Service - Publications - Faculty & Research

November 2004 (Revised September 2019)
Background Note

The U.S. Health Club Industry in 2004

By: John R. Wells, Gabriel Ellsworth and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2004, the $16.8 billion U.S. health club industry continued its strong record of growth. There were almost 27,000 health clubs in the United States, up from 6,700 two decades earlier, and these clubs claimed 41 million members, over 14% of the U.S. population.... View Details

Keywords: Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Weight Loss; Obesity; Exercise; Personal Training; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; YMCA; Gold's Gym; Curves; Franchise; Franchising; Subscription; Promotional Sales; Promotions; Fixed Costs; Body; Accrual Accounting; Revenue Recognition; Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Trends; Customers; Demographics; Age; Income; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Nutrition; Business History; Employees; Retention; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Markets; Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Operations; Service Operations; Franchise Ownership; Private Ownership; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Nonprofit Organizations; Welfare; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Expansion; Segmentation; Hardware; Health Industry; United States

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04 Jan 2021
What Do You Think?

How Do We Sustain Organization Diversity?

low-wage workers.” Another point of view rejects the notion that such a competition exists. David Wittenberg commented, “Workers don’t ‘compete for your profits,’ they contract to provide services for a wage shareholders have the right to... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

26 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Behind India’s Economic and Political Woes

conditions, people are scrambling and realizing that it's tough to refinance their debts. For instance, a landlord of an apartment building in Bangalore has a short -term loan in dollars that is being serviced or paid for in rupee... View Details

Keywords: by Zeenat Potia

18 Jun 2001
Research & Ideas

Tech Investment the Wise Way

value created for users by the offering based on the technology; define the structure of the value chain, that is, the network of activities within the firm required to create and distribute the products or services offered to customers;... View Details

Keywords: by Henry Chesbrough & Richard S. Rosenbloom

21 Jan 2014
First Look

First Look: January 21

providing an additional source of revenue, but reduces consumer demand for the service. We characterize equilibrium information provision, disclosure levels, and prices and show that competition with privacy has several effects on the marketplace. First, competition... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Sep 2010
First Look

First Look: September 28, 2010

and efficiency), based on structural characteristics of the task and team. We also distinguish between a team's mean use of stored knowledge and the concentration of knowledge use in a team. Using objective data from several hundred software development projects in an... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 May 2009
First Look

First Look: May 12, 2009

and Low Unit of Measure services for VM, but they believed the pricing model in the industry was outdated. VM and O&M partnered to create the Total Supply Chain Cost (TSCC) pricing program, an activity-based model that assigned all... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

17 May 2016
First Look

May 17, 2016

services to independent retailers. Amazon also offered software and cloud storage services, online video streaming, and its own line of electronic hardware (mobile, e-reader, and smart television products). In addition, Amazon published... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

03 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 3

business of "daily deals"- in which retailers offer a heavily discounted product or service available for purchase for brief (often 24-hour) windows. The case explores the complicated sharing of risks and rewards between... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

15 Sep 2008
Research & Ideas

The Coming Transformation of Social Enterprise

an efficient use of their capital. The shining example was microfinance, which provided attractive returns, so why not other forms of social enterprise? I don't think that's a realistic view of the work of nonprofits in general. If you look at social View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson

20 Dec 2016
First Look

December 20, 2016

at GoDaddy Scott Wagner has recently joined GoDaddy, a leading provider of cloud-based software and services that helped individuals and small businesses establish a web presence, in the dual role of chief operating officer and chief... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

15 Dec 2015
First Look

December 15, 2015

Competition Policy International Whither Uber? Competitive Dynamics in Transportation Networks By: Edelman, Benjamin G. Abstract—Transportation Network Companies offer notable service advances—but do they comply with the law? And if not,... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

01 Feb 2008
What Do You Think?

How Sustainable Is Sustainability in a For-Profit Organization?

heavily on the sustainability of everything from energy sources to low-cost sources of products and services to security, it is not particularly surprising that for some of the most interesting thinking concerning sustainability we might... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

20 Aug 2007
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Using Investor Relations Proactively

shareholders and analysts. When meeting with them at the road shows, for example, Total focuses on its long-term plans, being honest, and never disappointing them. To address its growing retail investor base, most of whom are French, Total uses techniques from consumer... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Energy; Utilities

10 Jul 2017
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: It’s a Bad Idea to Ban Customers From Recording Videos

Consumers delight in using smartphones to record their experiences and surroundings, but for businesses, such devices present tricky challenges. Suppose a customer encounters a hair in her food, a spill in an aisle, or a rude clerk. Historically, these problems were... View Details

Keywords: by Benjamin G. Edelman; Service; Service; Service; Service

Teaching Interest

Overview

Lena teaches the required first year MBA course on Leadership and Corporate Accountability, an elective second year MBA course on Law, Management and Entrepreurship, and an elective second year MBA course on Challenges and Opportunities in the Restaurant Industry. View Details

May 2025
Case

RTX's Lifetime Income Strategy: Shaping the Future of Retirement

By: Daniel Green, Luis M. Viceira and Sarah Mehta

Set in 2024, this case explores the Lifetime Income Strategy (LIS), a novel retirement product launched by aerospace and defense company RTX in 2012. Aiming to embed the security of a traditional pension within a 401(k) plan, the LIS allowed participants to secure a... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Compensation and Benefits; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Jobs and Positions; Labor; Retirement; Society; Adoption; Personal Finance; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States; Virginia

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September 2024
Case

InfraCredit and the Project Inception Facility

By: John Macomber, Namrata Arora and Maagatha Kalavadakken

Around the world, large infrastructure projects are frequently stymied by the high cost and high uncertainty of the project inception phase: the research and engineering and planning prior to financial close and start of construction. Could there be a new kind of... View Details

Citation

Educators

August 2024
Case

The Walt Disney Company: Management Guidance

By: Joseph Pacelli and James Weber

In November 2023, financial analyst Aurora Fee was forecasting The Walt Disney Company’s earnings and stock price, with the goal of providing an investment recommendation to her clients. Disney, one of the world’s largest media and entertainment companies, had just... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Accounting; Investment; Communication; Forecasting and Prediction; Business Earnings; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

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September 2019
Case

Funding Sources for Science & Technology Start-ups in India

By: Tarun Khanna, Arjun Swarup and Rachna Tahilyani

India's start-up ecosystem is amongst the largest globally, with a variety of funding options from angel investors, venture capital and corporate venture capital to debt. Classic consumer focused start-ups which look to leverage technology have been able to raise... View Details