Publications

February 2015 (Revised April 2016)
Supplement

Quincy Apparel (B)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Lisa C. Mazzanti

The (B) case provides post-mortem analysis from Quincy's cofounders on why their startup failed and what they could have done differently. Explanations for failure focus on Quincy's ambitious value proposition and resulting operational challenges; cofounder conflict;... View Details

Keywords: Retail; Online Retail; Women's Apparel; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Failure; Business Startups; E-commerce; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry

February 2023 (Revised March 2023)
Case

Hey, Insta & YouTube, Are You Watching TikTok?

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee

In early 2023, the entertainment app TikTok reached close to 1 billion users globally, placing it 4th behind the leading social networks of Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Featuring a sophisticated recommendation engine, TikTok mastered the art of keeping users... View Details

Keywords: Social Media; Applications and Software; Business Model; Competition; Organizational Change and Adaptation

23 Jan 2013
Research & Ideas

Three-Dimensional Strategy: Winning the Multisided Platform

traditional resellers. Also, MSPs can be less capital intensive for start-ups. No wonder, then, that an increasing number of entrepreneurial ventures such as thredUP have been attracted to the MSP model. But in 2012 thredUP's management... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Porter’s Perspective: Competing in the Global Economy

therefore, become unique local centers of innovation for the likes of mutual funds, venture capital, and biotechnology in Greater Boston or aircraft equipment and design, boat and shipbuilding, and metal fabrication in Seattle. The list... View Details

Keywords: Re: Michael E. Porter

March 2022 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Swvl: Smart Mobility for the Masses

By: Krishna Palepu, Esel Çekin and Menna Hassan

The case focuses on strategy and governance issues at Swvl, a tech-enabled mass mobility marketplace. It describes the journey of CEO and Chairman Mostafa Kandil on his journey from founding the company to its listing on Nasdaq. Since its founding in Egypt in 2017,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Growth and Development Strategy; Initial Public Offering; Innovation and Invention; Business Startups; Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Middle East; North Africa

October 2021 (Revised September 2022)
Case

SmartOne: Building an AI Data Business

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Pippa Armerding, Gamze Yucaoglu and Fares Khrais

The case opens in August 2021, as Habib and Shahysta Hassim, husband and wife co-founders of the data labeling company SmartOne, contemplate the strategy of the high growth company. Between 2016 and 2021, SmartOne had kept doubling its size every two years and now,... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Data Labeling; Entrepreneurship; Strategy; Operations; Business Model; Growth Management; Growth and Development Strategy; AI and Machine Learning; Africa; Madagascar; Europe; France; United States

22 Jul 2019
Book

How to Be a Digital Platform Leader

authors explain the fundamentals of platforms, different strategies and business models, common errors, and platform battlegrounds of the future that involve competing technologies and implications for organizations. There is advice for... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

March 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

ASOS PLC

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Launched in 2000, ASOS was one of the world’s largest online fashion specialists in 2018. Focusing on young consumers aged 16–25 years, the company offered over 85,000 items on its websites, many times more than the largest fashion stores, and added several thousand... View Details

Keywords: ASOS; AsSeenOnScreen; Online Fashion; Online Apparel; Nick Beighton; Nick Robertson; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Social Media; Marketplaces; Shipping; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Startups; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Age; Gender; Currency Exchange Rate; Profit; Revenue; Geography; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business History; Selection and Staffing; Journals and Magazines; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Social Marketing; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Vertical Integration; Segmentation; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; United Kingdom; England; London

January 2009 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Alibaba's Taobao (A)

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Julie M. Wulf

This case examines the decision of Alibaba Group to diversify from an international business-to-business (B2B) exchange (Alibaba.com) into a B2C and C2C exchange (Taobao.com) for Chinese retailers and consumers. In China, Taobao had managed to displace the once... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Demand and Consumers; Market Transactions; Service Operations; Diversification; Internet and the Web; China

