Publications

March 1991 (Revised August 1993)
Case

ISS--International Service System A/S

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Competitive Strategy

May 1984 (Revised May 1988)
Background Note

Retail Financial Services Industry--1984

Apr 16 2018
Testimonial

Building Community Through Service

March 2005 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Sun Microsystems, Inc.: Web Services Strategy

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Fernando Suarez

Microsoft and IBM have excluded Sun Microsystems from the board of the Web Services Interoperability Organization (WS-I), an industry consortium that will shape the evolution of Web services standards. Sun managers must decide whether to join WS-I as a contributing... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Standards; Corporate Governance; Power and Influence; Web Services Industry; Web Services Industry

Research Summary

Organizational Change in Professional Service Firms

Professor Gabarro's current research focuses on organizational change in professional service firms and the challenges that they face in dealing with increased size, scale and complexity. View Details

December 1998
Case

Retail Financial Services in 1998: Merrill Lynch

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Takia Mahmood

Provides an overview of Merrill Lynch's current strategy for retail financial services. Retail Financial Services in 1998 should be given to all students as background material. The class should then be split into groups, with each group receiving one of the following... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Industry Structures; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry

December 1998
Case

Retail Financial Services in 1998: Fidelity Investments

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Takia Mahmood

Provides an overview of Fidelity Investment's current strategy for retail financial services. Retail Financial Services in 1998 should be given to all students as background material. The class should then be split into groups, with each group receiving one of the... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Industry Structures; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry

December 1998
Case

Retail Financial Services in 1998: Charles Schwab

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Takia Mahmood

Provides an overview of Charles Schwab's current strategy for retail financial services. Retail Financial Services in 1998 should be given to all students as background material. The class should then be split into groups, with each group receiving one of the following... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Industry Structures; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry

November 2011
Supplement

Comfort Class Transport: Does Customer Service Need an Overhaul? Spreadsheet Supplement (Brief Case)

Keywords: Capacity Utilization; Supply ＆ Demand; Operations Management; Customer Service; Operations; Customer Focus and Relationships; Performance Capacity

February 2004 (Revised March 2004)
Background Note

Profitability Drivers in Professional Service Firms

By: Ashish Nanda

This case presents a simple model of the drivers of profitability in a professional service partnership and conducts an empirical exploration of the determinants of profitability among AmLaw 100 firms over the period 1994 to 1999. View Details

Keywords: Profitability; Model; Profit; Partners and Partnerships; Law; Service Industry

December 2005 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Pharmacy Service Improvement at CVS (A)

CVS's retail pharmacy operations are functioning poorly and dissatisfying customers. Many customers are defecting as a result. A pharmacy service improvement team has documented the current prescription fulfillment process, its exception rates, and the problems... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Performance Improvement; Business Processes; Retail Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

Web

Training - Research Computing Services

Training Training Calendar Upcoming training sessions and links to those held previously (filterable). Workshops, Tutorials, & Reference Materials A collection of training materials and reference materials about programming languages, tools, and techniques. HBSGrid... View Details

2003
Case

Capston-White's Document Management and Production Services

By: Vijay Govindarajan, Chris Trimble and Julie Lang

The development of multi-function devices that could copy, print, fax, and scan created a convergence in the markets for these devices. Copiers and printers had previously been purchased and managed in very different manners by large organizations. Facing an uncertain... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Service Delivery; Service Industry

May 2002
Background Note

Exporting IT-Enabled Services from Developing Countries

Explores the phenomenon of IT-enabled services (ITES) exports from developing countries. Reviews the business and technical drivers of this phenomenon, describes major segments of the industry, discusses key challenges facing these firms, and profiles seven ITES firms. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Developing Countries and Economies; Technology Industry

22 Jan 2008
Research & Ideas

New Challenges in Leading Professional Services

Professional service firms—law firms, financial services firms, money management firms, private equity firms, hedge funds, management consultants, advertising agencies—are the most challenging and exciting... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Legal Services; Legal Services; Legal Services

January 2004 (Revised May 2004)
Background Note

Strategy and Positioning in Professional Service Firms

By: Ashish Nanda

This case provides a definition of strategy, distinguishes between corporate and practice strategy, and discusses how and why developing and implementing strategy for professional service firms is different from developing and implementing strategy for commercial... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Service Industry

30 Sep 2015
News

The Power of Service

While studying at HBS, Jennifer Eplett Reilly (MBA 1990) was also working on the opening chapter of a remarkable social enterprise success story. “Our idea was to call upon diverse young people to give a year of service addressing the... View Details

March 2006
Background Note

Influencing Customer Behavior in Service Operations

By: Frances X. Frei and Amy C. Edmondson

Explores ways in which service firms can influence the behavior of their customers. Drawing from research on employee motivation and applying it to customer motivation, the note describes two levels of managerial control: instrumental control, which shapes behavior... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Governance Controls; Consumer Behavior; Service Operations; Emotions; Motivation and Incentives; Power and Influence; Service Industry