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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(2,490)
- People (2)
- News (547)
- Research (1,701)
- Events (3)
- Multimedia (9)
- Faculty Publications (947)
- October 2016
- Case
The Quiet Ascension of LA Fitness
By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth
In 2016, LA Fitness was the largest chain of non-franchised fitness clubs in North America, operating 676 clubs, serving 4.9 million members, and generating revenues of over $1.9 billion. Founded by Chinyol Yi, Louis Welch, and Paul Norris in 1984, the privately held... View Details
Keywords: LA Fitness; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; Planet Fitness; Buildings and Facilities; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Demographics; Age; Gender; Income; Residency; Borrowing and Debt; Capital; Capital Structure; Cash; Cash Flow; Cost; Private Equity; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Investment Return; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Service Operations; Leasing; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Technology Platform; Health Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles
Wells, John R., and Gabriel Ellsworth. "The Quiet Ascension of LA Fitness." Harvard Business School Case 717-424, October 2016.
- 09 Jun 2015
- First Look
First Look: June 9, 2015
the closer one gets to the customer in responses from sales and service personnel. This article outlines the issues and explains why withholding information about strategy for competitive reasons often... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- November 2017
- Teaching Note
Reinventing Best Buy
By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth
Teaching Note for HBS No. 716-455.
On March 1, 2017, Best Buy Company, Inc., North America’s largest retailer of consumer electronics and appliances, announced a third year of comparable-store sales increases and a 20.8% increase in domestic comparable online sales.... View Details
Keywords: Best Buy; Hubert Joly; Renew Blue; Showrooming; Webrooming; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Marketplaces; Turnaround; Consumer Electronics; Consumer Electronics Accessories; Appliances; Stores-within-stores; Store Experience; Store Size; Store Pickup; Store Management; Delivery; Delivery Models; Amazon; Amazon.com; Pricing Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Cost; Selection and Staffing; Reports; Technological Innovation; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Human Capital; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Media; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution Channels; Infrastructure; Product; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Programs; Groups and Teams; Sales; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Technology; Hardware; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Search Technology; Software; Web; Web Sites; Wireless Technology; Resource Allocation; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; United States; Minnesota; Minneapolis; Saint Paul; St. Paul
- Article
Optimizing Organic Waste to Energy Operations
By: Baris Ata, Deishin Lee and Mustafa H. Tongarlak
A waste-to-energy firm that recycles organic waste with energy recovery performs two environmentally beneficial functions: it diverts waste from landfill and it produces renewable energy. At the same time, the waste-to-energy firm serves and collects revenue from two... View Details
Keywords: Business Ventures; Energy Generation; Renewable Energy; Revenue; Customers; Strategy; Corporate Governance; Wastes and Waste Processing; Environmental Sustainability; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Cost Management; Urban Scope
Ata, Baris, Deishin Lee, and Mustafa H. Tongarlak. "Optimizing Organic Waste to Energy Operations." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 14, no. 2 (Spring 2012): 231–244.
- 01 Apr 2013
- Research & Ideas
First Minutes are Critical in New-Employee Orientation
aptitude for following standard procedures during customer calls. Individuality was not just discounted; in some ways it was expressly discouraged. "As a service role, the job can be stressful, not only... View Details
- 02 Jun 2020
- Research & Ideas
Coronavirus Careers: Cloud Kitchens Are Now Serving
overnight. What is a cloud kitchen? Cloud kitchens are commercial facilities purpose-built to produce food specifically for delivery. They do not have brick-and-mortar dine-in areas and consist of shared kitchen space with culinary staff preparing meals that are then... View Details
- February 2025
- Case
Luca de Meo at Renault Group (A) (Abridged)
By: Emily Truelove, Linda A. Hill and Lydia Begag
When Luca de Meo became CEO of Renault Group in 2020, the 122-year-old French automaker faced financial challenges and the double technological disruption of the automotive industry: the shift to electric vehicles (EVs) and the rise of software-defined vehicles (SDVs).... View Details
Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Transition; Interpersonal Communication; Forms of Communication; Talent and Talent Management; Experience and Expertise; Customer Value and Value Chain; Decision Making; Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Alternative Energy; Engineering; Global Strategy; Governance; Digital Transformation; Digital Strategy; Technology Adoption; Disruptive Innovation; Technological Innovation; Innovation Leadership; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Leading Change; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Crisis Management; Management Skills; Business Processes; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Performance Efficiency; Transportation; Auto Industry; Battery Industry; Energy Industry; Green Technology Industry; Transportation Industry; France; Europe; China
Truelove, Emily, Linda A. Hill, and Lydia Begag. "Luca de Meo at Renault Group (A) (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 425-067, February 2025.
