Publications

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September 2022 (Revised August 2023)
Case

Audrey Tang: Using Technology to Strengthen Democracy in Taiwan

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

Since the early days of the internet, Taiwan had a vibrant community of civic hackers and open-source programmers who engaged with social issues. Audrey Tang was one of them. She spearheaded the 2014 Sunflower Student Movement in Taiwan, where protestors peacefully... View Details

Keywords: Democracy; Internet; Web Technology; Digital Transformation; Digital Platform; COVID; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Governance; Entrepreneurship; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Innovation and Invention; Taiwan; China; Asia

February 23, 2022
Article

Can WEB3 Bring Back Competition to Digital Platforms?

By: Christian Catalini and Scott Duke Kominers

Like the early Internet, blockchain and Web3 applications promise a new wave of decentralization and competition—yet at the same time, it is unclear which of the dynamics that drove concentration in online platforms and services will remain in force under the Web3... View Details

Keywords: Web3; Blockchain; Interoperability; Internet and the Web; Technological Innovation; Competition; Digital Platforms

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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... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Education

08 Dec 2020
Research & Ideas

Why Companies Hunt for Talent on Digital Platforms, Not in Resume Piles

Strategy Unit. “They’re not sending resumes in. They’re being recruited, often through online platforms like LinkedIn.” Indeed, the rise of digital View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Employment

July 2005 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Kansai Digital Phone: Zutto, Gaining Japanese Loyalty

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez and James Robert Dillon

Ted Katagi, marketing strategy manager of Kansai Digital Phone (KDP), utilizes customer lifetime value as a key metric to prioritize initiatives in an emergency plan to turn around the company. KDP is a regional phone company in Japan with less than stellar... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Customer Value and Value Chain; Customer Satisfaction; Telecommunications Industry; Electronics Industry; Japan; United States

January 2021
Case

Digital Transformation 2.0: CEO Elie Girard at Atos

By: Tsedal Neeley and James Barnett

Elie Girard has taken the helm as CEO of Atos—multinational IT giant—to lead the company into the next era of digital transformation. Noticing that customers’ digital needs were evolving to become even more specialized and global in scope, he made a bold first step as... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Change; Leadership; Technology Industry

July 2021
Teaching Note

Digital Transformation 2.0: CEO Elie Girard at Atos

By: Tsedal Neeley

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 421-024. Elie Girard has taken the helm as CEO of multinational IT giant Atos to lead the company into the next era of digital transformation. Noticing that customers’ digital needs were evolving to become even more specialized and global... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Leading Change; Mergers and Acquisitions; Environmental Sustainability; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Transformation; Information Technology Industry

11 Nov 2020
Research & Ideas

How Hackathons Help Decide Platform Winners and Losers

Choosing the right software platform is a critical task for developers. It can be a business life-or-death decision picking between Android or iPhone, Amazon Web Services or Google Cloud Platform, Xbox or PlayStation. At the same time,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology

April 2010 (Revised June 2011)
Background Note

Television Competes for a Digital Audience

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Nancy Bartlett

In the face of major disruption in the industry television networks have sought new revenue sources, implemented cost-cutting measures and strategized on ways to monetize online access to content. Programming changes, new advertising strategies, and deals via online... View Details

Keywords: Television Entertainment; Marketing Strategy; Media and Broadcasting Industry

June 2002 (Revised August 2002)
Case

WorldSpace: Digital Radio for the Developing World

By: Debora L. Spar

Describes the evolution of WorldSpace, the world's first major provider of digital radio service to the developing world. The brainchild of Noah Samara, an African-born, American-trained lawyer, WorldSpace has a dual commercial and social mission. Samara wants to... View Details

Keywords: Information; Social Entrepreneurship; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Developing Countries and Economies; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Asia; Latin America; Africa

February 2009 (Revised March 2009)
Case

Publicis Groupe 2009: Toward a Digital Transformation

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Matthew Bird

After a series of acquisitions, Maurice Levy, the Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe, had created the fourth largest marketing and communications company in the world. His next major challenge was managing the firm's digital transformation. In December 2006, the... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Transformation; Financial Crisis; Globalized Firms and Management; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Expansion; Information Technology; Advertising Industry; Communications Industry

24 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

When Tech Platforms Identify Black-Owned Businesses, White Customers Buy

areas with less anti-Black racial bias. “Collectively, our findings suggest that digital platforms can effectively boost the performance of minority firms, particularly during... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald; Food & Beverage

31 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

Where Can Digital Transformation Take You? Insights from 1,700 Leaders

This is the first of our three-part "Leading in the Digital Era" series. Read parts two and three. "Got a driver’s license? Good! Now, step into this Formula 1 racecar." This was how one executive View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards

2021
Report

The Economic Impact of the Market-Making Internet Advertising, Content, Commerce, and Innovation

By: John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

This research about the economic value of the Internet is conducted approximately every four years and highlights the importance of the internet ecosystem, which enables job creation and market-making opportunities. This highly valued, extensive piece of economic... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Digital Marketing; Innovation and Invention; Communication Technology; Social Media; Advertising; Value; Brands and Branding

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Article

From Netscape to eHarmony: The High Risks and Big Rewards of Platform Markets

By: Dylan B. Minor

Keywords: Leadership; Service Delivery; Mobile Technology; Economics

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16 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

Delivering the Digital Goods: iTunes vs. Peer-to-Peer

(i.e., information about the files) Fast downloads Works well with iPod We built an economic model to improve our understanding of how both forms of View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Music

25 Feb 2015
Lessons from the Classroom

Scholars and Students Unpack the Digital Business Revolution

focuses on the economics and strategy of digital: how organizations need to adapt and change in this new environment, and the individual skills required to succeed in a digital... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Education; Technology

January 2017 (Revised April 2017)
Supplement

Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

In late 2016, Bridj was expanding its digital platform to help address urban mobility problems faced by cities across the country and the world. Its founder and CEO, Matt George, weighed up several possible strategies for growth as he aimed to responsibly build the... View Details