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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,787)
- People (4)
- News (570)
- Research (892)
- Events (8)
- Multimedia (3)
- Faculty Publications (404)
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- Article
Doing Business with Strangers: Reputation in Online Service Marketplaces
By: Antonio Moreno and Christian Terwiesch
Online service marketplaces allow service buyers to post their project requests and service providers to bid for them. To reduce the transactional risks, marketplaces typically track and publish previous seller performance. By analyzing a detailed transactional data... View Details
Moreno, Antonio, and Christian Terwiesch. "Doing Business with Strangers: Reputation in Online Service Marketplaces." Information Systems Research 25, no. 4 (December 2014): 865–886.
- February 2021
- Article
Trust and Disintermediation: Evidence from an Online Freelance Marketplace
By: Grace Gu and Feng Zhu
As an intermediary improves trust between the two sides of its market to facilitate matching and transactions, it faces an increased risk of disintermediation: with sufficient trust, the two sides may circumvent the intermediary to avoid the intermediary’s fees. In... View Details
Keywords: Disintermediation; Intermediaries; Online Marketplace; Platform Strategy; Trust; Marketplace Matching; Digital Platforms
Gu, Grace, and Feng Zhu. "Trust and Disintermediation: Evidence from an Online Freelance Marketplace." Management Science 67, no. 2 (February 2021): 794–807.
- May–June 2025
- Article
Algorithmic Assortment Curation: An Empirical Study of Buybox in Online Marketplaces
By: Santiago Gallino, Nil Karacaoglu and Antonio Moreno
Most online sales worldwide take place in marketplaces that connect sellers and buyers. The presence of numerous third-party sellers leads to a proliferation of listings for each product, making it difficult for customers to choose between the available options. Online... View Details
Keywords: Algorithms; Marketplaces; Marketplace Matching; E-commerce; Demand and Consumers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Market Participation; Technology Adoption
Gallino, Santiago, Nil Karacaoglu, and Antonio Moreno. "Algorithmic Assortment Curation: An Empirical Study of Buybox in Online Marketplaces." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 27, no. 3 (May–June 2025): 917–934.
- June 2014 (Revised November 2014)
- Case
Investing in Online Marketplaces
By: Andrei Hagiu and Hermes Alvarez
Simon Rothman had recently been promoted from executive-in-residence to Partner at esteemed venture capital firm Greylock Partners and placed in charge of managing a $100 million early-stage fund commitment dedicated to online marketplaces. In Greylock's view, 2014 was... View Details
Keywords: Business Models; Competitive Advantage; Entrepreneurship; Internet; Investments; Networks; Technology; Venture Capital
Hagiu, Andrei, and Hermes Alvarez. "Investing in Online Marketplaces." Harvard Business School Case 714-520, June 2014. (Revised November 2014.)
- February 2019 (Revised June 2019)
- Case
Where to Grow Next at Online Marketplace OLX
By: Thales Teixeira, Leandro A. Guissoni and Samy Dana
The CEO of OLX Brazil, an online classifieds platform business, is debating among multiple paths to grow sustainably (i.e., profitably) without the need for investor money. The options under consideration are (1) penetration growth by focusing on the core, (2) new... View Details
Keywords: Online Marketplace; Growth; Customer Acquisition; Facebook; Two-sided Network; E-commerce; Classifieds; Naspers; Schibsted; Innovation; Startup; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Brazil
Teixeira, Thales, Leandro A. Guissoni, and Samy Dana. "Where to Grow Next at Online Marketplace OLX." Harvard Business School Case 519-064, February 2019. (Revised June 2019.)
- October 2000 (Revised March 2001)
- Case
eLance.com: Building a Professional Services Marketplace
By: Lynda M. Applegate and Kristin Kohler
Launched as an eBay for services, eLance promises to leverage the capabilities of the Internet to not only change the way services are bought and sold, but change the fundamental dynamics of the global economy. Building on theories posited in the HBR article by Tim... View Details
Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Job Search; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Web Sites; Service Industry; Service Industry
Applegate, Lynda M., and Kristin Kohler. "eLance.com: Building a Professional Services Marketplace." Harvard Business School Case 801-224, October 2000. (Revised March 2001.)
