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- All HBS Web
(4,833)
- People (13)
- News (1,428)
- Research (2,664)
- Events (8)
- Multimedia (6)
- Faculty Publications (1,694)
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- June 2020 (Revised May 2022)
- Case
Vanguard Retail Operations (A)
By: Willy C. Shih and Antonio Moreno
The first two cases in this series are set in the financial services industry, and explore whether it is better for back-office workers to be generalists who provide the flexibility of being able to handle the complete range of transactions that the company faces or... View Details
Keywords: Pooling; Generalist Model; Specialist Model; Operations; Service Operations; Management; Job Design and Levels; Financial Services Industry; United States
Shih, Willy C., and Antonio Moreno. "Vanguard Retail Operations (A)." Harvard Business School Case 620-104, June 2020. (Revised May 2022.)
- March 2001 (Revised March 2002)
- Background Note
Service Recovery
Discusses the value of service recovery to service organizations working to enhance customer loyalty. Also provides practical advice to managers and examines strategies proven helpful to service organizations in their recovery objectives. View Details
Hallowell, Roger H. "Service Recovery." Harvard Business School Background Note 801-342, March 2001. (Revised March 2002.)
- 2018
- Article
Service Operations: What's Next?
By: Joy M. Field, Liana Victorino, Ryan W. Buell, Michael J. Dixon, Susan M. Goldstein, Larry J. Menor, Madeleine E. Pullman, Aleda Roth, Enrico Secchi and Jie J. Zhang
The purpose of this article is to present exciting and innovative research questions in service operations that are aligned with eight key themes and related topics determined by the Journal of Service Management (JOSM) Service Operations Expert Research Panel.... View Details
Field, Joy M., Liana Victorino, Ryan W. Buell, Michael J. Dixon, Susan M. Goldstein, Larry J. Menor, Madeleine E. Pullman, Aleda Roth, Enrico Secchi, and Jie J. Zhang. "Service Operations: What's Next?" Journal of Service Management 29, no. 1 (2018): 55–97.
- September 2020
- Case
Walmart Health: Scaling During a Pandemic
By: Robert S. Huckman, Yoonjin Min and Marissa Thiel
Amidst the onset of COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Marcus Obsborne, Vice President for Health and Wellness Transformation at Walmart was planning to scale its new health care clinic business, Walmart Health, to additional locations in Georgia and beyond.... View Details
Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Health Pandemics; Health; Service Delivery; Growth and Development Strategy; Health Industry; United States; Arkansas; Georgia (state, US); Texas
Huckman, Robert S., Yoonjin Min, and Marissa Thiel. "Walmart Health: Scaling During a Pandemic." Harvard Business School Case 621-061, September 2020.
- September 2020 (Revised October 2020)
- Case
Briscola—Pizza Society: Scaling Affordable Luxury
By: Gary P. Pisano and Federica Gabrieli
Riccardo Cortese and Federico Pinna were the CEOs of Briscola—Pizza Society, a restaurant chain they had founded in 2014 with a clear ambition: create a distinctive international pizza chain that would combine a fast-casual format with the devotion to quality that... View Details
Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; Geographic Location; Business Model; Ownership Type; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; Italy
Pisano, Gary P., and Federica Gabrieli. "Briscola—Pizza Society: Scaling Affordable Luxury." Harvard Business School Case 621-031, September 2020. (Revised October 2020.)
- 11 Apr 2000
- Research & Ideas
Financial Services 24/7
online financial services operation that will make today's local commercial bank a historical relic. The importance of operational efficiency is particularly apparent in the... View Details
Keywords: by Susan Young
- January 2005 (Revised March 2008)
- Exercise
New Service Design Exercise
By: Frances X. Frei
Used in the second module of a course on Managing Service Operations, which addresses the design of sustainable service models (606-031). Provides an opportunity for students to design a new service offering, paying careful attention to the link between strategic... View Details
Frei, Frances X. "New Service Design Exercise." Harvard Business School Exercise 605-053, January 2005. (Revised March 2008.)
- 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
- 09 Jun 2003
- Research & Ideas
Incentives and Operational Excellence
Whether you're running a major medical supply company or a hole-in-the-wall video store, chances are you know how common operational problems are. If you are the medical supplier, for instance, you probably deal with a hospital group that... View Details
Keywords: by Martha Lagace
- April 2006
- Background Note
Designing Sustainable Service Models
By: Frances X. Frei
Taught as the second module in a Harvard Business School course on Managing Service Operations. Addresses the challenge of designing service models that effectively incorporate a customer operating role, as well as how to align operations to deliver value to both the... View Details
Keywords: Business Model; Customers; Design; Managerial Roles; Consumer Behavior; Service Operations; Power and Influence; Value
Frei, Frances X. "Designing Sustainable Service Models." Harvard Business School Background Note 606-031, April 2006.
