Publications

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14 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

The Widening Rift Between Corporations and Society

now? Zuboff and Maxmin: A century ago mass consumption was on the rise. People wanted more things. The answer was to produce more goods at an ever-lower cost—mass production. Corporations were organized around a managerial hierarchy... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

May 1993 (Revised July 1995)
Case

Air Miles

By: John A. Quelch

The chairman and CEO of a U.K.-based frequent buyer travel award program is planning on launching in North America. Management must determine the marketing strategy to be used, specifically how the U.K. program should be altered, whether the U.S. and Canadian markets... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Service Delivery; Market Entry and Exit; Adaptation; Product Launch; Service Industry; Canada; United Kingdom; United States

20 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 20, 2008

household income gains for new adopters. However, one year after the study ended, the exporter refused to continue buying the cash crops from the farmers because the conditions of the farms did not satisfy... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

13 Apr 2021
Blog Post

2021 48th Annual H. Naylor Fitzhugh Conference Honors Black Women Leaders

and deploy more and more capital, year after year.” On the third and final day of the conference, the Black Tech Masters Series (BTMS) featured a lineup of founders and innovators in the Black tech ecosystem. For co-chairs Brian Hollins... View Details

Article

Are Self-service Customers Satisfied or Stuck?

By: Ryan W. Buell, Dennis Campbell and Frances X. Frei

This paper investigates the impact of self-service technology (SST) usage on customer satisfaction and retention. Specifically, we disentangle the distinct effects of satisfaction and switching costs as drivers of retention among self-service customers. Our empirical... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Information Technology; Customer Satisfaction; Competition; Cost; Banks and Banking; Behavior; Market Transactions; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques

November 1993 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Continental Airlines--1992 (Abridged)

By: Stuart C. Gilson

The CEO is preparing a recommendation to the board regarding several potential outside investments in the company, which is currently operating in bankruptcy. In making his decision, the CEO has to consider various financial and strategic factors, including possible... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Cash Flow; Cost of Capital; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Investment; Taxation; Risk and Uncertainty; Valuation; Aerospace Industry; United States

2015
Book

What Great Service Leaders Know and Do: Creating Breakthroughs in Service Firms

By: James L. Heskett, W. Earl Sasser and Leonard A. Schlesinger

Based on decades of collective field experiences, the authors present anecdotal evidence in support of eight things that great service leaders know and do. Great service leaders know that (1) leading a breakthrough service is different, and they take steps to ensure... View Details

Keywords: Management; Leadership; Service Operations; Service Delivery

20 Nov 2012
First Look

First Look: November 20

the firms they regulate, but not exclusively via dyadic exchanges as is traditionally argued in the regulatory capture and business-government literatures. Instead, regulatory decisions are indirectly shaped via third-party actors who shield agencies from legitimacy... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Dec 2013
First Look

First Look: December 17

Project Complexity and Systems Integration: Constructing the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics Games By: Davies, Andrew, and Ian Mackenzie Abstract—Our study of the London Olympics 2012 construction programme showed that systems integration is View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

19 Jul 2011
First Look

First Look: July 19

common resources, such as advertising or production capacity, across activities. Within the literature on corporate strategy, this tension between focus and breadth is reconciled by the concept of related diversification (i.e., a firm... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2012
Case

Aman Resorts (Abridged)

By: Eugene Soltes and Aldo Sesia

This case describes the operating model and philosophy of this high-end set of global properties. Aman relies on employees taking considerable initiative to deliver the highest quality personalized service in the hospitality industry. The case also highlights Aman's... View Details

Keywords: Global Business; Management Skills; Performance Appraisals; Customer Service; Incentives; Hospitality; Globalized Firms and Management; Business Model; Employees; Service Delivery; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business Strategy; Accommodations Industry

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

09 Sep 2024
HBS Case

McDonald’s and the Post #MeToo Rules of Sex in the Workplace

behemoth’s corporate culture as it collided with the #MeToo movement’s spotlight on sexual relationships and power in the workplace. And as new information about Easterbrook’s romantic relationship with other employees emerged, it became... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Food & Beverage

20 Sep 2016
First Look

September 20, 2016

in press More Than Managing: The Relentless Pursuit of Effective Jewish Leadership Nudging as a Tool for Leaders By: Bazerman, Max Abstract—Jewish organizational life is inundated with publications on organizational change and effective... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

27 Jun 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, June 27

challenging in the past, and remains so today, the book argues that one reason was how they have both been defined. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52778 forthcoming Journal of International Economics The... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 1995 (Revised September 1997)
Case

TV Guide (B)

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

TV Guide, the nation's most profitable and largest magazine, attempts entry into the world of electronic publishing. The crux of TV Guide's strategy is to transform the magazine's content into a centralized database that can be accessed by new businesses, like... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Service Delivery; Information Technology; Marketing; Information Publishing; Service Industry; Publishing Industry

June 1991 (Revised October 1992)
Case

Otis Elevator Co.: Managing the Service Force

By: James I. Cash Jr.

Keywords: Service Delivery; Management

April 1990 (Revised May 1997)
Case

Lowe's

By: Walter J. Salmon

Lowe's chain of 306 stores was anticipating fierce competition from their major market rival, Home Depot. As they reformulated the size of their new prototype stores and the mix of their merchandise, what would be the ultimate format? What impact would it have on their... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Buildings and Facilities; Markets; Service Delivery; Competition