Publications

29 Feb 2016
HBS Case

Bigbelly's Big Bet on the Digital Trash Can

self-compacting solution to keep streets clean. Last year, however, the Massachusetts-based company’s CEO shared plans to change its business model from selling a product—waste and recycling stations—to selling a subscription-based View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Energy

01 Aug 2007
Op-Ed

Company Town: Fixing Corrupt Governments

and graft means that citizens are cheated out of a fair government that operates efficiently and in the public interest. It's time to consider a radical idea: Corporations and nonprofit groups, in addition to individuals, should be... View Details

Keywords: by Eric Werker

08 Jan 2025
News

Mapping Pain Points at the IRS

Having spent a decade helping retailers optimize customer service, Fumi Tamaki (MBA 2014) could not pass up the opportunity in June 2024 to take on the challenge of improving the customer experience at the government organization that serves more Americans annually... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Myers; IRS; customer service; government service; Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support; Government

March 2006
Background Note

Influencing Customer Behavior in Service Operations

By: Frances X. Frei and Amy C. Edmondson

Explores ways in which service firms can influence the behavior of their customers. Drawing from research on employee motivation and applying it to customer motivation, the note describes two levels of managerial control: instrumental control, which shapes behavior... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Governance Controls; Consumer Behavior; Service Operations; Emotions; Motivation and Incentives; Power and Influence; Service Industry

January 2014 (Revised March 2015)
Case

Google Car

By: Karim R. Lakhani, James Weber and Christine Snively

By 2013, Google, while not a traditional manufacturer of automobiles, had invested millions of dollars in its self-driving cars which had logged over 500,000 miles of testing. The Google management team faced several questions. Should Google continue to invest in the... View Details

Keywords: Digital Services; Innovation; Technology; Technological Innovation; Internet and the Web; Market Entry and Exit; Transportation; Auto Industry; United States

August 2018 (Revised April 2023)
Case

Facebook—Can Ethics Scale in the Digital Age?

By: George A. Riedel and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Since its founding in 2004, Facebook has built a phenomenally successful business at global scale to become the fifth most valuable public company in the world. The revelation of Cambridge Analytica events in March 2018, where 78 million users' information was leaked... View Details

Keywords: Facebook; Ethics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Trust; Business Model; Corporate Accountability; Social Media

July 2020
Technical Note

Digital Natives Growing Without a Sales Force

By: Das Narayandas, Michael Norris and Amram Migdal

This brief case describes the rise of so-called digital natives (also called born-in-digital) in the 2000s and 2010s that successfully grew without a sales force. The case highlights the emergence of business-to-business Internet and cloud-based companies and their... View Details

18 Aug 2010
Working Paper Summaries

The Role of Organizational Scope and Governance in Strengthening Private Monitoring

Keywords: by Lamar Pierce & Michael W. Toffel

October 2022
Case

Volt Lines: Leading a B2B Service Provider through a Crisis (A)

By: Navid Mojir and Gamze Yucaoglu

Volt Lines was a next-generation transportation service in Istanbul, Turkey. The company was trying to disrupt the traditional corporate transportation market by developing software that allowed it to offer subscription-based transportation. Under the subscription... View Details

Keywords: Business To Business Marketing; B2B Marketing; B2B Pricing; Subscription Model; Crisis Marketing; Startup; Service Management; Information Technology; Transportation; COVID-19 Pandemic; Disruptive Innovation; Digital Platforms; Business Model; Price; Crisis Management; Opportunities; Transportation Industry; Technology Industry; Turkey

February 2010 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Digital Media Group: The Shanghai Bid

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

In December 2008, Thomas G. Tsao, acting CEO of Digital Media Group (DMG), a venture-backed provider of technology and media used primarily in subways, must decide how to structure the company's bid for the advertising concession in Shanghai's 13 existing and planned... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Corporate Accountability; Business or Company Management; Bids and Bidding; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Competitive Strategy; Advertising Industry; Technology Industry; Shanghai

11 Sep 2018
News

Bringing Government Up to Code

setting up their own digital service teams. That's a big win for us, and we're always trying to encourage people to take jobs in government and have View Details

18 Jul 2022
Research & Ideas

After the 'Crypto Crash,' What's Next for Digital Currencies?

Earlier this month, the US Treasury Department presented to President Biden what it called a “framework” for overseeing digital financial assets across the government and internationally, while the European... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Financial Services; Financial Services

31 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

State and Local Governments Peer Into the Pandemic Abyss

local governments can do nothing like that, which is a big problem at a time when the services provided by local governments are more critical than ever. ” Many View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

Web

Digital Operations - Course Catalog

Career Focus: Designed for students aspiring to leadership roles at the intersection of technology and operations, the course is relevant for careers in operations, consulting, product management, entrepreneurship, and venture capital. Students will analyze how firms... View Details

01 Dec 2001
News

Corporate Governance Conference Addresses Global Challenges

In recent years, government and business leaders throughout the world have made governance issues a prime focus, as capital markets have increased their scrutiny of countries' and companies'... View Details

Keywords: Laura Singleton; Educational Services; Educational Services; Educational Services; Educational Services

2007
Working Paper

Digital Interactivity: Unanticipated Consequences for Markets, Marketing, and Consumers

By: John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

The digital interactive transformation in marketing is not unfolding, as many thought it would, on the model of direct marketing. That model anticipated that digital media using rich profiling data would intrude marketing messaging more deeply and more precisely into... View Details

Keywords: Communication Intention and Meaning; Interactive Communication; Marketing Communications; Consumer Behavior; Social and Collaborative Networks; Internet and the Web

Read Now

Program

Competing in the Age of Digital Platforms

artificial intelligence further propels the opportunity and need to leverage a platform model for competitive advantage. AI companies are evolving into the next generation of platforms. This program will show you how to create sustainable value whether you are... View Details

11 Jan 2022
Cold Call Podcast

Can Entrepreneurs and Governments Team Up to Solve Big Problems?

Keywords: Re: Mitchell B. Weiss; Technology

August 2022 (Revised October 2023)
Case

Bajaj Finance: Building an Omnipresent Financial Services Firm

By: Das Narayandas and Rachna Tahilyani

Bajaj Finance, India’s largest consumer finance firm with $20.9 billion of assets across 50.5 million customers, is on a journey to transform itself from a traditional firm that sells loans and other financial products through brick-and-mortar outlets to an omnipresent... View Details

Keywords: Financial Institutions; Transformation; Financial Instruments; Customer Satisfaction; Internet and the Web; Customer Focus and Relationships; India