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• Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2018 (Revised February 2020)

  Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Unbanklike Experimentation

  Ryan W. Buell and Leslie K. John

  Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.
  
  In August 2017, Commonwealth Bank of Australia was looking for ways to differentiate itself from competing banks and was also trying to improve the financial well-being of its customers. One domain where this was particularly relevant was in its bank-issued credit card business, where customers routinely selected cards that although profitable for the bank could be a poor fit for customers’ needs—leading to low satisfaction scores, cancellations, and occasionally, financial distress. To that end, the company’s Behavioral Economics team had developed a provocative experiment dubbed “The Good and the Bad.” Rather than just presenting the strengths of its various credit card offerings, they proposed also promoting each credit card’s less-obvious drawbacks. Being transparent with customers might help them make better choices, but would those choices come at the expense of bank performance? Should a company choose to be in the sales prevention business?

  Keywords: transparency; experimentation; Banks and Banking; Credit Cards; Customer Focus and Relationships; Competitive Strategy; Banking Industry; Australia;

  Citation:

  Buell, Ryan W., and Leslie K. John. "Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Unbanklike Experimentation." Harvard Business School Case 619-018, October 2018. (Revised February 2020.)  View Details

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• Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | September 2019 (Revised February 2020)

  Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Unbanklike Experimentation

  Ryan W. Buell and Leslie K. John

  Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.
  
  This Teaching Note explains the theory of the case and teaching plan for the case: Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Unbanklike Experimentation (619-018). In August 2017, Commonwealth Bank of Australia was looking for ways to differentiate itself from competing banks and was also trying to improve the financial well-being of its customers. One domain where this was particularly relevant was in its bank-issued credit card business, where customers routinely selected cards that although profitable for the bank could be a poor fit for customers’ needs—leading to low satisfaction scores, cancellations, and occasionally, financial distress. To that end, the company’s Behavioral Economics team had developed a provocative experiment dubbed “The Good and the Bad.” Rather than just presenting the strengths of its various credit card offerings, they proposed also promoting each credit card’s less-obvious drawbacks. Being transparent with customers might help them make better choices, but would those choices come at the expense of bank performance? Should a company choose to be in the sales prevention business?

  Keywords: transparency; experimentation; Banks and Banking; Credit Cards; Customer Focus and Relationships; Competitive Strategy; Banking Industry; Australia;

  Citation:

  Buell, Ryan W., and Leslie K. John. "Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Unbanklike Experimentation." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 620-041, September 2019. (Revised February 2020.)  View Details

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• Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | September 2019 (Revised February 2020)

  Fishbowl: Scaling Up

  Leslie K. John

  Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.
  
  Teaching Note for HBS No. 919-013. Fishbowl is a social media app that allows professionals to connect with other relevant professionals both within their company and across industry. Unlike many other social media apps, on which users typically present idealized portraits of themselves, on Fishbowl, people get real. Fishbowl prides itself in being a "safe space" that allows users to feel comfortable interacting with candor - whether to ask difficult questions in order to give and get advice, or just to vent or crack jokes. A key part of the user experience is the ability to post anonymously. But to ensure relevance of posts, when a user signs up, Fishbowl verifies their identity by requiring them to provide their full name, employer email address, LinkedIn account and contact list. Fishbowl has several hundred thousand users and is now looking for ways to monetize the platform. As such, founders Loren Appin and Matt Sunbulli face a mission-critical decision: should they integrate employers into the platform? Although formally integrating employers would provide a much-needed revenue stream, at the same time Appin and Sunbulli worry that doing so could destroy the user experience. Is formalizing employer relationships antithetical to the safe space they have created?

  Keywords: communication technologies; customer value; value chain; Interpersonal Communication; Talent and Talent Management; Customer Value and Value Chain; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Advertising; Product Marketing; Two-Sided Platforms; Consumer Behavior; Network Effects; Emotions; Motivation and Incentives; Trust; Software; Technology Adoption; Technology Platform; Communications Industry; Employment Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  John, Leslie K. "Fishbowl: Scaling Up." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 920-022, September 2019. (Revised February 2020.) (Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.)  View Details

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