Ramon Casadesus-Masanell
There are 12 articles for this faculty member.
When Does a Platform Create Value by Limiting Choice?
| Authors: | Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Hanna W. Halaburda |
|---|---|
| Published: | October 26, 2010 |
| Paper Release Date: | September, 2010 (Revised January, 2011) |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
Platforms such as video games and smartphones need to attract users, and the best way to do so is to offer more and more applications. Is there ever a point where a platform should limit the variety available? Researchers Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Hanna Halaburda observe that in many situations users enjoy consuming applications together. When such consumption complementarities are present, users may benefit if the platform limits choice. With fewer applications to choose from, it is easier for users to take full advantage from shared consumption.
Business Model Innovation and Competitive Imitation
| Authors: | Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Feng Zhu |
|---|---|
| Published: | July 22, 2010 |
| Paper Release Date: | July 2010 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
When and why should an entrant adopt a new business model when the innovation could be imitated by an incumbent? In this paper, HBS professor Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and University of Southern California professor Feng Zhu examine the desirability, or lack thereof, of business model innovations when they cannot be protected, opening the door to competitive imitation. Issues of competing through new business model design become more important given the increasing number of opportunities for business model configurations enabled by technological progress, new customer preferences, and deregulation.
Mixing Open Source and Proprietary Software Strategies
| Q&A with: | Gaston Llanes |
|---|---|
| Published: | January 11, 2010 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Open source and proprietary software development used to be competing strategies. Now software firms are experimenting with strategies that mix the two models. Researcher Gaston Llanes discusses recent research into these "mixed source" strategies.
Published in 2009
From Strategy to Business Models and to Tactics
| Authors: | Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Joan Enric Ricart |
|---|---|
| Published: | November 24, 2009 |
| Paper Release Date: | November 2009 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
Drivers such as globalization, deregulation, or technological change, just to mention a few, are profoundly changing the competitive game. Scholars and practitioners agree that the fastest-growing firms in this new environment appear to have taken advantage of these structural changes to compete "differently" and innovate in their business models. However, there is not yet agreement on what are the distinctive features of superior business models. This dispute may have arisen, in part, because of a lack of a clear distinction between the notions of strategy, business model, and tactics. HBS professor Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Joan Enric Ricart present an integrative framework to distinguish and relate the concepts of business model, strategy, and tactics.
Strategies to Fight Ad-sponsored Rivals
| Authors: | Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Feng Zhu |
|---|---|
| Published: | October 22, 2009 |
| Paper Release Date: | September 2009, revised March 2010 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
Many companies choose to finance themselves using ad revenues and offer their products or services—from newspapers to software applications, television programs, and online search—free to consumers. Yet the emergence of ad-sponsored entrants in various industries poses significant threats to the incumbents in these markets whose business models are often based on subscriptions or fees charged to their customers. Faced with the threat from ad-sponsored entrants, incumbents must choose strategies to respond. HBS professor Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and University of Southern California professor Feng Zhu create an analytical framework to establish guidelines for incumbent firms facing these issues. The researchers consider four alternative business models: pure-subscription-based; pure-ad-sponsored; mixed-single-product; and mixed-product-line-extension. Analysis shows that the optimal strategic and tactical choices change dramatically in the presence of an ad-sponsored rival. This is the first study to provide a comprehensive analysis of the competition between a free ad-sponsored entrant and an incumbent that has the option of choosing different business models.
Mixed Source
| Authors: | Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gastón Llanes |
|---|---|
| Published: | October 15, 2009 |
| Paper Release Date: | September 2009 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
As most managers know, commercial firms may benefit from participating in open source software development by selling complementary goods or services. Open source has the potential to improve value creation because it benefits from the efforts of a large community of developers. Proprietary software, on the other hand, results in superior value capture because the intellectual property remains under the control of the original developer. While the straightforward rationale for "mixed source" (a combination of the two) is appealing, what does it mean for a business model? Under what circumstances should a profit-maximizing firm adopt a mixed source business model? How should firms respond to competitors' adoption of mixed source business models? And what are the right pricing structures under mixed source compared with the proprietary business model? In this paper the researchers analyze a model where firms with modular software must decide which modules to open and which to keep proprietary. Findings can be directly applied to the design of optimal business strategies.
