Publications

21 Dec 2011
Research & Ideas

The Most Common Strategy Mistakes

about the value chain (the supply side). You can't have competitive advantage without both. “The granddaddy of all mistakes is competing to be the best, going down the same path as everybody else and... View Details

Keywords: by Joan Magretta

27 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

How the FBI Reinvented Itself After 9/11

“Analysts were viewed as second-class citizens, some reporting they were told to fetch coffee for agents,” the researchers write. “Conversely, agents working on conventional law enforcement cases, previously the heroes of the FBI, felt their View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

August 2020
Case

Zoom Video Communications: Eric Yuan's Leadership During COVID-19

By: Scott Duke Kominers, Christopher Stanton, Andy Wu and George Gonzalez

In the first half of 2020, worldwide lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic brought explosive growth to the Zoom Video Communications platform, as people replaced in-person work and social events with videoconferencing. Months into the pandemic, CEO Eric Yuan... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Communication Technology; Customer Value and Value Chain; Values and Beliefs; Technological Innovation; Leadership; Crisis Management; Organizational Culture; Working Conditions; Strategy; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Technology Adoption; Health Pandemics; Technology Industry; United States; California

27 Sep 2011
First Look

First Look: September 27

model for explaining how network resources contribute to organizational performance. Reach is the extent to which an organization's network connects it to diverse and distant partners. Richness represents the potential value of the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restaurant Revolution: How the Industry Is Fighting to Stay Alive

producers who supply the industry. Equally hit are supply chain partners who move goods across the country. "It’s going to take some time to retool operating models to be able to succeed in this new environment.” Coming into 2020,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael S. Kaufman, Lena G. Goldberg, and Jill Avery; Food & Beverage

January 2017 (Revised October 2023)
Case

Classtivity: Payal's Pirouette

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull

A few months after launching a new fitness technology product, the small staff of New York startup Classtivity gathers on a Saturday in April 2013 to take stock. With one successful pivot under its belt, Classtivity is finally generating revenue and enthusiasm among... View Details

May 2024
Background Note

Net Revenue Retention: Unpacking the Dynamics of Customer Monetization

By: Elie Ofek, Barak Libai and Eitan Muller

Firms and investors alike are beginning to recognize the importance of tracking how revenues from existing customers are evolving over time and to appreciate the value in understanding what might explain changes in these revenues. Consequently, in addition to looking... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Revenue; Measurement and Metrics; Customer Value and Value Chain

28 Mar 2016
Research & Ideas

What's a Boss Worth?

them look better. But how much of an effect does a good or bad boss have on workers, really? Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Christopher Stanton sets out to ask that question in The Value of Bosses, a paper recently published... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Service

10 Feb 2003
Research & Ideas

Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker

customer values of convenience, availability, product or service functionality, and relationship, creates a reason for the customer to buy. But, you also must eliminate reasons for the customer not to purchase. Various adjunct services,... View Details

Keywords: by Benson P. Shapiro

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

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Customer Value and Value Chain; Learning; Price; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Service Delivery; Quality; Risk and Uncertainty; Service Industry

Find at Harvard

Read Now

07 Jul 2021
Book

Good News for Disgraced Companies: You Can Regain Trust

investigating its own supply chain for worker exploitation. The authors say companies that are adept at building trust focus on four key elements: Competence: While every company needs to be competent—capable of creating and delivering... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

25 Oct 2010
HBS Case

Tesco’s Stumble into the US Market

Tesco PLC is the third-largest retailer in the world, just behind Wal-Mart and Carrefour. But that didn't make the UK-based chain immune from many costly mistakes as it entered the US market in 2006. For example, it opened some of its... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

Research Summary

Renovating Democratic Capitalism

By: Malcolm S. Salter

This in-process work focuses on how best to address the declining public trust and confidence in democratic capitalism, which many citizens consider to be a cornerstone of our national ideology and identity? While the answer to this question is not entirely clear, I... View Details

October 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Lyra Health: Transforming Mental Health

By: Rembrand Koning and Nicole Keller

In January 2022, Lyra Health was deciding between several different alternatives to grow the business. Founded in 2015, Lyra Health, was a digital mental health platform that combined technology with human therapists and coaches to deliver high quality mental health... View Details

Keywords: Mental Health; Health Care and Treatment; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Customer Value and Value Chain; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; Health Industry; Technology Industry; San Francisco

June 2017 (Revised May 2018)
Supplement

Hilti Fleet Management Video Supplements

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Oliver Gassmann and Roman Sauer

This case explores the introduction of fleet management in the construction industry by the premium power tools manufacturer Hilti in 2000. Following its customers’ needs, Hilti moved from selling power tools to leasing them as a service. The introduction of the new... View Details

28 Jun 2021
Research & Ideas

Keep or Cut Workers? How Companies Reacted to the COVID-19 Crisis

accelerating a trend that began before the pandemic. For instance, the consumer electronics chain Best Buy struggled to attract sales, and the company ended up cutting costs through layoffs and furloughs. Layoffs were more typical among... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

November 2019
Supplement

Hapag-Lloyd AG: Complying with IMO 2020

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emer Moloney

A new environmental regulation known as IMO 2020 was creating what one industry analyst called “the biggest shakeup for the oil and shipping industries in decades.” According to the new regulation, all ocean-going ships would have to limit their sulfur emissions by... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Ship Transportation; Strategic Planning; Game Theory; Pollutants; Supply Chain; Corporate Accountability; Capital Budgeting; Environmental Sustainability; Shipping Industry; Transportation Industry; Germany