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Publications

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  • All HBS Web  (115)
    • News  (87)
    • Research  (20)
    • Events  (1)
    • Multimedia  (14)
  • Faculty Publications  (4)

Show Results For

  • All HBS Web  (115)
    • News  (87)
    • Research  (20)
    • Events  (1)
    • Multimedia  (14)
  • Faculty Publications  (4)
Page 1 of 115 Results →
  • 2020
  • Working Paper

Reinventing Retail: The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores

By: Ryan Raffaelli
This study examines how community-based brick-and-mortar retailers can achieve sustained market growth in the face of online and big box retail competition. The appearance of Amazon.com in 1995 led to a significant decline in the number of independent bookstores in the... View Details
Keywords: Bookstores; Competitive Strategy; Business and Community Relations; Customization and Personalization; Growth and Development; Retail Industry; United States
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Raffaelli, Ryan. "Reinventing Retail: The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-068, January 2020.
  • 07 May 2018
  • News

Columbus Bookstores Have Independent Spirit

  • Article

Organizational Emplacement as a Response to Digital Threat: The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores

By: Ryan Raffaelli and Ryann Noe
This study reveals how incumbent actors leverage physical place as source of differentiation in response to the threat of digital commoditization. Through a longitudinal, qualitative analysis of the U.S. independent bookselling industry from 1995 to 2019, we outline... View Details
Keywords: Retail; Place Making; Bookstores; Industry Evolution; Digital; Commoditization; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Digital Transformation; E-commerce; Distribution Channels; Civil Society or Community; Value Creation; Retail Industry
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Raffaelli, Ryan, and Ryann Noe. "Organizational Emplacement as a Response to Digital Threat: The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores." Administrative Science Quarterly (in press). (Pre-published online May 3, 2025.)
  • 06 Dec 2017
  • News

How bookstores rescued themselves

  • 27 Jul 2017
  • Video

The Value of Local Independent Bookstores

  • 27 Jul 2017
  • Video

The Value of Local Independent Bookstores

  • 01 Aug 2017
  • News

How Did Independent Bookstores Avoid Going Extinct?

  • 22 Nov 2017
  • News

The Value of Local Independent Bookstores

  • 06 Sep 2022
  • Cold Call Podcast

Reinventing an Iconic Independent Bookstore

Keywords: Re: Ryan L. Raffaelli; Retail
  • 19 Dec 2018
  • News

Instagram is helping save the indie bookstore

  • 24 Jun 2019
  • News

Bookstores Find Growth as ‘Anchors of Authenticity’

  • 06 Sep 2022
  • News

Reinventing an Iconic Independent Bookstore

  • 27 Apr 2020
  • News

How Indie Bookstores Fought Their Way Back

  • 20 Nov 2017
  • Research & Ideas

How Independent Bookstores Have Thrived in Spite of Amazon.com

Click HereIndependent bookstores provide a story of hope by focusing on core values that include community, curation, and convening. (Video by Amelia Kunhardt) When Amazon.com burst onto the nascent online retail scene in 1995, the future seemed bleak for... View Details
Keywords: by Carmen Nobel (with video by Amelia Kunhardt); Retail
  • 21 Jan 2020
  • News

Lessons for Retailers from the Rebirth of Indie Bookstores

  • 31 Dec 2018
  • News

Independent bookstores are thriving, but a threat looms

  • 12 Mar 2019
  • News

Kids bookstore set to open in Vancouver

  • 01 Aug 2019
  • News

With local connections and quirkiness, indie bookstores thrive

  • 23 Apr 2018
  • News

Once-endangered bookstores are booming again

  • 01 May 2018
  • News

Why Detroit's independent bookstores matter -- and have been steadily growing

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