Publications

17 Nov 2023
Blog Post

HBS Veteran Spotlight: Rex Willis (MBA 2024)

rewarding. Although physical assets such as ships and planes are vital, I quickly recognized that humans are the most important asset that the military has. Because of that, I dedicated a tremendous amount of time to their professional... View Details

October 1990 (Revised September 1993)
Case

Changing the Culture at British Airways

By: John P. Kotter

In just 10 years, 1980-1990, British Airways turned around both its declining image and financial situation. Focusing on the paramount importance of customer service, British Airways went from "bloody awful" to "bloody awesome." Experiencing a financial crisis in 1981... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Customer Relationship Management; Corporate Strategy; Privatization; Air Transportation Industry; United Kingdom

17 Dec 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Integrity: Without It Nothing Works

Keywords: by Michael C. Jensen

Justine Boudou

Justine Boudou is a doctoral student in the Technology and Operations Management (TOM) unit at Harvard Business School.

She is primarily interested in the economics of science and innovation. Justine holds a MSc from the engineering school... View Details

Keywords: biotechnology; health care; pharmaceuticals

10 Oct 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Managing Churn to Maximize Profits

Keywords: by Aurélie Lemmens & Sunil Gupta; Retail

March 2006
Case

Cabo San Viejo: Rewarding Loyalty

By: Youngme E. Moon, Gail J. McGovern and Seth Schulman

In 2005, Cabo San Viejo, a premier health and fitness spa resort located in Palm Springs, California, is debating whether to introduce a Customer Rewards Program. Describes the customer management challenges the firm is facing and outlines the various ways in which a... View Details

Keywords: Debates; Customer Relationship Management; Marketing Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Adoption; Value Creation; Health Industry; California

19 Nov 2013
News

Bad Behavior Gets "Paid Forward" Even More Than Good

September 2019 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Othellonia: Growing a Mobile Game

By: Eva Ascarza, Tomomichi Amano and Sunil Gupta

In the summer of 2019, Yu Sasaki, Head of the Game Division of DeNA, a Japanese mobile gaming company, is evaluating various growth strategies for its recent game Othellonia. Sasaki needs to decide if he should focus on customer acquisition, retention, or monetization. View Details

Keywords: Targeting; Retention/churn; Freemium; Monetization; Customer Relationship Management; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Customers; Marketing Strategy; Retention; Acquisition; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Japan

May 2017 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Predicting Consumer Tastes with Big Data at Gap

By: Ayelet Israeli and Jill Avery

CEO Art Peck was eliminating his creative directors for The Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic brands and promoting a collective creative ecosystem fueled by the input of big data. Rather than relying on artistic vision, Peck wanted the company to use the mining of big... View Details

2010
Other Unpublished Work

Is High School the Right Time to Teach Self-control? The Effect of Financial Education and Mathematics Courses on Savings Behavior

By: Shawn A. Cole and Gauri Kartini Shastry

Household financial behavior affects household welfare and the economy at large. Yet our understanding of how to improve financial decisions is limited. Recent literature and policy attention have focused on financial education, for example, in high school. We use... View Details

Keywords: Saving; Financial Management; Secondary Education; Behavior; Decision Choices and Conditions; Personal Finance; Household

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March 2005 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Comergent Technologies Inc.: Enterprise E-Commerce

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell

Coming out of the 2001 high-tech industry recession, this venture capital start-up has to come up with a marketing plan to break even and grow. Its innovative e-commerce software provides unique customer relationship management solutions, but it has to convince... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Customer Relationship Management; Financial Crisis; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Software; Information Technology Industry

Aug 23 2017
Testimonial

Gaining the Self-Awareness That Fosters Growth

Jun 23 2017
Testimonial

Gaining the Self-Awareness That Fosters Growth

January – February 2011
Article

Stop Holding Yourself Back

By: Anne Morriss, Robin J. Ely and Frances X. Frei

After working with hundreds of leaders in a wide variety of organizations and in countries all over the globe, the authors found one very clear pattern: when it comes to meeting their leadership potential, many people unintentionally get in their own way. Five barriers... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Personal Characteristics

Find at Harvard

August 2013
Article

Customer-Driven Misconduct: How Competition Corrupts Business Practices

By: Victor Manuel Bennett, Lamar Pierce, Jason A. Snyder and Michael W. Toffel

Competition among firms yields many benefits but can also encourage firms to engage in corrupt or unethical activities. We argue that competition can lead organizations to provide services that customers demand but that violate government regulations, especially when... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Crime and Corruption; Management Practices and Processes; Ethics; Consumer Behavior; Customer Satisfaction; Auto Industry; Service Industry

June 2012
Article

Pricing to Create Shared Value

By: Marco Bertini and John T. Gourville

Many companies are in competition with their customers to extract as much value as possible from every transaction. Pricing is their weapon of choice, and consumers fight back by rooting out and disseminating pricing policies that seem unfair. The problem is that... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Marketing Strategy; Price; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Relationship Management; Value Creation; Fairness

Find at Harvard

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October 2018 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Unbanklike Experimentation

By: Ryan W. Buell and Leslie K. John

Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.

In August 2017, Commonwealth Bank of Australia was looking for ways to differentiate itself from competing banks and was also trying to improve the financial well-being of... View Details

Keywords: Transparency; Experimentation; Banks and Banking; Credit Cards; Customer Focus and Relationships; Competitive Strategy; Banking Industry; Australia