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
  • January 2017 (Revised August 2017)
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Weathernews

By: Karim R. Lakhani and Akiko Kanno
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:25
ShareBar

Abstract

Tomohiro Ishibashi (Bashi), chief executive officer for B to S, and Julia Foote LeStage, chief innovation officer of Weathernews Inc., were addressing a panel at the HBS Digital Summit on creative uses of big data. They told the summit attendees about how the Sakura (cherry blossoms) Project, where the company asked users in Japan to report about how cherry blossoms were blooming near them day by day, had opened up opportunities for the company's consumer business in Japan. The project ultimately garnered positive publicity and became a foothold to building the company's crowdsourcing weather-forecasting service in Japan. It changed the face of weather forecasting in Japan. Bashi and LeStage wondered whether the experience could be applied to the U.S. market.

Keywords

Crowdsourcing; Operations; Globalization; Weather; Forecasting and Prediction; Global Strategy

Citation

Lakhani, Karim R., and Akiko Kanno. "Weathernews." Harvard Business School Case 617-053, January 2017. (Revised August 2017.)
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Author

Karim R. Lakhani

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

Related Work

    • January 2017 (Revised August 2017)
    • Faculty Research

    Weathernews

    By: Karim R. Lakhani and Akiko Kanno
Related Work
  • Weathernews By: Karim R. Lakhani and Akiko Kanno
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