HBR On Strategy

How Booking.com Sustains a Culture of Innovation

4 snips
Jun 12, 2024
Harvard Business School professor, Stefan Thomke, discusses Booking.com's innovative culture driven by large-scale testing and experimentation. Topics include strategy, digital travel, platform, and challenging management norms. Learn how the company sustained growth through a data-driven approach to innovation.
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ANECDOTE

Radical Experiment Proposal

  • Booking.com's director of testing proposed a radical experiment: changing the landing page to resemble Google's.
  • This change, during the busy Christmas season, risked confusing loyal users accustomed to the existing page.
INSIGHT

High Failure Rate

  • Booking.com's data reveals that nine out of ten hypotheses fail.
  • They acknowledge that assumptions about user behavior are often incorrect.
ANECDOTE

Microsoft's Unexpected Revenue Boost

  • A Microsoft employee's small change to Bing's search results page, initially overlooked, generated over $100 million in additional U.S. revenue.
  • This highlights the potential impact of small changes when tested effectively.
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