The main inflection point of this case is that the students must jump into the “shoes” of the VP for Customer-Facing Technology, Bill, and decide whether or not to again roll-out a technology that was a complete failure when it was initially rolled-out in 1997. Importantly, this technology is customer-facing which means that a failure engenders even more risks because it could result in lost customers. Not only is there a chance of another failure, if previous mistakes aren’t corrected, but there is still the issue of timing. While the customer-base might be ready to adopt this technology, this roll-out could risk obsolescence given the rise of web-based self-service. This case uses the experiences of the Hilton Hotels Corporation to complement and extend the current understanding of technology implementation particularly in the customer-facing realm.
Charla Griffy-Brown, Associate Professor, The Graziadio School of Business & Management, Pepperdine University, Los Ángeles, CA, USA (Charla.Brown@pepperdine.edu)
Mark W.S. Chun, Assistant Professor, The Graziadio School of Business & Management, Pepperdine University, Los Ángeles, CA, USA (Mark.Chun@pepperdine.edu)
Robert Machen, Vice President of Corporate and Brand Solutions, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Beverly Hills, CA, USA
