Publications

16 Jun 2015
News

With Heat future uncertain, Wade studying up on business

May 2016
Case

The Inexorable Rise of Walmart? 1988—2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In October 2015, Walmart surprised investors by announcing that it expected flat sales growth for 2015 and growth of only 3% to 4% over the coming three years. Profits would also fall due to significant investments in people and technology. The company’s stock price... View Details

Keywords: Asda; Costco; David Glass; Convenience Stores; Discount Retailing; Dollar Stores; Doug McMillon; E-commerce; Online Retail; General Merchandise; Grocery; Lee Scott; Mike Duke; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Neighborhood Market; Sam Walton; Sam's Club; Store Formats; Supercenter; Supermarket; Warehouse Clubs; Merchandising; Walmart; Wal-Mart; Globalized Firms and Management; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Units; Business Divisions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Banks and Banking; Price; Profit; Revenue; Food; Global Range; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Business History; Compensation and Benefits; Employees; Human Capital; Labor Unions; Wages; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Distribution; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Diversification; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Web; Web Sites; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Distribution Industry; Banking Industry; United States; Arkansas; Bentonville

20 Sep 2021
News

What Brands like Reebok Can Learn from Hollywood Reboots

February 2023 (Revised March 2023)
Case

Hey, Insta & YouTube, Are You Watching TikTok?

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee

In early 2023, the entertainment app TikTok reached close to 1 billion users globally, placing it 4th behind the leading social networks of Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Featuring a sophisticated recommendation engine, TikTok mastered the art of keeping users... View Details

Keywords: Social Media; Applications and Software; Business Model; Competition; Organizational Change and Adaptation

03 May 2016
News

Henry McGee

January 2009 (Revised July 2015)
Case

Restaurant Promotions in 2015

By: Benjamin Edelman

A variety of services offer consumers discounts when dining at participating restaurants. This case examines four such services: Entertainment Book, Restaurant.com, Rewards Network, and Groupon. Despite key functional similarities, each of the services chooses an... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Two-Sided Platforms; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Internet; Food and Beverage Industry; Service Industry

06 Jan 2015
News

Are Blockbusters Destroying the Movies?

February 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Case

P.T. Barnum: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

This case describes the life of P.T. Barnum, widely considered to the be the father of modern advertising and marketing. Barnum showed his genius for business early, selling lottery tickets and confections from his father’s store. He went on to found a famous museum of... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Entrepreneurship; Personal Characteristics; Marketing; Success; Values and Beliefs; Mission and Purpose; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States; Europe

May 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Telewest Communications plc

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Laure Mougeot Stroock

Created in 1992, Telewest has become the second largest broadband communication provider in the United Kingdom, offering telephone, cable television, and cable Internet services, as well as television and online content to the U.K. entertainment market. The first to... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Structures; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Telecommunications Industry; Europe; United Kingdom

Find at Harvard

29 Aug 2023
Cold Call Podcast

As Social Networks Get More Competitive, Which Ones Will Survive?

Keywords: Re: Felix Oberholzer-Gee; Entertainment & Recreation

September 2023
Article

Consuming Contests: The Effect of Outcome Uncertainty on Spectator Attendance in the Australian Football League

By: Patrick Ferguson and Karim R. Lakhani

Contests that non-contestants consume for entertainment are a fixture of economic, cultural and political life. We exploit injury-induced changes to teams' line-ups in a professional sports setting to examine whether individuals prefer to consume contests that have... View Details

Keywords: Sports; Entertainment; Consumer Behavior

Read Now

September 2020 (Revised May 2021)
Case

The Indian Premier League, 2020

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

Since its founding in 2008, the Indian Premier League (IPL), India’s eight-week Twenty20 (T20) cricket competition, had become one of the most popular and lucrative sporting leagues in the world. In 2019, the IPL attracted 462 million TV viewers and 300 million digital... View Details

Keywords: Sports; Organizational Structure; Marketing; Health Pandemics; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth and Development Strategy; Sports Industry; India

18 Oct 2013
News

The Rise of the Blockbuster

Das Narayandas

Das Narayandas is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. His academic credentials include a Bachelor of Technology degree in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB), a Post-Graduate... View Details

Keywords: entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment

September 2023 (Revised October 2023)
Case

Mohamed Salah

By: Anita Elberse and Taher El Moataz Bellah

In June 2022, Mohamed Salah, one of the world’s best soccer players, and his lawyer and advisor Ramy Abbas Issa were in ongoing discussions with top English Premier League club Liverpool FC about a new playing contract for Salah. Arguably the Arab world’s biggest... View Details

Keywords: Soccer; Football; Superstars; General Management; Sports; Entertainment; Media; Marketing; Strategy; Compensation and Benefits; Contracts; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Process; Sports Industry; England

Thomas R. Eisenmann is the Howard H. Stevenson Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School; Peter O. Crisp Faculty Chair, Harvard Innovation Labs; and Unit Head of the HBS Entrepreneurial... View Details

Gerald Zaltman

*Joined Harvard Faculty: 1991
Prior Faculty Appointments: Northwestern University, 1968-75;
University of Pittsburgh, 1975-91

*Doctoral Degree in Sociology Received from: The John Hopkins University;
MBA Degree Received from: The University of... View Details

Keywords: entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment; entertainment

October 2014 (Revised December 2016)
Case

NBCUniversal

By: Anita Elberse

In September 2014, Stephen Burke, chief executive officer at media and entertainment company NBCUniversal, has to decide between possible priorities for the company's 'Project Symphony,' guaranteeing the winners a high level of visibility and support across the media... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Film Entertainment; Product Marketing; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry