Publications

October 1991 (Revised August 2000)
Case

Becton Dickinson & Company: VACUTAINER Systems Division (Condensed)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Frank V. Cespedes

Becton Dickinson, a phenomenally successful company with an 80% market share in the blood collection needles and syringes market faces a change in the customer buying environment (cost containment pressures at hospitals). This forces a reevaluation of the company's... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Customer Satisfaction; Demand and Consumers; Market Participation; Distribution Channels; Success; Corporate Strategy; Value Creation; Health Industry

23 Apr 2019
Blog Post

HBS Shares Their Favorite Books for HR Leaders

self-reflection, and best practices to help managers lead their teams effectively and find satisfaction in their roles. Have you managed teams for years? Are you mentoring a manager? Onboarding a new manager? Regardless of experience,... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

2009
Case

What People Want (and How to Predict It)

By: Thomas H. Davenport and Jeanne G. Harris

Historically, neither the creators nor the distributors of cultural products such as books or movies have used analytics -- data, statistics, predictive modeling -- to determine the likely success of their offerings. Instead, companies relied on the brilliance of... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Creativity; Customer Satisfaction; Forecasting and Prediction; Markets; Business Model; Publishing Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

October 2004 (Revised November 2004)
Case

AWB Limited

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Hal Hogan

Discusses how to evaluate the performance of the Australia Wheat Board in meeting the needs of its Australian wheat farmers and global consumers. Includes color exhibits. View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Customer Value and Value Chain; Globalized Markets and Industries; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Evaluation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Australia

11 Mar 2001
Research & Ideas

Wired and Black: Focus on Careers

are," he said. Good managers, he added, should "value what others devalue." "If marketing is the priority, look at manufacturing," Thomas suggested. Seeking Balance In the end, though, all the panelists said job View Details

Keywords: by Carrie Levine

Web

How to Onboard Recently Graduated MBAs - Recruiting

perspectives, new dimensions — and sometimes new challenges — are naturally introduced: evolving what is familiar means that establishing and promoting shared expectations can become more complex. To reduce friction and increase mutual View Details

01 Jan 2002
News

Orin C. Smith (MBA '67)

right things were done that day." It's easy to hear the note of satisfaction and pride in Smith's voice, and while he's too modest to openly acknowledge his leadership role in Starbucks' phenomenal success, he's too honest to discount the... View Details

December 2000
Case

Friona Industries, L.P.

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

As the food industry becomes more sophisticated, and as genomics and other factors provide for quality control from the producers to the consumers in the food chain, the beef industry has been one of the last commodity systems to organize the vertical systems to... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Customer Value and Value Chain; Food; Management Systems; Supply and Industry; Performance Consistency; Quality; Partners and Partnerships; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry

Web

Online Transforming Customer Experiences Course | HBS Online

Engage consumers by exploring their varied preferences and enhancing customer compatibility Balance being proactive and reactive to consumer needs while understanding cost and customer satisfaction implications Overcome barriers to change... View Details

06 Aug 2020
News

Defining Flex Work

companies understand their employees’ needs and best respond to them. There is no a one-size-fits-all solution to the flexibility question, says Auerbach. Werk assesses each employee and recommends a schedule most likely to maintain productivity and improve employee... View Details

06 Mar 2018
First Look

First Look at Research and Ideas, March 6, 2018

customer satisfaction, differences among customers account for 96%–97% of this variance, while differences among employees, processes, locations, and markets make up the remainder. Further analysis reveals that customers tend to report relatively consistent View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2010 (Revised April 2011)
Supplement

Aman Resorts (B)

By: Eugene Soltes and Aldo Sesia

The (B) case describes how employees are rewarded and compensated and is used to supplement the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Globalized Firms and Management; Compensation and Benefits; Employees; Performance Evaluation; Motivation and Incentives; Accommodations Industry

10 Jan 2011
Research & Ideas

Is Groupon Good for Retailers?

At first blush, the two-year-old online start-up Groupon seems a bit audacious. For starters, there's the news that the deal-of-the-day website turned down a $6 billion acquisition offer from Google last month. Then there's the company's business model: selling... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising; Technology

March 2025
Case

Skylight: Hit Product or Scalable Company?

By: Rembrand Koning, Christina Wallace and Jeff Huizinga

Skylight, originally a digital frame startup aimed at connecting dispersed families, expanded with a second product—Calendar—to help families manage schedules. Despite significant potential, Calendar struggled with persistent technical issues and poor customer... View Details

Keywords: Culture; Software; Hardware; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Customer Satisfaction; Resource Allocation; Product Launch; Business Strategy; Expansion

April 2001
Teaching Note

MindSpring TN

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Steven Silverman and William A. Sahlman

Teaching Note for (9-899-178). For book only - not listed on case. View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Growth and Development Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Culture; Competitive Strategy; Web Services Industry

November 1997 (Revised December 1999)
Case

Cinemex

By: James L. Heskett

The founders of Cinemex, the largest capitalized venture start-up in Mexican history, are debating several issues concerning the operations of their new chain of motion picture theatres in Mexico City. The first concerns whether some seats should be left unsold to... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Service Operations; Debates; Venture Capital; Customer Satisfaction; Advertising; Investment; Theater Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Mexico City