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• Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2019

  Birds of a Feather ... Enforce Social Norms? Interactions Among Culture, Norms, and Strategy

  Hongyi Li and Eric J. Van den Steen

  This paper analyzes how shared beliefs and preferences (or values) cause the emergence of social norms; why people may enforce norms that go against their own beliefs and preferences/values; and how this may cause a disconnect to develop between the organization's norms and its underlying beliefs and preferences. We further show, among other things, that such social norms are more likely in attractive organizations, for behaviors that have modest personal consequences, and in organizations where employees depend on others' choices to a moderate degree. We finally discuss how these mechanisms help our understanding of culture change and of the interaction between culture and strategy. We argue that culture is not only an input to strategy, but also a substitute and a potential competitor.

  Keywords: culture; norms; Values and Beliefs; Organizational Culture; Strategy;

  Citation:

  Li, Hongyi, and Eric J. Van den Steen. "Birds of a Feather ... Enforce Social Norms? Interactions Among Culture, Norms, and Strategy." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-045, October 2019.  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | February 2018 (Revised July 2019)

  SoulCycle: The Road Ahead

  Ashish Nanda, Eric Van den Steen and Jeffrey Boyar

  Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler founded SoulCycle, an indoor cycling studio chain, in 2006 as more than a health club; they wanted it to become a lifestyle brand that would “empower riders in an immersive fitness experience.” By early 2015, SoulCycle had grown to 38 studios in seven metropolitan areas. In March 2015, Equinox, a luxury fitness company that had financed SoulCycle’s expansion in 2011, approached the co-founders with an offer to buy them out for $90 million each. It was an attractive offer but one that would also likely circumscribe their responsibilities. Rice and Cutler had to decide whether to accept the Equinox offer as a prelude to smaller roles at the firm (even potential exit) or continue investing time, energy, and financial resources in growing the business.

  Keywords: fitness; fitness industry; exercise; cycling; boutique fitness; exit strategy; Growth; bicycles; retail; pricing; community; SoulCycle; vision; Health; Leadership; Strategy; Marketing; Decision Making; Health Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Nanda, Ashish, Eric Van den Steen, and Jeffrey Boyar. "SoulCycle: The Road Ahead." Harvard Business School Case 718-499, February 2018. (Revised July 2019.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2019 (Revised June 2019)

  SoundCloud: Subscription Streaming?

  Ashish Nanda, Eric Van den Steen, Andy Wu, Jeffrey Boyar and Bonnie Bennett Slater

  Established in 2007, SoundCloud already boasted the second largest number of active music listeners among all streaming services and was recognized as the go-to platform for new artists by early 2014. Yet, its founders were questioning the robustness of the firm’s current focus on serving as a lab for emerging musical artists. They were wondering if the firm should instead enter the booming mainstream music streaming market.

  Keywords: audio; recording; artist; music; music downloads; streaming; radio; subscription; subscription model; mainstream; Growth; lawsuit; licensing; customers; platform; Pivot; Music Entertainment; Strategy; Leadership; Business Model; Decision Making; Advertising; Music Industry; Europe; Germany; Sweden; United States;

  Citation:

  Nanda, Ashish, Eric Van den Steen, Andy Wu, Jeffrey Boyar, and Bonnie Bennett Slater. "SoundCloud: Subscription Streaming?" Harvard Business School Case 719-430, January 2019. (Revised June 2019.)  View Details

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