Publications

20 Mar 2000
Research & Ideas

Incubators: The New Venture Capitalists?

a bank, a lending company, or an equity transaction company, or move up the food chain and be able to provide richer, higher services much like we see in what we're terming the incubation space today. "We're focused, obviously, on... View Details

Keywords: by Kenneth Liss

19 Sep 2016
Research & Ideas

Why Isn't Business Research More Relevant to Business Practitioners?

disciplines, where academic research is leading to the development of a second skin that could improve drug delivery or alerting farmers and scientists on how to reduce nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural farming. Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Education

September 2019 (Revised September 2019)
Case

Facebook Fake News in the Post-Truth World

By: John R. Wells, Carole A. Winkler and Benjamin Weinstock

In August 2019, Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, was surrounded by controversy. The first major storm of protest followed the surprise election of Donald Trump as President of the United States on November 8, 2016; many put the blame at the door of fake... View Details

Keywords: Facebook; Fake News; Mark Zuckerberg; Donald Trump; Algorithms; Social Networks; Partisanship; Social Media; App Development; Instagram; WhatsApp; Smartphone; Silicon Valley; Office Space; Digital Strategy; Democracy; Entry Barriers; Online Platforms; Controversy; Tencent; Agility; Social Networking; Gaming; Gaming Industry; Computer Games; Mobile Gaming; Messaging; Monetization Strategy; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Headquarters; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Trends; Communication; Communication Technology; Forms of Communication; Interactive Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Talent and Talent Management; Crime and Corruption; Voting; Demographics; Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Initial Public Offering; Profit; Revenue; Geography; Geographic Location; Global Range; Local Range; Country; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government and Politics; International Relations; National Security; Political Elections; Business History; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Information Management; Information Publishing; News; Newspapers; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Dissemination; Human Capital; Law; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Management Systems; Management Teams; Managerial Roles; Marketing Channels; Social Marketing; Network Effects; Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Monopoly; Media; Product Development; Service Delivery; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Groups and Teams; Networks; Rank and Position; Opportunities; Behavior; Emotions; Identity; Power and Influence; Prejudice and Bias; Reputation; Social and Collaborative Networks; Status and Position; Trust; Society; Civil Society or Community; Culture; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Societal Protocols; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Valuation; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; United States; California; Sunnyvale; Russia

March 2003 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Threshold Sports

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Todd H Thedinga

Describes the sales, marketing, and operating issues facing Threshold Sports, a small cycling event management company that produces the Pro Cycling Tour. Examines the issues facing the company as it approaches breakeven and attempts to grow the business substantially.... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Bicycle Transportation; Service Delivery; Sports; Service Industry; Service Industry

11 Jun 2020
In Practice

Are Digital Organizations Better at Overcoming COVID?

pays to be nuanced here. A large portion of the challenges facing businesses are industrywide (and worldwide). For instance, hotels have government-imposed limitations on the services they can offer. These restrictions bind equivalently... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

2010
Working Paper

Specialization and Variety in Repetitive Tasks: Evidence from a Japanese Bank

By: Bradley R. Staats and Francesca Gino

Sustaining operational productivity in the completion of repetitive tasks is critical to many organizations' success. Yet research points to two different work-design related strategies for accomplishing this goal: specialization to capture the benefits of repetition... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Working Conditions; Service Delivery; Performance Productivity; Financial Services Industry; Japan

Read Now

October 1999 (Revised November 1999)
Case

VITAS: Innovative Hospice Care

VITAS, a for-profit hospice, has grown through acquisitions and start-ups. The company considers a rollup strategy, and Deirdre Lawe must decide whether to make a particular acquisition. View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; For-Profit Firms; Service Delivery; Health Care and Treatment; Acquisition; Service Industry

05 May 2003
Research & Ideas

How Bank of America Turned Branches into Service-Development Laboratories

were being carefully monitored and measured. Design and production problems should be worked out off-line, in a lab setting without customers, before the service delivery is tested in a live environment.... View Details

Keywords: by Stefan Thomke; Financial Services; Financial Services

Article

Once More: How Do You Improve Customer Service?

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Keywords: Customers; Service Delivery

Find at Harvard

March 2007 (Revised August 2007)
Supplement

Dell Computers (B): The Transition

By: Frances X. Frei and Christine van Keuren

The case presents the outcome of the (A) case and explores challenges in the PC industry up to early 2007. Michael Dell's return as CEO is also discussed. View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Managerial Roles; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Hardware; Technology Industry

25 May 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Trust and Disintermediation: Evidence from an Online Freelance Marketplace

Keywords: by Grace Gu and Feng Zhu; Service

May 2010
Teaching Note

INSEAD (TN)

By: Srikant M. Datar and David A. Garvin

Teaching Note for [308009]. View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Curriculum and Courses; Business Education; Service Delivery; Education Industry; Asia; Europe

January 2003 (Revised September 2004)
Case

Consulting by Auditors (B): The Compromise and its Fallout

By: Ashish Nanda

This case tracks the evolution from October 2000 to July 2001 of public debate, regulatory decisions, and firm perspectives on the subject of consulting by accounting firms. View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Service Delivery; Accounting Industry; Consulting Industry

September 1996 (Revised June 1997)
Case

QVC, Inc.

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

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

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Service Delivery; Retail Industry; United States

Article

From Netscape to eHarmony: The High Risks and Big Rewards of Platform Markets

By: Dylan B. Minor

Keywords: Leadership; Service Delivery; Mobile Technology; Economics

Read Now

August 2005 (Revised March 2006)
Exercise

Data Analysis Exercise

By: Frances X. Frei

Keywords: Operations; Service Delivery; Management

2011
Case

How Fast and Flexible Do You Want Your Information, Really?

By: Thomas H. Davenport and Jim Snabe

Almost all executives want more and faster information, and almost all companies are racing to provide it. What many of them are overlooking is that the real aim should not be faster information but faster decision making, and those aren't the same things. Executives... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Information; Service Delivery; Decision Making; Crisis Management

November 2011
Case

Lowell General Physician Hospital Organization

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Natalie Kindred

This case focuses on the Alternative Quality Contract (AQC), a novel payment program designed to incentivize providers to deliver less costly, high quality health care. Under the AQC, offered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, providers received a fixed-dollar... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Service Delivery; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; Massachusetts