Hambrecht and Quist (H & Q), an investment bank headquartered in San Francisco, has a very unique culture in relation to their counterparts on Wall Street. Company members and even competitors to describe culture as entrepreneurial, team-driven, non-bureaucratic and change-oriented. The unique culture of H & Q gave him a number of competitive advantages, including the ability to attract qualified employees, the ability to win business from the target emerging growth companies, as well as the ability to maintain lower than average SG & costs. However, competition in the industry of investment banking services increased in 1997-98 due to the unprecedented wave of mega-mergers of investment and commercial banks. New faces combined banking can offer customers a broader range of products and services than H & Q is able to offer, creating a significant amount of pressure for H & Q, to sell, or merge with another financial institution. Industry analysts believe that this is not the question of whether, but how, when H & Q will lose its independence. However, H & Q, management believes that "selling out" to destroy the very culture that made the company successful. What actions should be Dan Case, CEO and Chairman of H & Q, to take to balance the competing demands of a seemingly preserve the culture of the company and positioning the company for future growth? "Hide
by Thomas J. DeLong, Nicole Tempest Source: Harvard Business School 19 pages. Publication Date: April 15, 1998. Prod. #: 898161-PDF-ENG
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