In this installment of Organizational Performance, we draw attention to two types of shareholders that tend to push executive decision-making in different directions. Quality shareholders (QSs) invest in a small number of companies and hold their shares over time. QSs offer patient capital that allows executives to focus on building and sustaining competitive advantages. Transient institutional investors (TIIs) hold dispersed shareholdings across .....more

With the enactment of the long-awaited U.S. security-based crowdfunding regulations in May 2016, early-stage private companies can utilize regulatory crowdfunding to raise funds on digital platforms via multiple nonaccredited investors. To protect such small microinvestors and maintain market efficiency, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires extensive disclosure information in filings. However, with many ventures being new, small, .....more

This case asks how startup founders make scaling decisions in light of their priorities for their business and for themselves. Otto was a technology company that applied artificial intelligence technology to sales. It deployed natural language processing to find sales targets for companies, write messages for those targets, and send them over email, social media, and other means. Otto's automated sales outreach was personalized at scale and .....more

When looking to fill a position above entry level, companies have two choices: transfer/promote an internal candidate, or hire from the outside. Anecdote and research alike show that external hires are usually offered a higher starting salary than internal candidates.

Sequoia Capital, a venture capital firm founded in 1972, quickly grew to become one of the most storied venture capital firms in the world. Fueled by a strong culture and proven strategy, Sequoia's investment track recorded included the names of some of the largest global successes. However, times were changing. The venture capital industry at large was facing several challenges. Additionally, due to external geopolitical tensions, Sequoia .....more

Soha Hayat, CHRO at GST Retail, a fashion retail brand based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that had stores across the Middle East region, had just returned from a monthly leadership review meeting. Although the reviews so far in 2022 had been difficult, the October 2022 review was perhaps the most shocking for Hayat. he Human Resources department had been under severe scrutiny for some months, and in this meeting, the leadership team had categorically .....more

In a collective prisoners'' dilemma or commons problem, self-interested behavior by firms results in poor outcomes for all. Can self-regulation through an industry association solve the commons problem? Specifically, what explains NASSCOM''s (National Association of Software and Service Companies) success in saving a scandal-ridden member company, Satyam, from going out of business? Satyam''s demise would have shattered client .....more