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- All HBS Web
(2,562)
- People (2)
- News (551)
- Research (1,685)
- Events (3)
- Multimedia (9)
- Faculty Publications (936)
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- March 2006
- Background Note
Influencing Customer Behavior in Service Operations
By: Frances X. Frei and Amy C. Edmondson
Explores ways in which service firms can influence the behavior of their customers. Drawing from research on employee motivation and applying it to customer motivation, the note describes two levels of managerial control: instrumental control, which shapes behavior... View Details
Keywords: Customers; Governance Controls; Consumer Behavior; Service Operations; Emotions; Motivation and Incentives; Power and Influence; Service Industry
Frei, Frances X., and Amy C. Edmondson. "Influencing Customer Behavior in Service Operations." Harvard Business School Background Note 606-061, March 2006.
- 16 Feb 2010
- Research & Ideas
The Outside-In Approach to Customer Service
must be more profound and open-ended, with an intent not only to discover how your customers engage with your products or services but also to understand some of the broader parameters of the constraints... View Details
- May 2021
- Simulation
Customer Compatibility Exercise Application
By: Ryan W. Buell
Customers impose considerable variability on the operating systems of service organizations. They show up when they wish (arrival variability), they ask for different things (request variability), they vary in their willingness and ability to help themselves (effort... View Details
- April 15, 2019
- Article
Why Anxious Customers Prefer Human Customer Service
By: Michelle A. Shell and Ryan W. Buell
Shell, Michelle A., and Ryan W. Buell. "Why Anxious Customers Prefer Human Customer Service." Harvard Business Review (website) (April 15, 2019).
- April 2006
- Background Note
Informing Service Management with Customer Data
By: Frances X. Frei and Dennis Campbell
Taught as the third module in a Harvard Business School course on Managing Service Operations. Explores the role of data analysis in ongoing service management. Describes how to realize the maximum amount of value from analyses and use this information in... View Details
Keywords: Decision Making; Design; Analytics and Data Science; Service Operations; Mathematical Methods; Value
Frei, Frances X., and Dennis Campbell. "Informing Service Management with Customer Data." Harvard Business School Background Note 606-097, April 2006.
- April 2006 (Revised April 2008)
- Course Overview Note
Managing Service Operations: Understanding the Customer Operating Role
By: Frances X. Frei
Describes Managing Service Operations: Understanding the Customer Operating Role, a second-year MBA course that consists of three modules. The first module, Conceptualizing the Customer Operating, explores the operational challenges and opportunites of managing... View Details
Keywords: Service Operations
- May 1998 (Revised July 1999)
- Teaching Note
ACTC Customer Service Department TN
Teaching Note for (9-393-056). View Details
Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships
- April 2004 (Revised June 2004)
- Teaching Note
Starbucks: Delivering Customer Service (TN)
By: Youngme E. Moon and John A. Quelch
Teaching Note to (9-504-016). View Details
- April 1997 (Revised November 1997)
- Case
Anglian Water: Customer Service Transformation
Loveman, Gary W., and Sabina M. Ciminero. "Anglian Water: Customer Service Transformation." Harvard Business School Case 897-093, April 1997. (Revised November 1997.)
- 2005
- Book
Best Face Forward: Why Companies Must Improve Their Service Interfaces With Customers
By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Bernard J. Jaworski
Keywords: Technology; Digital; Services; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Service Delivery; Marketing
Rayport, Jeffrey F., and Bernard J. Jaworski. Best Face Forward: Why Companies Must Improve Their Service Interfaces With Customers. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2005.
- February 1991
- Case
Techsonic Industries, Inc.: Customer Service
Menezes, Melvyn A. "Techsonic Industries, Inc.: Customer Service." Harvard Business School Case 591-050, February 1991.
- January 1990
- Article
An Integrated Approach to Customer Service
By: R. D. Shapiro and H. Mathe
Keywords: Customers
Shapiro, R. D., and H. Mathe. "An Integrated Approach to Customer Service." Special Issue on Mastering Information Management Series. International Journal of Physical Distribution (January 1990).
- February 2025
- 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
Keywords: Transparency; Customer Selection; Customer Compatibility; Retention; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Communications; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Banking Industry; Australia
Buell, Ryan W., and MoonSoo Choi. "Improving Customer Compatibility with Tradeoff Transparency." Management Science 71, no. 2 (February 2025): 1335–1355.
- 2024
- Working Paper
The Operational Impact of Customer Location in On-Demand Services
By: Natalie Epstein, Santiago Gallino and Antonio Moreno
The rapid growth of on-demand delivery services, particularly in the food and grocery sectors, has driven the expansion of hyperlocal fulfillment centers (FCs). This paper uses data from an on-demand grocery delivery platform in Latin America to assess how customer... View Details
Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Logistics; Geographic Location; Service Delivery; Quality; Retail Industry; Latin America
Epstein, Natalie, Santiago Gallino, and Antonio Moreno. "The Operational Impact of Customer Location in On-Demand Services." Working Paper, September 2024.
- February 2020
- Module Note
Transforming Customer Engagement in Service Operations
By: Ryan W. Buell
Buell, Ryan W. "Transforming Customer Engagement in Service Operations." Harvard Business School Module Note 620-089, February 2020.
- October 1985 (Revised March 1987)
- Case
AT&T Communications: Connecticut Custom Services District
Klein, Janice A. "AT&T Communications: Connecticut Custom Services District." Harvard Business School Case 686-056, October 1985. (Revised March 1987.)
- September 1980 (Revised January 1983)
- Case
Federal Express: Customer Service Department (A)
Lovelock, Christopher H. "Federal Express: Customer Service Department (A)." Harvard Business School Case 581-017, September 1980. (Revised January 1983.)
- March 1981 (Revised May 1981)
- Case
Federal Express: Customer Service Department (B1)
Lovelock, Christopher H. "Federal Express: Customer Service Department (B1)." Harvard Business School Case 581-102, March 1981. (Revised May 1981.)
- 1 Nov 1993
- Conference Presentation
Information Technology's Role in Transforming Customer Service
By: Jim I. Cash Jr.
- Article
Cooks Make Tastier Food When They Can See Their Customers
By: Ryan W. Buell, Tami Kim and Chia-Jung Tsay
While existing theory suggests that increased contact between customers and employees diminishes efficiency, recent research demonstrates that when employees can see their customers, the beneficiaries of their efforts, the quality and efficiency of the service they... View Details
Keywords: Operational Transparency; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Service Management; Service Industry
Buell, Ryan W., Tami Kim, and Chia-Jung Tsay. "Cooks Make Tastier Food When They Can See Their Customers." Harvard Business Review 92, no. 11 (November 2014): 34–35.