Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(1,964)
- Faculty Publications (215)
- November 2007
- Article
A Model of Consumer Learning for Service Quality and Usage
By: Raghuram Iyengar, Asim Ansari and Sunil Gupta
In many services, e.g., the wireless service industry, consumers choose a service plan based on their expected consumption. In such situations, consumers experience two forms of uncertainty. First, consumers may be uncertain about the quality of their service provider... View Details
- 2007
- Working Paper
Highbrow Films Gather Dust: Time-inconsistent Preferences and Online DVD Rentals
By: Katherine L. Milkman, Todd Rogers and Max H. Bazerman
We report on a field study demonstrating systematic differences between the preferences people anticipate they will have over a series of options in the future and their subsequent revealed preferences over those options. Using a novel panel data set, we analyze the... View Details
- May 2007
- Case
Westin Hotels and Resorts: Operations of a Lifestyle Experience
By: Frances X. Frei, Chekitan S. Dev and Laure Mougeot Stroock
Westin Hotels and Resorts adopted a new "lifestyle" brand strategy which provided guests with a new service experience. The dilemma Westin faced was how to operationally build a brand that delivered consistent service on intangible values. View Details
- November 2006 (Revised March 2007)
- Case
Liz Claiborne and the New Working Woman
By: Anthony Mayo and Mark Benson
At age 47, with two decades of experience as a lead designer for a Fortune 500 fashion company, Liz Claiborne put her life savings on the line to form Liz Claiborne, Inc., a partnership that included her husband. A decade later, in 1986, Claiborne was CEO of her own... View Details
- May – June 2006
- Article
Choose the Right Measures, Drive the Right Strategy
By: Dennis Campbell
Metrics overload is a common problem that can have serious consequences: Specifically, it can make it difficult for employees to see what actions they should take to execute strategic objectives. Having too many metrics dilutes the focus and invariably means many are... View Details
- March 2006
- Background Note
Customer-Introduced Variability in Service Operations
By: Frances X. Frei
Presents a typology of customer-introduced variability and offers guidance on how to manage each type. Central to the ideas developed is how to mitigate the effects of the apparent trade-off between reducing variability and diminishing the service experience or... View Details
- January 2005 (Revised August 2007)
- Exercise
Letter Writing Exercise
By: Frances X. Frei and Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar
Provides an opportunity for students to experience first-hand how service companies respond to customer feedback. The corresponding module note further describes the exercise. View Details
- March 2009
- Article
Customer Experience Creation: Determinants, Dynamics and Management Strategies
By: Leonard A. Schlesinger, Peter C. Verhoef, Katherine N. Lemon, A. Parasuraman, Anne Roggeveen and Michael Tsiros
Retailers, such as Starbucks and Victoria's Secret, aim to provide customers a great experience across channels. In this paper we provide an overview of the existing literature on customer experience and expand on it to examine the creation of a customer experience... View Details
- August 2004 (Revised July 2006)
- Case
PROPECIA TM: Helping Make Hair Loss History
By: Marta Wosinska and Youngme E. Moon
In late 1997, Tom Casola, brand manager for Propecia, debates the best approach to market this breakthrough one-a-day pill for hair loss. This launch would be atypical for a prescription drug because of the key position of the consumer. As a result, the team's... View Details
- August 2004 (Revised September 2005)
- Case
Canyon Ranch
By: Lynda M. Applegate and Gabriele Piccoli
How should Canyon Ranch leverage its uniqueness in the face of increasing competition and an entrenched customer definition of the firm? The firm is attempting to create demand for return visits and foster the customization and personalization of the Canyon Ranch... View Details
- May 2003
- Module Note
Managing Product Development
By: Stefan H. Thomke
Introduces students to the managerial aspects critical to conceiving, designing, and developing innovative products and services. Considers the full range of activities required: learning about customer needs, understanding and managing experimentation and problem... View Details
- December 2000
- Case
SupplierMarket.com (A)
By: William A. Sahlman and Jared Stone
Describes a decision confronting the cofounders of a B2B Internet firm that focuses on the purchasing process for manufactured direct materials. The company has raised one round of capital from two prominent venture capital firms and must decide if it makes sense to... View Details
- 1999
- Working Paper
Marshall Field, 1834-1906: The Retail Brand as a Customer Experience
By: Nancy F. Koehn
- June 1999 (Revised August 2004)
- Case
Friendly Fenway Program, The: The Value of Experience Enhancement
The marketing head of the Boston Red Sox is reviewing the team's "Friendly Fenway" fan satisfaction program. The program is described in the context of the team's on-the-field performance, the ballpark's character, and team marketing and fan-building in general. The... View Details
- May 1994 (Revised October 1994)
- Case
Motorola: Institutionalizing Corporate Initiatives
By: Shoshana Zuboff and Janis Lee Gogan
Motorola became a recognized quality leader in large part by becoming a leader in employee education and by encouraging "participative management." Through the Motorola Training and Education Center, later Motorola University, the company invested substantial resources... View Details
- February 1990 (Revised August 2001)
- Case
Merloni Elettrodomestici SpA: The Transit Point Experiment
By: Janice H. Hammond and Maura G Kelly
Merloni Elettrodomestici is a leading Italian manufacturer of domestic appliances. In 1986, an exposition for Merloni customers is scheduled at its Milano regional warehouse. During the two-month period preceding the event, when the warehouse must be free of inventory,... View Details
- April 1989 (Revised March 1990)
- Case
Burlington Northern (B)
Describes the experiences of a seasoned Burlington Northern (BN) sales representative after the introduction of ShipSmart, a decision support system developed by the BN to help its employees and customers analyze logistics problems. After a brief description of a... View Details
- Research Summary
Consumer-Brand Relationships and CRM
By: Jill J. Avery
This highly pragmatic stream investigates the contemporary practice of customer relationship management (CRM) by exploring the phenomenological, lived experience of consumers' relationships with brands. Using a contracting theory lens supplemented with knowledge of... View Details
- Research Summary
Customer Experience Design
By: Stefan H. Thomke
Please contact Professor Thomke for the most current description of his research on simulation and R&D performance and/or copies of research articles (published and working papers). View Details
- Research Summary
How to Manage Customers for Increased Profits and Customer Satisfaction
By: Frances X. Frei
For many service firms, the customer plays an important role in contributing to the cost and/or quality of the service. This is very different than many manufacturing contexts, for example, where the firm has virtually complete control over product cost and quality. ... View Details