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All HBS Web
(117,607)
- Faculty Publications (164)
- Article
Are You Really Innovating Around Your Customers' Needs?
By: Sunil Gupta
Every company believes it is customer-centric. However, most of them are product- and service-centric first, focusing on how to enhance their offerings rather than putting themselves in their customers’ shoes. To come up with truly innovative customer-centric ideas,...
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Gupta, Sunil. "Are You Really Innovating Around Your Customers' Needs?" Harvard Business Review (website) (October 1, 2020).
- September 2020 (Revised February 2021)
- Case
Zameer Kassam Fine Jewelry: Engaging Clients
By: Ryan W. Buell and Amy Klopfenstein
Zameer Kassam Fine Jewelry (ZKFJ) designs custom engagement rings that tell the story of a couple’s relationship. The case describes the company’s process for engaging clients, which has historically been a relatively offline, high-touch experience. Obliged by...
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Keywords:
Customer Engagement;
Service Delivery;
Health Pandemics;
Internet and the Web;
Customer Satisfaction;
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Growth and Development;
Retail Industry
Buell, Ryan W., and Amy Klopfenstein. "Zameer Kassam Fine Jewelry: Engaging Clients." Harvard Business School Case 621-043, September 2020. (Revised February 2021.)
- September 2020 (Revised June 2021)
- Case
Gong: Resonating Conversational Insights
By: Alison Wood Brooks and Trevor Spelman
In 2015, Amit Bendov was struck by a realization about a new technology that might be able to transcribe musical notation in real-time, which eventually became known as Gong. Gong’s business proposition was simple: provide software that automatically captures,...
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Keywords:
Applications and Software;
Technological Innovation;
Communication;
Performance Effectiveness;
Sales;
Customer Satisfaction;
Competitive Strategy
Brooks, Alison Wood, and Trevor Spelman. "Gong: Resonating Conversational Insights." Harvard Business School Case 921-015, September 2020. (Revised June 2021.)
- September 2020
- Case
Uber at a Crossroads (2017)
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman
This case describes the history of Uber, its business model—including the ways it differed from that of the traditional taxi industry—and its competition with Lyft. The case is set in 2017, a year in which Uber was plagued by even more scandals than usual, though its...
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Keywords:
Business Startups;
Business Model;
Customer Satisfaction;
Fairness;
Values and Beliefs;
Price;
Profit;
Revenue;
Investment;
Government Legislation;
Business History;
Compensation and Benefits;
Resignation and Termination;
Employment;
Wages;
Lawfulness;
Leadership Style;
Leading Change;
Management Style;
Market Entry and Exit;
Digital Platforms;
Product Design;
Organizational Culture;
Problems and Challenges;
Attitudes;
Strategy;
Competitive Strategy;
Expansion;
Transportation Networks;
Mobile and Wireless Technology;
Valuation;
Transportation Industry;
Technology Industry;
United States
Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon, and Karen Elterman. "Uber at a Crossroads (2017)." Harvard Business School Case 721-376, September 2020.
- July 2020 (Revised November 2020)
- Case
Pricing at Netflix
By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Oded Koenigsberg and Amy Klopfenstein
Since its launch in 1998 as “the Amazon.com of DVDs,” Netflix had evolved from a DVD rental company to a video streaming platform and producer of original films and television shows. As the company matured, it regularly increased prices and adjusted its product...
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Keywords:
Pricing;
Marketing;
Marketing Strategy;
Entertainment;
Film Entertainment;
Television Entertainment;
Finance;
Price;
Strategy;
Competition;
Competitive Strategy;
Business Strategy;
Adaptation;
Information Technology;
Internet and the Web;
Digital Platforms;
Customers;
Customer Satisfaction;
Customer Value and Value Chain;
Entertainment and Recreation Industry;
North and Central America;
United States
Ofek, Elie, Marco Bertini, Oded Koenigsberg, and Amy Klopfenstein. "Pricing at Netflix." Harvard Business School Case 521-004, July 2020. (Revised November 2020.)
- November 2019 (Revised May 2020)
- Case
Collibra
By: Lynda M. Applegate, Jeffrey F. Rayport and Julia Kelley
Founded in 2008 at Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Collibra was a data intelligence company that found product-market fit in the years after the global financial crisis when many companies were under pressure from consumers and governments to improve their data management...
