Publications

October 2014 (Revised May 2015)
Case

HandsOn Bay Area: Scaling Up Community Service

By: James Heskett

HandsOn Bay Area, an organization devoted to the performance of (and development of leaders for) community service, is undergoing a significant (and internally controversial) shift in its business model from "retail" projects involving individual volunteers to... View Details

February 2005 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Phase Zero: Introducing New Services at IDEO (A)

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Laura Feldman

Focuses on whether world-renowned product design firm IDEO's new customer service fits with the firm's strategic position and organization capabilities. Over the course of IDEO's 13-year history, an increasing share of revenues are a result of "Phase 0"... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Service Operations; Product Design; Infrastructure; Customer Focus and Relationships; Innovation and Invention; Service Industry; Boston; United States

29 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

Star Power! How to Win in Professional Services

Limits To Leadership Being the chief executive of any company is a demanding job. Carrying out the responsibilities of a CEO in a professional service firm is exceptionally challenging because the position lacks the inherent power and... View Details

Keywords: by Jay W. Lorsch & Thomas J. Tierney

Web

Compute Cluster - Research Computing Services

Compute Cluster and Data Storage Compute Cluster and Data Storage Compute Cluster 16ms Running Jobs Comprehensive guide to running programs and scripts on the HBSGrid, including how to choose your resources, monitor and troubleshoot your jobs, and scale up your work... View Details

2007
Other Unpublished Work

Professional Service Firms: A Breed Apart

By: John J. Gabarro, Thomas J. DeLong and Robert Lees

Keywords: Service Operations; Service Industry

December 1998 (Revised December 1999)
Case

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Private Client Services

By: Thomas J. DeLong, David M. Darst, Ann K Rusher and Catherine M. Conneely

The 1997 merger of retail giant Dean Witter and investment bank Morgan Stanley was a year old when Bob Sculthorpe was appointed director of Private Client Services (PCS) at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (MSDW). The firm was still operating under two separate broker-dealer... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Divisions; Investment Banking; Brands and Branding; Salesforce Management; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry

Web

Research Staff Services - Faculty & Research

Research Services Research Staff Services 35ms As part of the Division of Research and Faculty Development (DRFD), Research Staff Services (RSS) provides research support... View Details

August 2013
Background Note

A Note on Knowledge Management in Professional Services Firms

By: Robert G. Eccles, Ana Kreacic and Penelope Rossano

Knowledge management is a subject of broad interest, especially in "knowledge industries" and "knowledge economies." It is also a topic filled with frustration on the part of practitioners and the level of resource commitment to this function waxes and wanes. This note... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Management

01 Jun 2009
News

Career Services Steps Up Alumni Support

Last fall, as world economies began to tremble from the collapse of the financial sector, HBS Alumni Career Services enhanced its suite of career offerings for alumni. “We anticipated an increase in the demand for individual career... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley; Educational Support Services; Educational Support Services

1992
Chapter

Applying Operations Strategy to Service Firms

By: R. H. Hayes and R. B. Chase

Keywords: Service Operations; Business Strategy; Service Industry

All successful firms must design a compelling offering and manage the workforce to deliver it at an attractive price. But service firms must do even more: deal with the frustrating fact that their customers can wreak havoc on service quality and... View Details

Web

Tools & Services | Information Technology

Tools & Services Discover what you can do when we are behind you. Faculty Staff MBA Students Doctoral Students Executive Education Participants Alumni Harvard Business School (HBS) IT crafts, delivers, and supports technology solutions... View Details

Web

Services & Support | Baker Library

Services & Support We provide unparalleled support to Harvard Business School and the greater Harvard University community. We assist faculty, students, staff, executive education participants, alumni, and partners through the research,... View Details

Web

Customer Service - HBS Working Knowledge

E-mail Customer Service *Name: *Email: (Return address) Comments: Contact HBS Working Knowledge Baker Library | Bloomberg Center Harvard Business School Soldiers Field Road Boston, MA 02163 Customer Service... View Details

What Professional Service Firms Must Do to Thrive

During times of economic turbulence, consulting, law, and accounting firms often start offering services and taking on clients they really shouldn’t, just to keep the lights on. This path is perilous. If a firm’s practices have a diffuse mix of clients and unclear... View Details

2008
Working Paper

Economic Factors Underlying the Unbundling of Advertising Agency Services

By: Mohammad Arzaghi, Ernst R. Berndt, James C. Davis and Alvin J. Silk

This paper addresses a longstanding puzzle involving the unbundling of services that has occurredover more than two decades in the U.S. advertising agency industry: How can the shift from the bundling to the unbundling of services be explained and what accounts for the... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Framework; Service Operations; Decisions; Relationships; Price; Diversification; Geography; Cost; Advertising Industry; United States