Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(2,560)
- Faculty Publications (646)
- February 1982
- Case
MCI Telecommunications Corp. (B): Customer Service Strategy and Organization
By: John F. Cady and Frank V. Cespedes
- March–April 1979
- Article
How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy
By: M. E. Porter
Many factors determine the nature of competition, including not only rivals, but also the economics of particular industries, new entrants, the bargaining power of customers and suppliers, and the threat of substitute services or products. A strategic plan of action... View Details
- Research Summary
Building Small Business Utopia: How Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Can Increase Small Business Success
By: Karen Mills
Small business lending has remained unchanged for decades, laden with frictions and barriers that prevent many small businesses from accessing the capital they need to succeed. Financial technology, or “fintech,” promises to change this trajectory. In 2010, new fintech... View Details
- Teaching Interest
Digital Marketing Strategy
By: John A. Deighton
When the tools of marketing change, strategies change too. The focus of this course is on firms trying to navigate the transition from offline to online market-making and strategy development. Our concern is primarily with corporations that have products and... View Details
- Forthcoming
- Article
Dynamic Competition for Customer Memberships
By: Cristian Chica, Julian Jimenez-Cardenas and Jorge Tamayo
A competitive two-period membership (subscription) market is analyzed. Two symmetric firms charge a “membership” fee that allows consumers to buy products or services at a given unit price for both periods. Firms can choose between long- or short-term memberships. When... View Details
- Forthcoming
- Article
Engaging Customers with AI in Online Chats: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment
By: Shunyuan Zhang and Das Narayandas
We examine how artificial intelligence (AI) affected the productivity of customer service agents and customer sentiment in online interactions. Collaborating with a meal delivery company, we conducted a randomized field experiment that exploited exogenous variation in... View Details
- Teaching Interest
FIELD Global Immersion
The FIELD Global Immersion course sends student teams into global markets around the world, requiring them to develop a new customer experience, product or service concept for a global partner organization leveraging design thinking innovation techniques. View Details
- Research Summary
Globalization of Human Capital
By: Nitin Nohria
One of the most significant dimensions of the current wave of globalization is the globalization of human capital. Whether it is low cost, skilled manufacturing workers in China, software and customer service professionals in India, or highly skilled employees in... View Details
- Research Summary
How to Manage Customers for Increased Profits and Customer Satisfaction
By: Frances X. Frei
For many service firms, the customer plays an important role in contributing to the cost and/or quality of the service. This is very different than many manufacturing contexts, for example, where the firm has virtually complete control over product cost and quality. ... View Details
- Research Summary
Management Control Systems in Multiunit Companies
By: Tatiana Sandino
Professor Sandino conducts research on early-stage multiunit companies that introduce management control systems to help maintain operations, as well as company culture, as they grow, but also to enable adaptation to the different markets that they serve. Building... View Details
- Research Summary
Managing Customer Information
By: Frances X. Frei
After a service offering is implemented, firms routinely collect significant
amounts of data, including customer, employee, and firm financial data. However,
service firms are not nearly as effective as they could be in taking advantage
of these data. This research... View Details
- Research Summary
Managing Marketspace Service Interfaces
Jeffrey F. Rayport is focusing on the strategic challenges that face businesses selling information-intensive products and services. A key strategic issue in such businesses is the dematerialization of information-intensive products and services as a consequence of... View Details
- Research Summary
Managing Networked Businesses
Platform-based businesses that leverage network effects face a distinctive set of management challenges. A platform encompasses components and rules that facilitate interactions between the platform's users. A platform-based product or service exhibits a network... View Details
- Teaching Interest
Managing Service Operations - MBA Elective Curriculum
By: Ryan W. Buell
World-class service organizations deeply understand the needs and behaviors of their customers, and design, manage, and improve their operating models accordingly. This course investigates the distinct challenges inherent in leading service operations, which make up... View Details
- Research Summary
Managing the Operating Role of Customers
By: Frances X. Frei
Customers in operating roles introduce considerable variability into the production environment including differences in the demands they impose on the environment and the unpredictability of those demands. When customers are the source of production variability, the... View Details
- Forthcoming
- Article
Mitigating the Negative Effects of Customer Anxiety Through Access to Human Contact
By: Michelle A. Kinch and Ryan W. Buell
Prior research in social psychology has shown that when people feel anxious, they seek advice from others. However, companies that operate in high-anxiety settings (like financial services, health care, and education) are increasingly deploying self-service... View Details
- Teaching Interest
Overview
By: Rob Markey
Managing Service Operations - MBA Elective Curriculum
World-class service organizations deeply understand the needs and behaviors of their customers, and design, manage, and improve their operating models accordingly. This course... View Details
Keywords: Customer Lifetime Value; Customer Centric Initiative; Customer Engagement; Service Management; Service Profit Chain; Service Design; Service Models; Service Excellence; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Customer Value and Value Chain; Service Delivery; Service Operations
- Research Summary
Overview
By: Feng Zhu
Professor Zhu’s research focuses on the design of platform business models and its impact on platform performance. Platforms have become central to our economy. A platform is a product or service that enables two or more customer groups to interact. For example,... View Details
- Research Summary
Overview
By: Ryan W. Buell
From creating flight itineraries online, to interacting with tellers to complete complex banking transactions, to engaging with the government to address civic problems, customers are playing an increasingly vital role in the performance of operations in a broadening... View Details
Keywords: Service Operations; Customer Satisfaction; Customer Retention; Customer Behavior; Operational Transparency; Customer Compatibility; Engagement; Customers; Decision Making; Design; Management; Operations; Quality; Relationships; Social Psychology; Technology; Value; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry
- Research Summary
Overview
By: Rob Markey
Most companies' leaders declare their commitment to delivering value to customers. Many have adopted language such as "customer-centric" or "customer-obsessed." Companies that consistently earn top marks for customer loyalty in their industry deliver total shareholder... View Details