- 12 Apr 2004
- Research & Ideas
Operations and the Competitive Edge
Obstacles facing companies in today's hyper-competitive global markets are seemingly more complex than ever, to the point that managers must rethink many of the basic principles of good operations management, says Robert Hayes. In a new... View Details
Keywords: by Martha Lagace
- 01 Jul 2014
- Working Paper Summaries
Creating Reciprocal Value Through Operational Transparency
- June 2024
- Supplement
Pal's Sudden Service (B)
By: Gary P. Pisano, Francesca Gino and Ruth Page
Pre-Abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.
Abstract: Pal's Sudden Service has developed a unique operating model and organizational culture in the quick service... View Details
Abstract: Pal's Sudden Service has developed a unique operating model and organizational culture in the quick service... View Details
Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Motivation and Incentives; Service Operations; Service Industry; Service Industry
Pisano, Gary P., Francesca Gino, and Ruth Page. "Pal's Sudden Service (B)." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 917-701, June 2024.
- November 1992
- Background Note
Note on Service Mapping
By: James L. Heskett
Illustrates a simple technique for diagramming operations flows in service companies. Can be used to help structure analysis and discussion of cases involving sequenced operations. View Details
Keywords: Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Operations; Business Processes; Organizational Structure; Service Industry
Heskett, James L. "Note on Service Mapping." Harvard Business School Background Note 693-065, November 1992.
- 2006
- Book
Service Productivity Management: Improving Service Performance Using Data Envelopment Analysis
By: H. David Sherman and Joe Zhu
Here is an in-depth guide to the most powerful available benchmarking technique for improving service organization performance—Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The book outlines DEA as a benchmarking technique, identifies high cost service units, isolates specific... View Details
Sherman, H. David, and Joe Zhu. Service Productivity Management: Improving Service Performance Using Data Envelopment Analysis. Boston, MA: Springer, 2006.
- February 2003 (Revised March 2003)
- Case
Large Scale Change at The WSSC
By: Amy C. Edmondson and Corey B. Hajim
Describes the organizational transformation occurring at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), a public utility. Faced with the possibility of privatization after decades of providing service in the absence of competition or performance pressures, the... View Details
Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Change Management; Restructuring; Privatization; Resignation and Termination; Utilities Industry
Edmondson, Amy C., and Corey B. Hajim. "Large Scale Change at The WSSC." Harvard Business School Case 603-056, February 2003. (Revised March 2003.)
- September 2016 (Revised September 2017)
- Case
Collage.com: Scaling a Distributed Organization
By: Christopher Stanton and Shikhar Ghosh
Kevin Borders and Joe Golden, co-founders and co-CEOs of Collage.com, must decide how to grow their custom photo-products startup in the face of fierce competition. From 2011 through 2016, the business evolved from a hobby to a startup with $22 million in revenue and... View Details
Keywords: Remote Work; Internet and the Web; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Employees; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Service Industry
Stanton, Christopher, and Shikhar Ghosh. "Collage.com: Scaling a Distributed Organization." Harvard Business School Case 817-038, September 2016. (Revised September 2017.)
- October 2020
- Article
The Supply Chain Economy: A New Industry Categorization for Understanding Innovation in Services
By: Mercedes Delgado and Karen G. Mills
An active debate has centered on the importance of manufacturing for driving innovation in the U.S. economy. This paper offers an alternative framework that focuses on the role of suppliers of goods and services (the “supply chain economy”) in national performance. We... View Details
Keywords: Supply Chain Industries; Business-to-consumer Industries; Services; Innovation; Economy; Framework; Supply Chain; Service Operations; Innovation and Invention; Economic Growth; United States
Delgado, Mercedes, and Karen G. Mills. "The Supply Chain Economy: A New Industry Categorization for Understanding Innovation in Services." Research Policy 49, no. 8 (October 2020).
- March 1993 (Revised April 1995)
- Case
IBM After-Sales Service
IBM has established a service delivery system to provide service and maintenance parts for its installed base of computers. The case outlines the competitive pressures IBM faces from alternative providers of maintenance services (e.g. other OEMs, third-party... View Details
Keywords: Service Delivery; Service Operations; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Logistics; Operations; Distribution; Customer Focus and Relationships; Competitive Strategy; Computer Industry
Hammond, Janice H. "IBM After-Sales Service." Harvard Business School Case 693-001, March 1993. (Revised April 1995.)
- 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.