- November 2015 (Revised April 2018)
- Case
Flipkart (A): Transitioning to a Marketplace Model
By: Das Narayandas, Sunil Gupta and Rachna Tahilyani
In 2015, Sachin and Binny Bansal, co-founders of India’s largest e-commerce company, are wondering if it is time to move from a hybrid model to a full marketplace. While Amazon runs a hybrid model, Alibaba operates a marketplace. In addition, Flipkart has been losing... View Details
Keywords: Marketplaces; Online Retail; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Emerging Markets; E-commerce; Retail Industry; India
Narayandas, Das, Sunil Gupta, and Rachna Tahilyani. "Flipkart (A): Transitioning to a Marketplace Model." Harvard Business School Case 516-017, November 2015. (Revised April 2018.)
- November, 2016
- Article
Fixing Discrimination in Online Marketplaces
By: Ray Fisman and Michael Luca
Online marketplaces such as eBay, Uber, and Airbnb have the potential to reduce racial, gender, and other forms of bias that affect the off-line world. And in the early days of Internet commerce, the relative anonymity of transactions did make it harder for... View Details
Fisman, Ray, and Michael Luca. "Fixing Discrimination in Online Marketplaces." Harvard Business Review 94, no. 12 (November, 2016): 88–95.
- Winter 2019
- Article
From the Digital to the Physical: Federal Limitations on Regulating Online Marketplaces
By: Benjamin Edelman and Abbey Stemler
Online marketplaces have transformed how we shop, travel, and interact with the world. Yet, their unique innovations also present a panoply of challenges for communities and states. Surprisingly, federal laws are chief among those challenges despite the fact that... View Details
Keywords: Marketplaces; Peer To Peer; Sharing Economy; Decentralized; Regulation; Preemption; Markets; Internet; Government Legislation; Laws and Statutes; United States
Edelman, Benjamin, and Abbey Stemler. "From the Digital to the Physical: Federal Limitations on Regulating Online Marketplaces." Harvard Journal on Legislation 56, no. 1 (Winter 2019): 141–197.
- May 24, 2021
- Article
What Makes an Online Marketplace Disruptive?
By: Clifford Maxwell and Scott Duke Kominers
Platforms like Airbnb, eBay, and Angie’s List have changed how markets work. But while many are innovative and make life easier for consumers, which are truly disruptive? Hewing to Clay Christensen’s theory of disruption, platforms—which operate as online... View Details
Maxwell, Clifford, and Scott Duke Kominers. "What Makes an Online Marketplace Disruptive?" Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (May 24, 2021).
- June 2010
- Article
The Pathologies of Online Display Advertising Marketplaces
By: Benjamin Edelman
Display advertising marketplaces place "banner" ads on all manner of popular sites. While these services are widely used, they suffer significant challenges, including weak user response and low accountability for both advertisers and web site publishers. I survey a... View Details
Keywords: Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Online Advertising; Cost; Corporate Accountability; Information Publishing; Consumer Behavior; Relationships; Web Sites
Edelman, Benjamin. "The Pathologies of Online Display Advertising Marketplaces." Art. 2. ACM SIGecom Exchanges (June 2010).
- 25 May 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Trust and Disintermediation: Evidence from an Online Freelance Marketplace
- July 7, 2022
- Other Article
Are Online Prices Higher Because of Pricing Algorithms?
By: Zach Y. Brown and Alexander J. MacKay
This article reviews recent work examining pricing strategies of major online retailers and the potential effects of pricing algorithms. We describe how pricing algorithms can lead to higher prices in a number of ways, even if some characteristics of these algorithms... View Details
Keywords: Pricing Algorithms; Online Marketplace; Digital Strategy; Internet and the Web; Retail Industry
Brown, Zach Y., and Alexander J. MacKay. "Are Online Prices Higher Because of Pricing Algorithms?" Brookings Series: The Economics and Regulation of Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies (July 7, 2022).