Platform Competition, Compatibility, and Social Efficiency
| Authors: | Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Francisco Ruiz-Aliseda |
|---|---|
| Published: | February 12, 2009 |
| Paper Release Date: | October 2008 (revised November 2009) |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
The last three decades have witnessed unprecedented growth in network industries such as video games, computers, credit cards, media, and telecommunications. These industries are often organized around physical or virtual platforms that enable distinct groups of agents to interact with one another, and are commonly referred to as two-sided markets or markets with two-sided platforms. An operating systems developer such as Microsoft, for example, provides a software platform that makes possible the completion of value-creating transactions between independent software vendors and users. A key attribute of the market that determines the intensity and scope of network effects is whether or not competing platforms are compatible. The effects of platform (in)compatibility on market outcomes, however, have largely been ignored by the literature on markets with two-sided platforms. This paper develops an explanation of why markets with two-sided platforms are often characterized by incompatibility with one dominant player that may choose to subsidize access to one side of the market.
Published in 2008
Competing Complements
| Authors: | Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Barry Nalebuff, and David B. Yoffie |
|---|---|
| Published: | September 11, 2008 |
| Paper Release Date: | July 2008, revised March 2010 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
Over the last two decades, an increasing number of industries have evolved from vertical integration to more horizontal structures where firms design and manufacture components that are later assembled by third parties for the final customer. In these horizontal industries, firms may be "complementors," rather than customers, suppliers, or competitors. Classic examples of complementors include Intel and Microsoft. Similar complementor relationships arise in industries such as communications, consumer electronics, automobiles, and health care. In these industries, complementor analysis may be as important as competitor analysis. The authors of this paper introduce competition into one side of complementor analysis, and suggest implications for managers, public policy, and the development of theory.
The Value of Environmental Activists
| Q&A with: | Ramon Casadesus-Masanell |
|---|---|
| Published: | September 8, 2008 |
| Feature: | HBS Cases |
With decidedly non-profit goals leading them on, how do environmental protection groups such as Greenpeace and World Wildlife Fund create value? Can it be measured? A Q&A with Harvard Business School professor Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and case writer Jordan Mitchell.
Published in 2007
Delivering the Digital Goods: iTunes vs. Peer-to-Peer
| Q&A with: | Ramon Casadesus-Masanell |
|---|---|
| Published: | April 16, 2007 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Apple's iTunes music download service and illegal peer-to-peer music downloads offer two contrasting approaches to delivering digital content to users. Can Apple and the recording industry seriously compete against free? Do iTunes and p2p help each other in some ways? Professor Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and collaborator Andres Hervas-Drane discuss their recent research on competition in digital distribution.
Published in 2005
Wintel: Cooperation or Conflict
| Authors: | Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and David B. Yoffie |
|---|---|
| Published: | July 5, 2006 |
| Paper Release Date: | July 2005 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
Industries are becoming more horizontal. Products that used to be designed and manufactured by a single firm are now produced by different companies that must coordinate activities. Here, the authors detail the relationship between Intel and Microsoft (both integral to PCs) and, using a mixed-duopoly model, analyze the dynamics of cooperation verses competition. They find that costs associated with complementary R&D, conflicts of interest in pricing, and the possibility of competitors all factor in the decision of when to cooperate or compete.
Microsoft vs. Open Source: Who Will Win?
| Q&A with: | Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pankaj Ghemawat |
|---|---|
| Published: | June 6, 2005 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Using formal economic modelling, professors Pankaj Ghemawat and Ramon Casadesus-Masanell consider the competitive dynamics of the software wars between Microsoft and open source. Read our interview.
