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New research on service delivery from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including how organizations can reduce costs while dramatically enhancing customer service, why increasing the amount of labor at a store is associated with an increase in profit margin, and why call centers are increasingly seen as powerful service delivery mechanisms.
Page 1 of 13 Results

How Racial Bias Taints Customer Service: Evidence from 6,000 Hotels

by Pamela Reynolds

Hotel concierges provide better service to white customers than Black and Asian customers, says research by Alexandra Feldberg and colleague. They offer three strategies to help companies detect bias on the front line. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Can Shared Service Delivery Increase Customer Engagement? A Study of Shared Medical Appointments

by Ryan W. Buell, Kamalini Ramdas, and Nazlı Sönmez

Shared service delivery means that customers are served in groups rather than individually. Results from a large-scale study of glaucoma follow-up appointments at a major eye hospital indicate that shared service delivery can significantly improve patients’ verbal and non-verbal engagement.

Are Digital Organizations Better at Overcoming COVID?

by Danielle Kost

Experts from Harvard Business School's Digital Initiative discuss how technology is helping leading companies gain an edge during the coronavirus pandemic. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

The Secret Life of Supply Chains

by Michael Blanding

While US policymakers and politicians focus on reviving the manufacturing sector, Mercedes Delgado and Karen Mills unearth a source of better jobs hidden in plain sight. Call it the supply chain economy. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

In America, Immigrants Really Do Get the Job Done

by Michael Blanding

Far from being a drain on the US economy, William Kerr’s research finds immigrants are a driver of innovation and entrepreneurship. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Trust and Disintermediation: Evidence from an Online Freelance Marketplace

by Grace Gu and Feng Zhu

Intermediaries such as brokers, distributors, and agents all face a risk of disintermediation, when two sides circumvent the intermediary and thus avoid the intermediary’s fees. This study of a large online freelance marketplace finds that enhanced user trust increases this risk, alongside other contributing factors like being geographically near one another, having easily divisible jobs, and clients themselves having high ratings.

Net Neutrality: A Fast Lane to Understanding the Trade-offs

by Shane Greenstein, Martin Peitz, and Tommaso Valletti

Shane Greenstein and colleagues identify the economic dimensions involved with net neutrality and show that many questions can be informed by simple economic models of the market for internet services.

Break Your Addiction to Service Heroes

by Deborah Blagg

In their new book, Uncommon Service, coauthors Frances Frei and Anne Morriss show it is possible for organizations to reduce costs while dramatically enhancing customer service. The key? Don't try to be good at everything. Interview and book excerpt from HBS Alumni Bulletin. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

What Loyalty? High-End Customers are First to Flee

by Julia Hanna

Companies offering top-drawer customer service might have a nasty surprise awaiting them when a new competitor comes to town. Their best customers might be the first to defect. Research by Harvard Business School's Ryan W. Buell, Dennis Campbell, and Frances X. Frei. Key concepts include: Companies that offer high levels of customer service can't expect too much loyalty if a new competitor offers even better service. High-end businesses must avoid complacency and continue to proactively increase relative service levels when they're faced with even the potential threat of increased service competition. Even though high-end customers can be fickle, a company that sustains a superior service position in its local market can attract and retain customers who are more valuable over time. Firms rated lower in service quality are more or less immune from the high-end challenger. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Terror at the Taj

by Julia Hanna

Under terrorist attack, employees of the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower bravely stayed at their posts to help guests. A look at the hotel's customer-centered culture and value system. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

United Breaks Guitars

by Julia Hanna

A new case coauthored by HBS marketing professor John Deighton and research associate Leora Kornfeld offers an object lesson in the dangers social media can bring for big, recognizable companies and their brands. From the HBS Alumni Bulletin. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Thinking Twice About Supply-Chain Layoffs

by Julia Hanna

Cutting the wrong employees can be counterproductive for retailers, according to research from Zeynep Ton. One suggestion: Pay special attention to staff who handle mundane tasks such as stocking and labeling. Your customers do. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Calling All Managers: How to Build a Better Call Center

by Martha Lagace

Once viewed simply as low-cost channels for resolving customer concerns, call centers are increasingly seen as powerful service delivery mechanisms and even as generators of revenue. Research by HBS Professor Frances X. Frei and her colleagues Ann Evenson and Patrick T. Harker of the Wharton School points toward new ways of making them work. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.