Publications

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December 2014 (Revised August 2024)
Case

HomeAway: Organizing the Vacation Rental Industry

By: Rory McDonald, Feng Zhu and Cheng Gao

In less than 10 years, cofounders Brian Sharples and Carl Shepherd had transformed HomeAway from just another Internet startup into the world's leading vacation-rental marketplace—a global online platform that links customers seeking vacation-home rentals to the... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Innovation; Technology; Acquisitions; Operations Management; Digital Platforms; Acquisition; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Disruptive Innovation; Disruption; Accommodations Industry

23 Oct 2013
News

How Far Is Too Far in Selling Customer Data?

September 2019
Case

Starling Trust Sciences: Measuring Trust in Organizations

By: Aiyesha Dey, Jonas Heese and James Weber

Stephen Scott needed to decide whether to keep his behavioral analytics startup in the people analytics sector or shift his company into the RegTech sector. Starling had develop technology that enabled its customers to anticipate and shape the behavior of their... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Analytics; Financial Institutions; Banks and Banking; Entrepreneurship; Strategy; Banking Industry; Consulting Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States; United Kingdom

October 2009 (Revised May 2011)
Background Note

Memo From Counsel: Antitrust Law and Customer Allocation

By: Lynn S. Paine and Lara Adamsons

When do antitrust laws come into play in a bidding situation? What should a company do if an antitrust violation is uncovered? This memo discusses "hard-core" antitrust violations, focusing on bid rigging and market allocation, under the laws of the U.S. and other... View Details

Keywords: Laws and Statutes; Bids and Bidding; Monopoly; Shipping Industry; United States

13 Apr 2021
Book

How Inclusive Managers Create Glass-Shattering Organizations

Unless men embrace their role in eliminating gender bias and barriers, organizations and institutions will never leverage the value that women bring to the workplace. “Most positions of power are still held by men,” says Colleen Ammerman,... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

11 Aug 2020
News

Your Customers Have Changed. Here's How To Engage Them Again.

October 2010 (Revised August 2012)
Supplement

Harvest: Organic Waste Recycling with Energy Recovery (B)

By: Deishin Lee, Baris Ata and Mustafa H. Tongarlak

This case describes the waste management industry and a clean technology solution for landfill diversion and renewable energy production. The (A) case focuses on the operational characteristics of waste management and waste to energy, and the characteristics of the... View Details

Keywords: Framework; Wastes and Waste Processing; Management; Operations; Social Issues; Problems and Challenges; Energy Generation; Renewable Energy; Quality; Industry Structures; Energy Industry

23 Nov 2011
Working Paper Summaries

The Organization of Firms Across Countries

Keywords: by Nicholas Bloom, Rafaella Sadun & John Van Reenen

12 Aug 2010
News

What Is Customer Opinion Good For?

Keywords: Prof. Jim Heskett; Manufacturing

Research Summary

Customer-Centricity as a Vehicle for Organic Growth

By: Ranjay Gulati

This body of work examines the mechanics of how firms grow profitably in commoditizing markets. Underlying the "customer-centricity" that many firms embrace today is a factor that will determine their success with this effort: enabling collaboration across... View Details

12 PM – 1 PM EST, 02 Dec 2016
Webinars: Trending@HBS

Unlocking Growth & Resilience in Your Organization

Managers of companies in every industry and geography are focused on business model innovation as a way to respond to competitive threats and create new growth opportunities. Despite all of that effort and attention, the failure rate for corporate transformations is... View Details

August 2016 (Revised June 2017)
Case

InsideSales.com (A)

By: Frank V. Cespedes

This case focuses on growth requirements for a company moving from its base in SMB customers (Small and Mid-Sized businesses) to Enterprise customers (companies with more than 500 employees). It examines the differences in buying processes, product requirements,... View Details

Keywords: Business Organization; Customer Relationship Management; Marketing Strategy; Organizational Change And Adaptation; Organizational Design; Talent; Talent Management; Organizations; Growth Management; Sales; Salesforce Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Technology Industry; United States

August 2009 (Revised July 2010)
Case

Jones Lang LaSalle: Reorganizing around the Customer (2005)

By: Ranjay Gulati and Lucia Menzer Marshall

Peter Roberts, CEO of Jones, Lang, LaSalle (JLL) Americas division, has been charged with expanding the company's presence in its core geographic markets while simultaneously growing its corporate account business. Roberts and his task force have narrowed their options... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure; Business Strategy; Real Estate Industry

01 Jun 1999
News

Q & A: Pat Russo - Focused on the Future at Lucent Technologies

and improved customer relationship management opportunities. We're really talking about fundamental changes in how people communicate, get information, and conduct business. Wired for Success Pat Russo worked for eight years in sales and... View Details

21 May 2014
News

Target Will Recover as It Keeps Customers

07 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

What Customers Need to Hear from You During the COVID Crisis

by a government’s response to the virus, blurring the line between the private and public sectors. Said Dr. David Nabarro, Special Envoy for COVID-19 for the World Health Organization (WHO), “Brands must strive to be authentic,... View Details

Keywords: by Jill Avery and Richard Edelman

05 Dec 2008
News

New Book Reveals How Customer and Employee Ownership Adds Business Value

2012
Book

Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy

By: Amy C. Edmondson

Continuous improvement, understanding complex systems, and promoting innovation are all part of the landscape of learning challenges today's companies face. I show that organizations thrive, or fail to thrive, based on how well the small groups within those... View Details

Keywords: Change; Interpersonal Communication; Learning; Values and Beliefs; Innovation and Invention; Management; Performance Improvement; Groups and Teams; Research; Strategy; Complexity; Value

2012
Book

Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business

By: Frances Frei and Anne Morriss

Most companies treat service as a low-priority business operation, keeping it out of the spotlight until a customer complains. Then service gets to make a brief appearance—for as long as it takes to calm the customer down and fix whatever foul-up jeopardized the... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Business Ventures