Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(2,328)
- Faculty Publications (443)
- September 1996 (Revised June 1997)
- Case
QVC, Inc.
Illustrates the "Service Profit Chain" in action. QVC, whose initials stand for Quality, Value,, and Convenience, demonstrates clearly how a strong customer focus can lead to establishing a strong franchise in the retail sector and a highly profitable business whose... View Details
- September 1996 (Revised May 1997)
- Case
Mobil USM&R (C): Lubricants Business Unit
By: Robert S. Kaplan
The general manager of a Lubricants Business Unit in Mobil's U.S. Marketing and Refining division launched a project to develop a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) for his unit. The purpose was to provide focus for all employees of the unit, enabling it to operate on an... View Details
- April 1996 (Revised April 2004)
- Case
Virtual Vineyards
By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Alvin J. Silk, Lisa Klein Pearo and Thomas A. Gerace
Virtual Vineyards markets wine from small California vineyards directly to consumers through its site on the World Wide Web. It also facilitates fulfillment of customer orders. The case focuses on the ways in which Virtual Vineyards provides value to end consumers... View Details
- March 1996 (Revised January 1997)
- Case
America Online: Using Information Technology to Better Serve the Customer
By: James I. Cash Jr. and Judy E. Stahl
Mike Connors, president of AOL Technologies, examines several efforts to correct operational problems inhibiting the company's growth. What will need to be done to support growth and counter competition from Prodigy, Compuserv, and Internet-related services? View Details
- March 1996 (Revised January 1997)
- Case
Scott Cook and Intuit
By: James L. Heskett
Scott Cook has just learned that Microsoft has withdrawn its $2 billion offer for his company Intuit. Because of his company's prospects, he is elated. But he now must decide the direction in which to take his company while continuing to focus on the formula of... View Details
- October 1995
- Teaching Note
Procter & Gamble: Improving Consumer Value Through Process Design TN
Teaching Note for (9-195-126). View Details
- July 1995 (Revised September 1995)
- Background Note
Technology for Teams
By: Lynda M. Applegate and Geoffrey Bock
The importance of groups in organizations has long been recognized but, until recently, groups were always "tacked onto" organizations that were designed around individuals. It was not just the logic of classical organizational theory that perpetuated this focus on the... View Details
- June 1995
- Case
Polaroid Corporation: European Distribution System
By: Janice H. Hammond and Afroze A Mohammed
Describes distribution operations in Polaroid Europe. In the late 1980s, Polaroid senior management in the United States proposed moving from a system of 12 decentralized warehouses to a centralized distribution system in which all inventory for European retailers... View Details
- April 1995 (Revised May 1995)
- Case
Kraft General Foods: The Merger (B)
By: David J. Collis and Elizabeth Wynne Johnson
Discusses the recent decision to blend the previously separate Kraft and General Foods units into one operating company with a focus on the creation of a single massive sales force. View Details
- January 1995
- Case
Understanding User Needs
By: Marco Iansiti and Ellen Stein
Presents an introduction to methods for understanding user needs in product development. Describes a number of techniques including the use of focus groups, interviews, questionnaires, the Kano method, Lead User analysis, the Product Value matrix, OFD, etc. Provides a... View Details
- January 1995 (Revised October 1995)
- Case
Citibank: Global Customer Management
By: Michael Y. Yoshino and Thomas W. Malnight
Describes Citibank's worldwide operations, which include activities in developing and developed markets. The bank's structure also varies across markets and regions, varying from autonomous national affiliates to an industry/product-based structure in its domestic U.S.... View Details
- November 1994 (Revised October 2011)
- Background Note
Innovation: A Customer-Driven Approach
By: Marco Iansiti, Thomas J. Kosnik and Ellen Stein
Provides a selection of methodologies for the investigation of user needs, concept development, and product design. View Details
- October 1994 (Revised November 1994)
- Case
British Airways: Using Information Systems to Better Serve the Customer
By: W. Earl Sasser and Norman Klein
Explores the uses of scanning technology, interactive software, and powerful data bases to assist customer relations representatives in resolving customer complaints. Competitive alliances in international markets are noted, but the focus is on the evolving commitment... View Details
- September 1994
- Teaching Note
Bose Corporation: The JIT II Program (A), (B), (C), (D), and Videotape TN
By: Roy D. Shapiro and Bruce Isaacson
Teaching Note for (9-694-001), (9-694-002), (9-694-003), (9-694-004), and (9-695-504). View Details
- September 1994 (Revised October 2002)
- Case
Citibank: Launching the Credit Card in Asia Pacific (A)
Consumer Bank pondered the possibilities of launching a credit card in the Asia Pacific region. The bank's New York headquarters, and several of its country managers in the region, were not enthusiastic. But others were supportive because of the opportunity to expand... View Details
- July 1994 (Revised January 1997)
- Case
Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation
The largest ski resort in Colorado must determine how to select customer segments to focus its promotional and service-delivery efforts. Making segmentation work depends on reordering its pricing policy and "service packages." View Details
- June 1994 (Revised September 1994)
- Background Note
Commercializing Technology: Imaginative Understanding of User Needs
The transformation of technology into commercially successful products is a process fraught with risk and uncertainty, and increasing pressure on time to market is exacerbating the difficulties. This note first describes a study conducted by Hewlett-Packard to improve... View Details
- March 1993 (Revised April 1995)
- Case
IBM After-Sales Service
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
- November 1992 (Revised May 1993)
- Case
American Mobile Satellite Corporation
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Laura Goode
American Mobile Satellite Corp. (AMSC) has a license to provide wireless mobile communications via satellite throughout the United States and 200 miles of coastal waters. The first satellite launch is scheduled for 1994 and, in the interim, AMSC is providing limited... View Details