Customer Service - Publications - Faculty & Research

16 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Luxury Isn’t What It Used to Be

of something else, Tranthi says: "I'm going to wear this shirt, and it's going to make me feel great. That's why luxury brands command a premium—it's an emotional buy." Luxury goods are in essence a highly creative field.— Thuy T. Tranthi, Thomas Pink USA... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Consumer Products

28 Mar 2016
Blog Post

Why I Chose to Pursue an MD/MBA at Harvard

of organizations and about issues that are new to healthcare, but that other industries have dealt with for decades - like customer satisfaction, efficiency, and providing quality service for a reasonable... View Details

18 Dec 2012
First Look

First Look: December 18

greater customer satisfaction and employee retention after six months as compared to (a) socialization that focused on organizational identity (emphasizing the pride to be gained from organizational affiliation) and (b) the organization's... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

26 Mar 2024
Blog Post

IFC India: Financing the Climate Transition in India

million people daily with economic opportunities and essential services. As the city has grown, BEST is putting significant effort into expanding its transport options to accommodate increased demand for transportation. Key Objectives:a. BEST will be View Details

03 Jul 2013
What Do You Think?

What Are the Limits of Transparency?

technology services company, has been one of the most outspoken advocates of increased transparency. He says all HCL's financial information is on the company's internal Web. "We are completely open," he had been quoted as... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Web

Frequently Asked Questions | HBS Online

tactics, including how to position a product or service for success, acquire and engage customers, and measure both performance of near-term campaigns and longer-term customer value. Disruptive Strategy What... View Details

31 May 2017
What Do You Think?

Can Amazon Do What Walmart Couldn’t, Stop the 'Wheel of Retailing'?

of customers and the volume of sales increase, the retailer gains a dominant position in the market. The goal gradually shifts from attracting more customers to increasing prices and margins in order to... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Retail

March 2017 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Facebook Fake News in the Post-Truth World

By: John R. Wells and Carole A. Winkler

In January 2017, Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, was surrounded by controversy. The election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States in November 2016 had triggered a national storm of protests, and many attributed Trump’s victory to... View Details

Keywords: Facebook; Fake News; Mark Zuckerberg; Donald Trump; Algorithms; Social Networks; Partisanship; Social Media; App Development; Instagram; WhatsApp; Smartphone; Silicon Valley; Office Space; Digital Strategy; Democracy; Entry Barriers; Online Platforms; Controversy; Tencent; Agility; Social Networking; Gaming; Gaming Industry; Computer Games; Mobile Gaming; Messaging; Monetization Strategy; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Headquarters; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Trends; Communication; Communication Technology; Forms of Communication; Interactive Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Talent and Talent Management; Crime and Corruption; Voting; Demographics; Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Initial Public Offering; Profit; Revenue; Geography; Geographic Location; Global Range; Local Range; Country; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government and Politics; International Relations; National Security; Political Elections; Business History; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Information Management; Information Publishing; News; Newspapers; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Dissemination; Human Capital; Law; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Management Systems; Management Teams; Managerial Roles; Marketing Channels; Social Marketing; Network Effects; Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Monopoly; Media; Product Development; Service Delivery; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Groups and Teams; Networks; Rank and Position; Opportunities; Behavior; Emotions; Identity; Power and Influence; Prejudice and Bias; Reputation; Social and Collaborative Networks; Status and Position; Trust; Society; Civil Society or Community; Culture; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Societal Protocols; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Valuation; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry; United States; California; Sunnyvale; Russia

Citation

Educators

Purchase

01 Jun 2024
News

Alumni and Faculty Books

Edited by Margie Kelley Alumni Books Debunking Teenagers: 200 Research-Based Parenting Strategies to Help Your Adolescent Successfully Navigate the “Tempteen” Years By Daphne Adler (MBA 2004) Independently Published Why are teenagers constantly tempted to behave... View Details

Web

Courses by Faculty Unit - Course Catalog

Managing and Innovating in Financial Services David Scharfstein Spring 2026 Q3Q4 3.0 Market Perspectives Robin Greenwood Richard Ruback Fall 2025 Q1Q2 3.0 Private Equity Finance Ted Berk Fall 2025 Q1Q2 3.0 Real Estate Investing Dwight... View Details

17 Jun 2015
Lessons from the Classroom

Excellence Comes From Saying No

School Professor Frances Frei has explored that question for years in the retail realm, culminating in her 2012 book, Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business. This past semester at HBS, the UPS... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

29 Jan 2021
Op-Ed

How Influencers, Celebrities, and FOMO Can Win Over Vaccine Skeptics

central premise of the diffusion of innovations framework is that customer or patient segments that adopt early will influence later adopters. Innovators will influence early adopters, who then influence the early and late majority, who... View Details

Keywords: by Rohit Deshpandé, Ofer Mintz, and Imran S. Currim

Web

Harvard Business School

joined American Express as a marketing vice president in the travel-related services division. Before his retirement in 1993, he was promoted to senior vice president for worldwide communications. Wilkinson was a trustee and national... View Details

02 Dec 2010
What Do You Think?

Making Right Choices: Art or Science?

service alternatives or provide incentives in order to facilitate customer choice with fewer regrets. According to Iyengar, " choosing helps us create our lives. We make choices and are in turn made by... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

09 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

Why Entrepreneurs Should Go Work for Government

"private-public entrepreneurs" who establish private businesses that sell to government agencies or sometimes to citizens directly. In Philadelphia, for example, Textizen enables citizens to communicate with city health and human View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

01 Aug 1998
News

High Honors

others as you would have them serve you." When he announced his plans to step down, McDermott reminded his colleagues, "We've made customer service our primary goal, and we've encouraged other corporations... View Details

04 Nov 2013
Research & Ideas

The Real Cost of Bribery

payment, how it was detected, and the way the firm responded to the bribe after it was uncovered. To test the hypothesis, Serafeim evaluated data from the forensic services practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers, which provides global... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

05 Nov 2019
News

Alumnus Named McDonald’s CEO

included a rekindling customer interest by refocusing on convenience. “There was a latent love for the brand,” Kempczinski told the Bulletin. “We had just been underdelivering on what their expectations were.” In an interview with the... View Details

Keywords: Food Services and Drinking Places; Food Services and Drinking Places

18 Aug 2008
Research & Ideas

How Disruptive Innovation Changes Education

our schools." The ability of these lenses to shed new light on complicated problems has been proven in contexts ranging from national defense to semiconductors; from health care to retailing; and from automobiles to financial View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Education

14 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restarting Under Uncertainty: Managerial Experiences from Around the World

In about four weeks, the bank had put in place VPN access for 9,000 people and provided a secure customer relationship app for sales and service people. This transition was not just technological; the bank... View Details

Keywords: by Raffaella Sadun, Andrea Bertoni, Alexia Delfino, Giovanni Fassio, and Mariapaola Testa

Publications