Search Firms Research Articles

Inquiries into group acceptance, search firms, and charismatic leadership

Inquiries into group acceptance, search firms, and charismatic leadership

Interviews with five respected scholar-teachers in the field along with empirical articles on group acceptance, the role of executive search firms, and sources of charisma

This article does not have an abstract.

Use the Brave New World of Social Media to Recruit

Use the Brave New World of Social Media to Recruit

Mobility and Cash Compensation: The Moderating Effects of Gender, Race, and Executive Search Firms

This study addresses a phenomenon observed in past research on career success and attainment in which White male managers and executives seemingly gain more from external labor market mobility than do their female and minority male counterparts. Focusing on the executive search industry, the authors found that executive search firm representatives are more likely to contact White males than females and minority males, that the compensation advantage resulting from an external labor market strategy is strongest among White male managers and executives, and that search firm—initiated contacts moderate the relationship between compensation and mobility in an external labor market. Implications for management research, theory, and practice are discussed.

Search Intermediaries, Internal Labor Markets, and CEO Pay

Executive search firms play a major role in the hiring decisions of executives, yet their impact on executive pay and firms' internal labor markets remain unexplored. In this paper, we present a model that attempts to fill this gap. The model relates the escalation of CEO pay to a decline in firms' internal labor markets and less competition for the CEO position within the firm. The latter, in turn, is the result of more efficient executive search firm activity, and, in the presence of such activity, to an increase in the importance of as opposed to firm-specific managerial skills. The model implies that CEO pay, the pay gap between the CEO and non-CEO executives, the variance of pay, and the importance of outside to inside successions for CEO positions, will increase together as search activity becomes more efficient or general skills become more important. The time-series implications of the model are consistent with U.S. evidence.

Attrition – A Sign of Leadership Problems

Universities are learning organizations of the highest level. Thus, it is essential that they retain andrecruit faculty that will maintain and push the growth of the organization. Carruthers (n.d.) in addressingwhy attrition is an important organizational issue stated, "an American Management Association surveyshowed that four out of five CEOs view employee retention as a serious issue for organizationalsuccess" (p.1). Kaye and Jordan-Evans (1999) after examining countless research studies concluded"the cost of replacing key people runs between 70 percent and 200 percent of their annual salary. Hardcosts can include advertising, search firms, interviewing and relocation expenses, and sign-onbonuses. And the softer, harder-to-measure costs can include time spent on interviewing, orienting,and training (and the work put on hold to do it), lost customers (due to their loyalty to the formeremployees), and declining morale and productivity on the part of remaining coworkers" (p.1). Yet,attrition is a problem that most universities are constantly faced with. A number of strategies have beendeveloped; the most recent promoted strategy is mentorship. But in most instances the strategies aretreating the symptom not the problem. Unless the problem becomes the focus for treatment, attrition willremain.

What do business school deans do? Insights from a UK study

PurposeDuring the last 40 years, the growth and impact of UK business schools have been significant. Relatively few studies have reviewed how business school deans emerge and grow. This paper aims to explore the experiences and psychometric profiles of UK business school leaders to understand their tenures, problems, dilemmas and succession issues.Design/methodology/approachThe study comprised 16 semi‐structured interviews with business school deans and Myers‐Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) questionnaires completed by deans and aspiring deans (associate deans and heads of department). The study uses the executive life cycle and concepts of social capital as theoretical frameworks to understand the dean's role.FindingsThe study revealed a pattern of individuals working in their first deanship at their third business school. Their career trajectories highlighted the usefulness of consultancy skills similar to those of a partner in a professional service firm. The importance of the dean's role in terms of business school fit, creating a differentiation strategy and team building were emphasised. The psychometric preferences of the deans in the sample indicated Jungian extroversion, tough mindedness, seeing patterns and making connections, strategic thinking and a tendency to bring issues to closure. Recommendations are made for the development of a more heterogeneous, transnational cadre of business school deans and improved dialogue with heads of universities to understand the positive contribution of business school leaders as changing business models are needed in turbulent times.Originality/valueThere are few explanations of the roles and functioning of business school deans in practice. The insights gained are valuable for business school deans and are, more broadly, of interest to heads of universities and executive search firms. The paper is theoretically and practically relevant to building leadership capabilities in knowledge intensive organisations and professional service firms.

The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Innovation search of new ventures in a technology cluster: the role of ties with service intermediaries

AbstractIn this study, we examine the relationships between new ventures' ties with service intermediaries (i.e., technology service firms, accounting and financial service firms, law firms, and talent search firms) and their product innovation in the context of a technology cluster. Because service intermediaries sit at the intersection of many firms, organizations and industries, they maintain extensive networks in a cluster. We propose that new ventures' ties with service intermediaries enable the ventures to plug into these networks and contribute to the ventures' product innovation by broadening the scope of their external innovation search and reducing their search cost. Moreover, we argue that the positive relationships between new ventures' ties with service intermediaries and their product innovation will become stronger when search in the networks in the cluster is more important to the ventures' product innovation. Based upon a sample of new ventures in a technology cluster in China, our results support these arguments. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

