Publications

July 1990
Case

Ceramics Process Systems Corp. (B)

By: Kim B. Clark and Brent D. Barnett

Ceramics Process Systems (CPS) is an advanced ceramics company facing problems with lead time in product/process development, and late delivery of prototype parts to its customers. Engineering is confronted with difficult technical problems and multiple objectives... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Business Processes; Management Practices and Processes; Supply Chain Management; Machinery and Machining; Goals and Objectives; Resource Allocation; Customer Satisfaction; Customer Value and Value Chain; Manufacturing Industry

10 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

The Surprising Winners and Losers in the Retail Revolution

to what they've done to reinvigorate their business. They looked strategically at all aspects of their offering across the various channels they have at their disposal to maximize customer satisfaction and the return they get on their... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

February 5, 2009
Comment

In Praise of Marketing

By: John A. Quelch

Many dismiss marketing as manipulative, deceptive, and intrusive. Marketing, they argue, focuses too much of our attention on material consumption. More recently, Benjamin Barber, in his 2007 book Consumed, claims that marketing is "sucking up the air from every other... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Consumer Loyalty; Local Vs. Global Branding; Multi-national Brands; Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Customer Value and Value Chain; Customer Satisfaction; Globalized Economies and Regions; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning

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February 2025
Case

Managing Complexity at mymuesli

By: Thomas Graeber and Stacy Straaberg

In April 2009, direct-to-consumer e-commerce muesli brand mymuesli faced a flood of customer questions. The breakfast cereal startup enabled users to order personalized muesli on its website by choosing from 75 organic ingredients for a total of 566 quadrillion... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Decisions; Food; Product Marketing; Product Positioning; Product Launch; Problems and Challenges; Behavior; Competitive Advantage; Customization and Personalization; Segmentation; Internet and the Web; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; Germany

July 2004 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Activision: The 'Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer' Project

By: Alan D. MacCormack, Enrico D"Angelo and Kerry Herman

Mike Ward, the producer in charge of developing the Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer game for Activision, must decide whether to launch the game in time for the 2002 Christmas season. Complicating his decision are the lukewarm response from consumers to TV test spots of the... View Details

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Product Development; Customer Satisfaction; Projects; Business or Company Management; Product Launch; Marketing Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Industry Structures; Innovation Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

05 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 5

leadership had seen dramatic gains in productivity, quality, and worker satisfaction in manufacturing plants where it had implemented teaming, which was designed to move decision making as close to the product as possible by delegating... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 Sep 2008
First Look

First Look: September 9, 2008

With a combination of rock-bottom prices, simplicity, and a focus on customer satisfaction backed by a unique low-cost infrastructure, Telmore's business model, with its powerful virtuous cycles, proved to be the most successful... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2018
Teaching Note

Difficult Conversations and Dealing with Challenging Situations at Work

By: Boris Groysberg and Amram Migdal

Teaching Note for HBS Nos. 416-031, 416-032, 416-033, 416-034, 416-035, and 416-036. View Details

January 2022 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Hello Heart: The Next Generation of Chronic Disease Management Apps

By: Ariel D. Stern and Danielle Golan

Hello Heart, a hypertension management app debated whether to go deep and cover other heart conditions, or to expand its solution to other chronic conditions. View Details

April 2025
Case

Giving Up on a Passion: Elizabeth Rowe at the Boston Symphony Orchestra

By: Jon M. Jachimowicz, Maisie Wiltshire-Gordon and Alexis Lefort

For 20 years, Elizabeth Rowe was a world-renowned principal flutist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. But in 2024, Rowe decided to leave her position to pursue a new full-time career as a leadership coach. At 50, Rowe was well under the typical retirement age, and,... View Details

15 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

High Ambition Leadership

They instituted an incentive scheme that gave employees a financial stake in the performance of the business. They invested in IT systems and other tools to improve the ability of frontline call-center workers to deliver superior customer service. They put in place... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

05 May 2015
First Look

First Look: May 5

merely distributed value in each era are explored. Although there is no framework yet for how leaders can create value for all stakeholders, we note that a key theme amongst the companies illustrated is that each was able to align stakeholders' interests to a degree... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

31 Aug 2010
First Look

First Look: August 31

and mission to provide its guests and employees an enhanced brand experience. The dilemma Atlantis faced was how to integrate the new vision and mission into all the brand touch points in order to improve customer satisfaction and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

03 Jan 2007
First Look

First Look: January 3, 2007

around the globe. As he considers 3i's performance through the first quarter of 2006 (3i's fiscal year 2006), he must balance his satisfaction at the firm's results and progress in the recent buoyant market with the question of whether... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 25, 2016
Comment

How Consumers and Businesses are Reshaping Public Health

By: John A. Quelch

Healthcare and education are two issues in which citizens around the world, rich and poor, are passionately interested. It has long been appreciated that the way that a society treats its youngest and oldest members says much about its moral maturity. Economic... View Details