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All HBS Web
(115,838)
- Faculty Publications (169)
- 2019
- Working Paper
The Customer May Not Always Be Right: Customer Compatibility and Service Performance
This paper investigates the impact of customer compatibility – the degree of fit between the needs of customers and the capabilities of the operations serving them – on customer experiences and firm performance. We use a variance decomposition analysis to quantify the...
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Keywords:
Customer Compatibility;
Satisfaction;
Profitability;
Customer Relationship Management;
Service Operations;
Customer Satisfaction;
Banking Industry;
Retail Industry
Buell, Ryan W., Dennis Campbell, and Frances X. Frei. "The Customer May Not Always Be Right: Customer Compatibility and Service Performance." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 16-091, February 2016. (Revised December 2019.)
- August 2013
- Teaching Plan
Zappos.com 2009: Clothing, Customer Service and Company Culture
By: Frances X. Frei and Annelena Lobb
Frei, Frances X., and Annelena Lobb. "Zappos.com 2009: Clothing, Customer Service and Company Culture." Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 614-021, August 2013.
- January 2013
- Case
Zappos.com 2009: Clothing, Customer Service, and Company Culture (MM)
By: Frances X. Frei and Robin J. Ely
On July 17, 2009, Zappos.com, a privately-held online retailer of shoes, clothing, and other soft-line retail categories, learned that Amazon.com, a $19 billion multinational online retailer, had won its Board of Directors' approval to offer to merge the two companies....
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Keywords:
Customer Relationship Management;
Internet and the Web;
Mergers and Acquisitions;
Organizational Culture;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Apparel and Accessories Industry;
Retail Industry
Frei, Frances X., and Robin J. Ely. "Zappos.com 2009: Clothing, Customer Service, and Company Culture (MM)." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Case 612-701, January 2013.
- April 2012
- Case
Pret A Manger
By: Frances X. Frei, Rick Goldberg and Stephanie van Sice
Pret A Manger, a London-based chain of sandwich shops, was known for its fast, genuine service and pre-packaged sandwiches prepared on-site daily. Instructed by its board to grow at 15 percent per year, Pret considered opening "twin" shops in locations too small to...
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Keywords:
Customer Service Excellence;
Growth Planning And Management;
Employee Performance Management;
Information Management;
Production Planning;
Employee Attitude Development And Empowerment;
Employee Retention;
Leadership Development And Career Planning;
Service Delivery;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Business Model;
Innovation and Invention;
Employees;
Performance;
London
Frei, Frances X., Rick Goldberg, and Stephanie van Sice. "Pret A Manger." Harvard Business School Case 612-033, April 2012.
- 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...
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Frei, Frances, and Anne Morriss. Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business. Cambridge: Harvard Business Review Press, 2012.
- Article
Market Heterogeneity and Local Capacity Decisions in Services
By: Dennis Campbell and Frances X. Frei
We empirically document factors that influence how local operating managers use discretion to balance the tradeoff between service capacity costs and customer sensitivity to service time. Our findings, using data from one of the largest financial services providers in...
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Keywords:
Customer Satisfaction;
Cost;
Standards;
Service Delivery;
Service Operations;
Performance Capacity;
Performance Productivity;
Financial Services Industry;
United States
Campbell, Dennis, and Frances X. Frei. "Market Heterogeneity and Local Capacity Decisions in Services." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 13, no. 1 (Winter 2011): 2–19. (Lead Article.)
- January – February 2011
- Article
Stop Holding Yourself Back
By: Anne Morriss, Robin J. Ely and Frances X. Frei
After working with hundreds of leaders in a wide variety of organizations and in countries all over the globe, the authors found one very clear pattern: when it comes to meeting their leadership potential, many people unintentionally get in their own way. Five barriers...
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Keywords:
Transformation;
Decision Choices and Conditions;
Leadership;
Personal Development and Career;
Personal Characteristics
Morriss, Anne, Robin J. Ely, and Frances X. Frei. "Stop Holding Yourself Back." Harvard Business Review 89, nos. 1-2 (January–February 2011).
- 2010
- Chapter
Cost Structure Patterns in the Asset Management Industry
By: Dennis Campbell and Frances X. Frei
This chapter examines patterns in the cost structure of asset management firms and establishes two important trends in cost behavior. First, when revenues are growing, "indirect" costs related to sales, distribution, marketing, personnel, technology, and occupancy are...
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- Article
Are Self-service Customers Satisfied or Stuck?
This paper investigates the impact of self-service technology (SST) usage on customer satisfaction and retention. Specifically, we disentangle the distinct effects of satisfaction and switching costs as drivers of retention among self-service customers. Our empirical...
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Keywords:
Service Delivery;
Information Technology;
Customer Satisfaction;
Competition;
Cost;
Banks and Banking;
Behavior;
Market Transactions;
Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques
Buell, Ryan W., Dennis Campbell, and Frances X. Frei. "Are Self-service Customers Satisfied or Stuck?" Production and Operations Management 19, no. 6 (November–December 2010). (Awarded the Decision Sciences Institute Stan Hardy Award for Outstanding Paper Published during 2010 in the Field of Operations Management.)
- Article
The Cost Structure, Customer Profitability, and Retention Implications of Self-Service Distribution Channels: Evidence from Customer Behavior in an Online Banking Channel
By: Dennis Campbell and Frances X. Frei
This paper uses the context of online banking to investigate the consequences of employing self-service distribution channels to alter customer interactions with the firm. Using a sample of retail banking customers observed over a 30-month period at a large U.S. bank,...
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Keywords:
Cost;
Service Operations;
Distribution Channels;
Consumer Behavior;
Internet and the Web;
Banks and Banking;
Technology Adoption;
Service Delivery;
Market Transactions;
Market Participation;
Profit;
Retail Industry;
Banking Industry;
United States
Campbell, Dennis, and Frances X. Frei. "The Cost Structure, Customer Profitability, and Retention Implications of Self-Service Distribution Channels: Evidence from Customer Behavior in an Online Banking Channel." Management Science 56, no. 1 (January 2010): 4–24. (Lead Article.)
- November 2009 (Revised September 2010)
- Case
Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (A)
By: Frances X. Frei and Matthew Todd Perlberg
As NBA Commissioner David Stern approached the podium, silent anticipation gripped the 4,000 Houston Rockets fans gathered at the Rockets Draft Party. "With the 8th pick in the 2006 NBA draft," Stern began, "the Houston Rockets select Rudy Gay from the University of...
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Keywords:
Sports;
Talent and Talent Management;
Competitive Strategy;
Operations;
Groups and Teams;
Sports Industry
Frei, Frances X., and Matthew Todd Perlberg. "Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (A)." Harvard Business School Case 610-038, November 2009. (Revised September 2010.)
- November 2009 (Revised September 2010)
- Supplement
Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B)
By: Frances X. Frei and Matthew Todd Perlberg
Supplement to the (A) case.
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Frei, Frances X., and Matthew Todd Perlberg. "Discovering Hidden Gems: The Story of Daryl Morey, Shane Battier, and the Houston Rockets (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 610-039, November 2009. (Revised September 2010.)
- October 2009 (Revised June 2011)
- Case
Zappos.com 2009: Clothing, Customer Service, and Company Culture
By: Frances X. Frei, Robin J. Ely and Laura Winig
On July 17, 2009, Zappos.com, a privately held online retailer of shoes, clothing, and other soft line retail categories, learned that Amazon.com, a $19 billion multinational online retailer, had won its board of directors' approval to offer to merge the two companies....
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Keywords:
Mergers and Acquisitions;
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Decision Choices and Conditions;
Governing and Advisory Boards;
Service Delivery;
Organizational Culture;
Internet and the Web;
Valuation;
Apparel and Accessories Industry;
Retail Industry
Frei, Frances X., Robin J. Ely, and Laura Winig. "Zappos.com 2009: Clothing, Customer Service, and Company Culture." Harvard Business School Case 610-015, October 2009. (Revised June 2011.)
- April 2008
- Teaching Note
Exercise: Challenging Operational Assumptions
By: Frances X. Frei and Christine van Keuren
Teaching Note for [608128].
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- April 2008
- Background Note
Introduction to Data Analysis with Data Desk
By: Frances X. Frei
Keywords:
Theory
Frei, Frances X. "Introduction to Data Analysis with Data Desk." Harvard Business School Background Note 608-154, April 2008.
- April 2008
- Teaching Note
Managing Service Operations: The Managerial Research Design Process
By: Frances X. Frei and Dennis Campbell
- April 2008
- Exercise
Exercise: Customer-Operator Letter Writing
By: Frances X. Frei
The exercise involves having students write letters to an organization of their choice describing their operating experience at a detailed level. The companies' responses are paired with the students' letters and the entire collection is made available to the class....
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Keywords:
Customer Relationship Management;
Customer Satisfaction;
Customer Value and Value Chain;
Knowledge Sharing;
Knowledge Use and Leverage;
Performance Improvement
Frei, Frances X. "Exercise: Customer-Operator Letter Writing." Harvard Business School Exercise 608-126, April 2008.
- April 2008
- Teaching Note
Exercise: Customer-Operator Letter Writing (TN)
By: Frances X. Frei
Teaching Note for [608126].
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- April 2008
- Module Note
Improvement with Customer-Operators
By: Frances X. Frei and Dennis Campbell
Taught as the third module in a Harvard Business School course on Managing Service Operations: Understanding the Customer Operating Role (606-092). Explores how firms can systematically leverage their customer-operators in the organizational improvement process is...
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Keywords:
Service Operations;
Performance Improvement;
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Framework;
Employees;
Business Model;
Management Practices and Processes;
Organizational Design
Frei, Frances X., and Dennis Campbell. "Improvement with Customer-Operators." Harvard Business School Module Note 608-135, April 2008.
- April 2008
- Teaching Note
New Service Design Exercise (TN)
By: Frances X. Frei
Teaching Note for [605053].
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