Customer Retention - Publications - Faculty & Research

31 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

Beyond the 'Business Case' in DEI: 6 Steps Toward Meaningful Change

disconnect between a company’s stated argument for diversity and the psychological reality of decision-making. “Your employees, future employees, customers and investors are watching.” As some CEOs weigh the future of their company’s DEI... View Details

Keywords: by Katherine Hutt Scott and Barbara DeLollis

16 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Advancing Black Talent: From the Flight Ramp to 'Family-Sustaining' Careers at Delta

Keyra Lynn Johnson. “The frontline perspective can give management important insight into the employee experience and what customers really want from the airline.” Delta has reclassified most jobs that had previously required a degree and... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Air Transportation

27 Feb 2023
Research & Ideas

How One Late Employee Can Hurt Your Business: Data from 25 Million Timecards

School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania to focus on retail operations, many considered the topic an "oxymoron." “The right labor needs to be available at the right time and store to match customers with products more... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Retail

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Topics - HBS Working Knowledge

Derivatives and Swaps (1) Credit (8) Crime and Corruption (43) Crisis Management (51) Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues (23) Culture (10) Currency Exchange Rate (3) Currency (12) Curriculum and Courses (2) Customer Focus and... View Details

07 Jul 2019
HBS Case

Walmart's Workforce of the Future

approach to the customer experience, with an emphasis on employee training and improved ecommerce and automation technology, both on the floor and in back office roles. One foundational move to beef up its technology was Walmart’s $3.3... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

28 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

The Profit Power of Corporate Culture

too late to act. Financial numbers measure the past and lead to "rearview mirror management." The numbers that predict the future are the Four Rs-employee retention and referrals, returns to labor (productivity), and... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

February 2019
Teaching Note

Talent@Tencent

By: Tarun Khanna

Late in 2016, two senior human resources (HR) executives at Tencent Holdings (Tencent), China’s leading Internet services firm, are assessing the effectiveness of the company’s talent management practices in responding to Tencent’s sustained hypergrowth. Over the... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Employees; Retention; Entrepreneurship; Employee Relationship Management; Web Services Industry; China

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Leadership - Faculty & Research

Talent and Talent Management ; Customer Focus and Relationships ; Customer Value and Value Chain ; Forecasting and Prediction ; Employee Relationship Management ; Retention ;... View Details

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HBR Classics - Alumni

Wendall-Wedellsborg The Discipline of Innovation , Peter F. Drucker The Innovation Catalysts , Roger L. Martin Managing Markets and Customers Building Loyalty in Business Markets Customer Management... View Details

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Human Behavior & Decision-Making - Faculty & Research

maintaining the company purpose—to provide value to customers and improve their quality of life. Keywords: Small Business ; Change Management ; Decision Making ; Ethics ; Values and Beliefs ; Health ; Medical Specialties ; Leadership ;... View Details

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Health Care - Faculty & Research

into her tenure leading the medical equipment supply company since taking over for her father, the company’s founder. She considers approaches to grow the company while maintaining the company purpose—to provide value to customers and... View Details

13 Mar 2023
Op-Ed

How Leaders Should Leave

timing. Sometimes, an employer will want to announce your successor at the same time as your departure to convey continuity to customers and employees, though merging the two in a single announcement could risk diminishing both parties.... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

01 Jun 2023
News

Pet Project

customers went with her. “People wanted it so badly that they stuck with me, even though I was shipping them food on an irregular basis.” Spies says she kept it up for most of her first year. By her second year, after learning that one in... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Retail Trade; Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, and Book Stores; Retail Trade

12 Apr 2016
First Look

April 12, 2016

customers rather than take possession of and responsibility for the products or services in question, they have inherently low cost structures and fat gross margins. They are highly defensible once established, owing to network effects.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

When Bias Creeps into AI, Managers Can Stop It by Asking the Right Questions

Startup Marketplace for Used Furniture The Twofold Effect of Customer Retention in Freemium Settings Beyond Pajamas: Sizing Up the Pandemic Shopper Feedback or ideas to share? Email the Working Knowledge... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

24 Jan 2011
HBS Case

Terror at the Taj

that it has to do with governance of the Tatas; two-thirds of their profits are donated to charitable causes, so the employees feel that they are working for a higher good." But the IT firm Tata Consultancy Services has had many of the same difficulties with... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Accommodations

30 Aug 2018
Blog Post

My Difficult Decision to Leave Google for HBS

class. Ninety students were debating a case about a recently purchased window-washing business. We skillfully dissected the immediate priorities for the new owner: customer retention and employee recruiting.... View Details

January 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Case

People Analytics at McKinsey

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer and Olivia Hull

A private equity–backed fast food chain has hired McKinsey’s new People Analytics group to help it improve performance. As the final client workshop approaches, Associate Partner Alex DiLeonardo ponders the best way to present the team’s findings, especially those that... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Customer Relationship Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Cost Management; Human Resources; Employees; Recruitment; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Measurement and Metrics; Performance; Performance Capacity; Performance Efficiency; Performance Evaluation; Performance Improvement; Consulting Industry; Service Industry

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Marketing Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

Marketing Association. Eva Ascarza : Finalist for the 2019 MSI Robert D. Buzzell Award from the Marketing Science Institute for “In Pursuit of Enhanced Customer Retention Management: Review, Key Issues, and... View Details

May 2011 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Marshall & Gordon: Designing an Effective Compensation System (A)

By: Heidi K. Gardner and Kerry Herman

CEO Kelly Browne wrestles with the design of a new compensation system to promote the collaboration and cross-selling necessary for supporting her firm's new strategy. Marshall Gordon International, a global public relations (PR) firm, has recently expanded its service... View Details