Publications

1998
Chapter

Seeing through the Customer's Eyes with Computer Imaging

By: G. Zaltman and L. J. Schuck

Keywords: Information Technology; Perception; Customers; Computer Industry

June 2008
Case

System on a Chip 2008: Global Unichip Corp.

By: Willy C. Shih, Chintay Shih, Chen-Fu Chien and Yuan-Chieh Chang

Though much of the semiconductor industry has shifted to a horizontal model, complexity driven by technological evolution is driving a shift in the perceived boundaries in the value chain. Global Unichip sees itself as a "virtual integrated device manufacturer," a... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Boundaries; Semiconductor Industry

April 2008 (Revised March 2015)
Case

TheLadders (A)

By: Peter A. Coles, Benjamin Edelman, Brian J. Hall and Nicole Bennett

Despite strong appeal among job seekers and outside recruiters, TheLadders' corporate job listings seem to lag. Could raising prices help solve the problem? TheLadders considers this strategic paradox. View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Price; Recruitment; Job Search; Marketing Strategy; Employment Industry

April 1998 (Revised February 2001)
Case

CBS Evening News

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

The CBS Evening News looks for options for growth of the franchise. This case discusses CBS's main competitors and their positioning in the evening news market, as well as the history and operations of the CBS Evening News. View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Competition; Business Growth and Maturation; Media; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

June 2012
Case

Buro Happold (Abridged)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Ryan Johnson

In 1996, Ted Happold, the founder of the engineering services firm Buro Happold, passed away, and Padraic Kelly became the firm's new managing director (MD). One of his first initiatives was "Aim for Growth," which was intended to help the firm grow beyond its current... View Details

Keywords: Learning And Development; Managing Growth; Organizational Design; Diversification; Client Management; Leadership Skills; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Leadership Development; Management Skills; Training; Programs; Customer Relationship Management

March 2011 (Revised March 2021)
Teaching Note

Terror at the Taj Bombay: Customer-Centric Leadership

By: Rohit Deshpande

Teaching Note for 511703. View Details

Keywords: Safety; Organizations; Crisis Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Brands and Branding

June 2009
Teaching Note

Online Restaurant Promotions

By: Benjamin Edelman

Teaching Note for [909034]. View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment; Networks; Price; Corporate Strategy; Technology; Service Industry

May 2002 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Tim Blanchard at Jones Mendel & Co.

By: John J. Gabarro

Tim Blanchard struggles to balance all the demands facing him as a partner of a consulting firm. He must decide how to serve clients, mentor his people, provide strategy and direction to the high-tech group, and spend time with family. A rewritten version of an earlier... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Managerial Roles; Work-Life Balance; Consulting Industry

spring/summer 1984
Article

Children as Consumers: An Ethical Evaluation of Children's Television Advertising

By: L. S. Paine

Keywords: Customers; Ethics; Media; Advertising

December 1989
Case

Giant Effort to Inform Consumers

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Norman Klein

Keywords: Customers; Demand and Consumers

February 2010
Background Note

Millipore Background Note

By: Elie Ofek and Natalie Kindred

This note provides background on Millipore Corporation, a global provider of products and services used primarily in the discovery, development and production of therapeutic drugs. With a track record of quickly adapting to the evolving needs of its customers,... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

January 2001
Case

Accrue Software, Inc.

In 2000, Accrue is one of three survivors of the initial consolidation of the Web traffic analysis software industry. However, entry from CRM software providers and consultants, as well as ASPs offering Web analysis services, has introduced new threats to Accrue. Newly... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Competitive Advantage; Software; Web Services Industry

May 1982 (Revised April 1984)
Case

Consolidated Foods Corp. (A)

Top management at Consolidated Foods was concerned about consumer complaints and threatened boycotts, some relating to television and print ad content and others relating to sponsorship of television programs thought to portray excessive sex or violence. Describes the... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Marketing Communications; Crisis Management; Advertising

September 6, 2022
Article

Creating a Platform for Costless Personalization in Clothing

By: Shane Greenstein

This study analyzes the role of co-invention in the creation of a platform for print-on-demand-clothing, or PODC. Co-invention is the invention of a new business process to complement new technology, and turn it into a valuable commercial service. PODC copies a design... View Details

Keywords: Print-on-demand-clothing; Customization and Personalization; Digital Platforms; Apparel and Accessories Industry

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2006
Chapter

A 'Customer-Centric' View of Global Economic Development

By: V. K. Rangan and Arthur McCaffrey

Keywords: Globalization; Customers; Perspective; Development Economics

2006
Book

Consumer Capitalism: Politics, Product Markets, and Firm Strategy in France and Germany

By: Gunnar Trumbull

Keywords: Customers; Economic Systems; Product; Markets; Strategy; France; Germany

June 2021
Case

Acelero Learning

By: Mario Small, Kathleen L. McGinn, Amy Klopfenstein and Katherine Chen

In November 2020, Henry Wilde, co-founder and CEO of Acelero, Inc., must decide whether to change his company’s program model for delivering early childhood education to low-income children. One of the only for-profit Head Start providers in the United States, Acelero... View Details

Keywords: Early Childhood Education; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth and Development Strategy; Adoption; Customer Focus and Relationships; Operations; Education Industry; North and Central America; United States

September 2020 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Gong: Resonating Conversational Insights

By: Alison Wood Brooks and Trevor Spelman

In 2015, Amit Bendov was struck by a realization about a new technology that might be able to transcribe musical notation in real-time, which eventually became known as Gong. Gong’s business proposition was simple: provide software that automatically captures,... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Technological Innovation; Communication; Performance Effectiveness; Sales; Customer Satisfaction; Competitive Strategy

May 1999
Background Note

Note on Behavioral Pricing

By: John T. Gourville

The note introduces the behavioral or psychological aspects of consumer price acceptance. Begins by reviewing the traditional economic approach to product pricing and consumer price acceptance--namely, that consumers should be willing to purchase anytime a product's... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Decisions; Fairness; Price; Marketing Strategy; Behavior; Perspective; Public Opinion