Professional Services Firms - Publications - Faculty & Research

22 Apr 2008
First Look

First Look: April 22, 2008

non-profit organizations, and for-profit firms including financial institutions. They embody a number of different assumptions about incentives, drawing from economics, psychology, and sociology. We describe examples of each program and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

24 Apr 2006
Research & Ideas

Managing Alignment as a Process

fulfillment). Finally, learning and growth synergies would be achieved by rotating experienced professionals to key jobs in the new companies (key staff rotation), by sharing computer systems (common systems versus plan) and knowledge... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Consumer Products; Retail

07 Nov 2006
First Look

First Look: November 7, 2006

they also aid in the diffusion of creative knowledge to other firms through personnel and knowledge transfer. The trick, then, is to manage innovation in ways that exploit the opportunities while minimizing the risks. Purchase article:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

03 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

NFL Black Monday: How Much Do Coaches Really Matter?

three decades: Bill Parcells, Barry Switzer, and Jimmy Johnson. In 2003 Bill Parcells unexpectedly returned to professional football as head coach of the Cowboys. Parcells had retired four years earlier to universal acclaim as a rebuilder... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg & Abhijit Naik; Sports

November 2004 (Revised September 2019)
Background Note

The U.S. Health Club Industry in 2004

By: John R. Wells, Gabriel Ellsworth and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2004, the $16.8 billion U.S. health club industry continued its strong record of growth. There were almost 27,000 health clubs in the United States, up from 6,700 two decades earlier, and these clubs claimed 41 million members, over 14% of the U.S. population.... View Details

Keywords: Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Weight Loss; Obesity; Exercise; Personal Training; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; YMCA; Gold's Gym; Curves; Franchise; Franchising; Subscription; Promotional Sales; Promotions; Fixed Costs; Body; Accrual Accounting; Revenue Recognition; Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Trends; Customers; Demographics; Age; Income; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Nutrition; Business History; Employees; Retention; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Markets; Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Operations; Service Operations; Franchise Ownership; Private Ownership; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Nonprofit Organizations; Welfare; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Expansion; Segmentation; Hardware; Health Industry; United States

Citation

Educators

Purchase

29 Sep 2003
Research & Ideas

Pride Goeth Before a Profit

the New York City-based consulting firm Katzenbach Partners and author of Why Pride Matters More Than Money (Crown, 2003), likes the story of the Wilmington plant because it communicates what he calls "institution-building... View Details

Keywords: by Theodore Kinni

22 Dec 2003
Research & Ideas

Why Negotiation is Like Jazz

negotiation requires adapting your communication acts to the most advantageous pattern. Learning The Notes Imagine you're a sales rep negotiating with the procurement manager of a professional services firm.... View Details

Keywords: by Kathleen L. McGinn

07 Feb 2007
Research & Ideas

Dividends from Schumpeter’s Noble Failure

profusion of diverse topics into a single work, all in service to an untenable thesis. Schumpeter had grown up reading ponderous German treatises containing sentences hundreds of words long, and his verbosity in Business Cycles contrasts... View Details

Keywords: by Thomas K. McCraw

16 Apr 2008
Lessons from the Classroom

Chris Christensen: Legend of the Classroom

based at HBS, Christensen's influence and legacy extend well beyond the banks of the Charles and transcend the study of business administration. When he received the School's Distinguished Service Award in 1993, Christensen was honored... View Details

Keywords: by Deborah Blagg; Education

19 Mar 2006
Research & Ideas

Do I Dare Say Something?

Similarly, senior management in any type of firm can consciously or unconsciously fail to utilize the formal mechanisms that facilitate speaking up. In fact, much of our research has been conducted in settings that don't fit the... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

10 Apr 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research, April 10, 2018

was a vertically integrated food company with a management system that allowed it to innovate and grow systematically. With sales of $2 billion in 2016, the firm not only produced flour, vegetable oil, and packaged food products, it also... View Details