Still at UCLA.
Regardless of how you define chapter 11 success, selecting the information that should compose a chapter 11 database to help you figure out what works (and what doesn't) is often a much trickier problem than you might think. Consider, for example, the simplest question: what is a “turnaround manager?”
It’s a question you might want to be able to answer, because you might think that they do (or do not) make success (however defined) more likely. The services of the ZolfoCoopers and Alvarez and Marsals of the world don't come cheap. If they aren't improving outcomes, maybe they aren't worth the price.
Yet, we know that the ZolfoCoopers and Marsals are not the only turnaround managers. For example, LoPucki observed that many companies in trouble may simply let senior management go, and “promote some subordinate lackey who is declared to be a turnaround expert.” Is that person a "turnaround manager"?