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Publications

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  • All HBS Web  (225)
    • Faculty Publications  (19)

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    • All HBS Web  (225)
      • Faculty Publications  (19)

      Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) Remove Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) →

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      • September 2022
      • Background Note

      On CUE: The Quest for Optimal Customer Unit Economics

      By: Elie Ofek, Barak Libai and Eitan Muller
      Startups are often evaluated by how well they perform on unit economics, defined as the ratio of a customer’s lifetime value (LTV) to acquisition costs (CAC). A common target for unit economics, advocated by many VCs and analysts, is 3:1 (i.e., LTV/CAC=3). While there...  View Details
      Keywords: Unit Economics; Business Startups; Performance Evaluation; Customer Value and Value Chain; Customer Relationship Management; Analysis
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      Ofek, Elie, Barak Libai, and Eitan Muller. "On CUE: The Quest for Optimal Customer Unit Economics." Harvard Business School Background Note 523-050, September 2022.
      • December 2021 (Revised May 2022)
      • Case

      Troverie (A)

      By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Lindsay N. Hyde and Olivia Graham
      Six months after the August 2018 launch of Troverie, a U.S.-based online retailer of luxury watches, the average cost of acquiring a customer is much higher than originally projected, and the startup is incurring a substantial loss on each sales transaction. Could...  View Details
      Keywords: Startup; Luxury Goods; Customer Acquisition; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Luxury; Failure; Internet and the Web; Revenue; Fashion Industry; United States
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      Eisenmann, Thomas R., Lindsay N. Hyde, and Olivia Graham. "Troverie (A)." Harvard Business School Case 822-068, December 2021. (Revised May 2022.)
      • September 2021
      • Case

      On the Bubble: Startup Bootstrapping

      By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Tom Quinn and Annelena Lobb
      Bubble was a software company in the low-code/no-code market, making tools that allowed users without traditional programming backgrounds or technical skills to build software. The case covers cofounder Joshua Haas’s engineering background, as he experienced a high...  View Details
      Keywords: Business Startups; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Plan; Disruption; Transformation; Trends; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Relationship Management; Decision Making; Cost vs Benefits; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Equity; Executive Compensation; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Disruptive Innovation; Technological Innovation; Job Interviews; Growth and Development Strategy; Ownership Stake; Opportunities; Applications and Software; Technology Adoption; Technology Industry; Web Services Industry; New York (city, NY); California; France
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      Bussgang, Jeffrey J., Tom Quinn, and Annelena Lobb. "On the Bubble: Startup Bootstrapping." Harvard Business School Case 822-033, September 2021.
      • September 2021 (Revised December 2021)
      • Case

      Spire, the CubeSat Revolution, and the Government as a Space Data Customer

      By: Matthew Weinzierl, Mehak Sarang and Brendan L. Rosseau
      This case outlines the rise of Spire Global, a young space company using CubeSats to provide weather data and weather prediction services. In addition to tracing the evolution of a space startup from novel idea to publicly-traded company, the case also examines the...  View Details
      Keywords: Space; Government Contracting; Remote Sensing; Satellites; Business Startups; Public Sector; Cost vs Benefits; Competition; Weather; Forecasting and Prediction
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      Weinzierl, Matthew, Mehak Sarang, and Brendan L. Rosseau. "Spire, the CubeSat Revolution, and the Government as a Space Data Customer." Harvard Business School Case 722-013, September 2021. (Revised December 2021.)
      • July 2021
      • Case

      Fynd

      By: Ranjay Gulati, Kairavi Dey and Rachna Tahilyani
      Fynd is a fast-growing venture that in 7 years since its founding has become India's largest omnichannel retail company with real-time access to over 9,000 stores' offline inventory. It started as a B2B business supporting retailers who didn’t have an online business,...  View Details
      Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Business Model; Acquisition; Decision Making; Cost vs Benefits; Growth and Development Strategy; Web Services Industry; Technology Industry; Communications Industry; India; Mumbai
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      Gulati, Ranjay, Kairavi Dey, and Rachna Tahilyani. "Fynd." Harvard Business School Case 822-006, July 2021.
      • July 2021
      • Article

      Information Transparency, Multihoming, and Platform Competition: A Natural Experiment in the Daily Deals Market

      By: Hui Li and Feng Zhu
      Platform competition is shaped by the likelihood of multi-homing (i.e., complementors or consumers adopt more than one platform). To take advantage of multi-homing, platform firms often attempt to motivate their rivals’ high-performing complementors to adopt their own...  View Details
      Keywords: Platform Competition; Multi-homing; Information Transparency; Daily Deals; Groupon; LivingSocial; Digital Platforms; Information; Competition
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      Li, Hui, and Feng Zhu. "Information Transparency, Multihoming, and Platform Competition: A Natural Experiment in the Daily Deals Market." Management Science 67, no. 7 (July 2021): 4384–4407.
      • November 2020 (Revised April 2021)
      • Case

