Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(3,360)
- Faculty Publications (366)
- 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
- March 1993 (Revised April 1995)
- Case
IBM After-Sales Service
IBM has established a service delivery system to provide service and maintenance parts for its installed base of computers. The case outlines the competitive pressures IBM faces from alternative providers of maintenance services (e.g. other OEMs, third-party... View Details
- February 1993 (Revised April 1995)
- Case
Sharp Corporation: Technology Strategy
By: David J. Collis and Tomo Noda
Teaches the evolution of the corporate strategy of Sharp Corp., Japan. Sharp Corp., a second-tier assembler of TV sets and home appliances, gradually and consistently improved performance by developing expertise in electronic device technologies such as specialized ICs... View Details
- September 1992 (Revised November 1996)
- Case
Royal Automobile Club Rescue Services Division: Transformation Through Technology
By: W. Earl Sasser and Roger H. Hallowell
The Royal Automobile Club uses a new computer and telephone system to improve its service standards and profitability. After the initial impact of changes from technology, the organization faces a need to choose between future technological development or... View Details
- February 1992 (Revised October 1996)
- Case
CUC International, Inc. (A)
By: Krishna G. Palepu and Paul M. Healy
The case series examines the role of financial reporting and corporate finance policies as vehicles for communication between managers and outside investors. This case describes management's concern that the company's stock is undervalued because analysts viewed the... View Details
- November 1991 (Revised April 1994)
- Case
Taco Bell Corp.
By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Roger H. Hallowell
John Martin, Taco Bell CEO, brings the company into line with its competitors through incremental change during the 1980s. In the early 1990s, he adopts breakthrough approaches to improve service levels while reducing prices, providing a distinct competitive advantage.... View Details
- September 1991 (Revised January 1997)
- Case
Manzana Insurance: Fruitvale Branch (Abridged)
Deals with performance assessment and improvement of a service operation in the insurance industry, a market that is highly sensitive to response time. Two branch offices in direct competition are described, and the impact of response time on performance is suggested.... View Details
- May 1991
- Article
Presidential Commitment and the Veto
By: Daniel E. Ingberman and Dennis Yao
A president's power to veto is widely recognized as an important weapon in the struggle with Congress over legislation. In this paper we investigate the effectiveness of the veto weapon with a simple model of presidential powers that incorporates informal institutional... View Details
- February 1991
- Case
Burlington Northern: The ARES Decision (A)
By: Julie H. Hertenstein and Robert S. Kaplan
Burlington Northern's decision whether to invest in ARES, an automated train control system, is a ($350 million) strategic investment in information technology. Although set in a service industry (railroad) the issues around this decision arise in many organizations... View Details
- April 1990 (Revised November 1992)
- Case
Population Services International: The Social Marketing Project in Bangladesh (Abridged)
By: James E. Austin
Population Services International (PSI) was a not-for-profit agency founded to disseminate family planning information and to market birth control products, primarily in less developed countries seeking to curb their population explosions. In 1976, PSI concluded an... View Details
- March 1987 (Revised October 1993)
- Case
Au Bon Pain: The French Bakery Cafe, The Partner/Manager Program
By: W. Earl Sasser
In recent years, Au Bon Pain (ABP), a chain of upscale French bakeries/sandwich cafes based in Boston, confronted a set of human resource problems endemic to the fast food industry (i.e., a labor shortage which made it difficult to attract and maintain quality crew... View Details
- September 1985 (Revised July 2007)
- Case
Population Services International: The Social Marketing Project in Bangladesh
Population Services International (PSI) was a not-for-profit agency founded to disseminate family planning information and to market birth control products, primarily in less developed countries seeking to curb their population explosions. In 1976, PSI concluded an... View Details
- June 1977 (Revised September 1992)
- Case
Sorenson Research Co. (Abridged)
Presents the issues facing a high volume, high margin (but lightweight) medical products business. The company is trying to improve its inventory control to reduce inventory investment and improve service. The present multi-site inventory system is described and major... View Details
- Teaching Interest
Field Course: Social Innovation Lab
Co-taugh with Prof. John Kim
This course provides students an opportunity to use the discipline of entrepreneurial... View Details
- Forthcoming
- Article
Improving Customer Compatibility with Tradeoff Transparency
By: Ryan W. Buell and MoonSoo Choi
Through a large-scale field experiment with 393,036 customers considering opening a credit card account with a nationwide retail bank, we investigate how providing transparency into an offering’s tradeoffs affects subsequent rates of customer acquisition and long-run... View Details
- Teaching Interest
Managing Service Operations - MBA Elective Curriculum
By: Ryan W. Buell
World-class service organizations deeply understand the needs and behaviors of their customers, and design, manage, and improve their operating models accordingly. This course investigates the distinct challenges inherent in leading service operations, which make up... View Details
- Research Summary
Managing sustainability in supply chains
I am examining codes of conduct, management process standards, and government voluntary programs that address environmental and labor issues, seeking to understand what enables some of these programs to actually deliver on their promise of distinguishing organizations... View Details
- Teaching Interest
Overview
By: Rob Markey
Managing Service Operations - MBA Elective Curriculum
World-class service organizations deeply understand the needs and behaviors of their customers, and design, manage, and improve their operating models accordingly. This course... View Details
Keywords: Customer Lifetime Value; Customer Centric Initiative; Customer Engagement; Service Management; Service Profit Chain; Service Design; Service Models; Service Excellence; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Customer Value and Value Chain; Service Delivery; Service Operations
- Research Summary
Overview
By: Feng Zhu
Professor Zhu’s research focuses on the design of platform business models and its impact on platform performance. Platforms have become central to our economy. A platform is a product or service that enables two or more customer groups to interact. For example,... View Details