Publications

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February 2000 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Staples.com

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Joanna M. Jacobson and Gillian Morris

Staples.com, the online unit of the U.S. office supplies retailing chain Staples, faces a range of strategic and organizational issues as it accelerates its growth. Should it pursue only existing Staples customers or consumers who do not shop in Staples stores? How... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain; Business Units; Business Model; Growth and Development; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Business Strategy; Service Industry; United States

November 1995
Case

InterZine Productions, Inc.

By: William A. Sahlman and Jason Green

Brian Henley founded InterZine Productions to develop interactive multimedia content for America Online (AOL) and the Internet. With funding and support from AOL's Greenhouse program, Henley has launched Golf, a unique interactive golf service. While he has operated on... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Capital; Financing and Loans; Internet and the Web; Management Teams; Innovation and Invention; Media and Broadcasting Industry

Find at Harvard

01 Oct 1999
News

The Class of 1974: Timed for a Change

world-class performance in racehorses? Section F is not unique in its achievements. Who on the B-School Blades could have predicted that when Barry Allardice stopped living out of his car he would become an investment banker? How about Larry Kramer's View Details

Keywords: Charles B. ("Chuck") Mercer

Profile

Pasha Nahass

Amazon. “In 2010, mobile was not as ubiquitous as it is today. It was a new challenge: How do we apply all the things Amazon is good at to a tiny screen on a device that may have poor Internet connectivity?” The work was rewarding, but... View Details

Keywords: Tech

01 Mar 2015
News

New Idea: State of the Art

previous iteration, the new Cooper Hewitt “finds that merely looking at things is a hopelessly passive way of experiencing the world.” The museum work was familiar territory: Belsky’s career has focused on developing better ways for the View Details

Keywords: Francis Storrs; Adobe; Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions; Arts, Entertainment; Computer Systems Design and Related Services; Professional Services

01 Dec 2014
News

Customizing Couture Online

now ubiquitous invitation-only Internet flash sale. Up next for Wilkis Wilson: at-home beauty service startup Glamsquad. That’s what Tinker Tailor offers. “I heard from all these women who really wanted to buy beautiful high-end... View Details

Keywords: April White; fashion; Professional Services

01 Dec 2005
News

A Renter’s Market

typically pays from $50,000 to $120,000 for a house, often buying in bulk from owners tired of repairs and rent collection. Redbrick then hires local managers to take over those and other chores. After HBS, Lee worked at Bain and started an View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Real Estate

January 2019
Case

Data.gov (Abridged)

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Robert D. Austin and Yumi Yi

This case presents the logic and execution underlying the launch of Data.gov, an instantiation of President Obama's initiative for transparency and open government. The process used by Vivek Kundra, the federal CIO, and his team to rapidly develop the website and to... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Rights; Analytics and Data Science; Internet and the Web; Ethics; Cost vs Benefits; Innovation and Management; Information Management; Public Administration Industry; Information Industry; United States

December 2002 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Tesco Plc.

By: David E. Bell

Tesco, a supermarket chain, has been transformed from a third-rate retailer to a global leader in the past ten years. This case describes how that was accomplished. Interviews with Tesco employees explain the company's approach to understanding customers, motivating... View Details

Keywords: History; Motivation and Incentives; Leadership; Internet and the Web; Supply Chain Management; Global Strategy; Globalization; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business Strategy; Retail Industry

March 2020 (Revised May 2020)
Case

Redefining Mogul

By: Ethan C. Rouen

Tiffany Pham taught herself to code and created a technology platform, Mogul, with the goal of providing girls and women around the world with information and opportunities. After several years Mogul had reached more than 146 million women around the world and had... View Details

Keywords: Women; Inclusion; Technology; Branding; Social Impact; Entrepreneurship; Internet and the Web; Information; Knowledge Dissemination; Gender; Diversity; Brands and Branding; Expansion; Strategy; Media; Personal Development and Career; Technology Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

2013
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: David Weinstein and Write the World

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Juliane Calingo Schwetz and Patricia Bissett Higgins

David Weinstein, a lawyer and former Chief Administrative Officer of mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments, launched Write the World, a proprietary online platform that included a writing curriculum, essay prompts in distinct subject matter, and access to expert... View Details

Keywords: Writing; Online Platform; Social Entrepreneurship; Education; Internet and the Web; Competency and Skills; Change Management; Leadership

January 2017 (Revised August 2019)
Supplement

X Fire Paintball & Airsoft: Is Amazon a Friend or Foe? (B)

By: Feng Zhu and Angela Acocella

Three years after launching his brick-and-mortar store, X Fire Paintball and Airsoft, Steve Herbert Sr. and his sons began selling products on Amazon.com’s third-party Marketplace and online sales expanded rapidly. Over time, X Fire noticed that products of which it... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Competition; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Small Business; Retail Industry; Canada

November 2015
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Beatriz Cardoso and Education in Brazil

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Daniella Suarez and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

Beatriz Cardoso, founder of Laboratório de Educação (Education Laboratory) had a dream to propel Brazilian education. However challenges in fundraising made it difficult to scale up her project, based on helping adults help children improve their literacy skills. To... View Details

2011
Working Paper

Inside the Black Box of the Corporate Staff: An Exploratory Analysis Through the Lens of E-Mail Networks

The corporate staff is central in theories of the multi-business firm, but empirical evidence on its function is limited. In this paper, we examine the high-level role of two units of a corporate staff through analysis of electronic communications. We find sharp... View Details

Keywords: Theory; Business Ventures; Internet and the Web; Communication; Employment; Management Teams; Networks