Publications

Due to network effects and switching costs in platform markets, entrants generally must offer revolutionary functionality. Platform envelopment offers a second entry path: one that does not rely upon Schumpeterian innovation. Examples of successful envelopment... View Details

16 May 2023
In Practice

After Silicon Valley Bank's Flameout, What's Next for Entrepreneurs?

the ecosystem, which means investments in R&D and new product development will be curtailed. The financial system is far stronger today than it was in the Great Financial Crisis, but the economy was already somewhat wobbly. On the... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Technology; Financial Services

February 2017
Case

BlaBlaCar: The Road Ahead...

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Arun Sundararajan, Emilie Billaud and Caroline Caltagirone

In 2017, the co-founders of BlaBlaCar—the world’s largest long-distance carpooling company—reflected on the evolution of their venture and the way forward. BlaBlaCar had reached critical mass and size; yet staying still was not going to be enough to be relevant and... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Transformation; Decision Making; Values and Beliefs; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Platforms; Network Effects; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Internet and the Web; Transportation Networks; Transportation Industry; Web Services Industry; France; Europe

15 Sep 2016
Research & Ideas

Political Dysfunction Makes America Less Competitive

The American economy is a mess, and our broken political system is largely to blame, according to a Harvard Business School US Competitiveness Project report released today. Harvard’s Michael E. Porter, Jan W. Rivkin, and Mihir A. Desai... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

30 Jun 2021
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2021

What’s on HBS faculty members’ reading list for summer 2021? Which books are most meaningful to them and why? Below, faculty share their top picks, ranging from biographies and memoirs to their colleagues’ latest works. Julia Austin: Social justice and the Obamas I... View Details

Keywords: by Kathryn Haviland

November 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

China's Rural Leap Forward

By: Bruce R. Scott and Jamie Matthews

Collectively owned township and village enterprises (TVEs) played a pivotal role in China's rapid growth during the 1980s and 1990s. Although they originated in the policies and institutions of the Maoist era, TVEs thrived only after Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms... View Details

Keywords: Business and Government Relations; Public Sector; Public Ownership; Development Economics; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Macroeconomics; Emerging Markets; China

July 2013 (Revised June 2014)
Case

Collaborating for Growth: Duane Morris in a Turbulent Legal Sector

By: Heidi K. Gardner and Annelena Lobb

By the late 2000s, the law firm Duane Morris had transformed itself from a growing U.S. law firm to a significant global player. The firm's uniquely collaborative organizational culture, which featured a transparent, data-driven compensation system, practice-group... View Details

Keywords: Professional Service Firm; Collaboration; Performance Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Competition; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Structure; Groups and Teams; Organizational Culture; Performance; Cooperation; Globalized Firms and Management; Compensation and Benefits; Volatility; Growth and Development Strategy; Legal Services Industry; United States

02 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Not All M&As Are Alike—and That Matters

acquisitions and geographic roll-ups consolidate businesses, they can be difficult to tell apart except on a case-by-case basis. However, they vary in some fundamental ways. For one thing, their strategic rationales differ. Roll-ups are designed to achieve View Details

Keywords: by Joseph L. Bower

09 May 2023
Blog Post

Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month at HBS (part 1)

May is Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. The Asian Affinity Business Association (AABA), in collaboration with students and organizations across campus, is proud to share and honor the stories of our community... View Details

15 Jun 2007
Research & Ideas

Remembering Alfred Chandler

in the School's Business History Group to reflect on Chandler's legacy and to share personal memories. To listen to this interview with professor Richard Tedlow, click on the triangular play button below. The Macromedia Flash plug-in is... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

2010
Chapter

A Resource Belief-Curse: Oil and Individualism

By: Rafael Di Tella, Juan Dubra and Robert MacCulloch

We study the correlation between a belief concerning individualism and a measure of luck in the US during the period 1983-2004. The measure of beliefs is the answer to a question related to whether the poor should be helped by the government or if they should help... View Details

Keywords: History; Natural Environment; Non-Renewable Energy; Values and Beliefs; Price; Poverty; Policy; Economy; United States

Find at Harvard

January 2006 (Revised October 2007)
Background Note

Managing Networked Businesses: Course Overview for Students

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Provides an overview for students of the MBA elective course Managing Networked Businesses (MNB). MNB focuses on management challenges in businesses that exhibit network effects. The first section of the note explains that such businesses comprise a large and growing... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Capital Structure; Business or Company Management; Network Effects; Organizational Design; Business and Government Relations; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competitive Strategy

October 2018
Case

African Bank Investments Limited (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Less than a year after joining the board of African Bank Investments Limited (ABIL), the newest director finds himself in difficult discussions with other directors about removing the struggling company’s CEO. The case is set in South Africa in mid-2014 as shares in... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Personal Finance; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Insurance; Leadership; Management; Risk Management; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry; Africa; South Africa

2013
Article

Industry Equilibrium with Open-Source and Proprietary Firms

By: Gaston Llanes and Ramiro de Elejalde

We present a model of industry equilibrium to study the coexistence of open-source and proprietary firms. Two novel aspects of the model are (i) participation in open source arises as the optimal decision of profit-maximizing firms, and (ii) open-source and proprietary... View Details

Keywords: Open Source Distribution; Balance and Stability; Software; Knowledge Management; Supply and Industry; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Research and Development; Cooperation

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October 2018
Supplement

African Bank Investments Limited (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Less than a year after joining the board of African Bank Investments Limited (ABIL), the newest director finds himself in difficult discussions with other directors about removing the struggling company’s CEO. The case is set in South Africa in mid-2014 as shares in... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Personal Finance; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Insurance; Leadership; Management; Risk Management; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry; Africa; South Africa

2012
Chapter

Schumpeterian Competition and Diseconomies of Scope: Illustrations from the Histories of Microsoft and IBM

By: Timothy F. Bresnahan, Shane Greenstein and Rebecca M. Henderson

We address a longstanding question about the causes of creative destruction. Dominant incumbent firms, long successful in an existing technology, are often much less successful in new technological eras. This is puzzling, since a cursory analysis would suggest that... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Opportunities; Competition; Information Technology; Innovation and Management; Organizations; Relationships; Information Technology Industry

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2007
Working Paper

A Resource Belief-Curse: Oil and Individualism

By: Rafael Di Tella, Juan Dubra and Robert MacCulloch

We study the correlation between a belief concerning individualism and a measure of luck in the US during the period 1983-2004. The measure of beliefs is the answer to a question related to whether the poor should be helped by the government or if they should help... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Price; Policy; Government and Politics; Poverty; Welfare; Energy Industry; United States