THE MAP OF COMMERCE: INTERNET SEARCH, COMPETITION, AND THE CIRCULAR FLOW OF INFORMATION

Search firms provide matchmaking services between consumers and suppliers that are central to the efficiency of the economy. The significant economic contributions of search firms as commercial intermediaries have important implications for antitrust policy towards search markets. As search firms generate more information about buyers and sellers, they become intermediaries for an increasing proportion of economic transactions. This article introduces the concept of the “map of commerce” to describe the extensive directory of business constructed by search firms. This article also introduces the concept of the “circular flow of information” to represent the comprehensive nature of the economic information managed by search firms. These firms induce information revelation through self-selection both by consumers and by advertisers. Consumers reveal personal information through the use of keywords and through their online behavior. Advertisers reveal company information by bidding on positions on the search page. Search firms employ information to match buyers with sellers more effectively and to increase earnings from advertising. The analysis shows that economic efficiencies generated by the circular flow of information depend on the strength of competition among search firms. The discussion considers antitrust policy towards Internet search markets, including issues of privacy, competition, and cooperative agreements.

MOBILITY AND COMPENSATION: THE ROLE OF EXECUTIVE SEARCH FIRMS IN EXPLAINING THE WHITE-MALE ADVANTAGE.

The article presents an experiment to determine whether executive search firms prefer or are more likely to contact white male executives and managers. The article proceeds by examining whether or not compensation increases associated with changing jobs in the external labor market are susceptible to this level of attention by executive search firms. The authors retested the white-male by external job change hypothesis of Dreher and Cox. Attention is given to the role of search firm initiated contacts.

The ‘war for talent’: The gatekeeper role of executive search firms in elite labour markets

Recent years have been characterised by the increasing encroachment into policy and academic debates of discourses describing knowledge and weightless economies and an associated ‘war for talent’. In this paper we argue that these current discourses and their description of ‘talent’ and the challenge of finding it fail to do full justice to the complexities of contemporary elite labour markets. We argue that the rise of executive search firms, headhunters, as labour market intermediaries and their tactics for defining and managing contemporary elite labour recruitment practices is too often ignored. We show that executive search firms control elite labour recruitment processes through two forms of power-relation: one in the labour management process where relations between clients and executive search firms are structured by power resources constructed over time; and one in the labour market itself where definitions of talent are promulgated by search firms, thus determining who does and does not classify as a talented individual and who is admitted to the networks that provide access to elite executive positions. Building on insights from interviews with headhunters in Europe we reveal the strategies producing these positions of power and suggest these have led to a geographically inscribed, hierarchical and exclusive ‘new boys network’ in elite labour markets, something which supersedes the ‘old boys network’ associated with elite labour recruitment in the past. This leads us to suggest that more attention needs to be paid to how the geographies of elite labour are affected by both discourses that construct power relations and the role of geography as a resource that is empowering but also disempowering.

Legal Search: An Industry in Transition

The primary market for legal graduates of top law schools is structured: most graduates find their first job through on-campus interviewing (OCI). The secondary market, however, is less well-organized. Some lawyers transitioning to a second or third job find openings through word-of-mouth. Some undertake a search on their own. This article concerns itself with the third option: finding a job with the help of legal search firms, also called headhunters. A review of the literature could find no scholarly articles on legal search firms, which is surprising considering their ubiquity. The secondary market is called the market because lawyers generally do not lose seniority when moving from one firm to another, hence the term lateral move.Search firms act as brokers between lawyers and firms, pocketing a success fee paid by the firm. Search firms purport to be agents of the lawyer candidate when in fact there is no such relationship. The adverse interests of the lawyer as the purported principal and the search firm as the perceived agent are a key defect in the secondary market. The other novel defect is the absence of any contractual or other means to ensure exclusive representation of lawyers. Both market defects promote wasteful activity and harm the interests of lawyer candidates.

Table of Contents

Abstract 11 Keys to Campaign Success Capital Campaigns Shore Up Significant Support Before Announcing Campaign Voice Mail Advice Business Trip Savvy Asks Need Not Be Perfect Donor Recognition Don't Underestimate the Power of a Donor Wall Goal‐setting Procedures Work to Achieve Personal Quantifiable Objectives Measurement Tools Feasibility Study Measures Internal and External Readiness Rating And Screening Procedures Stress ‘Confidentiality’ When Getting Personal Campaign's Public Phase Determine Sources of Funding for Campaign's Last Half Practice Makes Perfect: Don't Shy Away From Asking Announce Major Gifts In Varied Ways Savvy Solicitation Nurture Board Gifts By Inspiring Your Board Members Honing Your Skills Practice Your Presentation Delivery Solicitation Procedures Prepare, Practice to Better Handle Donor Objections Successful Gift Proposals Individual Gift Proposals Vary Greatly Develop a Wish List of Endowment Opportunities Attitude Matters Let Your Passion Precede You Recognition Events Celebrate Anniversary of Building Dedication Hiring Issues Should You Turn to an Executive Search Firm? Tales From the Receiving End of an Executive Search One Nonprofit's Experience With an Executive Search Firm Help Appease Any Guilt Don't Write Off Employee Giving Too Quickly Stewardship Protocol Letter Serves as Stewardship, Cultivation Tool

Hiring candidates through references

Boom in various sectors of the Indian economy has led to the phenomenal growth of executive search firms who primarily focuses on recruiting candidates for their client companies. This study tries to understand the technique of sourcing candidates through references. Qualitative methods have been used in order to understand the concept of referencing. Eighteen in-depth interviews and three focused group discussions were carried out amongst the participants belonging to three different executive search firms. Findings of this study led to the emergence of five major themes namely, industry awareness, need for socialisation, working as a team, role of trust and increasing the network. This study has tried to explain the processes that are carried out and the activities that need to be done for sourcing candidates through the referencing technique. Through this research, the process of getting references has been explained.

