Publications

October 2018 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Innovation at Uber: The Launch of Express POOL

By: Chiara Farronato, Alan MacCormack and Sarah Mehta

Set in March 2018, the case follows ride-sharing company Uber as it develops and launches a new product called Express POOL. This product offers a reduced price to riders willing to carpool, walk a short distance to/from their pick-up and drop-off points, and wait a... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Digital Platforms; Decision Making; Technology Industry; California; San Francisco

25 May 2011
HBS Case

QuikTrip’s Investment in Retail Employees Pays Off

Ton says the key is making the right operating decisions. "You can invest in your people and offer low prices," she says. "And guess what? You'll have a service advantage too." For... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

Jacob M. Cook

Jacob Cook is a Lecturer in the Marketing Unit at Harvard Business School, where he teaches the EC course Digital Marketing & AI Workshop. His work focuses on how companies design and scale customer acquisition and retention strategies using digital marketing,... View Details

April 2019 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Raksul

By: Scott Duke Kominers, Masahiro Kotosaka, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

Raksul, 2018 Forbes Japan "Startup of the Year," ran an e-commerce platform drawing upon thousands of individual suppliers. Launched as a business-to-business printing services marketplace, Raksul had recently expanded to operate both a logistics/delivery marketplace... View Details

Keywords: Marketplace Design; B2B; Platform Strategy; Printing; Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; Logistics; Advertising; Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Structures; E-commerce; Web Services Industry; Japan

May 2007 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Netflix

By: Willy C. Shih, Stephen P. Kaufman and David Spinola

Reed Hastings founded Netflix with a vision to provide a home movie service that would do a better job satisfying customers than the traditional retail rental model. But as it encouraged challenges it underwent several major strategy shifts, ultimately developing a... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Film Entertainment; Disruptive Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Distribution Channels; Service Delivery; Renting or Rental; Competitive Strategy; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

07 Jun 2016
First Look

June 7, 2016

Medicaid Services (CMS) indicated that CMS embraces value as a priority. Nonetheless, serious questions remain as to whether the ACA has improved... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

The Price Effects of Cross-Market Mergers: Theory and Evidence from the Hospital Industry

We consider the effect of mergers between firms whose products are not viewed as direct substitutes for the same good or service but are bundled by a common intermediary. Focusing on hospital mergers across distinct geographic markets, we show that such... View Details

October 2015
Case

BandPage (A)

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Colin Maclay and Greta Friar

BandPage CEO James "J" Sider is about to receive results from BandPage's targeted advertising campaign on music streaming service Rhapsody and learn whether BandPage's strategy to improve ad click through rates and generate revenue has succeeded. BandPage, which began... View Details

Keywords: Digital Innovation; Digital Music; Digital Marketing; Mobile Marketing; Technological Innovation; Marketing Communications; Music Entertainment; Mobile Technology; Music Industry

October 2019 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Gupta Media: Performance Marketing in the Digital Age

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Courtney Han

Gupta Media is a Digital Marketing firm started in 2005 that places advertisements and marketing promotions for its clients in digital media, mainly social media such as Facebook and Google. Over the years it had built its expertise in promoting music labels, artists... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Digital Marketing; Performance; Measurement and Metrics; Social Media; Advertising Industry

Jeffrey F Rayport is a faculty member in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School, where he teaches in the School’s MBA and Executive Education Programs and on HBS Online. His primary focus in teaching and research is growth-stage technology... View Details

Thomas J. DeLong

Thomas J. DeLong is a Baker Foundation Professor of Management Practice and the former Philip J. Stomberg Professor of Management Practice in the Organizational Behavior Department at the Harvard Business School. He is an expert in leader development, organizational... View Details

Article

Fast Generalized Subset Scan for Anomalous Pattern Detection

By: Edward McFowland III, Skyler Speakman and Daniel B. Neill

We propose Fast Generalized Subset Scan (FGSS), a new method for detecting anomalous patterns in general categorical data sets. We frame the pattern detection problem as a search over subsets of data records and attributes, maximizing a nonparametric scan statistic... View Details

Keywords: Pattern Detection; Anomaly Detection; Knowledge Discovery; Bayesian Networks; Scan Statistics; Analytics and Data Science

Read Now

March 1998 (Revised December 1999)
Case

Bronner Slosberg Humphrey

By: David E. Bell and Donald M Leavitt

Bronner Slosberg Humphrey has succeeded by providing integrated direct marketing solutions for major service companies such as AT&T, American Express, and FedEx. A new CEO takes over from the company's founder and is wondering how to grow the company. Options include... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Growth and Development Strategy; Leading Change; Global Strategy; Service Operations; Competitive Strategy; Information Technology; Salesforce Management; Marketing Communications; Service Industry

Leslie A. Perlow is the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership in the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School. She leads the Crafting Your Life Special Project, dedicated to helping individuals make purposeful life choices while gathering... View Details

November 1992 (Revised May 1993)
Case

American Mobile Satellite Corporation

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Laura Goode

American Mobile Satellite Corp. (AMSC) has a license to provide wireless mobile communications via satellite throughout the United States and 200 miles of coastal waters. The first satellite launch is scheduled for 1994 and, in the interim, AMSC is providing limited... View Details

Keywords: Wireless Technology; Decisions; Distribution Channels; Marketing Strategy; Product Development; Sales; Emerging Markets; Resource Allocation; Performance Capacity; Communications Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

January 2005 (Revised June 2005)
Case

The Harvard Graduate Student Housing Survey

Harvard Real Estate Services executives need to design the 2005 Graduate Student Housing Survey for maximum impact in anticipation of Harvard's long-term expansion project in Allston. Students are challenged to help executives in charge to (1) draw the lessons from... View Details

Keywords: Design; Surveys; Housing; Higher Education; Boston

March 1999 (Revised January 2005)
Case

Newell Company: Corporate Strategy

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery and Elizabeth Gordon

In 1998, Newell Co., a manufacturer of low-tech, high-volume consumer goods, acquired Calphalon Corp., a high-end cookware company, and Rubbermaid, a $2 billion manufacturer of consumer and commercial plastic products. The case focuses on Newell's strategy and its... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Consumer Products Industry

November 1990
Case

Chemplan Corp.: Paint-Rite Division

By: Paul A. Vatter

An exercise with data that allows a discussion of regression analysis as a tool for forecasting and understanding structure. View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Framework; Analytics and Data Science; Mathematical Methods