Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • March 2008 (Revised March 2014)
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Facebook

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Aaron Smith, David Chen and Brian Feinstein
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:41
ShareBar

Abstract

As Facebook topped one billion monthly users in October 2012, the online social network continued to face questions about how best to monetize its surging traffic. The company could invest further in new advertising products, which represented the majority of the revenue thus far, or concentrate on the Facebook Platform and help third-party developers create and distribute their own applications. After a highly anticipated yet largely disappointing initial public offering (IPO), Facebook's stock price steadily declined. It became critical for the Facebook team to identify sustainable growth opportunities, particularly as more of its user base accessed the site via mobile devices.

Keywords

Entrepreneurship; Profit; Open Source Distribution; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Information Technology Industry

Citation

Piskorski, Mikolaj Jan, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Aaron Smith, David Chen, and Brian Feinstein. "Facebook." Harvard Business School Case 808-128, March 2008. (Revised March 2014.) (More Info.)
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Author

Thomas R. Eisenmann

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

Related Work

    • March 2008 (Revised March 2014)
    • Faculty Research

    Facebook

    By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Aaron Smith, David Chen and Brian Feinstein
    • October 2011 (Revised March 2013)
    • Faculty Research

    Facebook (TN)

    By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski
    • October 2015
    • Faculty Research

    Facebook: The First Ten Years

    By: Shane Greenstein, Marco Iansiti and Christine Snively
Related Work
  • Facebook By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Aaron Smith, David Chen and Brian Feinstein
  • Facebook (TN) By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski
  • Facebook: The First Ten Years By: Shane Greenstein, Marco Iansiti and Christine Snively
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College.