Publications

May 2003
Module Note

Managing Product Development

By: Stefan H. Thomke

Introduces students to the managerial aspects critical to conceiving, designing, and developing innovative products and services. Considers the full range of activities required: learning about customer needs, understanding and managing experimentation and problem... View Details

Keywords: Product Design; Product Development; Service Operations; Business or Company Management; Projects; Management Practices and Processes; Experience and Expertise; Customers; Research; Management Skills; Integration

February 2005
Article

Managing the Ecosystem

By: Marco Iansiti

The days of the corporate lone wolf are over. In our increasingly interconnected world, standing alone is no longer a viable business model. Instead, smart companies rely heavily on networks of partners, suppliers, and customers to achieve market success and sustain... View Details

Keywords: Integrated Corporate Reporting; Partners and Partnerships; Industry Clusters; Customers; Markets; Situation or Environment; Banks and Banking; Insurance; Software

2009
Book

Reorganize for Resilience: Putting Customers at the Center of Your Organization

By: Ranjay Gulati

In an era of raging commoditization and eroding profit margins, survival depends on resilience: staying one step ahead of your customers. Sure, most companies say they're "customer focused," but they don't deliver solutions to customers' thorniest problems. Why?... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Customer Focus and Relationships; Profit; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Cooperation

May 2007
Article

Managing Your Boss

By: John J. Gabarro and John P. Kotter

The best way to make a major impact in your organization? Forge a strong relationship with your boss. You'll get the support and resources you need to put your great ideas into action. But "managing up" isn't easy. For example, if you're reporting to a new CEO, you... View Details

Keywords: Organizations; Relationships; Value; Behavior; Communication; Decisions

November 1990
Article

The Impact of Race on Managers' Experiences of Developmental Relationships

By: D. A. Thomas

Keywords: Demographics; Management; Relationships; Growth and Development

June 1991 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Becton Dickinson (B): Global Management

By: Michael Beer

The president of Becton Dickinson (BD) and his top management team struggle with issues of: 1) how to manage the top of the organization, focusing on leadership style, the committee structure, and the role of sector presidents, and 2) how to manage a multinational... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Human Resources; Leadership Style; Management Teams; Corporate Strategy; Health Industry

Research Summary

Lean Startup Management Practices

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Many information technology startups have embraced "lean startup" management practices. Lean startups confront high levels of uncertainty about both customer problems and product solutions: the strength of demand for new... View Details

1996
Chapter

The Social Construction of Relationships among Professional Women at Work

By: R. J. Ely

Keywords: Management; Relationships; Gender

10 Oct 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Managing Churn to Maximize Profits

Keywords: by Aurélie Lemmens & Sunil Gupta; Retail

February 2025 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Managing Complexity at mymuesli

By: Thomas Graeber and Stacy Straaberg

In April 2009, direct-to-consumer e-commerce muesli brand mymuesli faced a flood of customer questions. The breakfast cereal startup enabled users to order personalized muesli on its website by choosing from 75 organic ingredients for a total of 566 quadrillion... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Decisions; Food; Product Marketing; Product Positioning; Product Launch; Problems and Challenges; Behavior; Competitive Advantage; Customization and Personalization; Segmentation; Internet and the Web; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; Germany

Research Summary

Overview

By: Ryan W. Buell

From creating flight itineraries online, to interacting with tellers to complete complex banking transactions, to engaging with the government to address civic problems, customers are playing an increasingly vital role in the performance of operations in a broadening... View Details

01 Apr 2024
In Practice

Navigating the Mood of Customers Weary of Price Hikes

maintaining good relationships with consumers. The consumer response to price changes that happened in 2022 may not predict how consumers will react in 2024. Some products may be more profitable at lower prices and lower margins, while... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Retail; Consumer Products

Forthcoming
Article

Engaging Customers with AI in Online Chats: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment

By: Shunyuan Zhang and Das Narayandas

We examine how artificial intelligence (AI) affected the productivity of customer service agents and customer sentiment in online interactions. Collaborating with a meal delivery company, we conducted a randomized field experiment that exploited exogenous variation in... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Customer Focus and Relationships; Performance Efficiency

May 2017 (Revised September 2018)
Case

Hilti Fleet Management (A): Turning a Successful Business Model on Its Head

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

March 2001 (Revised May 2001)
Case

&Samhoud Service Management

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Ashish Nanda and Monica Mullick

&Samhoud, a small service management consulting firm in the Netherlands, grapples with the dilemma of firing its largest client while introducing Heskett's theory of the service profit chain. View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Management Practices and Processes; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Relationship Management; Consulting Industry; Netherlands

14 May 2021
News

4 Strategies to Simplify the Customer Journey

February 2009
Background Note

Basic Techniques for the Analysis of Customer Information Using Excel 2007: A Step-by-Step Approach

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez

The objective of this note is to provide a set of easy, step-by-step guides for some analytical techniques that are useful in the analysis of cases discussed in the course "Competing and Winning through Customer Information" (CWCI). The instructions that follow use... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Information Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques