ABSTRACT
Scholars have shown that the departures of individual managers can have negative consequences
for the performance of the firm's inter-organizational ties. Yet, variation exists in when and to
what extent individual departures affect performance. We develop an internal knowledge
network perspective on the impact of individual departures on tie performance. Using finegrained original data from a large law firm, we examine the internal knowledge networks formed
to maintain client ties. We propose that three characteristics of the networks knowledge
heterogeneity, status conflict and cohesion modify the effect of client lead partner departures on
the performance of client ties. Ironically, we find that the characteristics associated with high
performance before a lead partner's departure were associated with the lowest performance postdeparture. This study uncovers an important organization design trade-off, by showing how
internal knowledge networks that contribute to performance under conditions of stability can
detract from performance under conditions of change.