Publications

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November 1993
Case

FCB and Publicis (C): The German-Led Network

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Pamela A. Yatsko

After U.S.-based Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB) and Publicis of France established an international advertising alliance in May 1988, alliance leaders set out to merge offices in Europe. They were confronted with a particularly tricky situation in Germany, which, if... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Alliances; Globalized Firms and Management; Partners and Partnerships; Advertising; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Diversity; Communications Industry; Advertising Industry; France; Germany; United States; Europe

June 2014
Case

Making Progress at IDEO

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Katrina Flanagan

This case focuses on different types of client relationships at IDEO, the value of these relationships for IDEO and clients, and the implications for IDEO designers' everyday experience of work. As new types of client work have shifted away from the more classic design... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Motivation and Incentives; Employees; Customer Focus and Relationships; Service Industry

Article

The Use of Broker Votes to Reward Brokerage Firms' and Their Analysts' Research Activities

By: David A. Maber, Boris Groysberg and Paul M. Healy

In traditional markets, the price mechanism directs the flow of resources and governs the process through which supply and demand are brought into equilibrium. In the investment-research industry, broker votes perform these functions. Using detailed clinical data from... View Details

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Program

Designing and Executing Corporate Revitalization

backgrounds, industries, and countries around the globe Build relationships with a diverse group of peers who can provide wide-ranging insights into your business challenges View Details

July 2024
Case

Knowledge-Enabled Financial Advice: Digital Transformation at Edward Jones

By: Lauren Cohen, Richard Ryffel, Grace Headinger and Sophia Pan

Edward Jones, a wealth management advisory firm that prided itself on its interpersonal connections and face-to-face interactions, was eager to augment their services with AI capabilities. Built on 1-to-1 close-knit relationships, the firm had more than 15,000 offices... View Details

2009
Article

Feeling the Heat: The Effects of Performance Pressure on Teams' Knowledge Use and Performance

By: Heidi K. Gardner

Why do some teams fail to use their members' knowledge effectively, even after having correctly identified each other's expertise? This paper identifies performance pressure as a critical barrier to effective knowledge utilization in teams. I theorize that performance... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Expectations; Groups and Teams

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11 Aug 2020
News

Find Your Allies

making decisions to issue millions of dollars of bonds,” she says. Today, Harris is vice chairman of global wealth management and a senior client adviser at Morgan Stanley in New York, which she joined in... View Details

Keywords: workplace diversity; gender diversity; career paths; career advice; leadership; networking; workplace relationships; Finance

March 2023
Supplement

Deepa Bachu (B): Insights and Experiments at Pensaar Design

By: Thomas Graeber, Joshua Schwartzstein and Amram Migdal

In this case, set in June 2019 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, Deepa Bachu of Pensaar Design and her team work with client ITC Ltd. to use design thinking and behavioral experiments to improve workplace safety and strive toward the company’s zero-accident goal. The... View Details

January 2014 (Revised February 2014)
Teaching Note

Rana Plaza: Workplace Safety In Bangladesh (A) and (B)

By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez

On April 24, 2013 the Rana Plaza factory building collapsed in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Over 1,100 people were killed in the worst industrial accident since the Union Carbide plant gas leak in Bhopal, India. Most of the victims worked for garment factories,... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Multinational Firms and Management; Labor Unions; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Working Conditions; Corporate Accountability; Crisis Management; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Bangladesh

June 2025
Case

TagHive: Edtech Pricing and Distributor Decisions

By: Isamar Troncoso, Frank V. Cespedes and Stacy Straaberg

Education technology (edtech) company TagHive, founded in 2017, used a direct sales team and third-party distributors to sell its Class Saathi hardware and software solution to 300 clients, mainly primary and secondary schools in India. The product aimed to improve... View Details

17 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

What the Stockdale Paradox Tells Us About Crisis Leadership

each person introduce themselves by their name, job title, mission, and their immediate tasks (e.g, “I’m Sarah, I’m a creative, I’m creating a brand for Client X, I’m in this meeting to present findings... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

2021
Working Paper

CRM and AI in Time of Crisis

By: Michelle Y. Lu and Navid Mojir

A crisis can affect the incentives of various players within a firm’s multi-layered sales and marketing organization (e.g., headquarters and branches of a bank). Such shifts can result in sales decisions against the firm’s best interests. Motivated by the backlash to... View Details

Keywords: CRM; Artificial Intelligence; AI; B2B Marketing; Decision Authority; Crisis Marketing; Intra-organizational Conflict; COVID-19 Pandemic; Customer Relationship Management; Technological Innovation; Decision Making; Strategy; Health Pandemics; Crisis Management; AI and Machine Learning

SSRN

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July 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Background Note

The Profession of the Law

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Chad Carr

This note reviews the professional responsibilities and obligations of lawyers In the United States, explains how those standards affect client relationships and, by summarizing rules for resolution of conflicts and withdrawal, sets the stage for a discussion of the... View Details

Keywords: Attorney and Client Relationships; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Ethics; Standards; Legal Services Industry; United States

15 Jan 2020
Video

Hüsnü Özyeğin

Hüsnü Özyeğin explains how he tapped into his years of developing strong client relationships in order to strengthen and expand his bank.

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October 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

ghSMART & Co: Building and Scaling a Time Smart Firm

By: Ashley Whillans and Sara Coronel Rodriguez

"For ghSMART, freedom is the first principle from which all good things flow”—Geoff Smart, Chairman and Founder, ghSMART. ghSMART was a leadership advisory firm that was grounded in the principle of freedom. Talented Consultants and Partners could work remotely from... View Details

Keywords: Time; Consulting Firms; Time Management; Talent and Talent Management; Employee Relationship Management; Innovation Strategy; Knowledge Sharing; Organizational Culture; Going Public; Partners and Partnerships; Expansion; Reputation

01 Dec 2022
News

December 2022 Alumni and Faculty Books and Podcasts

them. Ellis draws on his long distinguished career in client services in the financial markets to provide common-sense and accessible advice to anyone with an interest in maximizing their investment returns... View Details

03 Oct 2017
First Look

First Look at Research and Ideas, October 3, 2017

findings conceptually, showing that disconfirming feedback has such effects on one’s relationships and performance because it is perceived as threatening to one’s self-concept. Download working paper:... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

January 2020 (Revised November 2020)
Case

Crisis at the 11th Hour

By: David G. Fubini, Rebecca Henderson, Sarah Gulick and Trevor Fetter

A successful lawyer describes an important decision she had to make as a young attorney about whether to disclose information in a contract. View Details

Keywords: Contracts; Agreements and Arrangements; Attorney and Client Relationships; Rank and Position; Trust; Decisions; Legal Services Industry; New York (city, NY)

January 2004 (Revised May 2004)
Background Note

Professional Associations

By: Ashish Nanda

This case discusses why society grants professional associations the rights of certification and self-regulation. In exercising these rights, professional associations serve client interests but also the interest of member practitioners. The case discusses how... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Conflict of Interests; Society