Internet Wars
A Seminar on Strategy & The Internet Ecosystem
Fall 2014
PROFESSOR: Jared Earl Grusd
Jared is an accomplished executive who has helped lead three of the world's
most innovative companies: Spotify, AOL, and Google. He is the current Head of
Corporate Development and General Counsel of Spotify, the former Chief
Strategy and Business Development Officer of AOL, and a former member of the
executive team responsible for Google's multi-billion dollar advertising business
in the Americas. Between these companies, he has led a wide range of global
functions, including, corporate strategy, corporate development, business
development, business affairs, legal, and public policy. He was recently named
by Business Insider to the Silicon Alley 100, a list of the 100 "coolest" people in
NY tech, and by Fortune/CNN Money as one of "five of tech's most powerful
lawyers." Jared is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Finance & Economics
at Columbia Business School. He is a mentor at TechStars and a board member
and advisor to several promising venture-backed start-ups, including Shake.
Jared serves on the EU Media Futures Forum, a think tank set up by the
European Commission to improve the media industry in Europe.
EMAIL: jegrusd@gmail.com
TA: TBD
Course Description:
The Internet is contributing to economic growth that exceeds the pace of the
Industrial Revolution of the 1800s. The Internet is not only transforming the
global economy, creating enormous value for companies, investors and
consumers, but is also transforming our daily lives. Fueled by the unprecedented
growth of private and public technology companies like Apple, Google, Amazon,
Samsung, Facebook, Alibaba, Uber and others, the Internet economy has
captured the imagination of the world. As major technology companies battle to
control the underlying tech platforms, there is also an unprecedented number of
start-ups valued at more than a billion dollars that are trying to disrupt every
sector of the economy. The emergence of these highly funded and valued
companies may imply seismic changes in how companies are built, financed and
compete and how industries are formed going forward.
This class seeks to explore many of the current trends taking place in the Internet
and technology ecosystems, with an emphasis on industry analysis, strategy and
the application of a range of fields from finance, economics, game theory, history
and psychology, to analyze the strategic decisions and interactions of firms within
the ecosystem. We will rely mostly on business school cases, publicly available
documents, and current news to assist in our discussions. Students should end
the course with deeper
Grading and Assignments:
Class Participation – 30%
Memos (2) – 40% or 20% each
Final Presentation or Paper – 30%
Please email assignments to jegrusd@gmail.com
Schedule and Readings:
Week 1: Introduction to Internet Wars
Business Insider’s Future of Digital - http://www.businessinsider.com/the-future-ofdigital-2013- 2013-11#-1
Optional Readings to Read Throughout the Course:
The End of Competitive Advantage, Rita McGrath
Webinar: http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/08/the-end-of-competitive-advanta/
Strategy and
the Business Landscape (3rd Edition) by Penkaj Ghemawat (July 12, 2009)
Competition Demystified: A Radically Simplified Approach to Business Strategy by
Bruce Greenwald and Judd Kahn (Aug 28, 2007)
The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do
Business by Clayton M. Christensen (Oct 4, 2011)
Week 2: The Battle for Search
Digital Wars: Apple, Google, Microsoft and the Battle for the Internet by Charles
Arthur (Apr 28, 2012). Read Chapter 1, 2 and 3.
Cases:
“Microsoft’s Search.” HBS Case No. 709461-PDF-ENG. Boston, Mass: Harvard
Business School Publishing, 2009.
“Google, Inc.” HBS Case No. 910036-PDF-ENG. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business
School Publishing, 2011.
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=77052&R=UV0583-PDFENG&conversationId=40429
Investor Relations: (Please read the most recent annual report, quarterly earnings
and financial statements.)
Google: http://investor.google.com/
Earnings:
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1288776/000119312512025336/d26
0164d10k.ht m
Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/investor/default.aspx
http://www.microsoft.com/investor/AnnualReports/default.aspx
Optional Readings
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=70583&R=P50-PDFENG&conversationId=40451
In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives by Steven Levy (Apr
12, 2011)
Vanity Fair Microsoft article http://www.vanityfair.com/business/2012/08/microsoftlost-mojo-steve-ballmer
Bill Gates memo:
http://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/exhibits/20.pdf
Week 3: The Battle for Social
Cases:
“Facebook.” HBS Case No. 808128-PDF-ENG. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business
School Publishing, 2011
Facebook:
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=4784570&R=E468-PDFENG&conversationId=40227
Twitter:
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=1835161&R=710455PDF- ENG&conversationId=40273
Investor Relations:
Facebook: http://investor.fb.com/
Twitter: https://investor.twitterinc.com/
LinkedIn: http://investors.linkedin.com/
Optional Readings:
The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook: A Tale of Sex, Money,
Genius and Betrayal by Ben Mezrich (Sep 28, 2010)
The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the
World by David Kirkpatrick (Hardcover - Jun 8, 2010)
Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship and Betrayal by Nick
Bilton (November 5, 2013) http://www.amazon.com/Hatching-Twitter-StoryFriendship-Betrayal/dp/1591846013
Week 4: The Battle for Mobile
Digital Wars: Apple, Google, Microsoft and the Battle for the Internet by Charles
Arthur (Apr 28, 2012). Read Chapter 5
Cases:
“Google's Android: Will It Shake Up the Wireless Industry in 2009 and Beyond?”