- October 2017 (Revised October 2022)
- Case
Jumia Nigeria: from Retail to Marketplace (A)
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Namrata Arora
Founded in 2012, Jumia Nigeria, a startup effort by Germany-based Rocket Internet, aimed to become an African Amazon. The company entered the nascent market and immediately enjoyed an uptick in consumer spending fueled by the strength of Nigeria’s oil-based economy. By... View Details
Keywords: Retail; Marketplace; Inventory; Ecommerce; Funding; Business Ecosystem; Business Ecosystems; Competition; Business Model; Globalization; Emerging Markets; Expansion; Logistics; Competitive Strategy; E-commerce; Retail Industry; India; Nigeria; Africa
Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon, and Namrata Arora. "Jumia Nigeria: from Retail to Marketplace (A)." Harvard Business School Case 718-401, October 2017. (Revised October 2022.)
- 2025
- Working Paper
Algorithmic Assortment Curation: An Empirical Study of Buybox in Online Marketplaces
By: Santiago Gallino, Nil Karacaoglu and Antonio Moreno
Most online sales worldwide take place in marketplaces that connect sellers and buyers. The presence of numerous third-party sellers leads to a proliferation of listings for each product, making it difficult for customers to choose between the available options. Online... View Details
Keywords: Algorithms; E-commerce; Sales; Digital Marketing; Internet and the Web; Customer Satisfaction
Gallino, Santiago, Nil Karacaoglu, and Antonio Moreno. "Algorithmic Assortment Curation: An Empirical Study of Buybox in Online Marketplaces." Working Paper, 2025.
- June 1998 (Revised August 2001)
- Case
Wells Fargo Online Financial Services (A)
By: Robert S. Kaplan and Nicole Tempest
Wells Fargo, the industry leader in electronic banking, has implemented a Balanced Scorecard in its online financial services group (OFS) to track and measure performance. The OFS group develops and supports services that allow existing and future banking customers to... View Details
Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Internet and the Web; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Corporate Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Finance; Change; Situation or Environment; Measurement and Metrics; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry
Kaplan, Robert S., and Nicole Tempest. "Wells Fargo Online Financial Services (A)." Harvard Business School Case 198-146, June 1998. (Revised August 2001.)
- July 2023
- Article
Marketplace Scalability and Strategic Use of Platform Investment
By: Jin Li, Gary Pisano, Richard Xu and Feng Zhu
The scalability of a marketplace depends on the operations of the marketplace platform as well as its sellers’ capacities. In this study, we explore one strategy that a marketplace platform can use to enhance its scalability: providing an ancillary service to sellers.... View Details
Li, Jin, Gary Pisano, Richard Xu, and Feng Zhu. "Marketplace Scalability and Strategic Use of Platform Investment." Management Science 69, no. 7 (July 2023): 3958–3975.
- August 1998 (Revised December 1998)
- Case
Wells Fargo Online Financial Services (B)
By: Robert S. Kaplan and Nicole Tempest
Describes how the Balanced Scorecard built by the Online Financial Services (OFS) group is used to select the highest-priority initiatives for the organization. Currently, initiatives arise continually throughout the organization, and management spends considerable... View Details
Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Internet and the Web; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Corporate Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Finance; Change; Situation or Environment; Measurement and Metrics; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry
Kaplan, Robert S., and Nicole Tempest. "Wells Fargo Online Financial Services (B)." Harvard Business School Case 199-019, August 1998. (Revised December 1998.)
- January 2018 (Revised March 2019)
- Teaching Note
Jumia Nigeria: from Retail to Marketplace (A) and (B)
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman
Founded in 2012, Jumia Nigeria, a startup effort by Germany-based Rocket Internet, aimed to become an African Amazon. The company entered the nascent market and immediately enjoyed an uptick in consumer spending fueled by the strength of Nigeria’s oil-based economy. By... View Details