MIT Sloan Management Review

It has become accepted wisdom that weak ties — your acquaintances, distant colleagues — can provide more novel information than close ties. But new research by Marshall Van Alstyne, associate professor at Boston University and a visiting professor at MIT, suggests that in some cases strong ties are better.

The Web has made it easier than ever to reconnect with long-lost professional colleagues. Does it pay to do so? New research says yes — and suggests that every smart manager will try.

The departure of talented employees can actually benefit a company, depending on where those individuals are hired. Therefore organizations must learn how to lose certain battles in order to win the war.

Relationships with academic institution scan play an important role in continuing to generate new value for shareholders if you know how to approach those relationships.

To manage relationships with subordinates, colleagues, bosses and others, executives first need to know how to classify those people accurately.

With increased competition and globally maturing markets, relationship marketing has emerged as the new mantra. Although companies are successfully using customer satisfaction to create closer and more profitable relationships with customers, the myopic pursuit of such relationships often backfires. Consider a U.S.-

The very factors that make partnerships with customers or suppliers beneficial can leave those relationships vulnerable to deterioration.

Paying attention to personal relationships accelerates learning and increases the effectiveness of alliances.

Companies frequently mismanage their dealings with suppliers and miss many opportunities to reduce costs. Perhaps it’s time to reexamine purchasing, reestablish some tension in buyer-supplier relationships, and leverage the free market.