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- All HBS Web
(229)
- News (36)
- Research (138)
- Multimedia (3)
- Faculty Publications (91)
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- 05 Mar 2019
- First Look
New Research and Ideas, March 5, 2019
which is hard to explain by the traditional leverage tradeoff with financial distress that emphasizes downside risk. The results are robust to a variety of specification choices and control variables. Publisher's link:... View Details
Keywords: Dina Gerdeman
- 23 Oct 2018
- First Look
New Research and Ideas, October 23, 2018
Bhavya, Ryan W. Buell, and Leslie K. John Abstract—Firms do not typically disclose information on their costs to produce a good to consumers. However, we provide evidence of when and why doing so can... View Details
Keywords: Dina Gerdeman
- 11 Oct 2016
- First Look
October 11, 2016
firms’ institution-seeking behavior by documenting how they make strategic use of weaker institutions. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51721 Surfacing the Submerged State: Operational Transparency... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- October 2014 (Revised January 2016)
- Case
IDEO: Human-Centered Service Design
By: Ryan W. Buell and Andrew Otazo
The case describes IDEO, one of the world's leading design firms, and its human-centered innovation culture and processes. It is an example of what managers can do to make their own organizations more innovative. In reaction to a rapidly changing competitive landscape,... View Details
Keywords: Design Thinking; Innovation; Service Management; Service; Design; Service Delivery; Innovation and Management; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Peru
Buell, Ryan W., and Andrew Otazo. "IDEO: Human-Centered Service Design." Harvard Business School Case 615-022, October 2014. (Revised January 2016.)
- July 2023 (Revised April 2025)
- Case
'Bugs' Burger Bug Killers
By: Ryan W. Buell and William Fulmer
In the height of its success, Bugs Burger Bug Killers (BBBK; Burger has a soft 'g' - it rhymes with merger) was the largest independent extermination company in America, growing at more than 20% per year. BBBK built its business on the promise of pest eradication,... View Details
Buell, Ryan W., and William Fulmer. "'Bugs' Burger Bug Killers." Harvard Business School Case 624-004, July 2023. (Revised April 2025.)
- September 2020 (Revised February 2021)
- Case
Zameer Kassam Fine Jewelry: Engaging Clients
By: Ryan W. Buell and Amy Klopfenstein
Zameer Kassam Fine Jewelry (ZKFJ) designs custom engagement rings that tell the story of a couple’s relationship. The case describes the company’s process for engaging clients, which has historically been a relatively offline, high-touch experience. Obliged by... View Details
Keywords: Customer Engagement; Service Delivery; Health Pandemics; Internet and the Web; Customer Satisfaction; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth and Development; Retail Industry
Buell, Ryan W., and Amy Klopfenstein. "Zameer Kassam Fine Jewelry: Engaging Clients." Harvard Business School Case 621-043, September 2020. (Revised February 2021.)
- March–April 2019
- Article
Operational Transparency: Make Your Processes Visible to Customers and Your Customers Visible to Employees
By: Ryan W. Buell
Conventional wisdom holds that the more contact an operation has with its customers, the less efficiently it will run. But when customers are partitioned away from the operation, they are less likely to fully understand and appreciate the work going on behind the... View Details
Keywords: Operational Transparency; Customers; Services; Operations; Customer Focus and Relationships; Employees; Customer Satisfaction; Behavior; Service Industry
Buell, Ryan W. "Operational Transparency: Make Your Processes Visible to Customers and Your Customers Visible to Employees." R1902H. Harvard Business Review 97, no. 4 (March–April 2019): 102–113.
- September 2011
- Article
The Labor Illusion: How Operational Transparency Increases Perceived Value
By: Ryan W. Buell and Michael I. Norton
A ubiquitous feature of even the fastest self-service technology transactions is the wait. Conventional wisdom and operations theory suggests that the longer people wait, the less satisfied they become; we demonstrate that due to what we term the labor illusion, when... View Details
Keywords: Internet and the Web; Perception; Valuation; Service Delivery; Consumer Behavior; Performance Effectiveness; Customer Satisfaction; Service Industry
Buell, Ryan W., and Michael I. Norton. "The Labor Illusion: How Operational Transparency Increases Perceived Value." Management Science 57, no. 9 (September 2011): 1564–1579.
- October 2020 (Revised August 2022)
- Case
Union Square Hospitality Group: Hospitality Included
By: Peter Boumgarden, Ryan W. Buell, Lamar Pierce and Richard Ryffel
In 2015, Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG), helmed by famous restauranteur Danny Meyer, sent shockwaves through the restaurant industry by announcing the end of tipping in its restaurants. Under its new policy, Hospitality Included (HI), USHG would charge higher... View Details
Keywords: Restaurants; Tipping; Revenue Sharing; Service Operations; Policy; Change; Human Resources; Management; Food and Beverage Industry
Boumgarden, Peter, Ryan W. Buell, Lamar Pierce, and Richard Ryffel. "Union Square Hospitality Group: Hospitality Included." Harvard Business School Case 621-047, October 2020. (Revised August 2022.)
- January 2015 (Revised October 2015)
- Case
Trouble at Tessei
By: Ethan Bernstein and Ryan W. Buell
In 2005, Teruo Yabe is asked to revive Tessei, the 669-person JR-East subsidiary responsible for cleaning its Shinkansen ("bullet") trains. Operational mistakes, customer complaints, safety issues, and employee turnover are at or near all-time highs, even as the... View Details
Keywords: Service Management; Employee Engagement; Employee Motivation; Leadership And Managing People; Quality Improvement; Efficiency; Japan; Operational Transparency; Employee Coordination; Transparency; Leadership; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Employees; Quality; Transportation Industry; Japan
Bernstein, Ethan, and Ryan W. Buell. "Trouble at Tessei." Harvard Business School Case 615-044, January 2015. (Revised October 2015.)