      Roll-Ups and Surprise Billing: Collisions at the Intersection of Private Equity and Patient Care

      By: Trevor Fetter and Kira Seiger
      This case describes the increasing investment by private equity (PE) firms in patient care and other healthcare services. The case focuses on investments in physician staffing firms and roll-up strategy investments in physician practice management (PPM). Included in...  View Details
      Keywords: Business Ventures; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Change; Disruption; Fluctuation; Trends; Customers; Customer Value and Value Chain; Ethics; Fairness; Finance; Equity; Insurance; Private Equity; Geography; Geographic Scope; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Markets; Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Industry Structures; Ownership; Ownership Type; Private Ownership; Relationships; Agency Theory; Business and Community Relations; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Networks; Strategy; Competition; Consolidation; Expansion; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Value; Value Creation; Health Industry; Insurance Industry; United States
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      Fetter, Trevor, and Kira Seiger. "Roll-Ups and Surprise Billing: Collisions at the Intersection of Private Equity and Patient Care." Harvard Business School Case 321-049, November 2020. (Revised April 2021.)
      • August 2019 (Revised October 2019)
      • Case

      Systems Design West

      By: Richard Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
      Jenn Braus (HBS 2013) was halfway through the 90-day exclusivity period for her proposed acquisition of Systems Design West (SDW). She had completed her business and accounting due diligence. Just as she was about to ask her lawyer to begin drafting the purchase...  View Details
      Keywords: Acquisition; Price; Negotiation Offer; Decision Making
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      Ruback, Richard, and Royce Yudkoff. "Systems Design West." Harvard Business School Case 220-004, August 2019. (Revised October 2019.)
      • February 2019 (Revised December 2019)
      • Case

      ThirdLove

      By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Matthew G. Preble
      Keywords: Cohort Behavior; Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC); Lifetime Value (LTV)
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      Rayport, Jeffrey F., and Matthew G. Preble. "ThirdLove." Harvard Business School Case 819-061, February 2019. (Revised December 2019.)
      • March 2018
      • Teaching Note

      Augmedix

      By: Frank V. Cespedes
      Teaching Note for HBS No. 817-048. Augmedix provides a service that live-streams video of patient appointments to a remote scribe, freeing up significant physician time from electronic medical record data-entry tasks. The venture is confronting decisions in areas such...  View Details
      Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Sales; Management; Marketing Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Technology Adoption; Customers; Segmentation; Health Industry; Technology Industry; United States
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      Cespedes, Frank V. "Augmedix." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 818-117, March 2018.
      • December 2017 (Revised January 2018)
      • Case

      Alltech

      By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred
      Alltech was a Lexington, Kentucky–based producer of supplements for animal feed, with revenues of over $2 billion (projected to reach $3 billion in 2018), sales in 120 countries, 5,000 employees, and 100 manufacturing plants worldwide. For nearly four decades, Alltech...  View Details
      Keywords: Alltech; United States; Agribusiness; Agriculture; Animal; Animal Agriculture; Animal Feed; Livestock; Family Business; Vertical Integration; Strategy; Growth; Feed Additives; Feed Supplements; Kentucky; Growth Strategy; Family Businesses; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Change Management; Trends; Governance; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development; Intellectual Property; Leadership; Management; Markets; Organizational Culture; Private Ownership; Science; Quality; Risk and Uncertainty; Research; Sales; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States; Kentucky; Brazil; China
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      Bell, David E., and Natalie Kindred. "Alltech." Harvard Business School Case 518-001, December 2017. (Revised January 2018.)
      • June 2017 (Revised October 2017)
      • Case

      Becton Dickinson: Innovation and Growth (A)

      By: Raffaella Sadun, Michael Beer and James Weber
      In late 2015, CEO Vince Forlenza was reviewing Becton Dickinson’s transformation efforts designed to enable the company to innovate and grow in a changing environment. Becton Dickinson had been a successful medical device company for over 100 years. In recent years,...  View Details
      Keywords: Transformation; Change Management; Innovation Leadership; Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Health Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States
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      Sadun, Raffaella, Michael Beer, and James Weber. "Becton Dickinson: Innovation and Growth (A)." Harvard Business School Case 717-419, June 2017. (Revised October 2017.)
      • January 2014 (Revised May 2014)
      • Case

      Tech Mahindra and the Acquisition of Satyam Computers (A)

