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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(857)
- People (1)
- News (178)
- Research (542)
- Events (3)
- Multimedia (3)
- Faculty Publications (388)
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- Article
Are You Really Innovating Around Your Customers' Needs?
By: Sunil Gupta
Every company believes it is customer-centric. However, most of them are product- and service-centric first, focusing on how to enhance their offerings rather than putting themselves in their customers’ shoes. To come up with truly innovative customer-centric ideas,... View Details
Gupta, Sunil. "Are You Really Innovating Around Your Customers' Needs?" Harvard Business Review (website) (October 1, 2020).
- May 2012
- Background Note
Innovation Magic
By: Stefan Thomke and Jason Randal
Why do certain product and service experiences seem like magic, making them all but destined for success, while other items languish on store shelves? For a better understanding of that, perhaps there's no better place to turn to than the world of magic. Consider that... View Details
Keywords: Innovation; Product Differentiation; Experimentation; Personal Strategy ＆ Style; Innovation and Invention; Creativity; Service Operations; Product; Customer Satisfaction
Thomke, Stefan, and Jason Randal. "Innovation Magic." Harvard Business School Background Note 612-099, May 2012.
- 20 Mar 2018
- First Look
First Look at New Research and Ideas, March 20, 2018
account for 96%–97% of this variance. Further analysis reveals that customers report relatively consistent satisfaction across transactions, but that some customers are habitually more satisfied than others. An empirical investigation of... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- 14 Jul 2006
- Op-Ed
The Case for Consumer-Driven Medicaid
money in the long run." Thus, 75 percent of the enrollees in one consumer-driven group complied with the regimen for their chronic medications as opposed to 63 percent of those enrolled in other insurance plans with virtually no deductible. Consumer-driven plans... View Details
Keywords: by Regina E. Herzlinger
- November 2019
- Case
Scaling at Chief
Chief is a New York-based peer network that provides mentorship, support, networking opportunities, and a sense of community to women executives. Co-founders Carolyn Childers and Lindsay Kaplan launched the company in January 2019, and just two months later, Chief has... View Details
Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Leadership Development; Expansion; Growth Management; Customer Satisfaction; North and Central America; United States; New York (state, US); New York (city, NY)
Coffman, Katherine B., Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Kathleen L. McGinn, Julia Kelley, and Katherine Chen. "Scaling at Chief." Harvard Business School Case 920-021, November 2019.
- 02 Feb 2015
- Research & Ideas
Disruptors Sell What Customers Want and Let Competitors Sell What They Don’t
Over the past two decades, entire industries have been disrupted by Internet competitors who "unbundled" their content and delivered it to consumers in new ways. Newspapers lost out to Google and Craigslist, record companies to iTunes and Spotify, and travel agencies... View Details
Keywords: by Michael Blanding
- January 1995
- Case
Understanding User Needs
By: Marco Iansiti and Ellen Stein
Presents an introduction to methods for understanding user needs in product development. Describes a number of techniques including the use of focus groups, interviews, questionnaires, the Kano method, Lead User analysis, the Product Value matrix, OFD, etc. Provides a... View Details
Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Customer Value and Value Chain; Product Development; Mathematical Methods
Iansiti, Marco, and Ellen Stein. "Understanding User Needs." Harvard Business School Case 695-051, January 1995.
- Fall 2020
- Article
Competing on Customer Outcomes
By: Marco Bertini and Oded Koenigsberg
Customers ultimately want to pay for meaningful outcomes, not the products and services that presumably deliver them. Today, companies can be increasingly accountable for those outcomes with three kinds of technologically-enhanced revenue models. Adopt one to better... View Details
Keywords: Market Positioning; Revenue Strategy; Customer Satisfaction; Marketing Strategy; Business Model; Value Creation
Bertini, Marco, and Oded Koenigsberg. "Competing on Customer Outcomes." MIT Sloan Management Review 62, no. 1 (Fall 2020).
- July–August 2025
- Article
How the Busiest People Find Joy
By: Leslie A. Perlow, Sari Mentser and Salvatore J. Affinito
Joy, along with achievement and meaningfulness, is one of the three keys to a satisfying life. Yet it’s the missing piece for many ambitious individuals, the authors found after examining data on how nearly 2,000 professionals spend their days. Jam-packed schedules are... View Details
Perlow, Leslie A., Sari Mentser, and Salvatore J. Affinito. "How the Busiest People Find Joy." Harvard Business Review 103, no. 4 (July–August 2025): 135–139.
- 2018
- Working Paper
Status Inconsistency: Variance in One's Status Across Groups Harms Well-being but Improves Perspective-taking
By: Catarina Fernandes and Alison Wood Brooks
Most people belong to many different groups. While some people experience consistently high or low status across all of their groups, others experience wildly different levels of status in each group. In this research, we examine how status inconsistency – the degree... View Details
- March 2017
- Exercise
Designing Transformational Customer Experiences
By: Stefan Thomke
Anyone who has recently travelled, gone shopping, or tried to have a problem solved may have little recollection of the experience. Worse yet, some are frustrated by the lack of responsiveness or empathy that they encountered. The reality is that most customer... View Details
Keywords: Customer Experience; Exercise; Learning By Doing; LEGO; Storytelling; Customer Satisfaction; Design; Innovation and Management; Transformation; Service Delivery
Thomke, Stefan. "Designing Transformational Customer Experiences." Harvard Business School Exercise 617-051, March 2017.