HBS Case No. SM176-PDF-ENG. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School
Publishing, 2009.
“Symbian, Google & Apple in the Mobile Space.” HBS Case No. 909055-PDF-ENG.
Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2009
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=2247161&R=710467PDF- ENG&conversationId=40743
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=4569222&R=BOS022PDF- ENG&conversationId=40668
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=4069226&R=W12774PDF- ENG&conversationId=40668
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=4069227&R=W12775PDF- ENG&conversationId=40668
Investor Relations:
Google: http://investor.google.com/
Apple: http://investor.apple.com/
Optional Readings:
Inside Apple: How America's Most Admired--and Secretive--Company Really Works
by Adam Lashinsky (Jan 25, 2012)
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (Oct 24, 2011)
Dogfight: How Apple and Google Went to War and Started a Revolution by Fred
Vogelstein (November 12, 2013)
Week 5: The Battle for Devices
Cases:
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=154699&R=DMI021PDF- ENG&conversationId=40361
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=45636&R=705508-PDFENG&conversationId=40381
Readings:
Samsung News Articles.docx
HBR. Maintaining the Single Samsung Spirit.pdf
HBR. The Paradox of Samsungs Rise.pdf
Investor Relations
Apple: http://investor.apple.com/
Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/investor/default.aspx
RIM: http://www.rim.com/investors/index.shtml
Samsung: http://www.samsung.com/us/aboutsamsung/ir/newsMain.do
Optional
“Emerging Nokia.” HBS Case No. 710429-PDF-ENG. Boston, Mass: Harvard
Business School Publishing, 2009.
“HTC Corp. in 2009.” HBS Case No. 709466-PDF-ENG. Boston, Mass: Harvard
Business School Publishing, 2010.
Week 6: The Battle for Commerce
Cases:
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=4733320&R=513060PDF- ENG&conversationId=40204
Investor Relations:
Amazon: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=97664&p=irol-irhome
Optional Readings:
Brad Stone, “The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon”
http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Store-Jeff-BezosAmazon/dp/0316219266/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391452315&sr=11&keywords=amazon+book
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=4051299&R=W12674PDF- ENG&conversationId=40626
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=2691221&R=511094PDF- ENG&conversationId=40626
Week 7: The Battle for Survival
Investor Relations:
AOL: http://ir.aol.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=147895&p=irol-irhome
Yahoo: http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/
Optional Readings:
AOL.com by Kara Swisher (Jun 29, 1999).
There Must Be a Pony in Here Somewhere: The AOL Time Warner Debacle and the
Quest for the Digital Future by Kara Swisher (Oct 26, 2004).
Week 8: The Battle for Content & Ads
Digital Wars: Apple, Google, Microsoft and the Battle for the Internet by Charles
Arthur (Apr 28, 2012). Read Chapter 4
“Apple Inc. Ipods and itunes.” HBS Case No. 905M46-PDF-ENG. Boston, Mass:
Harvard Business School Publishing, 2005.
“Netflix.” HBS Case No. 909M93-PDF-ENG. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business
School Publishing, 2010.
“YouTube, Google, and the Rise of Internet Video.” HBS Case No. KEL403-PDFENG. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2010.
Investor Relations
Netflix: http://ir.netflix.com/
Optional Readings
The Business of Media Distribution: Monetizing Film, TV and Video Content in an
Online World by Jeff Ulin
This Business of Television by Howard J. Blumenthal, Oliver R. Goodenough and
Howard Blumenthal (Mar 1, 2006)
All You Need to Know About the Music Business: Seventh Edition by Donald S.
Passman (Nov 17, 2009)
Entertainment Industry Economics: A Guide for Financial Analysis by Harold L.
Vogel (Dec 20, 2010)
Week 9: The Battle for Content & Ads Pt II
Cases:
Zynga
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=2046158&R=710464-
PDF- ENG&conversationId=40595
Zynga
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=4764232&R=713502PDF- ENG&conversationId=40595
Week 10: Platform Wars
Cases:
Dropbox
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=70583&R=P50-PDFENG&conversationId=40451
Uber:
http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=4800874&R=P81-PDFENG&conversationId=40525
Week 11 & 12: Presentations & Wrap Up