Publications

07 Aug 2012
News

Scaling Is Hard. Here's How Akamai Did It.

01 Sep 2003
News

Incentives and Operational Excellence

Operational problems can be the cause of an organization’s demise. Often they can be traced to poor controls in interorganizational settings, according to HBS associate professor V.G. Narayanan, a specialist in measurement systems and... View Details

Keywords: Educational Services; Educational Services; Educational Services

21 Aug 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Improving Customer Compatibility with Operational Transparency

Keywords: by Ryan W. Buell and MoonSoo Choi; Banking

January 2021 (Revised July 2022)
Case

Snapp: Scaling Under Sanctions in Iran (A)

By: Meg Rithmire and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in November 2019 as Eyad Alkassar and Mahmoud Fouz, co-founders of Iran’s first and leading ride-hailing platform, Snapp, find out about Apple’s and Google’s decisions to remove all Iranian apps from their respective application stores.
The case... View Details

Keywords: Sanctions; Change Management; Disruption; Volatility; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Government and Politics; International Relations; National Security; Risk Management; Crisis Management; Transportation Industry; Iran; Middle East

February 2003 (Revised June 2003)
Case

Interface's Evergreen Services Agreement

In an attempt to reduce its ecological footprint, Interface Americas, a leading manufacturer of commercial carpet tile, has launched the Evergreen Services Agreement (ESA)--a lease agreement that provides would-be carpet purchasers with comprehensive floor-covering... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Product; Environmental Sustainability; Innovation and Invention; Leasing; Consumer Products Industry; Houston

September 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Case

Strategic Services at Andersen Consulting

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Catherine M. Conneely and Abby J. Hansen PHD

Bill Copacino, Andersen Consulting's managing partner of Strategic Services Americas, needed to submit his recommendation to Peter Fuchs, Strategic Services worldwide director, for the operating plan for Strategic Services Americas for fiscal year 1999. Strategic... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Recruitment; Organizational Culture; Expansion; Business Units; Consulting Industry

Research Summary

Organizational Change in Professional Service Firms

Professor Gabarro's current research focuses on organizational change in professional service firms and the challenges that they face in dealing with increased size, scale and complexity. View Details

12 Aug 2019
Research & Ideas

How Scale Changes a Manager's Responsibilities

to operate at scale and consider whether to replace them. Here are a few tips in areas I find to be the most challenging at this stage: People When it comes to employees, there are two areas where... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

06 Jul 2017
News

Leadership on a Global Scale

When the inaugural West Point All-Academies Asia Summit opened in Singapore in June 2015, Ray Jefferson (MBA 2000) celebrated a personal moment of triumph. For the Summit’s point person, this first-ever gathering in Asia for graduates of US View Details

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

July 2020 (Revised September 2020)
Case

The Honor Foundation: Accessing Special Operations Talent

By: Boris Groysberg and John Masko

In 2020, The Honor Foundation (THF), a nonprofit dedicated to helping U.S. military special operators to transition into civilian careers, was facing a series of strategic challenges. THF had been founded in 2013 by former Navy SEAL trainee Joe Musselman, who observed... View Details

01 Jun 2018
News

Case Study: Tip the Scale

over speed in the fulfillment process. Walden aims to build a community of home cooks who are connected to local farms in a meaningful way, not simply a transactional purchase. The Question: With year-over-year growth at 75 to 100 percent, Cummings’s question is how to... View Details

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

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Management; Design; Service Operations; Cost

01 Mar 2006
News

Scaling Peaks for Cancer Research

MOUNTAIN CLIMBING TRIO: Bishop, Murphy, and Serafini stay in shape. Three HBS students are out to set a world record by scaling the seven tallest mountains on seven continents in seven months — all to raise $5 million to help fight... View Details

Keywords: pediatric cancer research; Personal Services; Personal Services

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

Find at Harvard

Web

Technology & Operations Management - Doctoral

gross margins; How familiarity among team members fosters organizational capabilities among teams; The implications of operations management for investors; and How firms influence service quality, and how... View Details

05 Dec 2016
News

Scaling Up at Five Below

(photo by Jane M. Von Bergen / Philadelphia Inquirer) (photo by Jane M. Von Bergen / Philadelphia Inquirer) It’s the holiday season and emoji merchandise is flying off the shelves—especially poop emoji (sorry). Chalk it up to the whimsical tastes of the teen and... View Details

Keywords: Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Retail Trade

March 1988 (Revised September 1993)
Case

United Services Automobile Association (USAA)

Under the leadership of Robert F. McDermott, USAA has been transformed from a property and casualty insurance company with $200 million in assets in the late 1960s to a $11 billion financial services empire in 1988. The case illustrates the value of having a CEO drive... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Leadership; Information Technology; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

March 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Background Note

Service on the Internet: The Effect of Physical Service on Scalability

Develops a framework for exploring the idea of, how service affects the economics of Internet organizations. Development of the framework requires an understanding of the different forms service takes in organizations that conduct business through the Internet. These... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Service Delivery; Service Industry