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- All HBS Web
(2,562)
- People (2)
- News (547)
- Research (1,692)
- Events (3)
- Multimedia (9)
- Faculty Publications (945)
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- September 2016
- Case
Financial Services at Falabella (A)
By: C. Fritz Foley and Agustin M. Hurtado
In 2010, the board and senior management team of Falabella, a leading retailer with operations throughout Latin America, faced choices about what to do with its financial services division. More than 4.5 million customers had CMR credit cards that could be used in... View Details
Keywords: Consumer Credit; Financial Institutions; Personal Finance; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Banking Industry; Retail Industry; Latin America; Chile; Argentina; Colombia; Peru
Foley, C. Fritz, and Agustin M. Hurtado. "Financial Services at Falabella (A)." Harvard Business School Case 217-016, September 2016.
- spring 1991
- Article
Breaking the Cycle of Failure in Services
By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and James Heskett
Most managers recognize that good service is a direct result of having effective, productive people in customer contact positions. However, most service companies perpetuate a cycle of failure by tolerating high turnover and expecting employee dissatisfaction. This... View Details
Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Service Delivery; Success; Failure; Management Skills; Service Industry
Schlesinger, Leonard A., and James Heskett. "Breaking the Cycle of Failure in Services." MIT Sloan Management Review 32, no. 3 (spring 1991): 17–28.
- 20 Dec 2017
- Lessons from the Classroom
How to Design a Better Customer Experience
Click HereHarvard Business School Professor Stefan Thomke describes how his Executive Education students use LEGO blocks to design customer experiences. (Video by Executive Education) Why do some product or View Details
- May 1994
- Background Note
Segmenting Customers in Mature Industrial Markets: An Application
In mature industrial markets, segmenting customers by size, industry, or product benefits alone rarely is sufficient. Customer behavior regarding trade-offs between price and service also becomes an important criterion. This note offers a framework to enable such... View Details
Keywords: Segmentation; Framework; Consumer Behavior; Marketing Strategy; Industrial Products Industry
Rangan, V. Kasturi. "Segmenting Customers in Mature Industrial Markets: An Application." Harvard Business School Background Note 594-089, May 1994.
- 16 Nov 2016
- Research & Ideas
Turning One Thousand Customers into One Million
worked Going from zero customers to 1,000 customers can be a slow process for platforms because of the need to acquire both providers and customers of products and View Details
- 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
Garvin, David A., and Nancy Hua Dai. "Ctrip: Scientifically Managing Travel Services." Harvard Business School Case 312-092, January 2012. (Revised March 2013.)
- June 1998 (Revised August 2001)
- Case
Wells Fargo Online Financial Services (A)
By: Robert S. Kaplan and Nicole Tempest
Wells Fargo, the industry leader in electronic banking, has implemented a Balanced Scorecard in its online financial services group (OFS) to track and measure performance. The OFS group develops and supports services that allow existing and future banking customers to... View Details
Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Internet and the Web; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Corporate Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Finance; Change; Situation or Environment; Measurement and Metrics; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry
Kaplan, Robert S., and Nicole Tempest. "Wells Fargo Online Financial Services (A)." Harvard Business School Case 198-146, June 1998. (Revised August 2001.)
- December 2005 (Revised October 2006)
- Case
Pharmacy Service Improvement at CVS (A)
CVS's retail pharmacy operations are functioning poorly and dissatisfying customers. Many customers are defecting as a result. A pharmacy service improvement team has documented the current prescription fulfillment process, its exception rates, and the problems... View Details
Keywords: Information Technology; Performance Improvement; Business Processes; Retail Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States
McAfee, Andrew P. "Pharmacy Service Improvement at CVS (A)." Harvard Business School Case 606-015, December 2005. (Revised October 2006.)
- August 2002 (Revised February 2018)
- Teaching Note
Customer Profitability and Customer Relationship Management at RBC Financial Group
By: V.G. Narayanan
Teaching Note for 102-043 and 102-072. View Details
- 08 Aug 2005
- Research & Ideas
A Balanced Scorecard Approach To Measure Customer Profitability
When the customer says "jump," they ask "how high?" They offer additional product features and services to their customers, but fail to receive prices that cover the costs for these... View Details
Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan
- 05 Aug 2010
- What Do You Think?