Tenures for Department Chairs: How Short Is Too Short?

F i h c i p he average tenure for chairs of departments of internal edicine at US medical schools has decreased from .272 years in the 1970s to 3.997 years in the 2000s 2000 to 2006). During the past 4 decades, the average ength of an interim (or acting) chair’s tenure increased rom 1.353 years to 2.355 years. These trends indicate hat the leadership of departments of internal medicine s becoming increasingly destabilized. Becoming chair of a department of internal medicine t a US medical school has shifted from the capstone of successful career to a stop on the way to other posiions, such as dean of a medical school. The chairs of esterday are now running centers and institutes, servng as vice deans for research, or leaving academic edicine to pursue other professional opportunities. cademic medicine has become more corporate: deartment chairs run “business units” rather than build cademic programs in education, research, and patient are; mentor students, residents, fellows, and faculty; or each, conduct research, or care for patients. This shift raises fundamental questions about the kills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for chairing epartments of internal medicine in the future as well as oncerns about the amount of money medical schools pend to replace chairs. These costs include retaining earch firms, involving faculty and staff in the search, nd providing packages to entice the most appealing andidates.

Skill requirements of senior‐level logisticians: a longitudinal assessment

PurposeThe logistics discipline has been characterized by tremendous change since the early 1990s. One result is that the logistician's relevant skill set has likely changed as well. To this end, the present paper aims both to update, and to provide a longitudinal perspective of, a 1991 study that investigated the skill requirements of senior‐level logistics managers using the business, logistics, management (BLM) framework.Design/methodology/approachBoth studies used survey research of executive search firms to collect the relevant data. The surveys were transmitted via postal mail in the 1991 study and were transmitted electronically in the present study.FindingsThe results from the current study reinforce the 1991 study, which suggested that logisticians should be managers first and logisticians second. Comparison between the earlier and current study suggest a high degree of similarity in terms of the most important logistics skills, with less similarity in terms of business and management skills. The comparison also suggests that the contemporary logistician has more of a supply chain orientation than was the case in the early 1990s.Practical implicationsThe manuscript discusses implications for various logistical constituencies. For example, educators could use the findings to plan and design continuing education programs.Originality/valueThe update to the original study should prove valuable by highlighting the relevant skills associated with successful logisticians in the contemporary business environment. The longitudinal comparison provides insights into the logistician's skill set in the early 1990s and today.

Skill Requirements of Contemporary Senior- and Entry-Level Logistics Managers: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract While there is little question that the logistician's role(s) and responsibilities have undergone dramatic change in recent years, managerial skills and knowledge remain the foundation of effective and efficient logistics management. With this in mind, this article uses Poist's (1984) BLM (Business, Logistics, Management) framework to compare skill requirements for senior-and entry-level logistics managers. The article reports findings from a survey of U.S.-based search firms that engage in the recruitment and placement of managers in logistics, transportation, supply chain management, and related fields. Consistent with previous research based on the BLM framework, results from the present study indicate that management skills are most important for both senior-and entry-level managers, followed in order by logistics skills and business skills. Having said this, the study finds strong differences between senior- and entry-level personnel within the business, logistics, and management components of the BLM framework.

Skill Requirements of Contemporary Senior- and Entry-Level Logistics Managers: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract While there is little question that the logistician's role(s) and responsibilities have undergone dramatic change in recent years, managerial skills and knowledge remain the foundation of effective and efficient logistics management. With this in mind, this article uses Poist's (1984) BLM (Business, Logistics, Management) framework to compare skill requirements for senior-and entry-level logistics managers. The article reports findings from a survey of U.S.-based search firms that engage in the recruitment and placement of managers in logistics, transportation, supply chain management, and related fields. Consistent with previous research based on the BLM framework, results from the present study indicate that management skills are most important for both senior-and entry-level managers, followed in order by logistics skills and business skills. Having said this, the study finds strong differences between senior- and entry-level personnel within the business, logistics, and management components of the BLM framework.

Why take the call? Working with executive search firms

You are working at your desk and receive a call from an executive recruiter who is interested in discussing an executive-level nursing position available in your region. What is your response? If you are like many nursing leaders, you tell the recruiter that you are happy in your current position and hang up. You are working at your desk and receive a call from an executive recruiter who is interested in discussing an executive-level nursing position available in your region. What is your response? If you are like many nursing leaders, you tell the recruiter that you are happy in your current position and hang up.