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Keywords:
Entrepreneurship;
Governance;
Innovation and Invention;
Technological Innovation;
Markets;
Information Technology;
Applications and Software;
Technology Adoption;
Digital Platforms;
Internet and the Web;
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Customer Satisfaction;
Expansion;
Information Technology Industry;
Technology Industry;
Europe;
Belgium;
Brussels;
North and Central America;
United States;
New York (city, NY);
New York (state, US)
Applegate, Lynda M., Jeffrey F. Rayport, and Julia Kelley. "Collibra." Harvard Business School Case 820-013, November 2019. (Revised May 2020.)
- November 2019
- Case
Scaling at Chief
Chief is a New York-based peer network that provides mentorship, support, networking opportunities, and a sense of community to women executives. Co-founders Carolyn Childers and Lindsay Kaplan launched the company in January 2019, and just two months later, Chief has...
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Keywords:
Entrepreneurship;
Leadership Development;
Expansion;
Growth Management;
Customer Satisfaction;
North and Central America;
United States;
New York (state, US);
New York (city, NY)
Coffman, Katherine B., Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Kathleen L. McGinn, Julia Kelley, and Katherine Chen. "Scaling at Chief." Harvard Business School Case 920-021, November 2019.
- Article
The Magic That Makes Customer Experiences Stick
By: Stefan Thomke
Why do some customer experiences have that magical "wow" factor, making them all destined for success, while others get few, if any, enthusiastic customer responses? How would we "design" a great customer experience? These are some of the questions that the article...
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Keywords:
Customer Experience;
Emotion;
Innovation;
Experimentation;
Storytelling;
Customer Satisfaction;
Emotions;
Design;
Innovation and Invention
Thomke, Stefan. "The Magic That Makes Customer Experiences Stick." MIT Sloan Management Review 61, no. 1 (Fall 2019).
- August 2019 (Revised August 2024)
- Case
The Walt Disney Company: Theme Parks
By: Rory McDonald, Allison Mnookin and Iuliana Mogosanu
As he seeks to place the division he leads on a firm footing for the future, Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, is considering a range of investments designed either to upgrade the guest experience in the company’s existing parks or to expand access...
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McDonald, Rory, Allison Mnookin, and Iuliana Mogosanu. "The Walt Disney Company: Theme Parks." Harvard Business School Case 620-039, August 2019. (Revised August 2024.)
- April 2019
- Case
Afterpay U.S.: The Omnichannel Dilemma
By: Antonio Moreno, Donald Ngwe and George Gonzalez
In 2018, Nick Molnar, the founder of the Australia-based online payment service Afterpay began its expansion to the U.S. market. The service had gained a loyal following in Australia by enabling customers to pay for online purchases through four interest-free...
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Keywords:
Omnichannel Retail;
Multi-sided Platforms;
Value Creation;
Business Model Innovation;
Fintech;
Digital Marketing;
Disruptive Innovation;
Business Startups;
Business Growth and Maturation;
Business Model;
Business Organization;
For-Profit Firms;
Change Management;
Customer Value and Value Chain;
Customer Relationship Management;
Customer Satisfaction;
Financing and Loans;
Microfinance;
Global Strategy;
Marketing Channels;
Brands and Branding;
Marketing Strategy;
Market Entry and Exit;
Digital Platforms;
Product Development;
Supply Chain Management;
Business and Stakeholder Relations;
Networks;
Network Effects;
Internet and the Web;
Financial Services Industry;
Retail Industry;
Technology Industry;
United States;
Australia
Moreno, Antonio, Donald Ngwe, and George Gonzalez. "Afterpay U.S.: The Omnichannel Dilemma." Harvard Business School Case 519-086, April 2019.
- March–April 2019
- Article
Operational Transparency: Make Your Processes Visible to Customers and Your Customers Visible to Employees
By: Ryan W. Buell
Conventional wisdom holds that the more contact an operation has with its customers, the less efficiently it will run. But when customers are partitioned away from the operation, they are less likely to fully understand and appreciate the work going on behind the...
