文档介绍：SPRING 2001
MITSloan SMR064
Management Review
Marc J. Epstein & Robert A. Westbrook
Linking Actions to
Profits in Strategic
Decision Making
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Linking Actions to Profits
in Strategic Decision Making
The Action-Profit Linkage
Model helps firms identify,
measure and understand
the causal links between
actions and profits.
Marc J. Epstein
and Robert A. Westbrook
Between 1990 and 1993, customers of
mercial waste-collection ser-
vices of Browning-Ferris Industries
(BFI) defected petitors at a
rate of 11% to 13% per year. Senior
managers focused on raising cus-
tomer satisfaction, but between 1995 and 1997, the defection chain of links from poor customer satisfaction back to a spe-
rate increased to 13% to 15%. BFI’s original growth strategy of cific problem action and then invest in correcting it.
acquiring similar businesses that would provide new cus- The result was dramatic. Falling customer-satisfaction
tomers had e too expensive. The only alternative scores leveled off and then began to climb rapidly. Customer-
appeared to be customer retention, so managers began explor- defection rates dropped to below 10%. BFI was able to sustain
ing what effect it could have on profit. When they discovered profitability in the face of losses from its other business oper-
that a mere 1% decline in customer defection would yield a ations. Managers learned about the links from the customer-
pretax profit increase of $41 million, customer retention took service-dependability rating to overall customer satisfaction
on heightened importance. Managers learned to follow a to the customer-defection rate. They could see which specific
actions woul