What Is Customer Opinion Good For?
products arise from strong insight, gut feel and imagination. Bad ideas, lousy products or services can be avoided by serious market research." Andy Robin pointed out that in the semiconductor business "one still had to spend a lot of... View Details
- June 2017 (Revised January 2019)
- Case
Signet Jewelers: Assessing Customer Financing Risk
By: Gerardo Pérez Cavazos, Suraj Srinivasan and Monica Baraldi
Marc Cohodes, a renowned short seller, has identified weaknesses in Signet's business strategy, which he argues is heavily reliant on providing loans to customers with subprime credit scores. He believes that the company accounts for its receivables portfolio using... View Details
Keywords: Short Selling; Bad Debt Expense; Accounting; Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Finance; Financing and Loans; Valuation; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States
Pérez Cavazos, Gerardo, Suraj Srinivasan, and Monica Baraldi. "Signet Jewelers: Assessing Customer Financing Risk." Harvard Business School Case 117-038, June 2017. (Revised January 2019.)
- 2016
- Book
Innovation Equity: Assessing and Managing the Monetary Value of New Products and Services
By: Elie Ofek, Eitan Muller and Barak Libai
This book bridges the gap between what academics know, and what innovation stakeholders—from managers, to investors, to analysts, to consumers—need to know about how new products and services are expected to perform in the marketplace. The book develops a compelling... View Details
Keywords: Innovation; Technology Diffusion; New Products; Customer Lifetime Value; Monetization Strategy; Social Influence; Innovation Adoption; Forecasting Demand; Commercialization; Marketing Strategy; Practice; Customer Value and Value Chain; Research; Innovation and Management; Technology Adoption; Forecasting and Prediction; Product Development
Ofek, Elie, Eitan Muller, and Barak Libai. Innovation Equity: Assessing and Managing the Monetary Value of New Products and Services. University of Chicago Press, 2016.
- October 1994 (Revised November 1994)
- Case
British Airways: Using Information Systems to Better Serve the Customer
By: W. Earl Sasser and Norman Klein
Explores the uses of scanning technology, interactive software, and powerful data bases to assist customer relations representatives in resolving customer complaints. Competitive alliances in international markets are noted, but the focus is on the evolving commitment... View Details
Keywords: Debates; Customer Focus and Relationships; Globalized Markets and Industries; Service Delivery; Alliances; Information Technology; Aerospace Industry
Sasser, W. Earl, and Norman Klein. "British Airways: Using Information Systems to Better Serve the Customer." Harvard Business School Case 395-065, October 1994. (Revised November 1994.)
- 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
Frei, Frances X., Amy C. Edmondson, and Corey B. Hajim. "Dell Computers (A): Field Service for Corporate Clients." Harvard Business School Case 603-067, October 2002. (Revised April 2007.)
- May 2011
- Article
Think Customers Hate Waiting? Not So Fast...
By: Ryan W. Buell and Michael I. Norton
Managers typically look for ways to reduce wait time to increase customer satisfaction. New research suggests there's a better approach: showing customers a representation of the effort, whether literal or not, being expended on their behalf while they wait. (The... View Details
Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Service Delivery; Consumer Behavior; Performance Effectiveness; Customer Satisfaction
Buell, Ryan W., and Michael I. Norton. "Think Customers Hate Waiting? Not So Fast..." Harvard Business Review 89, no. 5 (May 2011).
- May 2016 (Revised January 2018)
- Case
Airbnb, Etsy, Uber: Acquiring the First Thousand Customers
By: Thales S. Teixeira and Morgan Brown
By 2016, two-sided online platforms (or marketplaces) were pervasive among the highest growing internet startups around. These marketplaces sought to match suppliers of assets for rent, physical products or services with customers demanding them. Among the most notable... View Details
Keywords: Airbnb; Etsy; Uber; Growth Hacking; Two-sided Market; Internet and the Web; Marketing Strategy; Digital Platforms; Digital Marketing; Business Startups; Transportation Industry; Accommodations Industry
Teixeira, Thales S., and Morgan Brown. "Airbnb, Etsy, Uber: Acquiring the First Thousand Customers." Harvard Business School Case 516-094, May 2016. (Revised January 2018.)
- April 18, 2023
- Article
The Rebirth of Software as a Service
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Jacco van der Kooij
Traditional sales models focus on customer acquisition and the “funnel” or “pipeline” metrics that dominate talk about sales. But this approach falls short when applied to a recurring revenue business, where the customer life cycle looks more like a bowtie, not a... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V., and Jacco van der Kooij. "The Rebirth of Software as a Service." Harvard Business Review (website) (April 18, 2023).
- 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 manufacturing," Upton... View Details
- March 2006
- Background Note
Customer-Introduced Variability in Service Operations
By: Frances X. Frei
Presents a typology of customer-introduced variability and offers guidance on how to manage each type. Central to the ideas developed is how to mitigate the effects of the apparent trade-off between reducing variability and diminishing the service experience or... View Details
Frei, Frances X. "Customer-Introduced Variability in Service Operations." Harvard Business School Background Note 606-063, March 2006.