recreation - Publications - Faculty & Research

October 2016 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

In June 2016, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is planning for the upcoming launch of an endeavor that is a first for a Hollywood actor with superstar status—a digital channel. The channel (named “Seven Bucks Digital Studios”) will be a new part of film and television... View Details

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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

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August 1992 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Euro Disney: The First 100 Days

By: Gary W. Loveman and Leonard A. Schlesinger

The Walt Disney Co. theme parks historically have thrived on the basis of a formula stressing excellent customer service and a magnificent physical environment. The formula has proven successful in Japan, as well as the United States. With the controversial opening of... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Corporate Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Japan; France; United States

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March 2020
Case

Hotstar

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Kairavi Dey

Hotstar was an online video streaming platform owned by Star India Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Walt Disney Corporation. Since its launch in 2015, the platform had grown to offer over 100,000 hours of TV content, movies in nine Indian languages... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Television Entertainment; Disruption; Business Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; India; Mumbai

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14 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

Understaffed and Overworked: What Now?

Reinvent Your Work: How to Rejuvenate, Revamp, or Recreate Your Career and principal of Dallas-based Zimmerman Communication. If you take the time to really understand your team's responsibilities, you can bring a fresh perspective on how... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Michelman

13 Oct 2009
Research & Ideas

7 Lessons for Navigating the Storm

establish long-term compensation practices that reward sustainable gains. How can you recreate your company's image to be the emerging leader that understands customer needs in the new environment? Step 7: Develop rigorous execution... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

May 2012
Case

Westlake Lanes: How Can This Business Be Saved?

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Alisa Zalosh

Shelby Givens, a new MBA, is the general manager of Westlake Lanes, a near-bankrupt bowling alley that her grandfather founded decades earlier. Givens has been given one year to turn a profit; if the goal is not met Westlake will close. During the first few days on the... View Details

Keywords: United States; Operations Management; Small And Medium-sized Enterprises; Turnarounds; Strategy; Leading Change; Marketing Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Operations; Transformation; Growth and Development Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

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01 Sep 2009
News

Don’t Mess with His Texas

WATERS: Betting the ranch on posterity. Lost Maples State Natural Area in the Hill Country of Texas is noted for its beautiful limestone canyons and native bigtooth maple trees. The park recently grew by 700 acres thanks to Lou Waters (MBA ’66), who, for a bargain... View Details

Keywords: Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries

September 2022 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Bear to Bull: An Analyst’s Journey with Netflix

By: Aiyesha Dey, Joseph Pacelli, Jennifer G. Lawson and Tom Quinn

Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said “hell freezing over” was more likely than him upgrading the “sell” rating he had maintained on movie and television streaming giant Netflix since 2011, despite meteoric subscriber and share price growth. In 2022, however,... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Asset Pricing; Cash Flow; Investment; Stocks; Equity; Analysis; Attitudes; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

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October 2017
Case

LeBron James: Building a Hollywood Empire

By: Anita Elberse

It is June 2016. Superstar basketball player LeBron James and his childhood friend and business partner Maverick Carter are celebrating James’ third NBA championship. The duo will soon have to decide on a strategy for their media businesses—their film and television... View Details

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06 Aug 2019
Cold Call Podcast

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

Kenny: : "This flat tire needs a man," says the narrator of the Goodyear Tire commercial that aired during the inaugural Super Bowl between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs in 1967. The ad featured a damsel in distress with a blown tire on a... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

15 Jun 2007
Research & Ideas

Remembering Alfred Chandler

America the "visible hand" was so powerful that it controlled not only the corporate landscape, but the political scene and the regulatory environment. My own work ended up being heavily influenced by Al Chandler as I tried to View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

July 2017
Case

Centerbridge Partners and Great Wolf Resorts: Buying from a Highly Regarded Competitor

By: Josh Lerner, John D. Dionne and Amram Migdal

The case examines the March 2015 Centerbridge Partners investment decision regarding whether to acquire Great Wolf Resorts, a North American family-oriented indoor water parks and hotel operator, from a private equity (PE) competitor, Apollo Global Management. The case... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity Financing; Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities; CMBS; Secondary Buyouts; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Cost; Cost of Capital; Equity; Private Equity; Financial Instruments; Debt Securities; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; North and Central America; United States

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September 2017 (Revised December 2017)
Case

Hulu: Redefining the Way People Experience TV

By: Henry W. McGee and Christine Snively

In May 2017, Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins announced the launch of Hulu Live TV, a new offering that would "change the way people experience TV." The new service would allow consumers to bypass traditional cable and satellite delivery and use the Internet to access live... View Details

Keywords: Television Industry; Internet; Television Entertainment; Internet and the Web; Disruptive Innovation; Competitive Strategy; Price; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

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August 2014
Case

Netflix: Designing the Netflix Prize (A)

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Wesley M. Cohen, Kynon Ingram, Tushar Kothalkar, Maxim Kuzemchenko, Santosh Malik, Cynthia Meyn, Greta Friar and Stephanie Healy Pokrywa

In 2006, Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, was looking for a way to solve Netflix's customer churn problem. Netflix used Cinematch, its proprietary movie recommendation software, to promote individually determined best-fit movies to customers. Hastings determined that a... View Details

Keywords: Crowdsourcing; Prizes; Digitization; Algorithms; Recommendation Software; Disruption; Transformation; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Sharing; Applications and Software; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

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September 2013 (Revised August 2015)
Background Note

Leadership and Teaming

By: Ethan Bernstein

Small differences in the leadership of teams can have large consequences for the success of their efforts. Many initiatives fail not because of a fatal error in judgment or insufficient ideas, knowledge, motivation, or capabilities to deliver a solution. They fail... View Details

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01 Oct 1997
News

Cathy A. Nichols

Hollywood theme park, home of the highly acclaimed City Walk, Back to the Future, and Jurassic Park attractions. Named chairman and CEO of Universal Studios Recreation Group in June, Nichols is back in Los Angeles on a July afternoon... View Details

Keywords: Thomas Frick

10 Feb 2014
News

King of His Castle

money, second, " he says. Located in Austin, Texas, Sherwood Forest Faire—Appling's recreation of a 16th-century medieval village—has earned great success in its first four years. Renaissance magazine dubbed Sherwood the Best New Festival... View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken; Arts, Entertainment

30 May 2017
News

At Home with History

Jenrette’s many preservation awards also include the Garden Club of America’s Historic Preservation Medal. Announcing the prize in May 2017, president Ann Copenhaver praised his efforts to preserve “the exterior historic context” of his projects as well as the... View Details

19 Nov 2014
HBS Case

Marketing Marijuana

the United States, two new states, Alaska and Oregon, as well as the District of Columbia had legalized the recreational sale of marijuana. They joined Washington and Colorado, which legalized pot in the 2012 election, as well as two... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage

Publications

Publications

Show Results For

Show Results For

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

Amazon.com, 2016

Euro Disney: The First 100 Days

Hotstar

Understaffed and Overworked: What Now?

7 Lessons for Navigating the Storm

Westlake Lanes: How Can This Business Be Saved?

Don’t Mess with His Texas

Bear to Bull: An Analyst’s Journey with Netflix

LeBron James: Building a Hollywood Empire

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

Remembering Alfred Chandler

Centerbridge Partners and Great Wolf Resorts: Buying from a Highly Regarded Competitor

Hulu: Redefining the Way People Experience TV

Netflix: Designing the Netflix Prize (A)

Leadership and Teaming

Cathy A. Nichols

King of His Castle

At Home with History

Marketing Marijuana