Customer Focus - Publications - Faculty & Research

20 Apr 2023
News

How Joe Hinrichs is Getting CSX Back on Track

service to other companies focus on their employees," Hinrichs told the Journal. "They focus on employees' morale, their attitudes, how they're feeling about the company." Hinrichs came to CSX after a long... View Details

Keywords: Rail Transportation; Transportation

25 Aug 2014
HBS Case

Starbucks Reinvented

of what he wanted to accomplish. The case, Koehn's fourth to focus on Starbucks, opens in February 2007. Schultz, no longer Starbucks' CEO but still its chairman, is worried the company is losing its ability to be true to its values while... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Food & Beverage

01 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

How To Make Restructuring Work for Your Company

hospital business and a health insurance business, management decided to split the businesses apart through a corporate spin-off because it realized the businesses were strategically incompatible—the customers of one business were... View Details

Keywords: by Stuart C. Gilson

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Curriculum - Business & Environment

Gona: Great Farm Key concepts: Agricultural Development, Strategy, Nigeria Iberdrola: Leading the Energy Revolution Tesla in 2024: Holding on to the EV Lead? What IKEA Do We Want? Key concepts: Business models, Customer relationship... View Details

15 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 15

changing environment with the growing acceptance of online retailing that empowered customers by providing greater price transparency and more options. Marketing channels and communication touch points continued to shift. Home Depot's... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

26 May 2022
HBS Case

Apple vs. Feds: Is iPhone Privacy a Basic Human Right?

and political issues,” says Nien-hê Hsieh, the Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration at HBS, who coauthored the case. Staking out a clear social position can actually help a company’s bottom line, boosting employee morale, making workers more productive,... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

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Faculty - Creating Emerging Markets

Bajaj Rohit Deshpande Baker Foundation Professor Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing, Emeritus Research Interests : corporate culture , customer focus , ethics Interviews Brinda Somaya Lillete Dubey... View Details

01 Dec 2023
News

Case Study: Staking a Claim

Illustration by Nhung Lê Kate Terry (MBA 2005) knows that no one attends their fifth-grade career fair and comes home hoping to pursue a career in insurance—but that’s exactly where she wound up. “I really fell in love with it,” she says. As cofounder and CEO of... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Insurance Carriers and Related Activities; Finance

26 Sep 2011
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Lady Gaga

Celebrated for both her outré style and musical prowess, the recording artist known as Lady Gaga is not only one of the world's biggest pop stars, but also one of the most recognized brands. She's garnered five Grammys, holds two spots in the 2011 Guinness Book of... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Entertainment & Recreation; Music

25 Jul 2023
Blog Post

Malcolm McClain (MBA/MPP 2023) Named First RISE Career Fellow

well as to large community groups and their members. In his role, McClain will design capital products, and identify and negotiate agreements with capital partners who provide fairly-priced funds for BrightUp’s users. He will also manage the View Details

09 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

Six Keys to Building New Markets by Unleashing Disruptive Innovation

refinements or radical breakthroughs, improve the performance of established products and services along the dimensions that mainstream customers in major markets historically have valued. Examples: a microprocessor that enables personal... View Details

Keywords: by Clayton M. Christensen, Michael E. Raynor & Scott D. Anthony

20 Dec 2022
Op-Ed

Employee Feedback: The Key to Retention During the Great Resignation

well-being of our customers and the people we serve first”—and requires senior teams at every level to foster repeated honest conversations with lower levels about whether their unit is practicing that credo. According to recently retired... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Beer

14 Dec 2007
Op-Ed

When Your Product Becomes a Commodity

segments. Marketers can focus on providing applications expertise for less price-sensitive customer segments for whom the product is still important. However you approach commoditization, try to innovate at... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

May 2017
Teaching Note

Hilti Fleet Management (A) and (B)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Oliver Gassmann and Roman Sauer

These notes are meant to accompany Hilti Fleet Management (A): Turning a Successful Business Model on Its Head (717-427) and Hilti Fleet Management (B): Towards a New Business Model (717-465).
This case explores the introduction of fleet management in the... View Details

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June 2008 (Revised July 2009)
Case

COFCO Xinjiang Tunhe Co., Ltd.

By: David E. Bell and Aldo Sesia

In 2005, COFCO Ltd., one of China's largest and most successful companies, acquired Xinjiang Tunhe, a tomato processing firm, which had been, in recent years, poorly managed. COFCO changed Tunhe's management team and set out to create a culture of professionalism and... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Customer Relationship Management; Rural Scope; Supply Chain Management; Performance Consistency; Safety; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; China

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Online Business Strategy Course | HBS Online

Certificate of Specialization Prove your mastery of strategy Earn by: completing any three courses within this subject area to earn a Certificate of Specialization Learn More about what you earn Syllabus 6 Modules, 30-35 Hours Download full syllabus 7-8 hrs Module 1... View Details

19 Sep 2023
Blog Post

2023 Summer Internships in Business & Environment

modeling financial returns of customer DERs, such as behind-the-meter batteries and smart thermostats. Dennis' role prior to HBS was a Strategy Manger, Global Operations at Google. Nabig Chaudhry (MBA 2024, Section J), Summer Internship:... View Details

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Advisory Board - Entrepreneurship

Good, a pioneering consulting firm focused on customer experience and strategy. Phil also co-authored "Customers Included", the book widely praised by CEOs, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs for its practical and passionate View Details

October 2016
Case

The Quiet Ascension of LA Fitness

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2016, LA Fitness was the largest chain of non-franchised fitness clubs in North America, operating 676 clubs, serving 4.9 million members, and generating revenues of over $1.9 billion. Founded by Chinyol Yi, Louis Welch, and Paul Norris in 1984, the privately held... View Details

Keywords: LA Fitness; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; Planet Fitness; Buildings and Facilities; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Demographics; Age; Gender; Income; Residency; Borrowing and Debt; Capital; Capital Structure; Cash; Cash Flow; Cost; Private Equity; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Investment Return; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Service Operations; Leasing; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Technology Platform; Health Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles

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February 2007
Case

Behavioral Finance at JP Morgan

By: Malcolm P. Baker and Aldo Sesia

Following a successful model in Europe, JP Morgan has introduced a set of five U.S. retail mutual funds with an investment philosophy and marketing strategy grounded in behavioral finance. The asset management group believes that understanding investor biases like... View Details