      By: Srikant M. Datar, Anjali Raina and Namrata Arora
      Set in 2008, the case details Tech Mahindra, an information technology (IT) company within the Mahindra Group, an Indian multi-industry company with a diverse stable of businesses including automotives, farm equipment, and financial services, and its decision to...  View Details
      Keywords: Acquisition; Corporate Governance; Computer Industry; India
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      Datar, Srikant M., Anjali Raina, and Namrata Arora. "Tech Mahindra and the Acquisition of Satyam Computers (A)." Harvard Business School Case 114-049, January 2014. (Revised May 2014.)
      • 2013
      • Case

      The COFCO Group

      By: F. Warren McFarlan, Zheng Xiaoming and Ziqian Zhao
      COFCO was China's sole legitimate window for agricultural foreign trade before 1987. The reform of China's foreign trade system beginning in 1987 cost COFCO its monopoly position. Subsequently, the SOE giant capitalized on its foreign trade expertise to strategically...  View Details
      Keywords: China; Food; China
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      McFarlan, F. Warren, Zheng Xiaoming, and Ziqian Zhao. "The COFCO Group." Tsinghua University Case, 2013.
      • 2013
      • Teaching Note

      The COFCO Group (TN)

      By: F. Warren McFarlan, Zheng Xiaoming and Ziqian Zhao
      COFCO was China's sole legitimate window for agricultural foreign trade before 1987. The reform of China's foreign trade system beginning in 1987 cost COFCO its monopoly position. Subsequently, the SOE giant capitalized on its foreign trade expertise to strategically...  View Details
      Keywords: China; Food; China
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      McFarlan, F. Warren, Zheng Xiaoming, and Ziqian Zhao. "The COFCO Group (TN)." Tsinghua University Teaching Note, 2013.
      • Article

      The Cost Structure, Customer Profitability, and Retention Implications of Self-Service Distribution Channels: Evidence from Customer Behavior in an Online Banking Channel

      By: Dennis Campbell and Frances X. Frei
      This paper uses the context of online banking to investigate the consequences of employing self-service distribution channels to alter customer interactions with the firm. Using a sample of retail banking customers observed over a 30-month period at a large U.S. bank,...  View Details
      Keywords: Cost; Service Operations; Distribution Channels; Consumer Behavior; Internet and the Web; Banks and Banking; Technology Adoption; Service Delivery; Market Transactions; Market Participation; Profit; Retail Industry; Banking Industry; United States
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      Campbell, Dennis, and Frances X. Frei. "The Cost Structure, Customer Profitability, and Retention Implications of Self-Service Distribution Channels: Evidence from Customer Behavior in an Online Banking Channel." Management Science 56, no. 1 (January 2010): 4–24. (Lead Article.)
      • June 2009
      • Teaching Note

      COFCO Xinjiang Tunhe Co., Ltd. (TN)

      By: David E. Bell, Sarah Morton and Mary Louise Shelman
      Teaching Note for [508079].  View Details
      Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Focus and Relationships; Goals and Objectives; Quality; Price; Competitive Strategy; Contracts; Supply and Industry; Business or Company Management; Problems and Challenges; Safety; Cost Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; China
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      Bell, David E., Sarah Morton, and Mary Louise Shelman. "COFCO Xinjiang Tunhe Co., Ltd. (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 509-045, June 2009.
      • February 2003 (Revised March 2007)
      • Case

      Internet Customer Acquisition Strategy at Bankinter

      By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez, V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem
      Bankinter, a relatively small Spanish bank, has a large presence as an Internet financial services provider. Leading the way to profitability through the Internet will give Bankinter a major competitive advantage over the larger, more established Spanish banks. Ann...  View Details
      Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Internet and the Web; Activity Based Costing and Management; Customer Value and Value Chain; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; Spain
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      Martinez-Jerez, Francisco de Asis, V.G. Narayanan, and Lisa Brem. "Internet Customer Acquisition Strategy at Bankinter." Harvard Business School Case 103-021, February 2003. (Revised March 2007.)
      • January 2003 (Revised September 2007)
      • Background Note

      A Note on Racing to Acquire Customers

      By: Thomas R. Eisenmann
      Examines factors that motivate a firm's race to acquire customers in newly emerging markets and explores conditions under which racing strategies are likely to yield attractive returns. Provides a definition of racing behavior, introduces the notion of an optimal level...  View Details
      Keywords: Customers; Price Bubble; Network Effects; Emerging Markets; Market Entry and Exit; Behavior; Competition
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      Eisenmann, Thomas R. "A Note on Racing to Acquire Customers." Harvard Business School Background Note 803-103, January 2003. (Revised September 2007.)
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