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Groupon Doomed by Too Much of a Good Thing
Venture capital Digital Article“Alright, you caught us. We’re actually not making any money. In fact, we are really losing a lot of money.” This is the essence of Groupon’s declaration last week that it will remove the controversial accounting metric called Adjusted Consolidated Segment Operating Income (ACSOI) from its financial statements. ACSOI essentially measures Groupon’s profits before subtracting […] -
Microsoft Blew It on the Price of Xbox One
Strategy Digital ArticleThe tech giant chose the wrong moment to sell at a 25% premium over the competition. -
Crap Circles
Analytics and data science Magazine ArticleThe most dubious business plan can look solid—even smart—if it’s cast as a virtuous circle. “See, we invest our profits in innovation to create delightful products that customers buy—which generate profits that we invest in innovation!” Who could argue with that? Indeed, the merit of self-reinforcing systems seems so obvious that businesspeople instinctively describe their […] -
What the Pandemic Means for Health Care’s Digital Transformation
Technology and analytics Digital ArticleThree key priorities identified by leading CIOs. -
How to Design an AI Marketing Strategy
Sales & Marketing SpotlightIn order to realize AI's giant potential, CMOs need to have a good grasp of the various kinds of applications available and how they may evolve. This... -
Uber and Other Tech Companies Could Make Simple Changes to Avoid Driving Away Their Female Engineers
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleSmall, practical steps can interrupt bias. -
Defensive Marketing: How a Strong Incumbent Can Protect Its Position
Competitive strategy Magazine ArticleFacing deregulation, the Australian telephone company Telstra developed a marketing strategy that blunted the attack of a potentially powerful new rival. -
Are Apple's New Features Convincing Customers to Buy?
Strategy & Execution Digital ArticleTo outpace the competition, Apple needs a unique criteria of purchase - not just better products or features. -
Don’t Cheer Yet for Microsoft’s Bet on Yahoo
Web-based technologies Digital ArticleOn Friday, Microsoft shocked the technology world with a surprise $44.6 billion offer for Yahoo!. The move amounted to an admission that Microsoft’s largely organic efforts to compete against search king Google were falling short. It is unlikely that snaring Yahoo! will meaningfully improve Microsoft’s long-term forecasts–unless it simultaneously finds a way to improve its […] -
Ultimately Accountable Job: Leading Today's Sales Organization
Sales & Marketing Magazine ArticleIn recent years, sales leaders have had to devote considerable time and energy to establishing and maintaining disciplined processes. The thing is, many... -
What’s Holding Women Back in Science and Technology Industries
Gender Digital ArticleThese male-centered cultures are causing women to walk out the door. -
Why Apple Made the Right Call on Apple Maps
Strategy Digital ArticleGetting control over maps is a strategic imperative, no matter the cost. -
It’s Time to Update Section 230
Government policy and regulation Digital ArticleThe internet has changed a lot since the Communications Decency Act was passed in 1996. -
The Decline of Yahoo in Its Own Words
Mobile and wireless technology Digital ArticleIt was 2012 before they really started talking about mobile, according to their earnings calls. -
Five Things Tim Cook Should Do at Apple (Now that He’s Done Testifying)
Leadership Digital ArticleIt’s time to stretch outside his comfort zone. -
Why Tech Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries Struggle to Raise Funds
Entrepreneurship Digital ArticleA few years ago, while I was a first-year Ph.D. student in the engineering school at Johns Hopkins University, I had a business idea. I had taken two excellent courses on microelectronics, and decided that I could build a business around them in my native Nigeria. As a college student in Nigeria, I had wanted […] -
Cyber Security in the Internet of Things
Cybersecurity and digital privacy Digital ArticleEvery enterprise will be affected by the Internet of Things (IoT), the growing phenomenon by which not only people, but also “things” — vehicles, commercial and industrial equipment, medical devices, remote sensors in natural environments — are linked to networks that are connected to the internet. Expect the impact on your business to be profound. […] -
What SXSW Taught Me About Social Systems, and Business
Social media Digital ArticleLess than a week has passed since the interactive portion of SXSW, a Mecca for the world’s digerati, wrapped up. Some have written scathing reviews vowing never to return and others provided a more balanced look. From a sociological point of view, I’d argue that events like this serve up insights by the pound, if […] -
How Comcast Sets Its Customer Service Reps Up to Fail
Customer service Digital ArticleAnd why it’s “reprehensible,” for both employees and customers. -
Amazon vs. Apple: Competing Ecosystem Strategies
Strategy & Execution Digital ArticleThe most viable rival to Apple's iPad isn't produced by a traditional hardware firm. Samsung, Motorola, Toshiba, HP, RIM and HTC have hardly made a dent...
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Pacific Bell: Centrex Reengineering
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Describes the redesign and rollout of the new order-fulfillment process for a flagship product at Pacific Bell. Pacific Bell is one of the Regional Bell... -
Telefonica: A Lean Elephant
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details This case shows Telefonica, a large and sophisticated technology company in Spain, try to transform its innovation process. To do so, it is employing... -
Pepsi-Lipton Brisk
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details This case showcases key decisions in promoting the re-launch of Brisk, a ready-to-drink iced tea by Pepsi-Lipton. The decisions are: creative, media and... -
Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Donald Sanger, Chief Financial Officer, Panama Studios
Leadership & Managing People Case Study8.95View Details Ponce de Leon (POL) is a four-party negotiation exercise in which a film studio is trying to sign a major actress to star in an upcoming movie. The negotiation... -
MTS India: Organic Growth, Partnership, or Exit?