27 Sep 2011
First Look

First Look: September 27

Publication:California Management Review 53, no. 4 (summer 2011) Abstract Dynamic capabilities have been proposed as a useful way to understand how organizations are able to adapt to changes in technology and markets. Organizational... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

2024 Reunion Presentations - Alumni

After the Boom and the Bust What’s Next for Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship? Professor Professor Josh Lerner (PMD 62) + More Info - Slides – Less Info - Slides Venture capital—and high-potential... View Details

Web

Commercialization of the Polarizer - Edwin H. Land & Polaroid | Harvard Business School

Home Site map Map / Directions Search: General Information HBS Home About Annual Report Campus Commencement Dean Nohria Employment Fifty Years of Women Give News New Construction Academic Programs Doctoral Programs Executive Education MBA Summer View Details

11 Jul 2019
Blog Post

Meet the MBA Class of 2020

Design Club Mollie Breen “I WENT TO AN MBA PROGRAM BECAUSE I WAS KICKED OFF A REALITY TV SHOW!” HOME REGION Washington, D.C. UNDERGRAD EDUCATION Duke University, Computer Science/Mathematics, 2015 PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE Department of Defense HBS ACTIVITIES Admissions Rep,... View Details

25 Mar 2015
HBS Case

Tate’s Digital Makeover Transforms the Traditional Museum

four museums, including the acclaimed Tate Modern—has pushed the boundaries of what an art museum can be. Its journey may be both a road map and a caution for many institutions—cultural and business—as they begin to explore the promise of digital View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Education

November 1999 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Webvan: Groceries on the Internet

By: John A. Deighton and Kayla Bakshi

What are the prospects for grocery shopping on the Web? This case invites a comparison of seven business models, with particular emphasis on Webvan. Why does the investment community value Webvan at $7.8 billion after less than six months of operating experience, and... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Experience and Expertise; Investment; Information; Marketing; Distribution Channels; Service Delivery; Cognition and Thinking; Internet and the Web; Retail Industry; Service Industry

February 2021
Case

Yellow Digital Retailers: Providing Solar Electricity to Transform Rural Africa

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Frank V. Cespedes and Michael Norris

In 2020, Mike Heyink and Maya Stewart, co-founders of the Pay-as-you-Go Solar company Yellow were considering how to grow their startup. They had achieved some success in their first market, Malawi, and had recently entered Uganda, where business was slower. What did... View Details

Keywords: Solar Energy; Business Model; Business Startups; Developing Countries and Economies; Alternative Energy; Renewable Energy; Social Entrepreneurship; Green Technology; Salesforce Management; Diversification; Expansion; Energy Industry; Africa; South Africa; Malawi; Uganda

May 2013
Case

Launching Krispy Natural: Cracking the Product Management Code

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Heather Beckham

Pemberton Products is a U.S. market leader in the cookie and bakery snacks segment of the sweet snack market. Looking to expand into the salty snack market, the company acquires Krispy Inc., a maker of salty snack crackers located in the southeastern U.S. To compete... View Details

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Competition; Organizational Culture; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Expansion; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Acquisition; Food and Beverage Industry; Ohio; United States

25 Aug 2022
News

Up on the Corner

operations in several cities, leading to more than $950,000 in financing. “Rarely do financial institutions in the US invest in Black women at the $1 million level, especially when the underlying assets don’t hold much value,” says Dlodlo. CDFIs, which range from banks... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; photographed by Melissa Golden; Real Estate

March 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Masterpiece for the Masses: The First Art Exchange ARTEX

By: Lauren Cohen, Anastasiya Siroochenko (Siro) and Sophia Pan

Yassir Benjelloun-Touimi, CEO of ARTEX, aspired to marry the world of art and finance. Hoping to promote transparent, fractionalized ownership of renowned artwork, the founder had spent years contemplating the birth of an art stock market. This exchange would allow... View Details