Publications

March 1993 (Revised April 1995)
Case

IBM After-Sales Service

By: Janice H. Hammond

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

Keywords: Service Delivery; Service Operations; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Logistics; Operations; Distribution; Customer Focus and Relationships; Competitive Strategy; Computer Industry

05 Dec 2007
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Managing Marketing

Networked Customers? How Do You Value a 'Free' Customer? Sometimes a valuable customer may be the person who never buys a thing. Professor Sunil Gupta discusses how to assess the profitability of a customer... View Details

25 Aug 2022
News

Action Plan: Fired Up

fundamental purpose that’s meaningful both to customers and employees,” he says. “You strive to be the best version of your customers.” That goal was relatively easy to attain in his previous role as CEO of the trendsetting headphone... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; company culture; barbecue; entertaining; food; marketing; brand

07 Aug 2000
Research & Ideas

Rocket Science Retailing

that have not been shipped. This process of reading and reacting to market signals has improved CompUSA's ability to match supply with demand. Finally, book and music retailer Borders Group uses historical sales data to customize the... View Details

Keywords: by Marshall L. Fisher, Ananth Raman & Anna Sheen McClelland; Retail

01 Dec 2017
News

Case Study: The Doctor Deficit

quality,” Heissler said. “How do we grow without diluting our main value proposition?” How they answered the question: QE Solar didn’t expand to California, focusing instead on growing with their customers east of the Mississippi. “We... View Details

Keywords: April White

18 Apr 2005
Research & Ideas

Prosper with Multi-Channel Retailing

For decades, major retailers offered customers only two methods of purchasing: directly at the store or from catalogs sent through the mail. With the advent of the Internet, retail companies that offered only one or two channels suddenly... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette; Consumer Products; Retail

Portrait Project

Thomas Rajan

industry one airline at a time to where value isn't just a fair ticket price or a healthy balance sheet, but where customers and employees are treated with dignity and respect as well. To lift nations to the heights of their economic... View Details

01 Sep 2013
News

A Start-Up with Giddyup

equity until I'd built something." Online sales "That's our focus, and it's made possible by our 'Fit Kit' at-home measuring system. We're now shifting to more ready-to-wear sizes, too." Best-seller "The Honcho, for about $900–$1,200. It's a traditional style, which I... View Details

Keywords: Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores; Retail Trade

24 Apr 2014
News

Improving the service experience requires excellence—but not in everything

Everyone knows what bad service feels like—and that’s something Frances Frei, Professor at HBS, wants to fix. Making the service experience better for everyone, from customers to employees, begins with understanding the services View Details

30 Dec 2013
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Articles of 2013

Christensen. It's time for companies to look at products the way customers do: as a way to get a job done. Is Your iPhone Turning You Into a Wimp? The body posture inherent in operating everyday gadgets affects not only your back, but... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

05 Aug 2015
News

Mobilizing the Public to Fight Bribery

“Corruption is a great untapped market,” Henry Motte-Munoz (MBA 2013) says with a laugh. “Not many competitors and customer interest is quite high.” It’s a market he’s helping to disrupt using Bantay, an NGO he cofounded while at HBS,... View Details

Keywords: Constantine von Hoffman; Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support; Government

September 2023 (Revised August 2024)
Teaching Note

On

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karolin Frankenberger, Sascha Mader, Jordan Mitchell and Karen Elterman

Teaching Note for "On," HBS Case No. 723-430. On is a premium performance running shoe company founded in Switzerland in 2010. The company rapidly gained traction through its unique CloudTec cushioning technology, its innovative midsole plate called the Speedboard, and... View Details

September 2023 (Revised September 2023)
Supplement

On

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karolin Frankenberger, Sascha Mader, Jordan Mitchell and Karen Elterman

Slides to support the teaching of the On case, 723-430. On is a premium performance running shoe company founded in Switzerland in 2010. The company rapidly gained traction through its unique CloudTec cushioning technology, its innovative midsole plate called the... View Details

July 2011
Teaching Note

a-connect: In Search of Talent Partners (TN) (A) and (B)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Penelope Rossano

Teaching Note for 409036 and 411085. View Details

Keywords: Revenue; Business Offices; Attorney and Client Relationships; Customer Focus and Relationships; Initial Public Offering; Organizations; Change; Consulting Industry; Boston; Hong Kong; Singapore; San Francisco

October 2010
Case

The Cleveland Clinic: Improving the Patient Experience (Abridged)

By: Ananth Raman, Anita L. Tucker and Rachel Gordon

Healthcare has traditionally focused on medical outcomes and financial performance. The big question is always, "How much is it going to cost?" What would happen though if healthcare also considered question of "How does the patient feel?" This case looks at the... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Ethics; Health Care and Treatment; Six Sigma; Performance Improvement; Safety; Value Creation

01 Jun 1997
News

New Releases

demand, and on pleasing the best customers - can ultimately weaken a strong firm. In The Innovator's Dilemma, Christensen shows how significant breakthroughs in products and services are often initially rejected by mainstream View Details

November 2009 (Revised January 2010)
Case

Communispace

By: Anat Keinan

Communispace is the market leader in creating and managing private, brand-focused online communities for major corporate clients. These communities have provided its clients with insights into how consumers view their brands, with quick feedback on potential marketing... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Network Effects; Social and Collaborative Networks; Online Technology; Communications Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry