Publications

July 2022 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Call of Fiduciary Duty: Microsoft Acquires Activision Blizzard

By: Jonas Heese, Joseph Pacelli and James Barnett

In January 2022, Microsoft announces its acquisition of the video game company Activision Blizzard, in a deal valued at $68.7 billion, which would make Microsoft the world’s third largest video game company. The deal came as Activision Blizzard faced gender pay... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Goodwill Accounting; Analysis; Decision Making; Talent and Talent Management; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Ethics; Leadership; Risk and Uncertainty; Mergers and Acquisitions; Lawsuits and Litigation; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; North America; California

May 2022
Case

Executive Decision-Making at Zola

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Michael Roberto

In April 2020, Rachel Jarrett, President and COO of wedding technology company Zola, called a meeting with the organization’s key decision-makers. The company had previously launched three business expansions: a vendor marketplace, a wedding apparel division, and a... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Voting; Decision Choices and Conditions; Management Skills; Management; Management Style; Organizations; Organizational Culture; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

December 2019
Case

Steemit: A New Social Media?

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Alexander White and Karen Elterman

This case discusses the alternative social media site Steemit, including the principles it was founded on in 2016 and the challenges it faced in 2019. Steemit was a blockchain-based platform that aimed to differentiate itself from other social media companies by... View Details

01 May 2019
What Do You Think?

What Should the Leadership of YouTube Do?

littleny Can YouTube’s Users Help the Company Deal With Its “Moral” Problem?* This month’s mini-case described the dilemma faced by Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube: how far to promote “sustainability,” viewership, and (to some) free speech at the risk of losing what is... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

October 2016 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

By: Anita Elberse

In June 2016, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is planning for the upcoming launch of an endeavor that is a first for a Hollywood actor with superstar status—a digital channel. The channel (named “Seven Bucks Digital Studios”) will be a new part of film and television... View Details

13 Oct 2009
Research & Ideas

7 Lessons for Navigating the Storm

establish long-term compensation practices that reward sustainable gains. How can you recreate your company's image to be the emerging leader that understands customer needs in the new environment? Step 7: Develop rigorous execution... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

October 2017
Case

LeBron James: Building a Hollywood Empire

By: Anita Elberse

It is June 2016. Superstar basketball player LeBron James and his childhood friend and business partner Maverick Carter are celebrating James’ third NBA championship. The duo will soon have to decide on a strategy for their media businesses—their film and television... View Details

19 Nov 2014
HBS Case

Marketing Marijuana

the United States, two new states, Alaska and Oregon, as well as the District of Columbia had legalized the recreational sale of marijuana. They joined Washington and Colorado, which legalized pot in the 2012 election, as well as two... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage

02 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

Digital Initiative Summit: Who Has the Power in the Music Industry?

music that consumers encounter? Those questions were debated at the "Digital Music: Recreating the Industry" panel on March 30 the at the Digital Initiative Summit at Harvard Business School. "It's interesting to think about the source of... View Details

Keywords: Re: Felix Oberholzer-Gee; Music

23 Feb 2017
Cold Call Podcast

Black Business Leaders Series: Franklin Leonard, 'Black List' Mastermind

Keywords: Re: Henry W. McGee; Entertainment & Recreation

22 Sep 2016
Cold Call Podcast

Innovation Under Constraint: Constructing a Turnaround at Lego

Keywords: Re: Jan W. Rivkin & Stefan H. Thomke; Entertainment & Recreation

18 Jun 2014
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: ‘Collective Genius’

book excerpt Leading Innovation From Collective Genius: The Art of Practice of Leading Innovation By Linda A. Hill, Greg Brandeau, Emily Truelove and Kent Linebeck Though each of our leaders and their firms differed in key ways, all leaders paid particular attention to... View Details

Keywords: by Linda Hill; Entertainment & Recreation

20 Jun 2011
Lessons from the Classroom

Fame, Faith, and Social Activism: Business Lessons from Bono

To Nancy F. Koehn, the history of the Irish rock band U2 has it all as a business case study: teamwork, leadership, creative destruction, branding, and strategy. Koehn's case "Bono and U2", co-written with Katherine Miller and Rachel K. Wilcox, reconstructs the story... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Entertainment & Recreation

08 Nov 2024
HBS Case

What Wartime Service Taught These Historic Leaders

Walt Disney’s time in Paris during the waning days of World War I helped shape him into a visionary entrepreneur who would ultimately build a beloved international brand. Dwight Eisenhower and Robert McNamara discovered the importance of humility and how to motivate... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Entertainment & Recreation

28 Oct 2019
Research & Ideas

Brick-and-Mortar Stores Are Making a Comeback

quickly and easily at a low price. But consumers buy for many other reasons. They might have social goals or they might want to have an experience that’s delightful. Retailers have to build these functional, ego-expressive, experiential, social, and View Details

Keywords: by Jen McFarland Flint; Retail

01 Jul 2009
Working Paper Summaries

File-Sharing and Copyright

Keywords: by Felix Oberholzer-Gee & Koleman Strumpf; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

September 1992
Case

Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market

By: William A. Sahlman

First case in a series of six cases that follow the experience of a cable television company as it adjusts to the rapid rise and precipitous decline of the stock market in the late 1980s. In this case Don Jones, the company's founder and owner, sees the rise in public... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Finance; Financial Markets; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Restructuring; Corporate Strategy; SWOT Analysis; Wealth; Business Cycles; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

October 1991 (Revised November 1993)
Case

Play Time Toy Co.

By: Thomas R. Piper

The president of a toy company is considering the adoption of level production in a business characterized by highly seasonal sales. The issues include balancing the cost savings and the inventory risk, estimating the seasonal financing need, and determining the... View Details

Keywords: Production; Cost Management; Banks and Banking; Sales; Goods and Commodities; Financial Management; Risk Management; Entertainment and Recreation Industry