Publications

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2019
Working Paper

The Customer May Not Always Be Right: Customer Compatibility and Service Performance

By: Ryan W. Buell, Dennis Campbell and Frances X. Frei

This paper investigates the impact of customer compatibility – the degree of fit between the needs of customers and the capabilities of the operations serving them – on customer experiences and firm performance. We use a variance decomposition analysis to quantify the... View Details

Keywords: Customer Compatibility; Satisfaction; Profitability; Customer Relationship Management; Service Operations; Customer Satisfaction; Banking Industry; Banking Industry

01 Apr 1998
News

Short Takes

development cycles and can't respond in mid-project to changing customer needs. But there's a solution to this dilemma, according to HBS assistant professor Stefan H. Thomke and Donald G. Reinertsen (MBA... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons and Caroline Chauncey

2023
Working Paper

The Effects of Inconsistent Work Schedules on Employee Lateness and Absenteeism

By: Caleb Kwon and Ananth Raman

Problem Definition: Employee lateness and absenteeism pose challenges for businesses, particularly in the retail industry, where punctuality is vital for optimal store operations and customer service. This paper relates employee lateness and absenteeism with... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Employees; Human Capital; Retail Industry

2017
Working Paper

Carbon Tariffs: Effects in Settings with Technology Choice and Foreign Production Cost Advantage

By: David F. Drake

Emissions regulation is a policy mechanism intended to address the threat of climate change. However, the stringency of emissions regulation varies across regions, raising concerns over carbon leakage—an outcome where stringent regulation in one region shifts... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Competition; Pollutants; Taxation; Environmental Sustainability; Globalized Markets and Industries

28 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

The FDA’s Speedy Drug Approvals Are Safe: A Win-Win for Patients and Pharma Innovation

treat serious medical conditions,” says Ariel D. Stern, the Poronui Associate Professor of Business Administration at HBS. Stern cowrote the December 2022 working paper with Amitabh Chandra, the Henry and... View Details

Keywords: by Kasandra Brabaw; Pharmaceutical

Web

Mastering Consulting and Advisory Skills - Course Catalog

HBS Course Catalog Mastering Consulting and Advisory Skills Course Number 2043 Senior Lecturer David G. Fubini Spring; Q3; 1.5 credits Paper Overview: Each year, hundreds of HBS students walk across the... View Details

01 Jun 1998
News

Short Takes

explores these differences in a working paper titled "Limits to Globalization: Organizational Homogeneity and Diversity in the Semiconductor Industry." Extensive interviews with managers at nine major firms... View Details

Keywords: Orna Feldman and Caroline Chauncey

2007
Working Paper

Dynamics of Platform Competition: Exploring the Role of Installed Base, Platform Quality and Consumer Expectations

By: Feng Zhu and Marco Iansiti

This paper seeks to answer three questions. First, which drives the success of a platform, installed base, platform quality or consumer expectations? Second, when does a monopoly emerge in a platform-based market? Finally, when is a platform-based market socially... View Details

Keywords: Price; Network Effects; Digital Platforms; Monopoly; Quality; Competitive Advantage; Digital Platforms

2013
Working Paper

What Makes a Critic Tick? Connected Authors and the Determinants of Book Reviews

By: Loretti I. Dobrescu, Michael Luca and Alberto Motta

This paper investigates the determinants of expert reviews in the book industry. Reviews are determined not only by the quality of the product, but also by the incentives of the media outlet providing the review. For example, a media outlet may have the incentive to... View Details

Keywords: Books; Quality; Experience and Expertise; Relationships; Publishing Industry

2008
Simulation

DEC v. Riverside

By: David A. Lax, James K. Sebenius, Lawrence Susskind and Thomas Weeks

Riverside Lumber is a pulp manufacturer in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. Riverside regularly dumps effluent into a nearby river. The Division of Environmental Conservation (DEC) claims that the effluent is toxic and jeopardizes the local salmon catch.... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Conflict Management; Cooperation; Courts and Trials; Decision Choices and Conditions; Natural Environment; Negotiation; Pulp and Paper Industry; Northwestern United States

2010
Article

Competing against Online Sharing

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Andres Hervas-Drane

This paper aims to explore online sharing of copyrighted content over peer-to-peer (p2p) file sharing networks and its impact on the music industry and to assess the viable business models for the industry in the future. View Details

Keywords: Consumers; Computer Networks; Resource Sharing; Online Operations; Internet and the Web; Copyright; Networks; Business Model; Music Industry

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Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month | Baker Library

Intelligence Unit's Latin America Overview Page . Dive even deeper with their Latin America: One-Click Report . Use EMIS to gather country-specific industry reports, news, and statistics, such as the... View Details

Article

Repairing the Damage: The Effect of Price Knowledge and Gender on Auto-Repair Price Quotes

By: Meghan Busse, Ayelet Israeli and Florian Zettelmeyer

In this paper we investigate whether sellers treat consumers differently on the basis of how well informed consumers appear to be. We implement a large-scale field experiment in which callers request price quotes from automotive repair shops. We show that sellers alter... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Price Discrimination; Automobiles; Field Experiment; Information; Fairness; Price; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Internet and the Web; Gender; Service Industry; Service Industry

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IFC: Italy; Tradition and Innovation - Course Catalog

evolution and the present business, economic and political situation in Italy, (2) explore examples of how Italian companies innovate and compete, (3) gain an understanding of... View Details

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Fostering Candor in Teams and Organizations - Recruiting

Insights & Advice 07 Jul 2023 Fostering Candor in Teams and Organizations Becca Carnahan Author HBS Team tag All Industries All Locations Diversity, Inclusion, & Belonging Recruiting Advice Recruiting... View Details

2022
Article

Regulatory Treatment of Changes in Fair Value and the Composition of Banks' Investment Portfolios

By: Michael Iselin, Jung Koo Kang and Joshua Madsen

In their implementation of Basel III, U.S. bank regulators are again including changes in the fair value of available-for-sale (AFS) debt securities in Tier 1 capital, but only for the largest U.S. banks. This paper investigates a potential impact of expanding this... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; SFAS 115; Basel III; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Banks and Banking; Debt Securities; Credit; Risk and Uncertainty; Investment Portfolio; Decision Making; Banking Industry; United States