Publications

Working Paper

Visual Uniqueness in Peer-to-Peer Marketplaces: Machine Learning Model Development, Validation, and Application

By: Flora Feng, Charis Li and Shunyuan Zhang

Peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplaces have seen exponential growth in recent years featured by unique offerings from individual providers. Despite the perceived value of uniqueness, scalable quantification of visual uniqueness in P2P platforms like Airbnb has been largely... View Details

Keywords: Peer-to-peer Markets; Marketplace Matching; AI and Machine Learning; Demand and Consumers; Digital Platforms; Marketing

Read Now

09 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

Fearing Fox News, Democratic-leaning Companies Delayed Negative Announcements

world through television and print publications, as they had for decades. There was, however, one big media game changer: the Fox News Channel (FNC). Founded in 1996 by Australian media magnate Rupert Murdoch, FNC was an unusual newcomer... View Details

Keywords: by Jen Deaderick; Media & Broadcasting

January 2021 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Amazon Shopper Panel: Paying Customers for Their Data

By: Eva Ascarza and Ayelet Israeli

This case introduces a new Amazon program that has consumers upload their receipts from transactions outside of Amazon, in exchange for money. Through the discussion, the case aims to explore issues in customers’ privacy in the digital age, the value of customers’ own... View Details

06 Aug 2021
Blog Post

Socioeconomic Inclusion at HBS: Alexis Jackson (MBA 2021)

application fee waiver. Jackson is heading to New York City for a consulting position with Bain, and is excited for the exposure to a wide variety of industries and experiences. For her, it’s another embrace... View Details

March 2011
Background Note

Pitching Business Opportunities

By: Lynda M. Applegate, William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

This note can be used to develop a business plan pitch for a new venture. View Details

Keywords: Business Plan; Business Startups; Spoken Communication; Competency and Skills; Entrepreneurship

10 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

In Empowering Black Voters, Did a Landmark Law Stir White Angst?

Southern Regional Council. “One of the reasons why no such data had been used before is because nobody was aware that they existed in such a systematic way,” Tabellini says. “And nobody went physically to manually collect and digitize... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

27 Jun 2016
Research & Ideas

These Management Practices, Like Certain Technologies, Boost Company Performance

captivated Harvard Business School’s Raffaella Sadun for more than a decade. “The question is, Are there certain practices that are beneficial to firm performance regardless of the industry or the country in which you use them?” says... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

October 2000 (Revised April 2005)
Case

Z Corporation

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Matthew C. Lieb and Tom Clay

Tom Clay, president of Z Corp., and founder/CEO Marina Hatsopolous must decide between using a direct sales force or using a value-added reseller to begin selling the company's new 3-D printing prototype manufacturing system. View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Salesforce Management; Distribution Channels; Conflict and Resolution; Technology Industry

14 Mar 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Can AI and Machine Learning Help Park Rangers Prevent Poaching?

Keywords: Re: Brian L. Trelstad; Computer; Information Technology; Technology

January 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Army Crew Team, The

By: Scott A. Snook and Jeffrey T. Polzer

The coach of the varsity Army crew team at West Point assembled his top eight rowers into the first crew team and the second tier of rowers into the second team using objective data on individual performance. As the second boat continually beat the first boat in races,... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Performance; New York (state, US)

05 May 2014
Research & Ideas

Reflecting on Work Improves Job Performance

Many of us are familiar with the gentle punishment known as "time-out," in which misbehaving children must sit quietly for a few minutes, calm down, and reflect on their actions. New research suggests that... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

June 2006 (Revised June 2007)
Background Note

The Challenge Facing the U.S. Healthcare Delivery System

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Discusses the challenges currently facing the U.S. health care delivery system. These challenges frame the problems managers of delivery organizations are currently facing. They include a burgeoning gap between demand and supply. Demand for health care services is... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; United States

17 Feb 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

How Entrepreneurs Can Find the Right Problem to Solve

discovery to validate a problem but don’t yet have a product, my follow-up question is: “How do you know people or companies will use your product?” Answers are equally discouraging. More often than not, I hear examples of interest tests,... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

Reza R. Satchu

Reza Satchu is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurship Management Unit at the Harvard Business School where he teaches The Entrepreneurial Manager, The Founder Mindset and Founder Launch. He is also the Founder, Managing Partner and majority shareholder of... View Details

October 1996 (Revised December 2022)
Case

Chiquita Brands International (A)

By: Debora L. Spar and Terence Mulligan

When a new banana import policy is implemented in 1993 by the European Union, Chiquita Brands International, the world's largest banana distributor, watches its sales and net income plummet. The policy, Council Regulation (EEC 404/93), uses a new tariff and quota... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Trade; Government and Politics; Policy; Market Design; Fairness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Latin America; European Union

Article

Why Every Organization Needs an Augmented Reality Strategy

By: Michael E. Porter and James E. Heppelmann

While the physical world is three-dimensional, most data is trapped on two-dimensional pages and screens. This gulf between the real and digital worlds prevents us from fully exploiting the volumes of information now available to us. Augmented reality (AR), a set of... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Effectiveness

Find at Harvard

Register to Read

11 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

Is Amazon a Retailer, a Tech Firm, or a Media Company? How AI Can Help Investors Decide

health care, utilities, energy, real estate, and technology by as much as 2.5 percentage points on an annualized basis. The TOPICS method uses sophisticated financial models to spot hidden similarities in risk and return profiles among... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Consumer Products; Real Estate; Financial Services; Retail

December 2001 (Revised February 2008)
Case

Borealis

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Bjorn N. Jorgensen

When Borealis, a European producer of plastics, used a traditional, time-consuming budgeting process, the budget was quickly out of date in a competitive environment characterized by continually changing input and output prices and dynamic market conditions. This case... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Budgets and Budgeting; Forecasting and Prediction; Investment; Governance Controls; Balanced Scorecard; Management Systems; Manufacturing Industry; Europe