- April 2003 (Revised September 2005)
- Case
Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury
By: Frances X. Frei, Corey B. Hajim and Christian Hempell
Describes the complex operations of the cruise industry. Positioned between luxury cruise lines and mass market lines, Celebrity struggles to find ways to create customer loyalty and increase profitability. View Details
Frei, Frances X., Corey B. Hajim, and Christian Hempell. "Celebrity Cruises, Inc.: A Taste of Luxury." Harvard Business School Case 603-096, April 2003. (Revised September 2005.)
- August 2002
- Background Note
Customer Benefit Stack
By: Das Narayandas
Describes a process to understand customer benefits created in industrial markets using the metaphor of a customer benefit stack. View Details
- October 1993 (Revised July 1997)
- Case
Measure of Delight: The Pursuit of Quality at AT&T Universal Card Services (A)
By: Roy D. Shapiro and Michael D. Watkins
AT&T's Universal Card Services (UCS) has been extremely successful during its short lifetime. Dedicated to improving service quality and customer satisfaction, chief quality officer Rob Davis and his quality team have designed and put into place an unusual measurement... View Details
Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Policy; Compensation and Benefits; Performance Evaluation; Quality; System; Telecommunications Industry
Shapiro, Roy D., and Michael D. Watkins. "Measure of Delight: The Pursuit of Quality at AT&T Universal Card Services (A)." Harvard Business School Case 694-047, October 1993. (Revised July 1997.)
- 30 Apr 2019
- First Look
New Research and Ideas, April 30, 2019
forthcoming Compensation & Benefits Review The Power of Workplace Rewards: Using Self-Determination Theory to Understand Why Reward Satisfaction Matters for Workers Around the World By: Landry, Anais Thibault, and A.V. Whillans... View Details
Keywords: Dina Gerdeman
- April 2024
- Article
Speaking up and Taking Action: Psychological Safety and Joint Problem-solving Orientation in Safety Improvement
By: Hassina Bahadurzada, Michaela J. Kerrissey and Amy C. Edmondson
Healthcare organizations face stubborn challenges in ensuring patient safety and mitigating clinician turnover. This paper aims to advance theory and research on patient safety by elucidating how the role of psychological safety in patient safety can be enhanced with... View Details
Keywords: Healthcare Operations; Psychological Safety; Teams; Retention; Safety; Customer Satisfaction; Organizational Culture; Performance Evaluation; Health Industry
Bahadurzada, Hassina, Michaela J. Kerrissey, and Amy C. Edmondson. "Speaking up and Taking Action: Psychological Safety and Joint Problem-solving Orientation in Safety Improvement." Art. 812. Healthcare 12, no. 8 (April 2024).
- November–December 2024
- Article
Retire Without Regrets
By: Teresa M. Amabile, Lotte Bailyn, Marcy Crary, Douglas T. "Tim" Hall and Kathy E. Kram
This article explores the significant transition of retirement and offers insights into creating a satisfying postcareer life. It highlights the contrasting experiences of Irene and Lawrence, two retirees who navigated this change differently. Irene embraced retirement... View Details
Amabile, Teresa M., Lotte Bailyn, Marcy Crary, Douglas T. "Tim" Hall, and Kathy E. Kram. "Retire Without Regrets." Harvard Business Review 102, no. 6 (November–December 2024): 143–147.
- March 1991 (Revised October 1991)
- Background Note
Manage Orders, Satisfy Customers, Make Money
By: Benson P. Shapiro and John J. Sviokla
Shapiro, Benson P., and John J. Sviokla. "Manage Orders, Satisfy Customers, Make Money." Harvard Business School Background Note 591-098, March 1991. (Revised October 1991.)
- January 2000
- Case
The Dimensions of Brand Equity for Nestlé Crunch Bar: A Research Case
By: Jill Avery and Gerald Zaltman
An in-depth study of consumers' thoughts and feelings about a branded candy bar. View Details
Keywords: Brand Management; Brand Equity; Brand Communication; Brand ＆ Product Management; Brand Building; Brand Positioning; Brand Storytelling; Brand Strategy; Brand Value; Branding; Marketing; Advertising; Customer Satisfaction; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior; Food and Beverage Industry; Consumer Products Industry
Avery, Jill, and Gerald Zaltman. "The Dimensions of Brand Equity for Nestlé Crunch Bar: A Research Case." Harvard Business School Case 500-083, January 2000.
- 18 Nov 2009
- HBS Case
Customer Feedback Not on elBulli’s Menu
He's been called "the Salvador Dalí of the kitchen" for creations ranging from beetroot and yogurt ice-cream lollipops to a deconstructed Spanish omelet served in a parfait glass. Each year, some 2 million hopeful diners vie to be one of the fifty customers... View Details