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    • All HBS Web  (231)
      • Faculty Publications  (23)

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      • April 2023
      • Article

      Inattentive Inference

      By: Thomas Graeber
      This paper studies how people infer a state of the world from information structures that include additional, payoff-irrelevant states. For example, learning from a customer review about a product’s quality requires accounting for the reviewer’s otherwise irrelevant...  View Details
      Keywords: Cognition and Thinking; Information Types; Behavior; Knowledge Acquisition
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      Graeber, Thomas. "Inattentive Inference." Journal of the European Economic Association 21, no. 2 (April 2023): 560–592.
      • February 22, 2023
      • Article

      How to Seed Organic Marketing in a Video-First World

      By: Ayelet Israeli, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Matt Higgins
      Early direct-to-consumer (DTC) companies relied on plentiful capital and low-cost digital marketing to power growth. But as this sector has matured, capital is more constrained, social media is more cluttered, and customer acquisition costs are rising. DTC companies...  View Details
      Keywords: Online Business; Ecommerce; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Omnichannel Retail; Omnichannel Retailing; Influencer Marketing; Consumer; Organic Growth; Video Advertising; Promotion; Celebrities; Online Advertising; Online Channel; Online Communities; Online Community; Go To Market Strategy; Platform; Media; Media Content; Digital; Digital Culture; Digital Influencers; Direct To Consumer Marketing; Direct-to-consumer; Innovation & Entrepreneurship; Innovation; Sales; Digital Platforms; Digital Marketing; Digital Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Internet and the Web; Advertising; Business Model; Growth Management; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Communication Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Fashion Industry; Advertising Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States; North America
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      Israeli, Ayelet, Leonard A. Schlesinger, and Matt Higgins. "How to Seed Organic Marketing in a Video-First World." Harvard Business Review (website) (February 22, 2023).
      • January 2023 (Revised March 2023)
      • Case

      OhmConnect: Energizing the Future

      By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Jennifer Fonstad and Nicole Tempest Keller
      Founded in 2013, OhmConnect was a free consumer web app that alerted customers about peak hours of electricity demand, and paid them to lower their energy use at home during these periods. The company sold the aggregated reductions generated by thousands of households...  View Details
      Keywords: App Development; Renewable Energy; Electricity Usage; Regulations; VC; Technology; Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC); Scalability; Applications and Software; Growth and Development Strategy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business Model; Venture Capital; Energy Industry; United States; California; Texas; Europe
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      Rayport, Jeffrey F., Jennifer Fonstad, and Nicole Tempest Keller. "OhmConnect: Energizing the Future." Harvard Business School Case 823-065, January 2023. (Revised March 2023.)
      • December 2022
      • Case

      To Feed the Planet: Juan Luciano at ADM

      By: Joshua D. Margolis, David E. Bell, Damien McLoughlin, Stacy Straaberg and James Weber
      In December 2022, Juan Luciano, Chairman and CEO of agribusiness and nutrition giant ADM, considered the next phase of the historic company’s future. Beginning in 2011 when he joined as COO and moving into his tenure as CEO in 2015, Luciano led a transformation of ADM...  View Details
      Keywords: Agriculture; Leadership; Agribusiness; Acquisition; Business Units; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Forecasting and Prediction; Capital; Cash; Cost of Capital; Cost Management; Profit; Food; Global Range; Innovation Strategy; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Strategic Planning; Risk and Uncertainty; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Vertical Integration; Value Creation; Transformation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Energy Industry; United States; Chicago
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      Margolis, Joshua D., David E. Bell, Damien McLoughlin, Stacy Straaberg, and James Weber. "To Feed the Planet: Juan Luciano at ADM." Harvard Business School Case 423-060, December 2022.
      • 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.)
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