An award-winning teacher and scholar, Professor Anita Elberse developed and teaches an MBA course covering the "Businesses of Entertainment, Media, and Sports," which ranks among the most sought-after courses in the School’s curriculum, and chairs a short executive education program, also named "The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports." She chairs a semester-long mentoring program, "Crossover Into Business," that is specifically designed for professional athletes. In her research, Professor Elberse primarily aims to understand what drives the success of products in the entertainment, media, sports, and other creative industries, and how firms can effectively manage products and talent in such sectors. She is acclaimed for her work on digital-media strategies. Professor Elberse has conducted case studies on dozens of entertainment companies, personalities, and other entities. Several of these are described in her first book, Blockbusters: Hit-making, Risk-taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment.

Professor Elberse is one of the youngest female professors to have been promoted to full professor with tenure in Harvard Business School's history.