Customer Focus - Publications - Faculty & Research

01 Apr 2002
News

Student Conferences Spark Discussion, Promote Interaction

we think about everything," he remarked. "Information technology has to march in lockstep with business," agreed Verizon CIO Shaygan Kheradpir. Software that automates complex transactions and expanding customer service on the Web are... View Details

Keywords: H Naylor Fitzhugh; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

11 Dec 2006
Research & Ideas

Fixing Price Tag Confusion

rental charge and a charge for the remote. Do partitioned prices help the consumer make an informed decision or just add to his or her confusion? Do partitioned prices increase demand? Is an online grocer better off presenting a customer... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

18 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

Wrap-up: Software, Telecom, and Recovery

It takes more courage, and by the way, everyone can't do it.—Ed Kania Firms do need to focus more than ever on industries they are good at, said Kevin Jacques, senior associate of Sevin Rosen Funds. "It's probably impossible"... View Details

Keywords: by Wendy Guild & Martha Lagace; Financial Services; Technology; Communications; Telecommunications

19 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Public Education Goes to School

teachers adapt and improve their classroom practices to focus on individual student needs, and to help principals spot and respond to performance problems among teachers. For example, four of our districts (Charleston, Chicago, Memphis,... View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark; Education

September 2019 (Revised May 2020)
Case

Keroche (A): Fighting for Share in the Kenyan Alcoholic Drinks Market

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pippa Tubman Armerding

This case discusses the challenges faced by Kenyan alcoholic drinks producer Keroche Industries Limited in 2003, when the Kenyan government accused the company of manufacturing and selling substandard alcoholic drinks, revoked its liquor licenses, and shut down its... View Details

Keywords: Keroche; Alcohol; Wine; Manufacturing; Informal Market; Regulation; Illicit; Illegal; Shutdown; Factory; Low-income Consumers; Multinational; Local; Government; Allegations; Accusations; Negative Press; EABL; Tusker; Beer; SAB; Chang'aa; Naivasha; Rift Valley; East Africa; Lawsuit; Legal Battle; Business Ventures; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Production; Safety; Quality; Distribution; Small Business; Family Business; Crime and Corruption; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decisions; Income; Demographics; Geographic Scope; Geographic Location; Goods and Commodities; Government Legislation; Growth and Development; Business History; Lawsuits and Litigation; Laws and Statutes; Lawfulness; Goals and Objectives; Consumer Behavior; Market Entry and Exit; Problems and Challenges; Social Issues; Poverty; Strategy; Competition; Entrepreneurship; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Kenya; Nairobi; Africa

Citation

Educators

Purchase

05 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 5

A core feature of youth service programs, namely their dual identity of helping others (i.e., service beneficiaries) and helping oneself (i.e., participants), might partly explain the mixed outcomes. We find that participants focus on one... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 Mar 2018
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: Why BlackRock CEO Larry Fink Is Not a Socialist

both results. What’s missing in this debate is a deeper understanding of how value is created, and how it benefits all stakeholders in society—especially shareholders. “Does this make Larry Fink a socialist? Hardly. In fact, Fink is one of the world’s great... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Banking

15 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

Rethinking E-Leadership

Companies should "always try new things," he emphasizes. "But we have learned to focus on and apply this innovation to our current customers." Updated advice: Make sure that a sizable percentage of your current View Details

Keywords: by Melissa Raffoni

18 Jun 2001
Research & Ideas

Caught in the Cogs: When Manufacturing and IT Meet

mass customization. In the midst of all this added complexity, he said, the large, vertically integrated organization, involved with everything from Research and Development to customer delivery, is passing from the business landscape.... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner

Profile

Prita Kumar

customer value. The dual tracks of business and fitness became deeply ingrained in Kumar’s psyche, along with a belief that she would someday start her own company. Kumar got her undergraduate degree in business at NYU’s Stern School and... View Details

29 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

Inventing Products is Less Valuable Than Inventing Ideas

generative appropriability are in conflict with one another. "Very often, the things that help you make the most money out of an invention are in conflict with the things that help you create most value out of an idea." Look no further than Facebook's rival... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology

16 Nov 2020
Blog Post

Flatiron School: Reflections from Summer 2020

with our goals and research interests. A classmate and I partnered with Young Invincibles, a non-profit research and advocacy group, to better understand the drivers of voter turnout among young adults. Using census demographic data and surveys about voter behavior, we... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

16 Apr 2021
Blog Post

Shekeyla Caldwell Sandore: Why 'A Name Like Mine' Matters

enough—she’s not the only one who has to work on names, it's the responsibility of others who care about her. What are some of those things that others can do—friends and teachers? There are a few pages that focus on her friends'... View Details

01 Jun 2016
News

Faculty Q&A: That’s Classic

death of a loved one. Our customers love us. That’s not going to last forever, so what’s the next thing we’re going to do? As opposed to: They love us, oops, now they don’t; uh-oh, what should we do? So cherishing and being proactive... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna

01 Mar 2004
News

Ron Shaich’s Café Society

businesses were monetized, and we were able to focus exclusively on Panera. As we went through a year and a half of divestitures, our stock sank to a split-adjusted $3 a share. Those were not happy times. What’s your stock worth now? It... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young; Food Services and Drinking Places; Hospitality

11 Mar 2009
HBS Case

The Energy Politics of Russia vs. Ukraine

state to ownership (with 50.002 percent), and Gazprom's strategy for becoming a global energy company, mainly through acquisition and partnerships. “Russia needs the money. It can't scare away its customers.” The learning objectives of the case View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Energy; Utilities

01 Mar 2009
News

Gazprom Goes Global

pipelines in Ukraine, to Europe. Abdelal’s case examines the history of Gazprom, the recent return of the state to ownership (with 50.002 percent), and Gazprom’s strategy for becoming a global energy company, mainly through acquisition and partnerships. The learning... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Natural Gas Distribution; Utilities

01 Sep 2010
News

Alumni Books

collapse, reveal how botched policy responses made a bad situation worse, and focus on lessons that the practice of finance must learn to avoid a repeat in the future. How to Be a Fierce Competitor: What Winning Companies and Great... View Details

08 Jun 2009
Research & Ideas

The Return of the Salesman

focused on salespeople come about? Walter Friedman: [HBS professor and coeditor] Geoff Jones and I have been trying to have each issue of Business History Review focus on a theme. In the past four issues we've had one on the late HBS... View Details