Subject category:
Entrepreneurship
Published by:
University of St Gallen
Length: 13 pages
Data source: Field research
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Abstract
This case demonstrates the challenges occurring during the organizational growth of a Berlin-based consulting start-up, TLGG Consulting. By outlining the growth journey of the young company, the case points out the problems that arose due to the rapid scale-up, as organizational structures were not designed for a growing team, reveals the steps taken in order to address these challenges and provides alternatives to enable further growth. Starting with the history of TLGG Consulting, the case first builds up an understanding of how the company started as a two-person spin-off in 2015 and then grew rapidly over the next two years to a critical team-size of 25 employees, however lacking the organizational design for this size. The first attempt to facilitate further growth is described, whereby the start-up worked on designing a more suitable organizational design, the 'dual-leadership' model, which was introduced in January 2019. The case then continues with a thorough analysis of the situation in 2019, mainly characterized by stagnating growth, decreasing performance and unsatisfied employees. A strong emphasis is placed on the reasons for these problems, most of them having their origin in the newly introduced dual-leadership model, in order to stress the necessity of an organizational restructuring, if the company wanted to stay in business. Finally, the case discusses three possible alternatives for TLGG Consulting to overcome the challenges and restructure the organization. For each of them, a detailed description of the overall structure, roles and characteristics is provided, building the starting point for a discussion on their advantages and disadvantages with the goal of choosing the best alternative for TLGG Consulting. This case has been made available free of charge.
Teaching and learning
This item is suitable for undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education courses.Time period
The events covered by this case took place in 2019-2022.Geographical setting
Region:
Europe
Country:
Germany
Featured company
TLGG Consulting
Employees:
11-50
Type:
Privately held
Industry:
Consulting
About
Abstract
This case demonstrates the challenges occurring during the organizational growth of a Berlin-based consulting start-up, TLGG Consulting. By outlining the growth journey of the young company, the case points out the problems that arose due to the rapid scale-up, as organizational structures were not designed for a growing team, reveals the steps taken in order to address these challenges and provides alternatives to enable further growth. Starting with the history of TLGG Consulting, the case first builds up an understanding of how the company started as a two-person spin-off in 2015 and then grew rapidly over the next two years to a critical team-size of 25 employees, however lacking the organizational design for this size. The first attempt to facilitate further growth is described, whereby the start-up worked on designing a more suitable organizational design, the 'dual-leadership' model, which was introduced in January 2019. The case then continues with a thorough analysis of the situation in 2019, mainly characterized by stagnating growth, decreasing performance and unsatisfied employees. A strong emphasis is placed on the reasons for these problems, most of them having their origin in the newly introduced dual-leadership model, in order to stress the necessity of an organizational restructuring, if the company wanted to stay in business. Finally, the case discusses three possible alternatives for TLGG Consulting to overcome the challenges and restructure the organization. For each of them, a detailed description of the overall structure, roles and characteristics is provided, building the starting point for a discussion on their advantages and disadvantages with the goal of choosing the best alternative for TLGG Consulting. This case has been made available free of charge.
Teaching and learning
This item is suitable for undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education courses.Settings
Time period
The events covered by this case took place in 2019-2022.Geographical setting
Region:
Europe
Country:
Germany
Featured company
TLGG Consulting
Employees:
11-50
Type:
Privately held
Industry:
Consulting