- 09 Feb 2016
- First Look
February 9, 2016
formulating a strategy, markets and segments are typically important categories. But only customers buy. Hence, for most firms, de facto strategy and much resource allocation are the aggregate result of the deals their salespeople close.... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- 13 May 2014
- First Look
First Look: May 13
Materials Harvard Business School Case 814-073 Entrepreneurial Finance Lab: Scaling an Innovative Start-up Financing Venture Entrepreneurial Finance Lab provides credit-scoring services in developing countries using psychometric... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- 21 Jun 2022
- HBS Case
Free Isn’t Always Better: How Slack Holds Its Own Against Microsoft Teams
providing a basic service for free and paid subscriptions to an advanced version. By 2019, Slack had 88,000 paying customers and 10 million daily users. The company hired its first sales teams to recruit... View Details
- Web
Online Entrepreneurship & Innovation Courses | HBS Online
Buell Gain a systematic approach for delivering standout services and experiences that provide a competitive edge and build customer loyalty. 4 weeks, 5-6 hrs/week Pay by July 24 $1,850 Certificate Complete... View Details
- 22 Jul 2009
- Working Paper Summaries
Reputation and Competition: Evidence from the Credit Rating Industry
- November 2019 (Revised September 2022)
- Case
TripAdvisor: An Itinerary for Growth
By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Spencer Rascoff and Susie L. Ma
In 2019, TripAdvisor was one of the best-known and most-trafficked online travel sites. For nearly 20 years, its founder and CEO Steve Kaufer had steered TripAdvisor through many phases of growth and profitability, but recently the company’s growth had started to slow.... View Details
Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Decision Making; Business or Company Management; Growth Management; Innovation and Invention; Brands and Branding; Operations; Customer Value and Value Chain; Information Technology; Travel Industry; Massachusetts
Rayport, Jeffrey F., Spencer Rascoff, and Susie L. Ma. "TripAdvisor: An Itinerary for Growth." Harvard Business School Case 820-039, November 2019. (Revised September 2022.)
- 30 Oct 2018
- First Look
New Research and Ideas, October 30, 2018
and service its own customer relationships and manage the effectiveness and efficiency of its sales funnel. Currently, a team of chat representatives worked with marketing to qualify and prime prospects for... View Details
Keywords: Dina Gerdeman
- 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... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- 21 Jan 2014
- First Look
First Look: January 21
with a low level of disclosure. Second, competition ensures that services with a high level of disclosure subsidize consumers. Third, firms maximize profits at the extensive rather than the intensive margin, outperforming competitors by... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- 01 Jun 2023
- News
Buy Big, Sell Small
tolerance for risk and responsibility, Shruti returned to India and jumped into entrepreneurship “head first, feet next.” With a startup team, she began fine-tuning plans to launch a digital platform to help local travel agents maximize their effectiveness through... View Details
- September 2011 (Revised February 2013)
- Case
Cleveland Clinic: Improving the Patient Experience
By: Ananth Raman and Anita L. Tucker
Healthcare has traditionally focused on medical outcomes and financial performance. The big question is always, "How much is it going to cost?" What would happen, though, if healthcare also considered the question of "How does the patient feel?" This case looks at the... View Details
Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Customer Satisfaction; Performance Improvement; Service Delivery; Value Creation; Personal Characteristics; Human Needs
Raman, Ananth, and Anita L. Tucker. "Cleveland Clinic: Improving the Patient Experience." Harvard Business School Case 612-031, September 2011. (Revised February 2013.)
- 03 May 2016
- First Look
First Look, May 3, 2016
still telling. Monopolists undertake market strategies designed to ensure that they are not supplanted and nonmarket actions geared to avoiding undesirable constraints and reputational damage. Depending on their legal and regulatory environment, View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- 22 Dec 2015
- First Look
December 22, 2015
Uber provides ride services much like a traditional taxi company, but it owns no cars and employs no drivers, and instead matches independent car owners with customers looking for rides. Airbnb provides a... View Details
Keywords: Carmen Nobel