Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(4,009)
- Faculty Publications (1,254)
- July 1990
- Case
Ceramics Process Systems Corp. (B)
By: Kim B. Clark and Brent D. Barnett
Ceramics Process Systems (CPS) is an advanced ceramics company facing problems with lead time in product/process development, and late delivery of prototype parts to its customers. Engineering is confronted with difficult technical problems and multiple objectives... View Details
- July 1990 (Revised October 1997)
- Case
Siemens Electric Motor Works (A) (Abridged)
By: Robert S. Kaplan
Explores how a cost system can help support a firm's decision to change strategies. In the process, the students are introduced to a simple activity-based cost system. Siemens Electric Motor Works found itself facing an increasingly competitive environment and so made... View Details
- April 1990 (Revised March 1992)
- Case
Oakland A's: Baseball's Great Transformation
The Oakland A's baseball team underwent a major turnaround during the 1980s, both on the field and in the business office. One of the most significant improvements came in the area of customer service. The A's management believed that if they took care of their fans,... View Details
- March 1990 (Revised July 1991)
- Case
Digital Equipment Corp.: Complex Order Management
Describes the proposed creation of a low end 3000 configuration workstation using Digital's competitive advantage of offering a la carte configuration capability and ability to build different options for customers. Disadvantages of this 3000 configuration workstation... View Details
- February 1990 (Revised August 2001)
- Case
Merloni Elettrodomestici SpA: The Transit Point Experiment
By: Janice H. Hammond and Maura G Kelly
Merloni Elettrodomestici is a leading Italian manufacturer of domestic appliances. In 1986, an exposition for Merloni customers is scheduled at its Milano regional warehouse. During the two-month period preceding the event, when the warehouse must be free of inventory,... View Details
- November 1989 (Revised February 1992)
- Case
Ford Motor Co.: Dealer Sales and Service
Since Henry Ford founded Ford Motor Co., Ford vehicles have been sold and serviced the same way. By the late 1980s Ford began to consider making changes in its sales and service process. Two developments forced Ford to reconsider these processes. First, Ford found... View Details
- July 1989 (Revised April 2001)
- Case
Kanthal (A)
By: Robert S. Kaplan
Multinational company needs an improved cost system to determine the profitability of individual customer orders. Its strategy is to have significant sales and profitability growth without adding additional administrative and support people. The new cost system... View Details
- April 1989 (Revised March 1990)
- Case
Burlington Northern (B)
Describes the experiences of a seasoned Burlington Northern (BN) sales representative after the introduction of ShipSmart, a decision support system developed by the BN to help its employees and customers analyze logistics problems. After a brief description of a... View Details
- September 1988 (Revised September 1993)
- Case
Mrs. Fields Cookies
Mrs. Fields Cookies is a small company selling freshly baked goods through privately owned specialty stores (each store sells only Mrs. Fields products). The company has about 8,000 employees worldwide and less than 150 information systems people for a unique leverage... View Details
- August 1988
- Background Note
Close Encounters of the Four Kinds: Managing Customers in a Rapidly Changing Environment
Describes four kinds of selling: 1) transaction, 2) systems, 3) major account management, and 4) strategic account relationships. Explains the advantages, disadvantages, and risks of each. The second half is devoted to a discussion of strategic account relationships... View Details
- November 1987
- Background Note
The Magic Matrix: Products and Accounts
Describes an interfunctional approach to product mix management and account selection. The approach uses a matrix of products and accounts. Also describes the concepts and implementation of the approach. View Details
- September–October 1987
- Article
Manage Customers for Profits (Not Just Sales)
By: Benson P. Shapiro, V. K. Rangan, Rowland T. Moriarty and Elliot Ross
- June 1987 (Revised May 1992)
- Case
Carolina Power & Light Co.: Customer and Operating Services Group
- December 1986 (Revised November 1989)
- Case
Hewlett-Packard: Manufacturing Productivity Division (A)
By: Benson P. Shapiro and Lawrence B. Levine
In late summer 1986, the management of the Manufacturing Productivity Division (MPD) of Hewlett-Packard (HP) was in the process of making major market selection and product policy decisions. MPD is a small division which develops and markets manufacturing productivity... View Details
- June 1986
- Case
Premier Furniture Co.
By: Thomas R. Piper
A credit analyst for a furniture manufacturer is confronted with two customers who have exceeded their credit limits. The financial performance of each has been weak, and one of the customers has a highly leveraged balance sheet. Industry conditions are weak; the... View Details
- June 1983 (Revised April 1991)
- Case
Dominion Engineering Works
Dominion Engineering Works faces important strategic decisions about whether to continue its focused strategy of selling newsprint machines to the Canadian paper industry or whether recent changes in industry conditions and the emergence of three global competitors... View Details
- February 1982
- Case
MCI Telecommunications Corp. (B): Customer Service Strategy and Organization
By: John F. Cady and Frank V. Cespedes
- January 1980 (Revised August 1986)
- Case
General Electric vs. Westinghouse in Large Turbine Generators (A)
Describes the U.S. large turbine generator industry in early 1963, a period of severe price cutting and depressed industry conditions. Presents data to allow a structural analysis of the industry and an analysis of the strategies of the major players since 1946. The... View Details
- Research Summary
Background
By: Gerald Zaltman
A major theme underlying most of Gerald Zaltman's research concerns the representation of thought. This includes how managers and customers represent their thinking to others and how they represent ideas and knowledge given to them. This theme finds expression in a... View Details
- Research Summary
Consumer-Brand Relationships and CRM
By: Jill J. Avery
This highly pragmatic stream investigates the contemporary practice of customer relationship management (CRM) by exploring the phenomenological, lived experience of consumers' relationships with brands. Using a contracting theory lens supplemented with knowledge of... View Details