Publications

October 1995 (Revised January 1998)
Case

Weather Services Corporation

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

28 Apr 2008
News

Navigating the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ in Professional Services

Winter 2014
Article

Does Service Bundling Reduce Churn?

By: Jeff Prince and Shane Greenstein

We examine whether bundling in telecommunications services reduces churn using a series of large, independent cross sections of household decisions. To identify the effect of bundling, we construct a pseudo-panel dataset and utilize a linear, dynamic panel-data model,... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Customer Satisfaction; Product Marketing; Telecommunications Industry

01 Aug 2012
News

Why Is Great Service So Rare?

2018
Article

Service Operations: What Have We Learned?

By: Liana Victorino, Joy M. Field, Ryan W. Buell, Michael J. Dixon, Susan M. Goldstein, Larry J. Menor, Madeleine E. Pullman, Aleda V. Roth, Enrico Secchi and Jie J. Zhang

The purpose of this article is to identify research themes in service operations that have great potential for exciting and innovative conceptual and empirical work. To frame these research themes, the article provides a systematic literature review of operations... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Knowledge; Research

November 2011
Teaching Note

Comfort Class Transport: Does Customer Service Need an Overhaul? (Brief Case)

By: Michael J. Roberts and Paul E. Morrison

Teaching Note for Product #4377. View Details

Keywords: Capacity Utilization; Supply ＆ Demand; Operations Management; Customer Service; Management; Demand and Consumers; Operations; Customer Focus and Relationships; Supply and Industry; Capital

September 2016
Case

Financial Services at Falabella (A)

By: C. Fritz Foley and Agustin M. Hurtado

In 2010, the board and senior management team of Falabella, a leading retailer with operations throughout Latin America, faced choices about what to do with its financial services division. More than 4.5 million customers had CMR credit cards that could be used in... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Credit; Financial Institutions; Personal Finance; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Banking Industry; Retail Industry; Latin America; Chile; Argentina; Colombia; Peru

Fast Answer

Managing Service Operations: Research resources for new service design

Where can I begin begin my research for the new service design exercise? The following are highly selected resources for MSO New Service Design exercise. Please contact Baker Library View Details

April 2002
Background Note

Consolidation of Highly Fragmented Service Industries, The

Designed to familiarize students with the consolidation of highly fragmented labor-dependent service industries, offering insights into service firm growth and the ways services can, and cannot, increase their efficiency and effectiveness. Two frameworks are presented... View Details

Keywords: Consolidation; Acquisition; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Industry

January 2012 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Ctrip: Scientifically Managing Travel Services

By: David A. Garvin and Nancy Hua Dai

Ctrip is a $437 million Chinese on-line travel services company with a scientific, data driven approach to management. The case explores Ctrip's founding and early growth, its expansion into multiple market segments including hotel reservations, air ticketing, leisure... View Details

Keywords: Scientific Management; Data-driven Management; Management; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Market Entry and Exit; Mathematical Methods; Business Processes; Information Management; Travel Industry; China

April 2006
Background Note

Informing Service Management with Customer Data

By: Frances X. Frei and Dennis Campbell

Taught as the third module in a Harvard Business School course on Managing Service Operations. Explores the role of data analysis in ongoing service management. Describes how to realize the maximum amount of value from analyses and use this information in... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Design; Analytics and Data Science; Service Operations; Mathematical Methods; Value

Research Summary

Organizational Change in Professional Service Firms

Professor Gabarro's current research focuses on organizational change in professional service firms and the challenges that they face in dealing with increased size, scale and complexity. View Details

February 2004 (Revised March 2004)
Background Note

Profitability Drivers in Professional Service Firms

By: Ashish Nanda

This case presents a simple model of the drivers of profitability in a professional service partnership and conducts an empirical exploration of the determinants of profitability among AmLaw 100 firms over the period 1994 to 1999. View Details

Keywords: Profitability; Model; Profit; Partners and Partnerships; Law; Service Industry

December 1998
Case

Retail Financial Services in 1998: Merrill Lynch

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Takia Mahmood

Provides an overview of Merrill Lynch's current strategy for retail financial services. Retail Financial Services in 1998 should be given to all students as background material. The class should then be split into groups, with each group receiving one of the following... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Industry Structures; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry

December 1998
Case

Retail Financial Services in 1998: Fidelity Investments

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Takia Mahmood

Provides an overview of Fidelity Investment's current strategy for retail financial services. Retail Financial Services in 1998 should be given to all students as background material. The class should then be split into groups, with each group receiving one of the... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Industry Structures; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry

December 1998
Case

Retail Financial Services in 1998: Charles Schwab

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Takia Mahmood

Provides an overview of Charles Schwab's current strategy for retail financial services. Retail Financial Services in 1998 should be given to all students as background material. The class should then be split into groups, with each group receiving one of the following... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Industry Structures; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry

October 2000 (Revised March 2001)
Case

eLance.com: Building a Professional Services Marketplace

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Kristin Kohler

Launched as an eBay for services, eLance promises to leverage the capabilities of the Internet to not only change the way services are bought and sold, but change the fundamental dynamics of the global economy. Building on theories posited in the HBR article by Tim... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Job Search; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Web Sites; Service Industry; Service Industry

August 2004 (Revised April 2005)
Case

MK Taxi: Private Chauffeur Service

MK Taxi Tokyo has developed a system to allow customers to use their mobile phones to find and contact the cab closest to them, bypassing the dispatch center. The system, called the Private Chauffeur Service (PCS), makes use of NTT's i-mode service, which essentially... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Entrepreneurship; Customer Focus and Relationships; Transportation; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Service Industry; Service Industry; Tokyo