Publications

Educators

06 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

The Innovator’s Battle Plan

replacement to silver halide film in our core market?" By seeking to create high-priced, performance-competitive digital products, Kodak missed much of the disruptive growth driven by inexpensive digital imaging. Kodak eventually... View Details

Keywords: by Clayton M. Christensen, Scott D. Anthony & Erik A. Roth

01 Jun 2022
What Do You Think?

Is Stakeholder Management Facing New Headwinds?

captured the spirit of respondents when she said, “For Harvard Business School to give up on the case method would be a step backward, not forward.” Reminding us that the method was adapted from teaching techniques practiced at Harvard Law School in the early 20th... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

13 Apr 2009
Research & Ideas

Kind of Blue: Pushing Boundaries with Miles Davis

Adderley, et al. How could he give them more freedom, more empowerment? Maybe he realized that playing easier material would in itself help emancipate the players—even if he was dealing with the best talent in the business. I think the experience in Paris where he... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Music

08 Feb 2021
Book

How to Make the World Better, Not Perfect

over where to go to dinner and what movie to see, they could both leave feeling unsatisfied. If, on the other hand, the person who cares more strongly about dinner gets to choose the restaurant, and the film buff gets to pick the movie,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

September 2017
Case

Tencent

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Tencent had undergone many transformations since it was founded in 1998 as a simple messaging service. In 2017, it was the largest online games provider in China with a wide range of game types, China’s largest social networking service provider with several of the... View Details

Keywords: Tencent; Tencent Holdings; WeChat; Social Networking; Social Networks; Gaming; Gaming Industry; Video Games; Computer Games; Mobile Gaming; Portals; Payments; Mobile Payments; O2O; Online-to-offline; E-commerce; Messaging; Subscription Model; Freemium; Mobile App Industry; Smartphone; PC; Monetization Strategy; Antitrust; Streaming; Cloud Computing; Artificial Intelligence; Big Data; Alibaba; Facebook; JD.com; Tesla; Bundling; Synergies; Digital Strategy; Imitation; Licensing; Agility; Entry Barriers; Online Platforms; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Joint Ventures; Restructuring; Communication; Communication Technology; Blogs; Interactive Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Investment; Investment Portfolio; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business History; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Social Marketing; Network Effects; Emerging Markets; Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Industry Growth; Monopoly; Media; Distribution Channels; Product Development; Service Delivery; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Government Relations; Groups and Teams; Networks; Opportunities; Social and Collaborative Networks; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Cooperation; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Value Creation; Communications Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Financial Services Industry; Information Industry; Information Technology Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; Asia; China; Canton (province, China)

Educators

13 Sep 2010
Research & Ideas

The Consumer Appeal of Underdog Branding

economic times. The Great Depression, for example, spawned many of the great underdog stories in history: In 1938, Seabiscuit, the little horse that nobody wanted, beat the likely winner War Admiral and became a symbol and inspiration for the little guy who came from... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

November 2017
Teaching Note

Amazon.com, 2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Teaching Note for HBS No. 716-402. On January 28, 2016, Amazon announced record 2015 operating profits of $2.2 billion on $107 billion of sales, and the markets responded with cautious optimism. For years, founder and CEO Jeffrey Bezos had prioritized growth and... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Retail; E-commerce; Amazon; Amazon.com; AmazonFresh; Jeff Bezos; Cloud Computing; Marketplaces; Streaming; E-reader Market; Digital Media; Mobile App; Online Retail; Shipping; Database; Tablet; Kindle; Kindle Fire; Smartphone; Delivery; Market Platforms; Two-Sided Platforms; Competition; Internet; Corporate Strategy; Online Advertising; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Profit; Revenue; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Taxation; Business History; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Books; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Product Development; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Public Ownership; Work-Life Balance; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Hardware; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Technology Networks; Technology Platform; Web; Web Sites; Price; Software; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Working Capital; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Retail Industry; Advertising Industry; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Publishing Industry; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; Washington (state, US); Seattle

06 Aug 2019
Cold Call Podcast

Super Bowl Ads Sell Products, but Do They Sell Brands?

Apple's 1984 ad, which aired, not surprisingly, on the 1984 Super Bowl when they announced the launch of the Macintosh personal computer. That is still in the advertising Hall of Fame. It was directed by Ridley Scott, who is a well-known View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Sports; Entertainment & Recreation; Media & Broadcasting

Nov 2008
Conference Presentation

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), United Artists, and Tom Cruise: A Case Study.

By: Anita Elberse

Keywords: Film Entertainment; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

April 1984
Case

General Cinema Corp. (B)

By: Hugo Uyterhoeven

Keywords: Film Entertainment; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

December 2014
Article

When to Sell Your Idea: Theory and Evidence from the Movie Industry

By: Hong Luo

I study a model of investment and sale of ideas and test its empirical implications using a novel data set from the market for original movie ideas. Consistent with the theoretical results, I find that buyers are reluctant to meet unproven sellers for early-stage... View Details

Keywords: Market For Ideas; Information Asymmetry; Expropriation Risk; Intermediary; Intellectual Property Protection; Strategy; Intellectual Property; Film Entertainment; Sales; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

Read Now

November 1993
Case

Edgar J. Scherick Associates

Edgar Scherick, a leading television movie producer, must determine whether fact-based movies garner higher Nielsen ratings than fictional movies. Scherick has data for all 1992 TV movies broadcast on major networks. Ultimately, Scherick must decide whether it is... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Film Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

Educators

Article

Hollywood on the Yellow Sea

By: Willy C. Shih and Henry McGee

Wang Jianlin, one of China's richest men, is creating a rival to the American dream factory, from scratch. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Film Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; China; United States

Read Now

Article

Demand and Supply Dynamics for Sequentially Released Products in International Markets: The Case of Motion Pictures

By: Anita Elberse and Jehoshua Eliashberg

Keywords: Supply and Industry; Product; Markets; Film Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

Read Now

March 2009 (Revised January 2010)
Case

DreamWorks SKG Inc.: To Distribute or Not to Distribute?

By: Juan Alcacer, David J. Collis and Mary Furey

Keywords: Film Entertainment; Distribution; Strategy; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

Nov 2009
Conference Presentation

The Reach of Online Movie Trailers

By: Anita Elberse

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Film Entertainment

December 1994
Case

Being There: Sony Corporation and Columbia Pictures

By: Debora L. Spar

In September 1989, Sony Corp. of Japan bid $3.4 billion for Columbia Pictures. It was the highest bid ever by a Japanese company for any U.S. property. The case examines the validity of Sony's objectives in making this purchase, and also the political uproar that the... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Film Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Japan; United States