- Article
Elevate Employees, Don't Eliminate Them
By: Ryan W. Buell
The last major global shock—the 2008 recession—led to what economists call a “jobless recovery” as companies found they could get by with fewer employees. But post-pandemic, the author writes, managers should focus on changing employees’ roles instead. He has five key... View Details
Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Customer Relationship Management; Interpersonal Communication; Value Creation
Buell, Ryan W. "Elevate Employees, Don't Eliminate Them." Harvard Business Review 99, no. 5 (September–October 2021): 55–59.
- 2023
- Working Paper
When Does Gamified Training Improve Performance? The Roles of Office and Leader Engagement
By: Ryan W. Buell, Wei Cai and Tatiana Sandino
Gamified training is a novel management control system in which companies use gamification
techniques to engage and motivate employees to learn. This study empirically examines the
performance consequences of gamified training using data from a natural field... View Details
Keywords: Gamified Training; Management Control Systems; Employee Engagement; Employees; Learning; Training; Motivation and Incentives; Performance
Buell, Ryan W., Wei Cai, and Tatiana Sandino. "When Does Gamified Training Improve Performance? The Roles of Office and Leader Engagement." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-101, March 2019. (Revised October 2023.)
- August 2016 (Revised January 2020)
- Case
Breakfast at the Paramount
By: Ryan W. Buell
The Paramount is a 44-seat diner on Charles Street in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston. A frequent "Best of Boston" award winner, the restaurant is a perennial favorite among locals and tourists, particularly for brunch on the weekends, when lines often stretch... View Details
Keywords: Food; Management Practices and Processes; Service Delivery; Service Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Boston
Buell, Ryan W. "Breakfast at the Paramount." Harvard Business School Case 617-011, August 2016. (Revised January 2020.)
- December 2014 (Revised February 2020)
- Case
Compass Group: The Ascension Health Decision
By: Ryan W. Buell
In 2012, Compass Group (Compass) was on the verge of closing a $2 billion deal with Ascension Health (Ascension), one of the largest healthcare systems in the United States. Under the deal, Compass would provide foodservice management and cleaning services for 86 of... View Details
Keywords: Operations Strategy; Sectorization; Operational Focus; Customer Compatibility; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Operations; Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Service Industry; Health Industry; United States
Buell, Ryan W. "Compass Group: The Ascension Health Decision." Harvard Business School Case 615-026, December 2014. (Revised February 2020.)
- November 2015 (Revised February 2020)
- Teaching Note
IDEO: Human-Centered Service Design
By: Ryan W. Buell
The case describes IDEO, one of the world's leading design firms, and its human-centered innovation culture and processes. It is an example of what managers can do to make their own organizations more innovative. In reaction to a rapidly changing competitive landscape,... View Details
- May 2017
- Article
Experimental Evidence of Pooling Outcomes Under Information Asymmetry
By: William Schmidt and Ryan W. Buell
Operational decisions under information asymmetry can signal a firm's prospects to less-informed parties, such as investors, customers, competitors, and regulators. Consequently, managers in these settings often face a tradeoff between making an optimal decision and... View Details
Keywords: Behavioral Decision Research; Information Asymmetry; Signaling; Decision Choices and Conditions; Alignment
Schmidt, William, and Ryan W. Buell. "Experimental Evidence of Pooling Outcomes Under Information Asymmetry." Management Science 63, no. 5 (May 2017): 1586–1605.
- October 2018 (Revised February 2020)
- Case
Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Unbanklike Experimentation
By: Ryan W. Buell and Leslie K. John
Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.
In August 2017, Commonwealth Bank of Australia was looking for ways to differentiate itself from competing banks and was also trying to improve the financial well-being of... View Details
In August 2017, Commonwealth Bank of Australia was looking for ways to differentiate itself from competing banks and was also trying to improve the financial well-being of... View Details
Keywords: Transparency; Experimentation; Banks and Banking; Credit Cards; Customer Focus and Relationships; Competitive Strategy; Banking Industry; Australia
Buell, Ryan W., and Leslie K. John. "Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Unbanklike Experimentation." Harvard Business School Case 619-018, October 2018. (Revised February 2020.)
- 2025
- Working Paper
The Hidden Costs of Working Multiple Jobs: Implications for Spending Behavior and Wellbeing
By: Paige Tsai and Ryan W. Buell
Problem definition: Amidst inflation, rising costs of living, an explosion in remote and gig working opportunities, and an increase in the part-time labor mix in economies around the world, it is becoming evermore commonplace for
people to earn labor income... View Details
Keywords: Behavioral Operations; Employee Behavior; Job Design and Levels; Personal Finance; Well-being; Happiness; Satisfaction; Wages
Tsai, Paige, and Ryan W. Buell. "The Hidden Costs of Working Multiple Jobs: Implications for Spending Behavior and Wellbeing." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 25-036, January 2025. (Revised March 2025.)
- November 2016
- Supplement
Irregular Operations
This video shows a dispatcher responding to an irregular operations situation caused by weather at an East Coast airport. View Details
Keywords: Service; Service Excellence; Service Quality; Operating Systems; Operational Complexity; Operational Disruptions; Operational Efficiency; Operational Focus; Air Transportation; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Air Transportation Industry
Buell, Ryan W., Willy C. Shih, and Michael W. Toffel. "Irregular Operations." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 617-705, November 2016.
- 19 Feb 2019
- First Look
New Research and Ideas, February 19, 2019
identity-holders away from options they would have preferred in the absence of that appeal. Mitigating the Negative Effects of Customer Anxiety Through Access to Human Contact By: Shell, Michelle A., and Ryan View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne