Publications

Find at Harvard

June 2013 (Revised August 2013)
Case

AVA.ph: Growing a Filipino E-Commerce Company

By: William R. Kerr and Henry Motte-Munoz

AVA is a three-year old e-commerce company in the Philippines. From its early start mimicking the Gilt Groupe concept of online flash sales, the company has grown into a broader e-commerce platform for local fashion commerce. Oliver Segovia needs to evaluate where AVA... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Business Growth and Maturation; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; Philippines

2012
Chapter

IP Modularity in Software Ecosystems: How SugarCRM's IP and Business Model Shape Its Product Architecture

By: Josef Waltl, Joachim Henkel and Carliss Y. Baldwin

Keywords: Business Model; Digital Platforms; Open Source Distribution; Complexity; Applications and Software; Intellectual Property

16 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 16, 2018

digitally enabled open platforms. I go on to argue that the competitive success of open platforms against closed platforms gave rise to the "vertical-to-horizontal" transition in the computer industry in the 1980s and 1990s.... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

13 Feb 2017
Research & Ideas

Paid Search Ads Pay Off for Lesser-Known Restaurants

For business executives trying to decide where exactly in the digital realm to invest their advertising dollars, new research indicates that paid search ads on review sites such as Yelp can be a good way to go—at least for small,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Food & Beverage

February 2024
Teaching Note

UGG Steps into the Metaverse

By: Shunyuan Zhang and Sunil Gupta

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 523-013. View Details

Keywords: Metaverse; Digital Marketing; Innovation and Invention; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Internet and the Web; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Fashion Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States

January 2020
Case

Ninja: Which Platform Wins Esports' Biggest Star?

By: Anita Elberse and Michal T. Leszczynski

It is July 2019, and the business of esports and gaming is booming. Tyler Blevins—better known as Ninja—has risen to stardom playing the immensely popular shooter game Fortnite. He has become the most followed streamer in the world and, helped by his management company... View Details

Keywords: Esports; Platforms; Superstar; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Internet and the Web; Personal Development and Career; Decision Making; Digital Platforms; Video Game Industry; Technology Industry

March 2000 (Revised January 2001)
Case

First USA and Internet Marketing

By: Rajiv Lal and Amy H. Nelson

Explores First USA's decision to use the Internet for acquiring customers. Tom Brenner needs to decide on the terms of the deals demanded by the portals and justify the recommendations to his boss. View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Decision Choices and Conditions; Resource Allocation; Marketing Strategy; Internet and the Web

Find at Harvard

10 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 10, 2018

expenditures under the entry of new generation lab managers. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=46697 Executive Education in the Digital Matrix: The Disruption of the Supply Landscape By: Moldoveanu,... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

23 Aug 2016
First Look

August 23, 2016

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51538 July–August 2016 European Business Review The Decoupling Effect of Digital Disruptors By: Teixeira, Thales S., and Peter Jamieson Abstract—A new wave of Internet startups is disrupting... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Jul 2019
Research & Ideas

The Airbnb Lesson for Startups? Success Takes More Than Technology

seen before. More people are employed today, so it would be harder to start those kinds of businesses. The opportunities are different when you’re at the economic bonanza. This article was featured in the HBS Digital Initiative's The New... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Travel; Tourism

October 2005 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Red Flag Software Co.

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Tarun Khanna, David Lane and Elizabeth Raabe

In 2005, just five years after its formal launch, Beijing-based Red Flag Software was the world's second-largest distributor of the Linux operating system and was expecting its first annual profit. On a unit basis, Red Flag led the world in desktops (PCs) shipped with... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Competitive Advantage; Applications and Software; Business Startups; Globalized Markets and Industries; Information Technology Industry; Distribution Industry; Beijing; United States

14 Apr 2015
First Look

First Look: April 14

of people's relationships with brands and a demonstration of the important and timely implications of this evolving sub-discipline. A range of different brand relationship environments are explored in the collection, including online View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 20, 2024
Article

Porter’s Five Forces and Competitive Advantage in Web3

By: Scott Duke Kominers and Liang Wu

Competitive strategy — the art of crafting and executing plans to achieve an advantageous position in the market — is integral to any business, and especially relevant for platforms because it determines their ability to achieve network effects and scale. But web3... View Details

Keywords: Five Forces Framework; Competitive Strategy; Business Strategy; Network Effects; Digital Transformation

Read Now

September 2013
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: David Weinstein and Write the World

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Juliane Calingo Schwetz and Patricia Bissett Higgins

David Weinstein, a lawyer and former Chief Administrative Officer of mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments, launched Write the World, a proprietary online platform that included a writing curriculum, essay prompts in distinct subject matter, and access to expert... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Expansion; Social Entrepreneurship; Education; Business Startups; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

December 2012 (Revised September 2022)
Case

BabbaCo

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Gaurav Jain

Having just raised a Series B financing, the case protagonist is faced with a tough decision: should she "step on the gas" and scale the customer base, or continue focusing on fine-tuning the product and business model. The case describes the various marketing channels... View Details

Keywords: Subscription; Marketing; Scaling; Product-market Fit; Online Marketing; Customers; Decisions; Expansion; Marketing Channels; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Marketing; Marketing Strategy

April 2013 (Revised June 2018)
Teaching Note

Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google 2018

By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

Keywords: Amazon; Apple; Facebook; Google; Online Platforms; Marketing; E-commerce; Digital Platforms; Digital Marketing

September 2003 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Eyeblaster: Enabling the Next Generation of Online Advertising

By: Elie Ofek

Eyeblaster management has to decide on the best course of action to sustain its momentum from enabling online rich media advertising. Pressure from competitors is forcing the company to re-evaluate its previous marketing strategy that focused primarily on getting... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Performance Evaluation; Digital Marketing; Growth and Development Strategy