Publications

August 2008 (Revised July 2011)
Case

Consumer Payment Systems — United States

By: Benjamin Edelman and Andrei Hagiu

In 2008, the U.S. consumer payments landscape was characterized by the ongoing prevalence of credit and debit card networks, the decline of checks, the rise of stored value cards, and the growth of new payment methods such as PayPal, Bill Me Later, and decoupled debit.... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Financial Management; Personal Finance; Digital Platforms; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; United States

09 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

The Manager’s Guide to Communicating with Customers Collection

Underhill. "If I go to a Web site that's hard to read because it's got funky type face, and I can't get service when I call, well, that's a problem." And many stores post signs with print far too small for many of their... View Details

Keywords: by Richard Bierck; Retail

22 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

The Mind of the Market: Extending the Frontiers of Marketing Thought

the Market's advisory council, for example, looks into the aforementioned concept of loyalty. Implications for marketing, according to the results, include the following: "Embody in brand communications the personality traits people seek... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

01 May 2008
Research & Ideas

The Marketing Challenges of the China Olympics

Take Lenovo, for example. The fourth largest personal computer manufacturer in the world is the first and only Chinese company to be a global sponsor of an Olympics. Lenovo's investment in the Games is around $100 million. The company... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Sports

March 2011 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Demand Media

By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

Google search had helped Demand Media grow to be a $1.9 billion online publisher. Then, social media and smartphone apps began to change the way people navigated the Internet. How should Demand Media respond? The business ran on a radically new model in which a stable... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Information Publishing; Consumer Behavior; Customization and Personalization; Internet and the Web; Publishing Industry

December 2001
Case

Sarah Vickers-Willis: Career Decisions (B)

By: Myra M. Hart, Lynda M. Applegate, Sarah Harden and Susan Saltrick

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Leadership; Internet and the Web; Social Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Gender; Business Startups

05 Dec 2007
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Managing Marketing

Networked Customers? How Do You Value a 'Free' Customer? Sometimes a valuable customer may be the person who never buys a thing. Professor Sunil Gupta discusses how to assess the profitability of a customer in a networked setting—a... View Details

January 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Case

ZappRx

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull

In October 2015, ZappRx founder Zoe Barry is deciding between two business models for her health technology start-up. Her product, a software application that aims to expedite the prescription fulfillment process for patients with rare diseases, has attracted interest... View Details

Keywords: Speciality Drugs; Hub Services; Pivot; Speciality Prescriptions; Health Care and Treatment; Customization and Personalization; Internet and the Web; Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Pharmaceutical Industry; Massachusetts

06 Mar 2006
Research & Ideas

Winners and Losers at the Olympics

than silver; silver is better than bronze, and not medaling usually puts you out of the endorsement money. The third element focuses on the personality of the athletes and the "story line" that they bring to the table. Joey... View Details

Keywords: Re: Stephen A. Greyser; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation; Sports

25 Sep 2006
Research & Ideas

How Software Platforms Revolutionize Business

chicken-and-egg aspect (characteristic of multi-sided businesses) out of the equation, which again might have been the right thing to do to get started. My personal view is that in the face of an explosion in the number of digital music... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Web Services; Web Services

17 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Let Customers Call the Shots

want as a resource to negotiate better deals and to clean up their personal marketing environment. Empowerment is sometimes captured in the slogan "get what you want, when you want it, where you want it, on your own terms."... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

23 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Strategy for Small Fish

ventures during the venture capital boom of the late 1990s was selecting areas that had no staying power, such as Web calendars or Web-dispatched limousine services. Over time, it was inevitable that these new niches would merge with... View Details

Keywords: by Marco Iansiti & Roy Levien

12 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

One Report: Better Strategy through Integrated Reporting

companies a clear view of risks to and opportunities in their own strategy. Second, One Report speaks with one voice to all stakeholders, who can even engage with the company via Web 2.0 tools and technologies. One Report is thus an... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

August 2021
Case

Orchadio's First Two Split Experiments

By: Iavor I. Bojinov, Marco Iansiti and David Lane

Orchadio, a direct-to-consumer grocery business, needs to conduct its first two A/B tests—one to evaluate the effectiveness and functioning of its newly redesigned website, and one to market-test four versions of a new banner for the website. To do so, it will rely on... View Details

Keywords: Information Management; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Resource Allocation; Marketing; Measurement and Metrics; Customization and Personalization; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Information Technology Industry; Food and Beverage Industry