Publications

Publications

Filter Results: (13) Arrow Down

Show Results For

Page 1 of 13 Results
  • 01 Sep 2009
  • News

E Ink’s Wild Ride

display were successfully resolved, and the Sony eBook launched in the United States to extensive media coverage as the first mainstream offering in the e-reader market (the Kindle would not appear until... View Details
Keywords: Julia Hanna; e-books; e-reading; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing
  • August 2015 (Revised June 2021)
  • Case

Amazon.com, 2021

By: John R. Wells, Benjamin Weinstock, Gabriel Ellsworth and Galen Danskin
In February 2021, Amazon announced 2020 operating profits of $22,899 million, up from $2,233 million in 2015, on sales of $386 billion, up from $107 billion five years earlier (see Exhibit 1). The shareholders expressed their satisfaction (see Exhibit 2), but not all... View Details
Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Retail; E-commerce; Amazon; Internet; 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; Digital Platforms; Competition; Internet and the Web; Corporate Strategy; Digital Marketing; 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; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Price; Applications and 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
Related
  • 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
Related
  • October 2010 (Revised January 2012)
  • Background Note

Book Publishing in 2010

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Nancy Bartlett
Legacy book publishers wrangled with ebook retailers over royalty rates, release strategy, and distribution rights as customer demand for cheaper ebooks eroded publishers' profitable print formats. E-readers like Kindle, as well as Apple's iPad that invigorated the... View Details
Keywords: Price; Information Publishing; Books; Disruptive Innovation; Demand and Consumers; Distribution; Strategy; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Publishing Industry
Related
  • 07 Jun 2023
  • HBS Case

3 Ways to Gain a Competitive Advantage Now: Lessons from Amazon, Chipotle, and Facebook

perk that allowed Amazon to capture market share and eventually blow past Sony, which after years of struggling, closed its e-reader store in 2014. “Without creating a competitive advantage, it is difficult... View Details
Keywords: by Michael Blanding
  • September 2021
  • Case

Worldreader: Helping Readers Build a Better World

By: Marco Bertini, Elie Ofek and Julia Kelley
Founded in 2010, Worldreader was an international nonprofit organization that promoted reading to children around the world. For many years, Worldreader distributed e-readers to under-resourced communities and funded its operations primarily through philanthropic... View Details
Keywords: Subscription Model; Price; Financial Strategy; Education; Early Childhood Education; Learning; Geography; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Goals and Objectives; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Markets; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Non-Governmental Organizations; Nonprofit Organizations; Society; Social Issues; Strategy; Commercialization; Expansion; Segmentation; Education Industry; Africa; Asia; Latin America; Europe; North and Central America; South America
Related
  • 26 May 2015
  • First Look

First Look: May 26

the strategy literature by considering "ambivalent value," value produced by the interaction of two firms that does not necessarily accrue to either. The extent of "ambivalent value" is unclear, but its persistence despite changing structural... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
  • Research Summary

Overview

By: Feng Zhu
Professor Zhu’s research focuses on the design of platform business models and its impact on platform performance. Platforms have become central to our economy. A platform is a product or service that enables two or more customer groups to interact. For example,... View Details
  • 05 Jul 2011
  • First Look

First Look: July 5

e-books eroded publishers' profitable print formats. E-readers like Kindle, as well as Apple's iPad, that invigorated the digital book market are discussed. Also includes a general overview of book... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
  • 22 Nov 2011
  • News

A Storybook Beginning

Risher: E-reading the African story “Treasure of the Trees” at the Kade Primary School in Ghana. Courtesy David Risher If you’ve just read Curious George Visits the Library and desperately want to get your hands on Curious George Goes to... View Details
Keywords: Elementary and Secondary Schools; Educational Services; Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Personal Services
  • 05 Apr 2010
  • Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: iPads, Kindles, and the Close of a Chapter in Book Publishing

textbook market is another potential target for e-book disruption, especially as new devices such as the iPad add video and other immersive technologies to the mix. "If we as a society are concerned about the next generation... View Details
Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Information; Publishing; Entertainment & Recreation
  • 19 May 2014
  • Research & Ideas

Why Companies Should Compete for Your Privacy

competition among firms? In the working paper Competing with Privacy, Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Andrés Hervás-Drane "consider a market where firms set prices and disclosure levels for consumer information, and consumers observe both... View Details
Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Consumer Products