Publications

27 Sep 2010
Research & Ideas

Customer Experts Lose Influence When Teams are Pressured

for relevant customization and adaptation to specific client needs. This is a significant aspect of maintaining ongoing client relationships. I observed that teams under heightened pressure tend to shut out dissenting points of view and... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

11 Nov 2013
Research & Ideas

A Smarter Way to Reduce Customer Defections

Companies spend significant sums to acquire customers. Once hooked, marketers protect those investments by attempting to keep patrons happy, engaged, and most of all, loyal. Reducing customer attrition, or "churn" in marketing parlance,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Retail; Service

Article

Cooks Make Tastier Food When They Can See Their Customers

By: Ryan W. Buell, Tami Kim and Chia-Jung Tsay

While existing theory suggests that increased contact between customers and employees diminishes efficiency, recent research demonstrates that when employees can see their customers, the beneficiaries of their efforts, the quality and efficiency of the service they... View Details

Keywords: Operational Transparency; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Service Management; Service Industry

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January 2021 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Amazon Shopper Panel: Paying Customers for Their Data

By: Eva Ascarza and Ayelet Israeli

This case introduces a new Amazon program that has consumers upload their receipts from transactions outside of Amazon, in exchange for money. Through the discussion, the case aims to explore issues in customers’ privacy in the digital age, the value of customers’ own... View Details

2025
Working Paper

Dynamic Personalization with Multiple Customer Signals: Multi-Response State Representation in Reinforcement Learning

By: Liangzong Ma, Ta-Wei Huang, Eva Ascarza and Ayelet Israeli

Reinforcement learning (RL) offers potential for optimizing sequences of customer interactions by modeling the relationships between customer states, company actions, and long-term value. However, its practical implementation often faces significant challenges.... View Details

Keywords: Dynamic Policy; Deep Reinforcement Learning; Representation Learning; Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment; Latent Variable Models; Customer Relationship Management; Customer Value and Value Chain; Foreign Direct Investment; Analytics and Data Science

SSRN

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April 2022
Article

National Customer Orientation: A Framework, Propositions and Agenda for Future Research

By: Ofer Mintz, Imran S. Currim and Rohit Deshpandé

Purpose: This paper aims to propose a new country-level construct, national customer orientation, to provide a benchmark for global headquartered managers’ decisions and scholars investigating cross-national research.
Design/methodology/approach: A conceptual... View Details

Keywords: International Marketing; Macro-marketing; Marketing; Financial Crisis; Customer Focus and Relationships; Economic Growth; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation

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25 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

10 Reasons Customers Might Resist Windows 8

called the "Charm Bar." Give Microsoft credit for innovation. But will corporate customers rush to embrace the change, or will they resist it at first? Signs point to resistance, according to Rosabeth Moss Kanter, the Ernest L.... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Computer; Consumer Products

January 2013
Case

Zappos.com 2009: Clothing, Customer Service, and Company Culture (MM)

By: Frances X. Frei and Robin J. Ely

On July 17, 2009, Zappos.com, a privately-held online retailer of shoes, clothing, and other soft-line retail categories, learned that Amazon.com, a $19 billion multinational online retailer, had won its Board of Directors' approval to offer to merge the two companies.... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Internet and the Web; Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry

31 Oct 2018
News

How Bad is Airline Service, Really? And Other Customer Service Complaints

30 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

How Your Employees and Customers Drive a New Value Profit Chain

It may be time to think about who really creates value in your organization, starting with customers and employees. Harvard Business School professors W. Earl Sasser and James L. Heskett discuss their book, The Value Profit Chain.... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Mahoney

July 2008
Case

Hilton Hotels: Brand Differentiation through Customer Relationship Management

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Gabriele Piccoli and Chekitan Dev

This case analyzes the Hilton Hotels Corporation's CRM strategy at a key juncture in its history, immediately after the firm has been taken private by Blackstone. The case provides students with a comprehensive history of the evolution and IT enablers of Hilton's CRM... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Marketing Strategy; Privatization; Performance Evaluation; Information Technology; Accommodations Industry