Publications

January 2012 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Ctrip: Scientifically Managing Travel Services

By: David A. Garvin and Nancy Hua Dai

Ctrip is a $437 million Chinese on-line travel services company with a scientific, data driven approach to management. The case explores Ctrip's founding and early growth, its expansion into multiple market segments including hotel reservations, air ticketing, leisure... View Details

Keywords: Scientific Management; Data-driven Management; Management; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Market Entry and Exit; Mathematical Methods; Business Processes; Information Management; Travel Industry; China

Fast Answer

Managing Service Operations: Research resources for new service design

Where can I begin begin my research for the new service design exercise? The following are highly selected resources for MSO New Service Design exercise. Please contact Baker Library View Details

25 Mar 2021
Blog Post

Meet the Student Academic Services Support Team at HBS!

the SAS Support Services staff is available to speak with students about personal and academic concerns, as well as topic-specific concerns as... View Details

16 May 2005
Research & Ideas

Confronting the Reality of Web Services

opportunities to use their new language skills. Q: What questions should a CIO or other company leader ask as they consider a Web services... View Details

Keywords: by Sara Grant

2013
Article

How Concentrated Is the U.S. Advertising and Marketing Services Industry? Myth vs. Reality

By: Alvin J. Silk and Charles King III

We analyze changes in concentration levels in the U.S. Advertising and Marketing Services industry using data from the U.S. Census Bureau's quinquennial Economic Census and the Service Annual Survey. These data, heretofore largely ignored, allow us to redress some of... View Details

Keywords: Concentration Levels; Data; U.S. Census Bureau’s Quinquennial Economic Census And The Service Annual Survey; Measurement Problems; Herfindahl-Hirschman Index; Concentration Ratios; Advertising; Advertising Industry; North and Central America

22 Jan 2008
Research & Ideas

New Challenges in Leading Professional Services

professionals with a very high need for achievement. Few want to make a career of working in the firm. These variables are different from regular organizations. The economic model is different View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Legal Services; Legal Services; Legal Services

07 Mar 2005
What Do You Think?

Should Business Management Be Regarded as a Profession?

type of system is not new to the financial services field." And Kim Osorio reminds us, "Within my field of human resources we already have a certification program... ." Will recent events lead... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Web

Nonprofit Board Service - Alumni

a board for the first time or to explore expanding your impact through continued board service? HBS is eager to help through our Career Coaching Program and the resources provided by the Social Enterprise Initiative. Career Coaches:... View Details

April 2017 (Revised February 2020)
Supplement

edaixi (eWash): Digital Transformation of Laundry Services (B)

By: Feng Zhu, Weiru Chen, Chuang Chen and Ciwu Lin

Founded in 2013 as a laundry service featuring online ordering for home pickup and delivery, China’s edaixi (eWash) illustrated the online-to-offline (O2O) business model. As yet unclear in 2016 was the optimal way to organize third-party laundry service providers,... View Details

Keywords: Laundry; O2O; Online-to-offline; Service Operations; Business Model; Digital Platforms; Transformation; Service Industry; China

14 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Rewriting the Rules of Service Competition

"strategic service vision" companies must adopt. Leading a breakthrough service—one that alters the basis of competition in entire industries—is different. Those that have done it understand things... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett, W. Earl Sasser & Leonard A. Schlesinger; Retail

October 2002 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Dell Computers (A): Field Service for Corporate Clients

By: Frances X. Frei, Amy C. Edmondson and Corey B. Hajim

Explores the highly successful PC and low-end server manufacturer's entry into the large-scale server market in the United States. A key difference of this new market is the intense service element required to support the larger hardware. Specifically, the industry... View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Customer Relationship Management; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Service Operations; Business or Company Management; Emerging Markets; Problems and Challenges; Service Delivery; Computer Industry; United States

April 2017 (Revised February 2020)
Case

edaixi (eWash): Digital Transformation of Laundry Services (A)

By: Feng Zhu, Weiru Chen, Chuang Chen and Ciwu Lin

Founded in 2013 as a laundry service featuring online ordering for home pickup and delivery, China’s edaixi (eWash) illustrated the online-to-offline (O2O) business model. As yet unclear in 2016 was the optimal way to organize third-party laundry service providers,... View Details

Keywords: Laundry; O2O; Online-to-offline; Business Model; Service Operations; Ownership Type; Digital Platforms; Transformation; China

Article

Market Heterogeneity and Local Capacity Decisions in Services

By: Dennis Campbell and Frances X. Frei

We empirically document factors that influence how local operating managers use discretion to balance the tradeoff between service capacity costs and customer sensitivity to service time. Our findings, using data from one of the largest financial services providers in... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Cost; Standards; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Performance Capacity; Performance Productivity; Financial Services Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

September 2018
Case

ProdEng: Services for Oil & Gas Extraction

By: Frank V. Cespedes, Maria Fernanda Miguel and Mariana Cal

ProdEng is a venture created as part of a PE fund and provides oil field services in Argentina. In 2016, an industry-wide unforeseen oil and gas demand slump drove ProdEng’s average service rates down by more than 37%, with EBITDA margins falling from 50% to 24% in the... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Entrepreneurship; Sales; Marketing; Price; Strategy; Latin America; Argentina

17 Feb 2003
Research & Ideas

Building Communities as Well as Companies

Despite the uncertain climate for start-ups, launching a business continues to hold irresistible appeal for aspiring entrepreneurs. For many African-Americans, entrepreneurship is seen as View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

Web

Delimiters - Research Computing Services

Database Best Practices Delimiters 4ms Word of Caution on Delimiters The field delimiter is the character which splits data or text into separate fields. A field is a column within your database. View Details

Web

News - Research Computing Services

batch jobs, as well as database sessions, will be terminated . What work is being performed and why? We will release a new default software environment for Grid 3.0. Please see... View Details

February 2005 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Phase Zero: Introducing New Services at IDEO (A)

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Laura Feldman

Focuses on whether world-renowned product design firm IDEO's new customer service fits with the firm's strategic position and organization capabilities. Over the course of IDEO's 13-year history, an increasing share of revenues are a result of "Phase 0"... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Service Operations; Product Design; Infrastructure; Customer Focus and Relationships; Innovation and Invention; Service Industry; Boston; United States