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In June 2015, Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) India was considering its future in the Indian telecom market. MTS India, a global telecommunications (telecom)... -
JOHN JANNSSEN AND THE COMPANY - Confidential Instructions for Blaine Yee, District HR Manager
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details A three-party negotiation among a company's human resources manager, senior manager, and a supervisor over whether to reverse plans to fire the supervisor's... -
Philips: Redefining Telehealth
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details As one of the world's largest healthcare companies, Philips sought to reach beyond the walls of the hospital and expand its hospital-to-home program to... -
Gaming the Gamers: Using Experience Maps to Develop Revenue-Generating Insights
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details A senior product manager for a telecommunications company has been asked to propose ideas for generating new revenue from video gamers who use his company's... -
Innovis Telecom: Entrepreneurial Internationalization
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details Innovis was a telecom services start-up founded in 2010 in India. Due to certain government regulations banning the import of telecom equipment from China,... -
IVTL: Assessing Project Economic Viability
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details Indus Valley Telecom Ltd. (IVTL) wanted to set up an optical fibre cable plant at its subsidiary, Cosmic Equipment Company Ltd. The general manager of... -
Apple: Corporate Governance and Stock Buyback
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details An activist shareholder who invested a significant amount in Apple's stock proposed a share repurchase program. If this proposal were approved at the... -
Futbol Club Barcelona
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In June 2015, FC Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu sees his team lift the UEFA Champions League trophy, completing an impressive trophy haul in the 2014-2015... -
The Death of Distance: How the Communications Revolution Is Changing our Lives
16.95View Details In this elaboration of her survey of telecommunications for The Economist (9/95), Cairncross argues that the advances now underway in communications,... -
Qualcomm Inc., 2019
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details This case is set in mid-2019, when Qualcomm was struggling with unwanted take-over battles, fights with Apple and the Chinese government, and internal... -
Teledesic (Abridged)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details Describes plans for a failed project that proposed the use of 288 satellites to deliver high-speed data communications services anywhere in the world. -
Fintech Solutions: Under Pressure
Management Case Study11.95View Details In October 2022, Priyanka Bhat, the project manager leading a project for Fintech Solutions, was contemplating her options to handle issues plaguing the... -
McCaw Cellular Communications, Inc. (E)
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details Describes a competitor's decision to install capital equipment using switching technology incompatible with McCaw's. -
Erik Peterson (B)
Organizational Development Case Study5.00View Details This one-paragraph case adds to the data presented in the (A) case. A redisguised version of an earlier case. -
Sprint: La Conexion Familiar (A)
Organizational Development Case Study11.95View Details Management at Sprint Corp. must decide what action to take with a small telemarketing operation that is about to vote on union representation. If employees... -
Outdoor Digital Media in China: Tulip Mega Media in the Run-Up to the Beijing Olympics
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details In the run-up to the Beijing Olympics, China's US$5.714 billion outdoor advertising market, like the city itself, underwent a major overhaul. With the...
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Pacific Bell: Centrex Reengineering
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Describes the redesign and rollout of the new order-fulfillment process for a flagship product at Pacific Bell. Pacific Bell is one of the Regional Bell... -
Groupon Doomed by Too Much of a Good Thing
Venture capital Digital Article“Alright, you caught us. We’re actually not making any money. In fact, we are really losing a lot of money.” This is the essence of Groupon’s declaration last week that it will remove the controversial accounting metric called Adjusted Consolidated Segment Operating Income (ACSOI) from its financial statements. ACSOI essentially measures Groupon’s profits before subtracting […] -
Microsoft Blew It on the Price of Xbox One
Strategy Digital ArticleThe tech giant chose the wrong moment to sell at a 25% premium over the competition. -
Telefonica: A Lean Elephant
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details This case shows Telefonica, a large and sophisticated technology company in Spain, try to transform its innovation process. To do so, it is employing... -
Reinventing Invention
Management AudioNathan Myhrvold, CEO of Intellectual Ventures and author of the HBR article “Funding Eureka.” -
Pepsi-Lipton Brisk
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details This case showcases key decisions in promoting the re-launch of Brisk, a ready-to-drink iced tea by Pepsi-Lipton. The decisions are: creative, media and... -
Crap Circles
Analytics and data science Magazine ArticleThe most dubious business plan can look solid—even smart—if it’s cast as a virtuous circle. “See, we invest our profits in innovation to create delightful products that customers buy—which generate profits that we invest in innovation!” Who could argue with that? Indeed, the merit of self-reinforcing systems seems so obvious that businesspeople instinctively describe their […] -
Ponce de Leon: Confidential Instructions for Donald Sanger, Chief Financial Officer, Panama Studios
Leadership & Managing People Case Study8.95View Details Ponce de Leon (POL) is a four-party negotiation exercise in which a film studio is trying to sign a major actress to star in an upcoming movie. The negotiation... -
MTS India: Organic Growth, Partnership, or Exit?
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In June 2015, Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) India was considering its future in the Indian telecom market. MTS India, a global telecommunications (telecom)... -
JOHN JANNSSEN AND THE COMPANY - Confidential Instructions for Blaine Yee, District HR Manager
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details A three-party negotiation among a company's human resources manager, senior manager, and a supervisor over whether to reverse plans to fire the supervisor's...