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- 09 Dec 2015
- Research Event
When Hosts Attack: The Competitive Threat of Online Platforms
Online retail platforms like Amazon are great for the third-party businesses that use them—until the platform’s owner decides to start competing with them. Feng Zhu looks at the factors that turn hosts into predators. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 02 Nov 2015
- Book
Dear Internet: You Are Extraordinary, But Not Exceptional
Professor Shane Greenstein is annoyed by “Internet exceptionalism,” the prevalent idea that the Internet defies economic logic, that there’s never been anything like it in business history, and that its impact supersedes everything. In his new book, Greenstein argues that the Internet actually follows classic patterns of economic behavior, detailing the commercial forces that guided the Internet’s path from cool invention to successful innovation. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 13 Jul 2015
- Research & Ideas
‘Humblebragging’ is a Bad Strategy, Especially in a Job Interview
While humblebragging runs rampant on Twitter, it's a lousy self-promotion tactic that usually backfires according to recent research by Ovul Sezer, Francesca Gino, and Michael Norton. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 02 Jun 2014
- Research & Ideas
Secrets to a Successful Social Media Strategy
Misiek Piskorski explores the secrets of successful social media tactics in his new book, A Social Strategy: How We Profit From Social Media. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Mar 2014
- What Do You Think?
When Will the Next Dot.com Bubble Burst?
Summing Up: Is that the sound of a dot.com bubble bursting? Could be, but is that a bad thing?, ask Jim Heskett's readers. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Feb 2014
- Research & Ideas
Uncovering Racial Discrimination in the ‘Sharing Economy’
New research by Benjamin G. Edelman and Michael Luca shows how online marketplaces like Airbnb inadvertently fuel racial discrimination. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 Nov 2013
- Op-Ed
Twitter IPO: Overvalued or the Start of Something Big?
Although it has yet to make a dime, share buyers valued Twitter's IPO at $25 billion. Asks professor Chet Huber, what do they see? Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 29 Apr 2013
- Working Paper Summaries
Exclusive Preferential Placement as Search Diversion: Evidence from Flight Search
Measuring the net effect of search diversion is important for understanding the extent to which search engines and other intermediaries may act to influence consumer behavior. This paper makes two contributions. First, the authors develop a theoretical model to establish conditions when a search engine chooses to divert search to a less relevant service. Results indicate that search engines have a larger incentive to divert search when they are able to alter the consumers' perceptions of the difference between non-paid and paid placements, and when search engines place a large weight on revenue. These results are consistent with instances where some search engines have labeled paid links with confusing euphemisms or not at all, and where some search engines have mixed paid and non-paid links in the same area of the screen. Second, the authors measure the impact of a diversion mechanism where a search engine exclusively awards a non-paid preferred placement slot to its own service. Specifically, they examine Google's preferred placement of Flight Search. Analysis indicates that there was an 85 percent increase in click-through rates for paid advertising and a 65 percent decrease in click-through rates for non-paid algorithmic search traffic to competing online travel agencies. Both changes are statistically significant, providing evidence of Google's ability to influence how consumers choose services after they search. Key concepts include: There are significant cost increases for Internet startups that obtain large quantities of incoming traffic from search engines. These increases in costs could deter entry into thriving online industries. Search diversion particularly harms the sites that provide services most relevant to users' search queries. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 10 Dec 2012
- Research & Ideas
Why We Blab Our Intimate Secrets on Facebook
Leslie K. John and colleagues set out to discover the reason behind a common discrepancy: While many of us purport to be concerned about Internet privacy, we seem to have no worries about sharing our most intimate details on Facebook. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 26 Nov 2012
- Research & Ideas
New Winners and Losers in the Internet Economy
In a stressed US economy, employment in the Internet ecosystem is growing at an impressive rate, with small companies especially benefiting, according to a new study by Professor John A. Deighton and research associate Leora D. Kornfeld. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 25 Apr 2012
- What Do You Think?
How Will the “Age of Big Data” Affect Management?
Summing up: How do we avoid losing useful knowledge in a seemingly endless flood of data? Jim Heskett's readers offer some wise suggestions. What do you think? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 09 Feb 2012
- Sharpening Your Skills
Sharpening Your Skills: Online Marketing
In this collection from our archives, Harvard Business School faculty discuss the latest research on online marketing techniques, including consumer reviews, video ads, loyalty programs, and coupon offerings. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 03 Nov 2011
- Working Paper Summaries
Pricing and Efficiency in the Market for IP Addresses
Every device connected to the Internet—from PCs to tablets, printers to cash registers—needs an IP address. The current addressing standard, IPv4, uses addresses with 32 binary digits, allowing approximately 4 billion IP addresses. The world's centralized supply of unused IP addresses reached exhaustion in February 2011, and networks in most countries will soon find they cannot easily obtain additional IPv4 addresses. While addresses may now be bought and sold, the institutions and rules of these transfers are not yet well-developed. Nor have economic models examined the unusual characteristics of this market. Benjamin Edelman and Michael Schwarz model the market for IPv4 addresses, including evaluating novel rules intended to avoid possible harms from the purchase and sale of IP addresses, as well as predicting price trends. Key concepts include: Facing limited availability of IPv4 addresses, growing or newly created networks have several options. Many growing networks will, in the short run, turn to IPv4 purchases to meet their v4 needs—prompting questions of the design of markets and institutions to facilitate such transfers. While trade in IPv4 addresses promises various benefits, transfers also prompt concerns. Most common is the fear that certain address transfers might threaten the Internet's routing system—the systems that transfer data from one network to another. Suitable market rules can moderate these concerns. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Oct 2011
- Research & Ideas
The Yelp Factor: Are Consumer Reviews Good for Business?
Michael Luca shows just how much restaurant reviews on Yelp affect companies' bottom lines. The more difficult question: Are these ratings reliable as a measure of product quality? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 12 Oct 2011
- Research & Ideas
Creating Online Ads We Want to Watch
The mere fact that an online video advertisement reaches a viewer's computer screen does not guarantee that the ad actually reaches the viewer. New experimental research by Thales S. Teixeira looks at how advertisers can effectively capture and keep viewers' attention by evoking certain emotional responses. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 10 Oct 2011
- Research & Ideas
Retailing Revolution: Category Killers on the Brink
Mass-market retailers, particularly big-box "category killers," are under critical pressure from online competitors. For retailers that can react quickly enough, this upheaval is survivable. But those slow to see the tsunami wave on the horizon stand to be swept away, according to professors Rajiv Lal and José B. Alvarez. Key concepts include: Retailing generally is at a tipping point, with category killers being the first significant casualties. Online competitors are making retail stores, which spent much of the last decade adding floor space, less productive. The impact of emerging technologies, expanding price and assortment transparency, and the increasing amount of excess retail space has created similar challenges for all mass-market retailers. Physical stores can compete by emphasizing instant gratification, unique shopping experiences, and customized support. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 15 Aug 2011
- Research & Ideas
A New Model for Business: The Museum
Looking for a new model to think about business? Look no further than your local art museum, says Assistant Professor Ray Weaver. Some of the most profitable Web businesses and retailers such as Apple succeed by acting like museum curators: providing a very limited amount of choices at a time; offering a brief, engaging description of each choice; and classifying products honestly. Key concepts include: "The firm as curator" is the theme of still-nascent research by HBS Assistant Professor Ray Weaver, who mis seeking feedback on the idea from practitioners. Weaver argues that Web giants Groupon and Facebook are successful not only because they offer great deals and engender social networking, but because of the careful way in which they present and organize information. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 13 Jun 2011
- HBS Case
Mobile Banking for the Unbanked
A billion people in developing countries have no need for a savings account–but they do need a financial service that banks compete to provide. The new HBS case Mobile Banking for the Unbanked, written by professor Kash Rangan, is a lesson in understanding the real need of customers.
- 30 Nov 2010
- Working Paper Summaries
Sponsored Links’ or ’Advertisements’?: Measuring Labeling Alternatives in Internet Search Engines
In processing a search for a particular phrase, Internet search engines generally offer two types of results: the algorithmic results, which a search engine selects based on relevance, and the "sponsored links," for which advertisers pay. The latter often occupy prominent screen space. But does the average web surfer realize that they are advertisements? In an online experiment, Harvard Business School professor Benjamin Edelman and doctoral candidate Duncan S. Gilchrist show that "sponsored link" is too vague a term for some users to understand, and that "paid advertisement" is a label that better clarifies the nature of the link. They call on the FTC to compel search engines to improve their disclosures. Key concepts include: Through October 2010, leading search engines Google, Yahoo!, and Bing presented their advertisements with the labels "sponsored links," "sponsored results," and "sponsored sites," respectively. (In November, Google substituted the term "ads.") In an online experiment that replaced these labels with the term "paid advertisement," users were up to 33 percent less likely to click on the sponsored link. Certain categories of users were particularly influenced by the improved label. The improved labels had largest effect on users without college degrees, users with annual income below $100,000, and users who utilize the web less than 12 hours per week. The Federal Trade Commission has called for "clear and conspicuous disclosures" to label search advertisements. Because available evidence suggests users do not understand widely used labels, the researchers believe the FTC should require search engines to use the label "advertisement" or "paid advertisement" rather than vague or easily overlooked alternatives. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
Maybe Uber isn't God's Gift to Mankind
Benjamin G. Edelman discusses the potential negative effects of transportation network companies in the so-called sharing economy. Open for comment; 0 Comments.