Publications

March 2011
Teaching Note

Hollywood in India: Protecting Intellectual Property (A) and (B) (TN)

By: Lakshmi Iyer

Teaching Note for 711017 and 711018. View Details

Keywords: Markets; Strategy; Intellectual Property; Crime and Corruption; Film Entertainment; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; India

14 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Blockbuster! Why Star Power Works

makes huge investments to acquire, develop, and market concepts with strong hit potential, and then banks on the sales of those titles to make up for the middling performance of their other content. Today's leading film studios,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Entertainment & Recreation

26 Mar 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, March 26, 2019

Reinvention of Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (Kodak) was a name familiar to most Americans. The company had dominated the film and photography industry through most of the 20th Century and was known for... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

27 Jan 2009
First Look

First Look: January 27, 2009

documents/opim/seminars/Steffenson_McElheran_JMP_011408.pdf Highbrow Films Gather Dust: Time-inconsistent Preferences and Online DVD Rentals Authors:Katherine L. Milkman, Todd Rogers, and Max H. Bazerman Publication:Management Science (in... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

05 Jul 2004
Research & Ideas

Radical Change, Entrepreneurial Opportunity

constrained by its prior thinking about the industry and what its strengths were. It sort of said, "We have a razor/razorblade business model, and the way that we make money is through selling film, so we need to find a way to... View Details

Keywords: by Michael J. Roberts; Technology

September 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Giant Cinema

By: Malcolm P. Baker, Richard S. Ruback, Erik Stafford and Kathleen Luchs

The owner of Giant Cinema must decide whether to invest in a digital projector, a new technology for screening films, or purchase a traditional projector. The impact of the new technology is uncertain, and the case describes probabilities for different outcomes that... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Film Entertainment; Technology Adoption; Financial Strategy; Investment; Outcome or Result; Risk and Uncertainty; Technology; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

Find at Harvard

10 Sep 2008
Research & Ideas

Long-Tail Economics? Give Me Blockbusters!

by focusing on bigger films that require a bigger commitment." Jeff Robinov believes in blockbusters and his strategy is to create more of them. The pharmaceutical and entertainment industries are... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Entertainment & Recreation; Pharmaceutical

September 2004 (Revised February 2010)
Case

The Passion of the Christ (A)

By: John A. Quelch, Anita Elberse and Anna Harrington

Bob Berney, president of Newmarket Films, must decide on a distribution and marketing strategy for Mel Gibson's controversial new movie, The Passion of the Christ. Fueled by Gibson's star power as well as an extensive prescreening campaign among Christian leaders and... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Film Entertainment; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Distribution Channels; Religion; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

06 May 2008
First Look

First Look: May 6, 2008

Working PapersHighbrow Films Gather Dust: A Study of Dynamic Inconsistency and Online DVD Rentals Authors:Katherine L. Milkman, Todd Rogers, and Max H. Bazerman Abstract We report on a field study demonstrating systematic differences... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

13 Jan 2009
First Look

First Look: January 13, 2009

of companies' innovative portfolios. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-075.pdf Highbrow Films Gather Dust: Time-inconsistent Preferences and Online DVD Rentals (revised) Authors:Katherine L. Milkman, Todd Rogers, and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

24 Mar 2015
First Look

First Look: March 24

investigating the workings of both the sell and buy sides of financial analysis, tackles how the U.S. securities industry research adds value in financial markets, and evaluates the business model problems that the View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2013 (Revised July 2025)
Case

Rhythm & Blues

By: Willy Shih

The bankruptcy filing of Rhythm & Hues, who received an Oscar for the arresting visual effects in Life of Pi, raised questions about the challenges faced by the firms like it as well as the broader post-production industry. The rapid pace of technology certainly... View Details

Keywords: Post-production; Visual Effects; Digital; Entertainment; Animation Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Los Angeles

April 2025
Case

Netflix in 2024

By: Jan Rivkin and David Allen

In 2024, Netflix appeared to emerge victorious from the “streaming wars” that it had waged in recent years with the likes of Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Apple, and Amazon. What had allowed Netflix not only to succeed in the streaming wars but also to thrive for... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Organizational Culture; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

06 Apr 2007
What Do You Think?

Will Market Forces Stop Global Warming?

Summing Up Debate on this month's questions occurred on at least three levels. Is global warming occurring? Do humans (primarily through CO2 emissions) have much to do with it? Should we rely on market forces to provide appropriate responses, or will this require... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Energy; Utilities

06 Aug 2018
Research & Ideas

Supersmart Manufacturing Tools are Lowering Prices on TVs, Bulbs, and Solar Panels

factory anywhere in the world is built today without billions of dollars in subsidies. The groundbreaking in Wisconsin that President Trump just attended is receiving around $3 billion from the state. So that industry goes through... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Manufacturing; Electronics

November 2007 (Revised March 2010)
Case

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise

By: Anita Elberse and Peter Stone

In November 2006, Harry Sloan, chairman and CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. (MGM) offers movie star Tom Cruise and his business partner Paula Wagner a chance to run United Artists (UA), a dormant studio within MGM's portfolio. Just over two months earlier, Viacom... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Talent and Talent Management; Film Entertainment; Brands and Branding; Partners and Partnerships; Value Creation; Motion Pictures and Video Industry