Publications

Ana Antolin is a doctoral candidate in the Strategy unit at Harvard Business School. She received her B.S. in Quantitative Economics and International Relations from Tufts University. Prior to joining Harvard, she worked as a full-time research assistant in... View Details

2019
Working Paper

The Impact of the General Data Protection Regulation on Internet Interconnection

By: Ran Zhuo, Bradley Huffaker, KC Claffy and Shane Greenstein

The Internet comprises thousands of independently operated networks, where bilaterally negotiated interconnection agreements determine the flow of data between networks. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) imposes strict restrictions on... View Details

Keywords: Personal Data; Privacy Regulation; GDPR; Interconnection Agreements; Internet and the Web; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; European Union

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March 2021 (Revised January 2023)
Background Note

The Pandemic's Impact on the U.S. Food System

By: José B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

This note is intended not as a comprehensive account but as a starting point for discussion about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. food system. Written in late 2020, the note describes, in part through the voices of industry leaders, how the pandemic... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Agribusiness; Risk and Uncertainty; Risk Management; Leadership; Change Management; Safety; Health; Health Pandemics; Disruption; Adaptation; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Consumer Behavior; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Transportation Industry; United States

17 Jan 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Competition in Modular Clusters

Keywords: by Carliss Y. Baldwin & C. Jason Woodard; Consulting; Communications; Telecommunications; Pharmaceutical

February 2009 (Revised September 2010)
Case

JWT China: Advertising for the New Chinese Consumer

By: Elisabeth Koll

This case analyzes the business strategy and expansion of JWT China from the late 1990s to 2008. As part of the world's fourth largest marketing communications network, JWT China grew into one of the largest integrated communications companies in China operating from... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Business and Government Relations; Business Strategy; Expansion; Advertising Industry; China

May 2024
Article

Design of Off-Grid Lighting Business Models to Serve the Poor: Field Experiments and Structural Analysis

By: Bhavani Shanker Uppari, Serguei Netessine, Ioanna Popescu and Rowan P. Clarke

A significant proportion of the world's population has no access to grid-based electricity and so relies on off-grid lighting solutions. Rechargeable lamp technology is gaining popularity as an alternative off-grid lighting model in developing countries. In this paper,... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Developing Countries and Economies; Consumer Behavior; Poverty; Logistics; Business Model; Utilities Industry

November 2009
Article

Organizational Design and Control across Multiple Markets: The Case of Franchising in the Convenience Store Industry

By: Dennis Campbell, Srikant M. Datar and Tatiana Sandino

Many companies operate units that are dispersed across different types of markets, and thus serve significantly diverging customer bases. Such market-type dispersion is likely to compromise the headquarter's ability to control its local managers' behavior and satisfy... View Details

Keywords: Market Dispersion; Decentralization; Incentives; Business Headquarters; Geographic Location; Governance Controls; Distribution; Organizational Design; Franchise Ownership; Retail Industry

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10 Sep 2021
News

Human or Computer? Who’s Really Helping You With Customer Service?

2007
Working Paper

Competition in Modular Clusters

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and C. Jason Woodard

The last twenty years have witnessed the rise of disaggregated "clusters," "networks," or "ecosystems" of firms. In these clusters the activities of R&D, product design, production, distribution, and system integration may be split up among hundreds or even thousands... View Details

Keywords: Price; Profit; Digital Platforms; Industry Clusters; Competition; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration

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May 2025 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Humana Commits to Value-Based Care

By: V.G. Narayanan, Henry Eyring and David Lane

In late 2023, CEO Bruce Broussard reviewed health insurer Humana’s transformation into a value-based care ecosystem. Under its CenterWell brand, the several millions of members in Humana Medicare Advantage plans now had access to Humana-provided primary care, home... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Units; Financing and Loans; Innovation Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Operations; Mergers and Acquisitions; Insurance; Health Care and Treatment; Partners and Partnerships; Health Industry; Insurance Industry; United States

Frances Frei is a Professor of Technology and Operations Management at Harvard Business School. Her research investigates how leaders accelerate performance and design for excellence in leadership, strategy, and operations. She regularly advises senior executives... View Details

Keywords: airline; banking; fast food; financial services; health care; hotels ＆ motels; management consulting; media; nonprofit industry; professional services; retail financial services; service industry; sports; telecommunications; tourism; travel

January 1985 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Turner Construction Co.

By: Frank V. Cespedes

In June, 1984, a vice president at Turner Construction Co. must decide whether to approve a construction project being considered by one of Turner's territorial offices and how to manage that territory general manager's apparent reluctance to pursue another account... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Projects; Market Entry and Exit; Integration; Contracts; Marketing Strategy; Sales; Business or Company Management; Business Offices; Geographic Location; Construction Industry

2008
Working Paper

Organizational Design and Control across Multiple Markets: The Case of Franchising in the Convenience Store Industry

By: Dennis Campbell

Many companies operate units which are dispersed across different types of markets, and thus serve significantly diverging customer bases. Such market-type dispersion is likely to compromise the headquarters' ability to control its local managers' behavior and... View Details

Keywords: Business Headquarters; Customer Focus and Relationships; Geographic Location; Governance Controls; Organizational Design; Franchise Ownership; Retail Industry

18 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Unspoken Cues: Encouraging Morals Without Mandates

Many institutions promote and even mandate moral behavior and values among their members, but how they do it differs greatly. Some organizations such as religious groups may proscribe very specifically what is acceptable behavior—think... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Education

November 2015 (Revised February 2020)
Teaching Note

IDEO: Human-Centered Service Design

By: Ryan W. Buell

The case describes IDEO, one of the world's leading design firms, and its human-centered innovation culture and processes. It is an example of what managers can do to make their own organizations more innovative. In reaction to a rapidly changing competitive landscape,... View Details

Keywords: Design Thinking; Innovation; Service Management; Service; Design; Service Delivery; Innovation and Management; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Peru

December 2015
Case

IDEO: Human-Centered Service Design

By: Ryan W. Buell and Andrew Otazo

The case describes IDEO, one of the world's leading design firms, and its human-centered innovation culture and processes. It is an example of what managers can do to make their own organizations more innovative. In reaction to a rapidly changing competitive landscape,... View Details

Keywords: Design Thinking; Innovation; Service Management; Service; Design; Service Delivery; Innovation and Management; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Peru

Paige Tsai is PhD candidate in the Technology and Operations Management Unit at Harvard Business School. Her research broadly examines the effects of job design on employees. Her current projects explore the financial and well-being effects of holding multiple jobs,... View Details

Keywords: service industry; restaurant; retailing; hotels ＆ motels

2014
Article

Notes from the Search for Deep Indicators in Services

By: James L. Heskett

Much of the research in the service sector over the last four decades has concerned itself with the search for deep indicators that explain service performance. This paper provides a brief retrospective of some of this research and illustrates the directions that this... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Organizational Culture; Performance; Service Industry