Publications

December 2004 (Revised October 2017)
Background Note

Subscriber Models

By: Mihir Desai, Robin Greenwood, Scott Mayfield and Lucy White

Introduces the subscriber model as an alternative valuation framework for firms whose revenues can be traced to repeated transactions with customers. View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Corporate Finance

13 Jun 2014
Op-Ed

World Cup Soccer: 770 Billion Minutes of Attention

overload. Using a standard cost of $25 per thousand viewers, which is generally charged by broadcast companies for a 30 second ad on primetime television in the United States (a value cheaper than Japan and more expensive than Brazil) FIFA has the potential to generate... View Details

Keywords: by Thales Teixeira; Sports

April 2023 (Revised September 2023)
Case

Apple's iPhone Revolution: Pioneering the Circular Economy

By: George Serafeim

When asked to identify an example of a circular economy business model that has generated billions in revenues for a company, ChatGPT, the famous chatbot that in 2022 rocked the world with its ability to perform a variety of tasks, immediately identified and... View Details

Keywords: Iphone; Smartphone; Waste Management; Recycling; Innovation; Product Upgrade; Product Life Cycle; Sustainability; Climate Impact; Digital; Business Model Innovation; Climate Change; Information Technology; Business Model; Electronics Industry; Information Technology Industry

August 2008 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Lan Airlines in 2008: Connecting the World to Latin America

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Jorge Tarzijan and Mitchel Jordan

Lan Airlines operates three distinct models: low-cost for domestic short-haul flights, full-service for international routes; and an international cargo business, the latter of which makes up 33% of Lan's overall revenues (markedly different from many U.S. legacy... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Air Transportation Industry; Latin America

October 2008
Case

TripIt: The Traveler's Agent

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Gabriele Piccoli and Kathryn Brohman

In July 2008, the co-founders of TripIt, a free online travel organizer that aggregated travelers' bookings from many top travel websites, had recently secured $5.1 million in new financing. While the co-founders believed that their company offered travelers a unique... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Investment; Profit; Revenue; Growth and Development Strategy; Competition; Internet; Travel Industry

11 Aug 2008
Research & Ideas

Strategy Execution and the Balanced Scorecard

budget be driven from the revenue targets in the strategic plan. In The Execution Premium, we describe how a time-driven activity-based cost model provides the previously missing link between the revenue... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

July 2006 (Revised February 2007)
Case

LinkedIn (A)

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski

In the summer of 2005, LinkedIn, a two-year-old start-up, was choosing between two options to monetize its 5 million business people network. Members could contact each other through trusted intermediaries on the network to offer or seek jobs, consulting engagements,... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Business Growth and Maturation; Internet and the Web; Social and Collaborative Networks; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Industry

26 Jul 2022
Cold Call Podcast

Can Bombas Reach New Customers while Maintaining Its Social Mission?

Keywords: Consumer Products; Fashion

September 2020 (Revised January 2021)
Case

Comviva: Exploring New Frontiers (A)

By: Dante Roscini and Mahima Rao-Kachroo

Comviva, a mobile solutions provider active in India and 94 other countries, has had a rich history and been successful across many emerging and complex markets: Latin America, South-East Asia, Africa. What are the lessons learnt from expansion, cultural fits, and... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Acquisition; Emerging Markets; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Telecommunications Industry; India; South Asia

23 Jun 2015
News

Navigating the potentially murky world of online reviews

April 2010
Article

Endowments, Fiscal Federalism, and the Cost of Capital for States: Evidence from Brazil, 1891-1930

By: Andre C. Martinez Fritscher and Aldo Musacchio

There is a large literature looking at the determinants of country risk (defined as the difference between the yield of a sovereign's bonds and the risk-free rate). In this paper, we contribute to the discussion by arguing that an important explanatory factor is the... View Details

Keywords: Bonds; Performance Capacity; Taxation; Revenue; Governance; Geographic Location; Trade; Price; Cost of Capital; Risk and Uncertainty; Public Administration Industry; Brazil

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October 2000 (Revised March 2004)
Background Note

Variance Analysis and Flexible Budgeting

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Facilitates the teaching of cases on variance analysis and flexible budgeting. Uses algebra, diagrams, and numerical examples to illustrate the calculation of price, quantity, and mix variances for revenues and costs, and a flexible budget for analyzing indirect and... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Price; Mathematical Methods; Revenue; Budgets and Budgeting

November 2011 (Revised December 2013)
Case

Accretive Health

By: William A. Sahlman and Evan Richardson

Mary Tolan, CEO Accretive Health, examines whether to expand the company's operations in hospital revenue cycle management into the field of Total Cost of Care management. View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Expansion; Service Operations; Health Industry

February 2005 (Revised June 2007)
Case

Unilever in India: Hindustan Lever's Project Shakti--Marketing FMCG to the Rural Consumer

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Rohithari Rajan

With liberalization of India's economy and the opening up of markets to foreign multinationals such as Procter & Gamble, the Indian subsidiary of Unilever--Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL)--was under pressure to grow revenues and profits. HLL had a long and stellar record of... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Market Entry and Exit; Business Subsidiaries; Revenue; Profit; Market Participation; Programs; Rural Scope; Poverty; Multinational Firms and Management; Consumer Products Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; India

January 2015 (Revised May 2018)
Case

$19B 4 txt app WhatsApp...omg!

By: David Collis, Ashley Hartman and Aakash Mehta

In February 2014, Facebook announced the acquisition of WhatsApp for $19 billion. WhatsApp, founded in 2009, was a relatively young company that employed only 50 people and earned merely $10 million in revenue in 2013. It was one of many mobile messaging services that... View Details

08 Dec 2016
HBS Seminar

Joel Waldfogel, University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management

August 2020 (Revised October 2024)
Case

Digital Marketing at HBS Online

By: Sunil Gupta and Rajiv Lal

In July 2020, the management team of Harvard Business School Online (HBS Online) had to decide how to allocate its marketing budget for fiscal year 2021 between various digital channels and its portfolio of courses. Since its launch in 2014, HBS Online had grown to... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Marketing Channels; Brands and Branding; Business Education; Education Industry; United States; Boston