professional services - Publications - Faculty & Research

14 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Reforming New Orleans Schools After Katrina

the ground there, and became interested in a start-up called New Schools for New Orleans (NSNO) through the work that our student teams have done every January since the storm as part of the HBS New Orleans Service Immersion. This year... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Education

07 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

How Teams Work: Lessons from the Pandemic

Team Work: Learnings from How Teams Adapted Their Activities During the COVID-19 Pandemic, which will appear in the journal Information and Organization. Perlow, Whillans, and HBS doctoral student Aurora Turek interviewed 51 knowledge workers at a View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

23 Apr 2018
Research & Ideas

Sponsorship Programs Could Actually Widen the Gender Gap

well, too. Sponsorship is a pretty new concept, but it’s becoming more popular, especially in professional service firms.” Sponsorship programs are meant to boost confidence among protégés, increasing the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

09 Nov 2010
First Look

First Look: November 9, 2010

each branch of the armed services must make. Army and Marine Corps officers operate in an inherently uncertain environment. They define the mission but then give subordinates the flexibility to adjust to realities on the ground. This... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Coronavirus Could Create a 'Bankruptcy Pandemic'

to be processed more slowly, leading to longer stays in the bankruptcy “hospital.” Not only would professional fees go up (especially burdensome for smaller businesses), but process delays would force companies to wait longer to obtain... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Financial Services; Financial Services

09 Jan 2006
Research & Ideas

When Benchmarks Don’t Work

service units whose goal is to provide differentiated services and to upgrade the skills and capabilities of their professionals will necessarily spend more. They are not less... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan; Service

13 Aug 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Diasporas and Domestic Entrepreneurs: Evidence from the Indian Software Industry

Keywords: by Ramana Nanda & Tarun Khanna; Web Services; Web Services

20 May 2008
First Look

First Look: May 20, 2008

Case 608-016 Cambrian House builds Internet-based products and services by relying entirely on its user community for all aspects of its innovation and new product development process. Users suggest ideas for new products and View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

15 Nov 2022
Op-Ed

Why TikTok Is Beating YouTube for Eyeball Time (It’s Not Just the Dance Videos)

users and also spreads its content by algorithm. YouTube mainstreamed user-generated content, which had a vibe so different from television that the measurement services did not count YouTube as TV. Although much of its content is longer,... View Details

Keywords: by John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

09 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 9, 2015

the closer one gets to the customer in responses from sales and service personnel. This article outlines the issues and explains why withholding information about strategy for competitive reasons often results in greater risk for the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

30 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

The Future of IT Consulting

have been several. First, innovation in frameworks and methodologies along with trained professionals have provided value-added services uniquely available from the consulting firm. For example, the Boston... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Johnston; Consulting

17 Jun 2015
Lessons from the Classroom

Excellence Comes From Saying No

School Professor Frances Frei has explored that question for years in the retail realm, culminating in her 2012 book, Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business. This past semester at HBS, the UPS Foundation Professor of View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

06 May 2021
HBS Case

How Four Women Made Miami More Equitable for Startups

her hometown of New Orleans before moving to Miami. Gibson shifted her focus to cultivating higher-wage jobs in marginalized communities and drew on her background in environmental sciences to form EcoTech Visions, a company providing View Details

Keywords: by Carolyn DiPaolo

13 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

The Power of Personal Connections: How Shared Experiences Boost Performance

through those ties and may take pride in a reputation for a higher standard of performance when observed by a valued peer, the researchers note. In some ways, analogous effects may be observed in customer service in other professions and... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Health

18 Jul 2011
Research & Ideas

Looking in the Mirror: Questions Every Leader Must Ask

DuPont's vision is "to be the world's most dynamic science company, creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer and healthier life for people everywhere." This vision helps DuPont employees better understand what (and why) they are spending... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

12 Jan 2016
First Look

January 12, 2016

business units—professional tax software, sold to accountants, and the consumer focused TurboTax product. The new product—TurboTax Personal Pro—connects consumers with professional accountants online, allowing them to have their taxes... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

19 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

Birth of the American Salesman

and services that supported sales managers, including trade journals and popular magazines about salesmen and sales management. The creation of methods of sales management also opened up new branches of academic inquiry, such as... View Details

Keywords: by Laura Linard

13 Nov 2019
Research & Ideas

Don't Turn Your Marketing Function Over to AI Just Yet

how new products or services would perform at various prices or with different characteristics. The machine learning algorithms that might power such a device are, at least for now, incapable of producing such promising results. But what... View Details