markets

By: Liran Einav, Chiara Farronato, Jonathan Levin and Neel Sundaresan

Auctions were very popular in the early days of internet commerce, but today online sellers mostly use posted prices. We model the choice between auctions and posted prices as a trade-off between competitive price discovery and convenience. Evidence from eBay fits the... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Auctions; Price

Find at Harvard

29 Mar 2016
News

Competing with Platforms That Ignore the Law

November 2019
Case

Gillette: Cutting Prices to Regain Share

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

After losing market share to low-priced competitors such as Harry’s and Dollar Shave Club for several years, Gillette decided to fight back by launching new products and increasing advertising. When these efforts failed to stem the losses, Gillette decided to cut the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Business Strategy; Competition; Price; Public Equity; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

2015
Other Teaching and Training Material

Competitive Strategies Marketing Reading

By: Jill Avery and Sunil Gupta

Core Curriculum Readings in Marketing cover the fundamental concepts, theories, and frameworks that business students must study.
This Reading illuminates the dynamics of companies in competition and offers a process for planning and executing marketing... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy