Publications

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February 2021
Article

Trust and Disintermediation: Evidence from an Online Freelance Marketplace

By: Grace Gu and Feng Zhu

As an intermediary improves trust between the two sides of its market to facilitate matching and transactions, it faces an increased risk of disintermediation: with sufficient trust, the two sides may circumvent the intermediary to avoid the intermediary’s fees. In... View Details

Keywords: Disintermediation; Intermediaries; Online Marketplace; Platform Strategy; Trust; Marketplace Matching; Digital Platforms

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25 Sep 2006
Research & Ideas

How Software Platforms Revolutionize Business

independent developers to build new features. The cell phone has become a lucrative platform for more than handset makers—also in on the party are makers of digital cameras, music services, and organizer software. Not only are existing... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Video Game; Web Services

26 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

How Electronic Patient Records Can Slow Doctor Productivity

Digital record-keeping is slowly but inevitably replacing paper records everywhere from the pilot's cockpit to the registry of motor vehicles. But if implemented without proper consideration of how work gets done, the results can make... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Health

28 Oct 2019
Research & Ideas

Brick-and-Mortar Stores Are Making a Comeback

the more traditional, siloed approach. Avery: I would give the example of Glossier, which is a digitally native, direct-to-consumer cosmetics company. They have one permanent showroom in New York, but everything else that they’ve done,... View Details

Keywords: by Jen McFarland Flint; Retail

01 Mar 2018
What Do You Think?

Two Decades Later, is the 'New Economy' Finally Here?

The first of these, Machine/Platform/Crowd, explores the current and future impact of digital technology on people (the mind in relation to machine), product (in relation to digital platforms), and core... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

21 Mar 2016
Lessons from the Classroom

When Your Classmate is an NBA Superstar (or Fashion Model, or Movie Actress)

Boston. Elberse is remaining mum on celebrities planning to attend the next session in order to protect their privacy. Participants sign up to learn strategies for launching creative products, managing talent, coping with advances in View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Entertainment & Recreation; Sports; Media & Broadcasting; Education

01 Nov 2016
First Look

First Look - November 1, 2016

2016 Random House The Content Trap: A Strategist's Guide to Digital Change By: Anand, Bharat Abstract—Companies everywhere face two major challenges today: getting noticed and getting paid. To confront these obstacles, I examine a range... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2014 (Revised March 2015)
Case

Managing Multi-Media Audiences at WHDH (Boston)

By: Thales Teixeira and V. Kasturi Rangan

WHDH's Channel 7 News rose to the #1 position in Boston-area news broadcasting through its embrace of an innovative format and for affiliating with NBC. Since the early 2000s, however, other news programs had copied their format, and young audiences had begun to use... View Details

Keywords: Online News; Television Advertising; Attention Economics; Cross-media Efforts; Competition; Internet and the Web; Consumer Behavior; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Marketing Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Digital Marketing; Television Entertainment; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Boston

2022
Working Paper

Algorithmic Assortment Curation: An Empirical Study of Buybox in Online Marketplaces

By: Santiago Gallino, Nil Karacaoglu and Antonio Moreno

Most online sales worldwide take place in marketplaces that connect sellers and buyers. The presence of numerous third-party sellers leads to a proliferation of listings for each product, making it difficult for customers to choose between the available options. Online... View Details

Keywords: Algorithms; E-commerce; Sales; Digital Marketing; Internet and the Web; Customer Satisfaction

SSRN

March 2020 (Revised June 2023)
Case

Scaling Nextdoor

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Thomas O. Jones and Jeff Huizinga

Nextdoor, striving to solidify its position as the leading global social media platform for neighborhoods, works to scale audience, geography, and revenue. View Details

Keywords: Platforms; Information Technology; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Social Media; Digital Platforms

January 2018
Case

Viacom: Democratization of Data Science

By: Shane Greenstein and Christine Snively

In two short years, Viacom’s Data Science & Advanced Analytics team built a web platform called Science Central that allowed employees from Viacom’s 20+ cable networks to access television audience insights through three data science apps. In the past, employees would... View Details

Keywords: Data Science; Big Data; Digital Platforms; Analytics and Data Science; Expansion; Strategic Planning

September 2014 (Revised June 2016)
Case

edX: Strategies for Higher Education

By: David Collis, Matthew Shaffer and Ashley Hartman

In May 2012, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) founded edX, a new non-profit joint venture that would provide a platform for massive open online courses (MOOCs). edX did not produce original courses or instructional content—it made... View Details

Keywords: MOOCS; edX; Online Platforms; Online Education; Harvard University; MIT; Execution; Monetization; Brand Management; Higher Education; Information Technology; Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Digital Platforms; Education Industry

January 2014
Teaching Note

Dumb Ways To Die: Advertising Train Safety (A), (B) & (C)

By: John Quelch

Keywords: Advertising Media; Viral Advertising; Viral Marketing; Public Safety; Advertising; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Internet and the Web; Digital Marketing; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Public Administration Industry; Oceania; Europe

September 2008 (Revised August 2009)
Case

VMware, Inc., 2008

By: David B. Yoffie, Andrei Hagiu and Michael Slind

Paul Maritz took the helm of VMware in July 2008, just as the company confronted a radically new competitive environment. Since its founding in 1998, VMware had been the leading provider of virtualization software. Now it faced the kind of threat that every software... View Details

Keywords: History; Digital Platforms; Competition; Decision Choices and Conditions; Applications and Software; Business Strategy

01 Mar 2004
What Do You Think?

Are Customer Loyalty Initiatives Worth the Investment?

Summing Up This month's column presented two views of the importance of customer loyalty management, one challenging its feasibility and long-term impact (Michael Treacy, Double Digit Growth) and one concluding that it is one of the most... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

June 2016 (Revised August 2019)
Case

Numenta: Inventing and (or) Commercializing AI

By: David B. Yoffie, Liz Kind and David Ben Shimol

In March 2016, Donna Dubinsky (co-founder and CEO) and Jeff Hawkins (co-founder) were struggling with a key question: Could Numenta be successful in both creating fundamental technology and building a commercial business? Located in Redwood City, CA, Numenta was... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Machine Intelligence; Machine Learning; Strategy; Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Information; Technological Innovation; Research; Research and Development; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Technology Adoption; Digital Platforms; Commercialization; AI and Machine Learning

September 1995
Case

Ares-Serono

By: Michael Y. Yoshino, Jean-Pierre Jeannet and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Ares Serono, a medium-size Swiss pharmaceutical company, is the global leader in the field of fertility drugs. The company has successfully transformed into one of the very few biotech firms in Europe. The case treats a set of major strategic and organizational... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Globalized Firms and Management; Asset Management; Balance and Stability; Expansion; Digital Platforms; Leadership Development; Health Care and Treatment; Transformation; Family Business; Problems and Challenges; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Switzerland; Europe

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2007
Working Paper

Dynamics of Platform Competition: Exploring the Role of Installed Base, Platform Quality and Consumer Expectations

By: Feng Zhu and Marco Iansiti

This paper seeks to answer three questions. First, which drives the success of a platform, installed base, platform quality or consumer expectations? Second, when does a monopoly emerge in a platform-based market? Finally, when is a platform-based market socially... View Details

Keywords: Price; Network Effects; Digital Platforms; Monopoly; Quality; Competitive Advantage; Digital Platforms

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June 21, 2019
Article

When Tech Companies Compete on Their Own Platforms

By: Feng Zhu

One common complaint from third parties about platform businesses is that they see what succeeds on their platforms and then enter the most profitable areas themselves, often decimating third parties in the process. Studies have identified several motivations for... View Details

Keywords: Platform-based Markets; Platform-owner Entry; Digital Platforms; Market Entry and Exit; Competition