Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(2,510)
- Faculty Publications (182)
- 2012
- Working Paper
An Outside-Inside Evolution in Gender and Professional Work
By: Lakshmi Ramarajan, Kathleen McGinn and Deborah Kolb
We study the process by which a professional service firm reshaped its activities and beliefs over nearly two decades as it adapted to shifts in the social discourse regarding gender and work. Analyzing archival data from the firm over eighteen years and... View Details
- November 2012 (Revised July 2014)
- Case
Doing Deals and Leading Teams at XAF Partners
By: Boris Groysberg and Kerry Herman
Private equity firm XAF Partners, created out of the 2003 merger of Shanghai-based Xuan Partners and AF Group, a spin out of the Shanghai-based, emerging market-focused private equity arm of a large European bank, had grown steadily over the last decade, establishing... View Details
Keywords: Professional Service Firms; Leading Teams; Producing Managers; Delegation; Giving And Receiving Feedback; Managing Performance; Leadership; Work-Life Balance; Managerial Roles; Talent and Talent Management; Service Operations; Time Management; Performance; Financial Services Industry; Asia
- November 2012 (Revised March 2013)
- Case
Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners
By: Boris Groysberg and Kerry Herman
Since its inception, London-based private equity firm Greighton Partners had managed over $15 billion in investor capital. The firm employed about 150 professionals around the globe and had completed over 175 company acquisitions since its founding. Started with a... View Details
- November 2012 (Revised July 2013)
- Case
Gerry Pasciucco at AIG Financial Products
By: Gautam Mukunda and Thomas J. DeLong
Gerry Pasciucco was appointed to lead American International Group's Financial Products (AIGFP) group after the government bailout of AIG in 2008 and charged with the task of shutting down the division while minimizing the government's losses. AIGFP's failed trades had... View Details
- September 2012 (Revised December 2012)
- Case
Addleshaw Goddard LLP (Abridged)
By: Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson and James Weber
Addleshaw-Goddard (AG), the 15th largest law firm in the UK, is seeking ways to serve larger clients on more important legal matters. Part of this strategy involves its "Client Development Centre (CDC)," an innovative idea and set of services launched by Dr. Jim Hever... View Details
- August 2012 (Revised October 2015)
- Case
LinkedIn Corporation, 2012
By: David Yoffie and Liz Kind
Since its inception in 2003, LinkedIn had become a leading Silicon Valley institution with a brand name that was recognizable throughout the U.S. and in many countries overseas. As of March 2012, LinkedIn was the world's largest professional network on the Internet... View Details
- June 2012 (Revised October 2018)
- Case
Home Nursing of North Carolina
By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
Ari Medoff's (HBS '11) goal was to control his own professional destiny by owning his own company. His search identified a suitable acquisition in Home Nursing of North Carolina, and he had negotiated a purchase price of $3.5 million, or 4.2x trailing EBITDA. Medoff... View Details
- June 2012 (Revised August 2013)
- Case
Driving Towards a Disruption?
By: Willy Shih and William Noble
As Clayton Christensen drove to the studio to deliver an online executive education class, he pondered the future of management education. How big a threat did online degree programs, corporate universities, and other innovations in the delivery of management training... View Details
- May 2012
- Background Note
Innovation Magic
By: Stefan Thomke and Jason Randal
Why do certain product and service experiences seem like magic, making them all but destined for success, while other items languish on store shelves? For a better understanding of that, perhaps there's no better place to turn to than the world of magic. Consider that... View Details
- March 2012
- Case
Schuberg Philis
By: Thomas J. DeLong and Daniela Beyersdorfer
The Dutch professional service firm Schuberg Philis has within a few years grown into a well-known player in the Dutch IT outsourcing market and regularly wins high customer- satisfaction marks. The growing workload and 100% promise to customers have increased the... View Details
- March 2012
- Article
How to Make Finance Work
By: Robin Greenwood and David S. Scharfstein
Once a sleepy old boys' club, the U.S. financial sector is now a dynamic and growing business that attracts the best and the brightest. It is tempting to declare the industry a roaring success. But its purpose is to serve the needs of U.S. households and firms, and by... View Details
- October 2011 (Revised July 2013)
- Case
Delta/Signal Corp.
By: V.G. Narayanan, Lisa Brem and Matthew Packard
This auto parts company has just ousted its longtime CEO and founder, and the new, professional CEO is badly in need of a coherent strategy, clear objectives and metrics, and initiatives that are aligned with the strategy and objectives. Will the balanced scorecard... View Details
- August 2011 (Revised November 2017)
- Case
Adaptive Engineering, LLC
By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
The owner and CEO of Adaptive Engineering was facing an important decision: should he focus on rebuilding its core professional services business which had generated significant revenue and cash flow over the past several years, or should he focus on developing and... View Details
- July – August 2011
- Article
The Enabling Role of Social Position in Diverging from the Institutional Status Quo: Evidence from the U.K. National Health Service
By: Julie Battilana
This study examines the relationship between social position, both within the field and within the organization, and the likelihood of individual actors initiating organizational changes that diverge from the institutional status quo. I explore this relationship using... View Details
- June 2011
- Article
The Paradox of Excellence
By: Thomas J. DeLong and Sara DeLong
Why is it that so many smart, ambitious professionals are less productive and satisfied than they could be? We argue that it's often because they're afraid to demonstrate any sign of weakness. They're reluctant to ask important questions or try new... View Details
- May 2011 (Revised June 2011)
- Case
The Crisis at Tyco - A Director's Perspective
By: Suraj Srinivasan and Aldo Sesia
In 2002, Wendy Lane had been a member of the board of directors at Tyco International a little more than a year when the company's CEO Dennis Kozlowski and other top executives were accused of fraud, which ultimately led to resignations, imprisonments, lawsuits, and... View Details
- May 2011 (Revised March 2012)
- Case
InterfaceRAISE: Sustainability Consulting
By: Michael W. Toffel, Robert G. Eccles and Casey Taylor
InterfaceRAISE is a sustainability management consulting firm created to leverage the capabilities of its parent company Interface Inc., a carpet manufacturer recognized as a global leader in corporate environmental sustainability. This case illustrates the challenges... View Details
Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Entrepreneurship; Performance; Environmental Accounting; Profit; Marketing Strategy; Human Resources; Business Model; Leveraged Buyouts; Salesforce Management; Consulting Industry; Manufacturing Industry
- February 2011
- Case
Chegg: Textbook Rental Takes Flight
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, William A. Sahlman and Evan W. Richardson
In late 2010, Silicon Valley-based Chegg, the leading online college textbook rental company, is scaling rapidly. The case recounts Chegg's history from its origins as a distant competitor to Craigslist in college classified listings through a pivot into textbook... View Details
- June 2010 (Revised June 2010)
- Case
Managing the Client Portfolio
By: Nitin Nohria and Ashish Nanda
The German country managing partner of a global law firm must decide how to respond to a corporate mandate to restructure its client portfolio. The case enables a discussion of different types of clients in a global professional service firm in terms of relative... View Details
- April 2010
- Case
George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A)
By: Leslie A. Perlow and Kerry Herman
George Martin, managing partner at The Boston Consulting Group, is worried as some of his best performers have recently pulled him aside to discuss the challenges they face managing the demands of their work lives with their desire for more predictable time with their... View Details