Publications

July 2024
Case

Jacqueline Cook at Vendasta: Debating an IPO

By: Reza Satchu, Tom Quinn and Andrew Kosc

In May 2021, after a surge in demand for digital services that prompted high valuations for startups across the Canadian tech sector, Saskatchewan-based Vendasta entered the final stages of the initial public offering (IPO) process. COO Jacqueline Cook had invested her... View Details

Brian Trelstad is a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School in the General Management Unit and the Faculty Chair of the Advanced Leadership Initiative. He teaches elective courses on Social Entrepreneurship and Systems... View Details

Keywords: service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry; service industry

October 2011 (Revised July 2012)
Case

ATR KimEng Financial Corporation

By: Li Jin, Michael Shih-ta Chen and Dawn Lau

ATR KimEng is a Philippino asset management business. It is making an important decision on its own strategy going forward: should it stay independent, or be taken over by a large bank in the region. Through this case, we discuss the financial service industry in South... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Capital Markets; Investment; Financial Services Industry; Philippines

February 2023
Case

Seemore Meats & Veggies

By: Lou Shipley, Patricia Favreau and Mel Martin

Cara Nicoletti was an emerging food entrepreneur that had recently launched her first product, a sustainably sourced, vegetable-infused meat sausage. Brooklyn, New York City-based Seemore Meats & Veggies had seen promising signs of success in local markets and pockets... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Food; Logistics; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

March 2007 (Revised March 2012)
Case

Edward Jones in 2006: Confronting Success

By: David J. Collis and Troy Smith

When Jim Weddle took over as Managing Partner of Edward Jones in January 2006, the brokerage firm was at a critical juncture. The firm's distinctive strategy had enabled it to grow from its roots in small-town America to become the 4th largest broker in the U.S. Weddle... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Performance; Competitive Advantage; Financial Services Industry; United States

Research Summary

Overview

By: Isamar Troncoso

Professor Troncoso's research explores problems related to digital marketplaces and AI applications in marketing, and combines toolkits from econometrics, causal inference, and machine learning. She has studied how different platform design choices can lead to... View Details

November 2010 (Revised February 2011)
Case

Hollywood in India: Protecting Intellectual Property (A)

By: Lakshmi Iyer and Namrata Arora

In January 2010, Fox Star Studios is preparing to release the Bollywood film My Name is Khan in Indian and international markets. What strategies should the company adopt to protect their intellectual property? How much should the company invest in anti-piracy... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Copyright; Lawsuits and Litigation; Emerging Markets; Business Strategy; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; India

October 2002 (Revised December 2003)
Case

Collabrys, Inc. (A)-The Evolution of a Startup

By: Dorothy A. Leonard and Brian DeLacey

The CEO of a two-year-old start-up must now decide whether to become a technology provider or a service agency. In a time of enormous uncertainty about the viability of various business models for Internet-delivered services and products, Collabrys has survived the... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Internet and the Web; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Corporate Strategy; Technological Innovation; Cost vs Benefits; Partners and Partnerships; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Corporate Finance; United States

June 2022
Article

The Welfare Effects of Peer Entry in the Accommodation Market: The Case of Airbnb and the Accommodation Industry

By: Chiara Farronato and Andrey Fradkin

We study the effects of enabling peer supply through Airbnb in the accommodation industry. We present a model of competition between flexible and dedicated sellers—peer hosts and hotels—who provide differentiated products. We estimate this model using data from major... View Details

Keywords: Peer To Peer; Airbnb; Digital Platforms; Market Entry and Exit; Competition; Accommodations Industry

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22 Feb 2022
News

New Urban Order

manufacturers ready to build the electric trucks to incorporate that tech, as well as a scalable market strategy. That strategy depends on TuSimple’s Autonomous Freight Network, the world’s first, which Lu likens to a railroad network of... View Details

Other Article

Online Discounting: Who is Leading the Race to the Bottom?

By: Ayelet Israeli, Eric Anderson and Anne Coughlan

A short review of the finidings in: Israeli, Ayelet, Eric Anderson, and Anne Coughlan. "Minimum Advertised Pricing: Patterns of Violation in Competitive Retail Markets." Marketing Science 35, no. 4 (July–August 2016): 539–564. View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Price Policies; Pricing Policies; Discounting; Retailing; Retailing Industry; Minimum Advertised Price; Ecommerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Price; Distribution Channels; Distribution; Digital Marketing; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Technology Industry; Advertising Industry; United States

October 2020 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Twiga Foods: Revolutionizing African Retail (A)

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Pippa Tubman Amerding and Wale Lawal

Twiga is a leading agricultural produce supplier in Kenya offering services to mostly informal retailers. Under Peter Njonjo, a co-founder and Twiga’s new CEO, the company is considering multiple options for expanding its business, including offering packaged foods and... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure; Retail Industry; Nairobi

Career Coach

Anne Marie Checcone

strategy at companies like Meta, Amazon Web Services and Boston Consulting Group, Anne Marie brings a sharp, pragmatic approach to executive coaching, leadership development,... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Consulting

October 2011
Supplement

Ganesh Natarajan, CEO of Zensar: In-Class Comments, 4/7/11

By: David A. Garvin

Zensar is a rapidly growing, mid-sized Indian IT services company with a collaborative management philosophy and innovative HR policies. One of its practices, Vision Communities, is an inclusive forum for innovation and strategy formulation. As the company grows,... View Details

Keywords: Management; Service Operations; Family and Family Relationships; Behavior; Information Technology; Information Technology Industry; India

Article

What to Do When Industry Disruption Threatens Your Career

By: Boris Groysberg, Eric Lin and Whitney Johnson

This article discusses how to diagnose the risks that disruptive industry forces pose to individual careers and offers suggestions on how to mitigate such threats. Recommendations are based on analyses of individuals’ career histories in the professional services... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Personal Development and Career; Strategy

April 2015 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Comcast Corporation (A)

By: Sunil Gupta, Henry McGee, Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Margaret L. Rodriguez

In March 2015, the U.S. television industry received a major wake-up call. HBO, a premium cable channel with over 30 million subscribers, had announced it would begin offering a standalone streaming service. This new service would allow customers to bypass the cable... View Details

Keywords: Cable Television; HBO; Industry Evolution; Television Entertainment; Disruption; Business Model; Competitive Strategy; Media and Broadcasting Industry

June 2010 (Revised November 2011)
Case

Zensar: The Future of Vision Communities (A)

By: David A. Garvin and Rachna Tahilyani

Zensar is a rapidly growing, mid-sized Indian IT services company with a collaborative management philosophy and innovative HR policies. One of its practices, Vision Communities, is an inclusive forum for innovation and strategy formulation. As the company grows,... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Leadership Style; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture; Cooperation; Information Technology Industry; India