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Keywords:
Operational Transparency;
Customers;
Services;
Operations;
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Employees;
Customer Satisfaction;
Behavior;
Service Industry
Buell, Ryan W. "Operational Transparency: Make Your Processes Visible to Customers and Your Customers Visible to Employees." R1902H. Harvard Business Review 97, no. 4 (March–April 2019): 102–113.
- 2022
- Working Paper
Mitigating the Negative Effects of Customer Anxiety Through Access to Human Contact
By: Michelle A. Kinch and Ryan W. Buell
Prior research in social psychology has shown that when people feel anxious, they seek advice from others. However, companies that operate in high-anxiety settings (like financial services, health care, and education) are increasingly deploying self-service...
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Keywords:
Anxiety;
Self-service;
Empirical Operations;
Behavioral Operations;
Customers;
Emotions;
Service Delivery;
Interpersonal Communication;
Customer Satisfaction;
Trust
Kinch, Michelle A., and Ryan W. Buell. "Mitigating the Negative Effects of Customer Anxiety Through Access to Human Contact." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-089, February 2019. (Revised November 2023.)
- January 2019
- Case
Understanding the Brand Equity of Nestlé Crunch Bar: A Market Research Case
By: Jill Avery and Gerald Zaltman
In early 2018, Nestlé announced the sale of its U.S. candy-making division and a select collection of 20 of its confectionery brands, including the Nestlé Crunch Bar, to Ferrero SpA for $2.8 billion. Under the terms of the Nestlé acquisition, each of the purchased...
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Keywords:
Brand Equity;
Marketing;
Market Research;
Qualitative Research;
Marketing Communication;
Customer Satisfaction;
Brands and Branding;
Consumer Behavior;
Marketing Communications;
Marketing Strategy;
Food and Beverage Industry;
United States;
North America;
Italy
Avery, Jill, and Gerald Zaltman. "Understanding the Brand Equity of Nestlé Crunch Bar: A Market Research Case." Harvard Business School Case 519-061, January 2019.
- December 2018
- Case
Choosy
By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Julia Kelley
Founded in 2017, Choosy is a data-driven fashion startup that uses algorithms to identify styles trending on social media. After manufacturing similar items using a China-based supply chain, Choosy sells them to consumers through its website and social media pages....
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Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence;
Algorithms;
Machine Learning;
Neural Networks;
Instagram;
Influencer;
Fast Fashion;
Design;
Customer Satisfaction;
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Decision Making;
Cost vs Benefits;
Innovation and Invention;
Brands and Branding;
Product Positioning;
Demand and Consumers;
Supply Chain;
Production;
Logistics;
Business Model;
Expansion;
Internet and the Web;
Mobile and Wireless Technology;
Digital Platforms;
Social Media;
Technology Industry;
Fashion Industry;
North and Central America;
United States;
New York (state, US);
New York (city, NY)
- November 2018 (Revised May 2019)
- Case
California Closets: Organizing the Customer Experience
By: Boris Groysberg and Annelena Lobb
California Closets had used robust net promoter score (NPS) data, surveyed across its locations, to create a more consistent and satisfying customer experience. CEO Bill Barton wanted to further optimize the customer experience around best practices. He also wanted to...
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Keywords:
Net Promoter Score;
Customer Relationship Management;
Customer Satisfaction;
Customers;
Acquisition;
Demographics;
Strategy
Groysberg, Boris, and Annelena Lobb. "California Closets: Organizing the Customer Experience." Harvard Business School Case 419-004, November 2018. (Revised May 2019.)
- September 2017 (Revised November 2018)
- Case
Marriott International: The Next 90 Years
By: Chiara Farronato and Gary Pisano
The case examines how Marriott should respond to the potential threats from new home-sharing platforms and the rise of online travel agencies. In 2017 Marriott was the largest hotel chain, with more than one million rooms and 7% of worldwide room supply. In the...
