Publications

03 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

Marketing Your Way Through a Recession

Industrial customers prefer to see products and services unbundled and priced separately. Gimmicks are out; reliability, durability, safety, and... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

2024
Working Paper

Using LLMs for Market Research

By: James Brand, Ayelet Israeli and Donald Ngwe

Large language models (LLMs) have rapidly gained popularity as labor-augmenting tools for programming, writing, and many other processes that benefit from quick text generation. In this paper we explore the uses and benefits of LLMs for researchers and practitioners... View Details

Keywords: Large Language Model; Research; AI and Machine Learning; Analysis; Customers; Consumer Behavior; Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

SSRN

Read Now

19 Dec 2011
News

At Your Service

10 Nov 2008
What Do You Think?

How Much Can You Ask of Your Customers?

Summing Up Is customer volunteerism combined with "ownership" a double-edged sword? It's seems okay to involve customers in providing ideas for new products and... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

2018
Working Paper

Show or Tell? Improving Agent Decision Making in a Tanzanian Mobile Money Field Experiment

By: Jason Acimovic, Chris Parker, David F. Drake and Karthik Balasubramanian

When workers make operational decisions, the firm's global knowledge and the workers’ domain-specific knowledge complement each other. Oftentimes workers have the final decision-making power. Two key decisions a firm makes when designing systems to support these... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Decision Making; Training; Performance Improvement; Money; Mobile Technology; Developing Countries and Economies; Financial Services Industry

SSRN

August 2023 (Revised December 2023)
Case

Money Fellows: The Quest for Expansion

By: Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui, Michael Chu and Ahmed Dahawy

This case explores the opportunities and challenges associated with expanding the operations of a complex entrepreneurial business model. It highlights how cultural aspects of different geographies impact a startup's operational and economic models. The case also... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Developing Countries and Economies; Geographic Scope; Business Strategy; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Business and Shareholder Relations; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; Egypt

March 2020 (Revised January 2022)
Case

Michelin: Building a Digital Service Platform

By: Sunil Gupta and Christian Godwin

Michelin, a tire company with over a century of experience, attempts to develop a digital service platform for its fleet and dealer customers. The case focuses on the challenges of bringing a large, well-established company into the digital age. Concerned about the... View Details

Keywords: Change; Transformation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Making; Leading Change; Growth and Development; Strategy; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Auto Industry; Travel Industry; Transportation Industry; United States; France

August 2024
Background Note

Your True Moral Compass

By: Joseph L. Badaracco

This note explores the concept of a "moral compass" for making difficult decisions in leadership roles. It argues that the standard view of a moral compass as a simple, internal guide is inadequate for complex situations. Instead, it proposes that our true moral... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Decision Choices and Conditions

17 Mar 2020
News

Reflections on the Ongoing Coronavirus Crisis

June 2023
Supplement

Applied Intuition (B)

By: Andy Wu

Applied Intuition CEO Qasar Younis shares his perspective on the company's growth opportunities, the future of the autonomy industry, and his personal observations on strategy and leadership in technology. View Details

Keywords: Autonomous Vehicles; Software; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Valuation; Auto Industry; Technology Industry; California; Detroit

Keywords: Luxury, retail

26 Feb 2019
HBS Seminar

Christopher Hsee, University of Chicago Booth School of Business

February 2000 (Revised April 2003)
Case

InSite Marketing Technology (B)

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Genevieve J.S. Feraud

Provides students an example of partnerships/acquisitions that allow delivery of packaged solutions to customers in the electronic commerce space. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Entrepreneurship; Partners and Partnerships; Strategy; Business Strategy; Web Services Industry

September 2001 (Revised August 2004)
Case

Rapid Rewards at Southwest Airlines

By: Frances X. Frei and Corey B. Hajim

Southwest Airlines is well known as the low-fare airline that has achieved ongoing financial success in one of the most financially troubled industries in the United States. Told from the perspectives of two Southwest customers--a frequent flier and a more typical... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Air Transportation; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Air Transportation Industry

April 2006
Background Note

Designing Sustainable Service Models

By: Frances X. Frei

Taught as the second module in a Harvard Business School course on Managing Service Operations. Addresses the challenge of designing service models that effectively incorporate a customer operating role, as well as how to align operations to deliver value to both the... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Customers; Design; Managerial Roles; Consumer Behavior; Service Operations; Power and Influence; Value

November 2016
Case

Transformation at Eli Lilly & Co. (A)

By: William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

Faced with the imminent loss of 40% of its revenues due to patent expirations, pharma giant Eli Lilly sets out on a dramatic transformation process in 2009. The case considers how Lilly restructured the organization into business areas to aid better decision-making,... View Details

Keywords: Eli Lilly; Restructuring; R＆D; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Pharmaceutical Industry; Indianapolis

29 Apr 2019
Research & Ideas

Is the Digital Age Making Us Petty?

amount,” Kim says. “But that kind of precision can be very off-putting, and we wanted to find out why.” The study results consistently showed that when people view their partner as engaging in petty behavior, they are less satisfied with... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

2022
Working Paper

Algorithmic Assortment Curation: An Empirical Study of Buybox in Online Marketplaces

By: Santiago Gallino, Nil Karacaoglu and Antonio Moreno

Most online sales worldwide take place in marketplaces that connect sellers and buyers. The presence of numerous third-party sellers leads to a proliferation of listings for each product, making it difficult for customers to choose between the available options. Online... View Details

Keywords: Algorithms; E-commerce; Sales; Digital Marketing; Internet and the Web; Customer Satisfaction