Filter Results:
(4,676)
Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(4,676)
- People (13)
- News (1,424)
- Research (2,707)
- Events (9)
- Multimedia (7)
- Faculty Publications (1,727)
Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(4,676)
- People (13)
- News (1,424)
- Research (2,707)
- Events (9)
- Multimedia (7)
- Faculty Publications (1,727)
- 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.)
- 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
- 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.
- 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
- 22 Oct 2007
- Research & Ideas
Bringing ‘Lean’ Principles to Service Industries
Wipro Technologies, an Indian outsource provider of software services, launches its own lean initiative. "In terms of operations and improvements, the service industries in general are a long way behind... View Details
- 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.
- 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.)
- June 2001 (Revised September 2005)
- Case
Madison Avenue: Digital Media Services (B)
In late 1999, Madison Avenue was experiencing phenomenal growth in sales, clients, employees, and services provided. The stress and strain on the firm's employees was considerable and threatened to jeopardize the high-quality, active-ad management for which the firm... View Details
Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth Management; Service Operations; Digital Marketing; Business Processes; Advertising Industry
Spear, Steven J., and Anne Karshis. "Madison Avenue: Digital Media Services (B)." Harvard Business School Case 601-021, June 2001. (Revised September 2005.)
- 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
- 2005
- Book
Best Face Forward: Why Companies Must Improve Their Service Interfaces With Customers
By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Bernard J. Jaworski
Keywords: Technology; Digital; Services; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Service Delivery; Marketing
Rayport, Jeffrey F., and Bernard J. Jaworski. Best Face Forward: Why Companies Must Improve Their Service Interfaces With Customers. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2005.
- 2008
- Working Paper
Contracting for Servicizing
Servicizing, a novel business practice that sells product functionality rather than products, has been touted as an environmentally beneficial business practice. This paper describes how servicizing transactions mitigate some problems associated with sales... View Details
Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Contracts; Market Transactions; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Sales
Toffel, Michael W. "Contracting for Servicizing." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 08-063, February 2008. (February 2008.)
- April 2013 (Revised November 2013)
- Case
Growing Financial Services in India: Aditya Birla Financial Services Group
By: Paul M. Healy and Rachna Tahilyani
Aditya Birla Financial Services Group is a large, broad-based, Indian financial services institution offering products ranging from life insurance and mutual funds to private equity. The company has witnessed a turnaround in recent years and regained lost market share.... View Details
Keywords: Regulatory Environment; Finance; Asset Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Transformation; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Business Processes; Organizational Structure; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Segmentation; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; India
Healy, Paul M., and Rachna Tahilyani. "Growing Financial Services in India: Aditya Birla Financial Services Group." Harvard Business School Case 113-059, April 2013. (Revised November 2013.)
- 2015
- Working Paper
Service Quality, Inventory and Competition: An Empirical Analysis of Mobile Money Agents in Africa
By: Karthik Balasubramanian and David F. Drake
The use of electronic money transfer through cellular networks ("mobile money") is rapidly increasing in the developing world. The resulting electronic currency ecosystem could improve the lives of the estimated 2 billion people who live on less than $2 a day by... View Details
Keywords: Operations Strategy; Base Of The Pyramid; Mobile Money; Inventory Management; Competition; Currency; Service Operations; Mobile and Wireless Technology
Balasubramanian, Karthik, and David F. Drake. "Service Quality, Inventory and Competition: An Empirical Analysis of Mobile Money Agents in Africa." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 15-059, January 2015. (Revised October 2015.)
- April 2005 (Revised November 2005)
- Case
Tata Consultancy Services Iberoamerica
By: Michael Chu and Gustavo Herrero
To launch its Latin American operations, the Indian IT giant Tata Consultancy Services recruits a seasoned executive who becomes the only non-Indian member of senior management. Reviews the start-up operations, from the site selection to staffing and training, the... View Details
Keywords: Business Startups; Developing Countries and Economies; Initial Public Offering; Investment; Globalization; Human Resources; Selection and Staffing; Management Teams; Emerging Markets; Problems and Challenges; Consulting Industry; Latin America
Chu, Michael, and Gustavo Herrero. "Tata Consultancy Services Iberoamerica." Harvard Business School Case 705-020, April 2005. (Revised November 2005.)
- 2012
- Other Unpublished Work
The Instrumental Value of Medical Leadership: Engaging Doctors in Improving Services
By: Richard Bohmer
This paper was commissioned to contribute to The King's Fund's 2012 review of leadership
and engagement. View Details
Keywords: Health Care; Service Quality; Quality; Leadership; Service Delivery; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry
Bohmer, Richard. "The Instrumental Value of Medical Leadership: Engaging Doctors in Improving Services." King's Fund, London, England, May 2012.
- February 2003 (Revised May 2003)
- Case
Mobile Energy Services Company
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Aldo Sesia
When Al "Chainsaw" Dunlap became CEO of the Scott Paper Co., the company owned a large, vertically integrated production facility in Mobile, Alabama. Dunlap sold part of the production facility, a cogeneration power plant (later known as Mobile Energy Services Co.), to... View Details
Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Risk and Uncertainty; Contracts; Agreements and Arrangements; Investment; Projects; Vertical Integration; Energy Sources; Bonds; Ownership; Restructuring; Energy Industry; Alabama
Esty, Benjamin C., and Aldo Sesia. "Mobile Energy Services Company." Harvard Business School Case 203-061, February 2003. (Revised May 2003.)
- April 2008
- Module Note
Service Design in the Context of Customer-Operators
By: Frances X. Frei
Taught as the second module in a Harvard Business School course on Managing Service Operations: Understanding the Customer Operating Role (606-092). Addresses the design and management of service operations with significant customer operating roles. The focus is on... View Details
Frei, Frances X. "Service Design in the Context of Customer-Operators." Harvard Business School Module Note 608-134, April 2008.
- 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.
- 07 Aug 2012
- News