Promotion Strategies for Hierarchically Organised Professional Service Firms: Is “Up or Out” Always the Best?

Abstract

It is argued that in a hierarchically organised professional service firm the appropriate long‐term promotion strategy is “up or out”. This argument is based on both a theoretical analysis of alternative strategies and on data from consulting and engineering consultancies in the United Kingdom. Only the “up or out” strategy can balance a professional service partnership in times of both growth and stagnation.

Citation

Baden‐Fuller, C. and Bateson, J. (1990), "Promotion Strategies for Hierarchically Organised Professional Service Firms: Is “Up or Out” Always the Best?", International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 62-78. https://doi.org/10.1108/09564239010135156