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Keywords:
Airbnb;
Competitiveness;
Threats;
Disruption;
Lodging Industry;
Long-term Growth;
Loyalty Program;
Marriot;
Online Platforms;
Online Travel Agencies;
Digital Platforms;
Disruptive Innovation;
Competitive Strategy;
Competition;
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Customer Satisfaction;
Internet and the Web;
Tourism Industry;
Travel Industry;
Accommodations Industry
Farronato, Chiara, and Gary Pisano. "Marriott International: The Next 90 Years." Harvard Business School Case 618-017, September 2017. (Revised November 2018.)
- March 2017
- Exercise
Designing Transformational Customer Experiences
By: Stefan Thomke
Anyone who has recently travelled, gone shopping, or tried to have a problem solved may have little recollection of the experience. Worse yet, some are frustrated by the lack of responsiveness or empathy that they encountered. The reality is that most customer...
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Keywords:
Customer Experience;
Exercise;
Learning By Doing;
LEGO;
Storytelling;
Customer Satisfaction;
Design;
Innovation and Management;
Transformation;
Service Delivery
Thomke, Stefan. "Designing Transformational Customer Experiences." Harvard Business School Exercise 617-051, March 2017.
- July 2016
- Case
Cataumet Boats, Inc.
By: W. Earl Sasser and Mark Davis
Jaime Giancola, an MBA student, has recently completed an operations management course in which aggregate production planning (APP) was one of the topics. She believes that her family's business, Cataumet Boats, which her grandparents started and which her mother and...
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Keywords:
Business or Company Management;
Family Business;
Production;
Cost Management;
Transportation;
Customer Satisfaction
Sasser, W. Earl, and Mark Davis. "Cataumet Boats, Inc." Harvard Business School Brief Case 917-509, July 2016.
- May 25, 2016
- Comment
How Consumers and Businesses are Reshaping Public Health
By: John A. Quelch
Healthcare and education are two issues in which citizens around the world, rich and poor, are passionately interested. It has long been appreciated that the way that a society treats its youngest and oldest members says much about its moral maturity. Economic...
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Keywords:
Healthcare;
Consumer Power;
Innovation In Healthcare Delivery;
Mobile Healthcare;
Transition;
Transformation;
Trends;
Customer Satisfaction;
Customer Value and Value Chain;
Health Care and Treatment;
Information;
Collaborative Innovation and Invention;
Independent Innovation and Invention;
Innovation and Management;
Innovation Leadership;
Management;
Marketing;
Markets;
Planning;
Problems and Challenges;
Biotechnology Industry;
Chemical Industry;
Consumer Products Industry;
Distribution Industry;
Fashion Industry;
Food and Beverage Industry;
Green Technology Industry;
Health Industry;
Insurance Industry;
Medical Devices and Supplies Industry;
Pharmaceutical Industry;
Public Administration Industry;
South America;
North and Central America;
Middle East;
Europe;
Asia
Quelch, John A. "How Consumers and Businesses are Reshaping Public Health." Harvard Business School Working Knowledge (May 25, 2016).
- May 2016 (Revised September 2016)
- Case
Hillside Beach Club: Delivering the Ultimate Family Vacation in the Mediterranean
By: Rajiv Lal and Gamze Yucaoglu
In 2015, Edip Ilkbahar, HBC’s founder and CEO, was looking over the plans for a new branch in Cyprus. Since the inception of the company by the Alarko Group of companies in 1994, Ilkbahar’s company had enjoyed high occupancy, high guest satisfaction, and high...
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Keywords:
Customer Experience;
Customer Service;
Hotel Industry;
Emerging Market;
Customer Focus;
Leading Growth;
Feedback Culture;
Employee Empowerment;
Employee Engagement;
Employee Training;
Staffing;
Operations Management;
Quality Management;
Service Management;
Service Quality;
Continuous Improvement;
Hillside;
HBC;
Turkey;
Vacation;
Customer Relationship Management;
Quality;
Employee Relationship Management;
Service Operations;
Organizational Culture;
Customer Satisfaction;
Selection and Staffing;
Service Delivery;
Competitive Advantage;
Emerging Markets;
Growth and Development;
Accommodations Industry;
Entertainment and Recreation Industry;
Turkey
Lal, Rajiv, and Gamze Yucaoglu. "Hillside Beach Club: Delivering the Ultimate Family Vacation in the Mediterranean." Harvard Business School Case 516-110, May 2016. (Revised September 2016.)