Publications

January 2021 (Revised March 2021)
Case

Jumia's Path to Profitability

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Pippa Tubman Armerding and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in September 2019 as Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara, co-founders and co-CEOs of Jumia, the leading Pan-African e-commerce platform, are contemplating the company’s path to profitability in the aftermath of a fragile investor sentiment, as the company... View Details

19 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

$15 Billion in Five Years: What Data Tells Us About MacKenzie Scott’s Philanthropy

finished giving, but with more than $15 billion granted to nearly 2,000 organizations, some meaningful patterns have begun to emerge. We parsed all the Yield Giving donation information available to date and matched it with Internal... View Details

Keywords: by Matthew Lee, Brian Trelstad, and Ethan Tran

2019
White Paper

Impact-Weighted Financial Accounts: The Missing Piece for an Impact Economy

By: George Serafeim, T. Robert Zochowski and Jennifer Downing

Reimagining capitalism is an imperative. We need to create a more inclusive and sustainable form of capitalism that works for every person and the planet. Massive environmental damage, growing income and wealth disparity, stress, and depression within developed... View Details

Keywords: Impact-Weighted Accounts; IWAI; Background; Economic Systems; Economy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Measurement and Metrics; Financial Statements

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July 2016
Technical Note

Net Neutrality: A Managerial Perspective

By: Shane Greenstein and Christine Snively

The net neutrality debate had implications for Internet service providers, content providers, and end users. This note aims to inform the reader of the various sides of the debate where open issues remain, as well as what aspects an entrepreneur, investor, or content... View Details

Keywords: Net Neutrality; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Information Infrastructure; Technology Industry

March 2023
Teaching Note

Ransomware Attack at Colonial Pipeline Company

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan Ni

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 123-069. On the morning of May 7, 2021, Colonial Pipeline Company became aware that the company had been the victim of a malicious ransomware attack that had stolen and locked up company data. The extortionists demanded 75 bitcoins (worth... View Details

2024
Case

EPCorp: Sell on Amazon or Invest in Our Data?

By: Jacob M. Cook

Amidst a history of exponential growth, Electronic Products Company (EPCorp) finds itself at a crossroads as its once thriving retail presence faces a downturn, despite hefty investments into a promising new direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform. Shivani, EPCorp s... View Details

Keywords: E-commerce; Technology Adoption; Cost vs Benefits; Organizational Culture; Retail Industry

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Throwing Your Opponent: Strategies for the Internet Age

the dynamic introduced by companies like Netscape that have helped build the information infrastructure of the Internet age. Yoffie and Cusumano point out, for example, that one of Netscape's pioneering... View Details

Keywords: by Daniel Penrice

April 2020 (Revised May 2020)
Case

NTT DOCOMO's Race to 5G

By: Juan Alcácer, Horst Melcher and Akiko Kanno

The case, based on extensive interviews with NTT DOCOMO’s technology leaders, focuses on the opportunities and challenges that NTT DOCOMO faces with the launch of infrastructure and services for 5G wireless telecommunication technology. With higher data rates and... View Details

Keywords: 5G; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Product Launch; Strategic Planning; Decision Making; Strategy; Telecommunications Industry; Technology Industry

Research Summary

Competing on a Common Platform

Why have over 100 firms joined the Eclipse Foundation to collectively produce an open source platform and tools for software application development? What are they trying to accomplish? This research analyzes IBMs divestment of the Eclipse Java Integrated Development... View Details

November 2003 (Revised December 2003)
Case

Enabling Business Strategy with IT at the World Bank

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Brian DeLacey

World Bank IT provides services (communications, applications, video conferencing, knowledge sharing, distance learning, information sharing, client commerce, crisis management, etc.) on a global basis to the poorest countries in the globe via satellites. This case... View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Globalized Economies and Regions; Information Technology; Global Strategy; Business Strategy; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry

December 2015 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Chicken Republic

By: Jose Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

Deji Akinyanju, founder of Nigerian fast-food chain Chicken Republic, and Ayo Oduntan, founder of an integrated Nigerian poultry operation (Amo Byng Group), are among a growing cadre of skilled food-industry entrepreneurs for whom the opportunities to serve the... View Details

June 2006 (Revised September 2006)
Case

Tech Data Corporation

Tech Data is a global supplier of logistics management services and one of the world's largest distributors of information technology equipment. Operational execution is key for the company, which has gross margins in the 5% range. At the end of 2005, the company had... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Information Infrastructure; Operations; Growth and Development Strategy

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2024
Working Paper

Old Moats for New Models: Openness, Control, and Competition in Generative AI

By: Pierre Azoulay, Joshua L. Krieger and Abhishek Nagaraj

Drawing insights from the field of innovation economics, we discuss the likely competitive environment shaping generative AI advances. Central to our analysis are the concepts of appropriability—whether firms in the industry are able to control the knowledge generated... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; AI and Machine Learning; Open Source Distribution; Policy

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2010
Working Paper

Sustainable Cities: Oxymoron or the Shape of the Future?

By: Annissa Alusi, Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson and Tiona Zuzul

Two trends are likely to define the 21st century: threats to the sustainability of the natural environment and dramatic increases in urbanization. This paper reviews the goals, business models, and partnerships involved in eight early "ecocity" projects to begin to... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Investment; City; Infrastructure; Business and Government Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Urban Development; Information Technology; Green Technology Industry; Real Estate Industry

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30 Sep 2014
First Look

First Look: September 30

Publications September 2014 Social Entrepreneurship and Research Methods Building an Infrastructure for Empirical Research on Social Enterprise: Challenges and Opportunities By: Lee, Matthew, Julie Battilana, and Ting Wang... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Research Summary

Dissertation - Social Structure and Mechanisms of Collective Production:Evidence from Wikipedia

Andreea's dissertation research examines social networks in the setting of collective production, defined as collective action oriented towards production of collective goods - goods available for consumption by all members of a group whenever they... View Details

October 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Bizongo and e-B2B in India

By: Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui and Radhika Kak

Bizongo, an Indian e-B2B platform was co-founded by three college graduates in 2015 with the goal of creating the "Alibaba of India" when the B2B e-commerce landscape was practically non-existent. The founders saw a significant opportunity in connecting mid-sized... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; E-commerce; Business Strategy; India

January 2000 (Revised April 2000)
Case

StarMedia: Launching a Latin American Revolution

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Jon K Rust

By the fall of 1999, StarMedia had sprinted to a sizable lead in the race to acquire Latin American Internet users. Its pan-regional, horizontal portal was the first to target Spanish- and Portuguese-language speakers on the Internet, registering 1.2 billion page views... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; History; Risk Management; Business Cycles; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Infrastructure; Media; Emerging Markets; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Web; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry