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- 2025
- Working Paper
Dynamic Personalization with Multiple Customer Signals: Multi-Response State Representation in Reinforcement Learning
Reinforcement learning (RL) offers potential for optimizing sequences of customer interactions by modeling the relationships
between customer states, company actions, and long-term value. However, its practical implementation often faces significant
challenges.... View Details
Keywords: Dynamic Policy; Deep Reinforcement Learning; Representation Learning; Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment; Latent Variable Models; Customer Relationship Management; Customer Value and Value Chain; Foreign Direct Investment; Analytics and Data Science
Ma, Liangzong, Ta-Wei Huang, Eva Ascarza, and Ayelet Israeli. "Dynamic Personalization with Multiple Customer Signals: Multi-Response State Representation in Reinforcement Learning." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 25-037, February 2025.
- January 2025
- Case
A Tiger in The Tank: Exxon Sues Investors
By: Clayton S. Rose, Sarah Sasso and James Weber
In June 2024, investors were trying to make sense of ExxonMobil’s (Exxon) lawsuit against two impact investors, Arjuna Capital (Arjuna) and Follow This, that had just been dismissed by the U.S. District Court of Northern Texas. Exxon’s suit challenged the rights of two... View Details
Keywords: Change; Disruption; Competency and Skills; Talent and Talent Management; Customers; Customer Satisfaction; Decision Making; Demographics; Ethics; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Human Resources; Employees; Recruitment; Retention; Leadership; Management; Crisis Management; Risk Management; Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Society; Civil Society or Community; Social Issues; Strategy; Adaptation; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Health Industry; United States; Netherlands; Norway
Rose, Clayton S., Sarah Sasso, and James Weber. "A Tiger in The Tank: Exxon Sues Investors." Harvard Business School Case 325-015, January 2025.
- August 2024
- Case
Oculii
By: Andy Wu and Lucas Defilippo
It was a bright June day in 2016. Steven Hong, co-founder and COO of Oculii had just signed a letter of intent agreeing to a 51% stake acquisition by Nexteer Automotive, a global steering and driveline supplier company that developed advanced driver assistance systems... View Details
- July 2024 (Revised January 2025)
- Case
Dynamic Pricing at Wendy’s: Where’s the Beef?
By: Elie Ofek, Alicia Dadlani and Martha Hostetter
In early 2024, Wendy’s new CEO announced on an earnings call that the company would install digital menus in its US locations so it could begin testing dynamic pricing—changing prices up or down in response to shifts in supply and demand – as well as allow engaging in... View Details
Keywords: Dynamic Pricing; Marketing Strategy; Price; Technology Adoption; Consumer Behavior; AI and Machine Learning; Customer Focus and Relationships; Policy; Food and Beverage Industry
Ofek, Elie, Alicia Dadlani, and Martha Hostetter. "Dynamic Pricing at Wendy’s: Where’s the Beef?" Harvard Business School Case 525-010, July 2024. (Revised January 2025.)
- May 2024
- Background Note
Pricing Strategy and Channels of Distribution: Where Value Delivery and Value Capture Intersect
By: Elie Ofek
Channels of distribution are a critical component of a firm’s go-to-market strategy. A company may elect to sell its products directly to customers (DTC) without the assistance of any intermediaries or, alternatively, it may seek several channel partners to help it... View Details
Ofek, Elie. "Pricing Strategy and Channels of Distribution: Where Value Delivery and Value Capture Intersect." Harvard Business School Background Note 524-093, May 2024.
- March 2024 (Revised May 2024)
- Case
Amperity: First-Party Data at a Crossroads
By: Elie Ofek, Hema Yoganarasimhan and Alexis Lefort
In the summer of 2023, Amperity management was facing a critical decision on its future direction. Given the dramatic changes occurring within the digital advertising ecosystem, as concerns over consumer privacy placed limits on the ability to engage in third-party... View Details
Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Technology Adoption; Business Strategy; Digital Marketing; Price; Product; Business or Company Management; Advertising Industry
Ofek, Elie, Hema Yoganarasimhan, and Alexis Lefort. "Amperity: First-Party Data at a Crossroads." Harvard Business School Case 524-017, March 2024. (Revised May 2024.)
- March 2024
- Article
Being Together in Place as a Catalyst for Scientific Advance
By: Eamon Duede, Misha Teplitskiy, Karim R. Lakhani and James Evans
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated social distancing at every level of society, including universities and research institutes, raising essential questions concerning the continuing importance of physical proximity for scientific and scholarly advance. Using customized... View Details
Duede, Eamon, Misha Teplitskiy, Karim R. Lakhani, and James Evans. "Being Together in Place as a Catalyst for Scientific Advance." Art. 104911. Research Policy 53, no. 2 (March 2024).
- January 2024 (Revised February 2024)
- Course Overview Note
Managing Customers for Growth: Course Overview for Students
By: Eva Ascarza
Managing Customers for Growth (MCG) is a 14-session elective course for second-year MBA students at Harvard Business School. It is designed for business professionals engaged in roles centered on customer-driven growth activities. The course explores the dynamics of... View Details
Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Decision Making; Analytics and Data Science; Growth Management; Telecommunications Industry; Technology Industry; Financial Services Industry; Education Industry; Travel Industry
Ascarza, Eva. "Managing Customers for Growth: Course Overview for Students." Harvard Business School Course Overview Note 524-032, January 2024. (Revised February 2024.)
- January 2024 (Revised February 2024)
- Exercise
Travelogo: Understanding Customer Journeys
By: Eva Ascarza, Nicolas Padilla and Oded Netzer
In late May 2023, Sarah Merino, the newly appointed manager of the Customer Insights group at Travelogo—an online travel booking platform—initiates a comprehensive analysis of clickstream data to understand the varied behaviors and needs of their users. In preparation... View Details
Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Analysis; Analytics and Data Science; Marketing Strategy; Segmentation; Consumer Behavior; Travel Industry; United States
Ascarza, Eva, Nicolas Padilla, and Oded Netzer. "Travelogo: Understanding Customer Journeys." Harvard Business School Exercise 524-044, January 2024. (Revised February 2024.)
- January–February 2024
- Article
Shared Service Delivery Can Increase Client Engagement: A Study of Shared Medical Appointments
By: Ryan W. Buell, Kamalini Ramdas, Nazlı Sönmez, Kavitha Srinivasan and Rengaraj Venkatesh
Problem Definition: Clients and service providers alike often consider one-on-one service delivery to be ideal, assuming – perhaps unquestioningly – that devoting individualized attention best improves client outcomes. In contrast, in shared service delivery, clients... View Details
Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Customer Satisfaction; Outcome or Result; Performance Improvement
Buell, Ryan W., Kamalini Ramdas, Nazlı Sönmez, Kavitha Srinivasan, and Rengaraj Venkatesh. "Shared Service Delivery Can Increase Client Engagement: A Study of Shared Medical Appointments." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 26, no. 1 (January–February 2024): 154–166.
- 2024
- Book
The Everything Token: How NFTs and Web3 Will Transform the Way We Buy, Sell, and Create
By: Steve Kaczynski and Scott Duke Kominers
We demystify the coming digital revolution, showing how NFTs will transform our online and offline interactions.
NFTs aren’t just pictures on the internet, or a fad that has come and gone. Rather, they’re a new technology for creating digital assets and... View Details
NFTs aren’t just pictures on the internet, or a fad that has come and gone. Rather, they’re a new technology for creating digital assets and... View Details
Keywords: Economic Systems; Microeconomics; Entrepreneurship; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Information Technology; Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy; Digital Platforms; Digital Strategy; Digital Transformation; Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Product Positioning; Markets; E-commerce; Market Design; Value; Customer Value and Value Chain; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Organizational Structure; Customer Ownership; Ownership; Advertising Industry; Communications Industry; Computer Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Fashion Industry; Information Technology Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Technology Industry; Web Services Industry
Kaczynski, Steve, and Scott Duke Kominers. The Everything Token: How NFTs and Web3 Will Transform the Way We Buy, Sell, and Create. Portfolio/Penguin, 2024.
- December 18, 2023
- Article
Are Everywhere Stores the New Face of Retail?
By: David R. Bell, Santiago Gallino and Antonio Moreno
Historically, customer engagement and product fulfillment occurred in the same place — a traditional retail store. But today, retailers are beginning to explore how they can create opportunities for customers to engage with products in native environments. A related... View Details
Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Consumer Behavior; Distribution; Logistics; Retail Industry
Bell, David R., Santiago Gallino, and Antonio Moreno. "Are Everywhere Stores the New Face of Retail?" MIT Sloan Management Review (website) (December 18, 2023).
- October 2023 (Revised June 2024)
- Case
ReUp Education: Can AI Help Learners Return to College?
By: Kris Ferreira, Christopher Thomas Ryan and Sarah Mehta
Founded in 2015, ReUp Education helps “stopped out students”—learners who have stopped making progress towards graduation—achieve their college completion goals. The company relies on a team of success coaches to engage with learners and help them reenroll. In 2019,... View Details
Keywords: AI; Algorithms; Machine Learning; Edtech; Education Technology; Analysis; Higher Education; AI and Machine Learning; Customization and Personalization; Failure; Education Industry; Technology Industry; United States
Ferreira, Kris, Christopher Thomas Ryan, and Sarah Mehta. "ReUp Education: Can AI Help Learners Return to College?" Harvard Business School Case 624-007, October 2023. (Revised June 2024.)
- October 2023 (Revised January 2024)
- Case
McDonald's Board of Directors (A)
By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz
In October 2019, the McDonald’s Corporation board of directors, chaired by Enrique Hernandez, Jr., gathered to learn the results of their outside counsel’s investigation into the conduct of the CEO. On the surface, the iconic fast-food chain was thriving as growing... View Details
Keywords: Board Of Directors; Board Chair; Board Decisions; Business Ethics; Corporate Boards; Fast Food; Franchising; Legal Aspects Of Business; Legal Battle; Legal Settlement; Misconduct; Regulation; Reorganization; Restaurant Industry; Sexual Harassment; Shareholders; Stakeholder Management; Strategy And Execution; Turnaround; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Culture; Executive Compensation; Leadership; Management; Ethics; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Food and Beverage Industry; Illinois; United States
Paine, Lynn S., and Will Hurwitz. "McDonald's Board of Directors (A)." Harvard Business School Case 324-044, October 2023. (Revised January 2024.)
- 2023
- Working Paper
Targeting, Personalization, and Engagement in an Agricultural Advisory Service
By: Susan Athey, Shawn Cole, Shanjukta Nath and Jessica Zhu
ICT is increasingly used to deliver customized information in developing countries. We
examine whether individually targeting the timing of automated voice calls meaningfully
increases engagement in an agricultural advisory service. We define, estimate, and... View Details
Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Knowledge Dissemination; Customization and Personalization; Performance Effectiveness
Athey, Susan, Shawn Cole, Shanjukta Nath, and Jessica Zhu. "Targeting, Personalization, and Engagement in an Agricultural Advisory Service." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 24-006, August 2023.
- August 2023
- Background Note
Pricing and Customer Psychology
By: Elie Ofek
This note provides an overview of how psychological principles may be used as part of a seller’s pricing strategy. The note defines the concept of psychological pricing and explains the motivations for firms to engage in it. Prominent practices and tactics, with... View Details
Ofek, Elie. "Pricing and Customer Psychology." Harvard Business School Background Note 524-019, August 2023.
- June 2023
- Article
Gaining Organizational Adoption: Strategically Pacing the Deployment of Digital Innovations
By: Rebecca Karp
Scholars have long suggested that to foster adoption for their innovative products and services, entrepreneurs should engage with customers to better understand their unmet needs. Yet, customers frequently reside in organizations, and organizational members may not be... View Details
Keywords: Entrepreneurship And Strategy; Digital Innovation; Healthcare; Work And Organizations; Organizational Adoption; B2B; Customers; Technology Adoption; Innovation Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation
Karp, Rebecca. "Gaining Organizational Adoption: Strategically Pacing the Deployment of Digital Innovations." Academy of Management Journal 66, no. 3 (June 2023): 773–796.
- May 2023
- Technical Note
Dynamic Pricing: Timing is Everything
By: Elie Ofek
This note provides a comprehensive exposition to the topic of dynamic pricing (whereby the fee customers are charged is time-dependent). It covers the motivation for firms to engage in dynamic pricing, provides a typology of the main formats dynamic pricing can take,... View Details
Ofek, Elie. "Dynamic Pricing: Timing is Everything." Harvard Business School Technical Note 523-110, May 2023.
- May 2023
- Article
Self-Preferencing at Amazon: Evidence from Search Rankings
By: Chiara Farronato, Andrey Fradkin and Alexander MacKay
We study whether Amazon engages in self-preferencing on its marketplace by favoring its own brands (e.g., Amazon Basics) in search. To address this question, we collect new micro-level consumer search data using a custom browser extension installed by a panel of study... View Details
Farronato, Chiara, Andrey Fradkin, and Alexander MacKay. "Self-Preferencing at Amazon: Evidence from Search Rankings." AEA Papers and Proceedings 113 (May 2023): 239–243.
- April 2023
- Case
Twitter: The Freedom to Speak Freely and Be Heard
By: Randolph B. Cohen, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Mel Martin
In April 2022, serial entrepreneur Elon Musk announced that he would be interested in purchasing the social media site Twitter for $44 billion. With more than 100 million twitter followers, Musk had historically leveraged the site to engage with the customers of his... View Details