The concept of agility — an approach to innovation and development based on shorter project timeframes, focused targets and ‘sprints’ — was first conceived in software development companies. Metaphors such as SEAL teams are used to describe these fast-moving, nimble project teams. This attractive concept is spreading to more traditional companies and industries, although with […]
Read More… from Ignoring Collaborative Demands Sinks Agile Teams
GHG-intensive firms in the energy and industrial sectors are the source of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions recognized as the major cause of climate change. Not surprisingly, these firms are under pressure, notably from stakeholders and regulatory agencies, to reduce GHG emissions. Does this pressure have an impact on the environmental-friendly efforts and strategies of […]
Read More… from Stakeholder Pressure Leads to Significant Environmental Strategy Adoption
Ambidexterity involves two goals that are often at odds: exploitation – successfully competing in the present with quality products and services, superior execution, and successful marketing; and exploration – preparing to win the future through investments in R&D and innovation and acquiring the knowledge to anticipate changes in the business environment. How can companies navigate […]
Read More… from Staying Competitive Today While Preparing Full-On for Future Success
Any merger between two companies is a long, detailed, often-frustrating process in which, one hopes, the hard-earned result is a new company that represents a synergistic melding of the partners’ complementary strengths and resources. Yet, despite the due diligence and careful assessment of what each side brings to the partnership, some mergers will almost undoubtedly […]
As described by Copenhagen Business School professors Torben Juul Andersen and Carina Antonia Hallin, companies in today’s turbulent environment must react quickly to continuous changes and events in their marketplace to maintain their competitive edge. Managers and employees on the front lines are in the best position to experience and respond in real time to […]
Read More… from Fast-Slow Strategy-Making in Adaptive Organizations
Women face an uphill battle in achieving high leadership positions because of the prejudice of many men — and women — against women leaders. Too many men and women buy into the gender stereotypes of women as emotional, caring and gentle, who don’t have the active, competitive, independent and self-confident traits of men needed in […]
Read More… from Gender Bias Against Women Leaders Is Higher Than We Think
How does competitive pressure impact innovation? To answer this question, two researchers, Kenneth Younge of the E?cole polytechnique fe?de?rale de Lausanne (EPFL) and Tony Tong of the University of Colorado Boulder Leeds School of Business, took advantage of a fortuitous series of court rulings in Delaware that eased the competitive pressure on firms incorporated in […]
Read More… from Less Competitive Pressure Leads to Less Innovation
Can organizations of vastly different sizes collaborate effectively? An intriguing case study based on 25 interviews with the actors involved offers a sobering answer: perhaps, but it will be a challenge. The case study concerns a collaborative effort among SMEs in the U.S. to enable and market apprenticeships. The goal of the collaboration, pseudonymously called […]
Read More… from Why Goliaths and Davids Are Poor Network Partners
The appearance of a new competitor with a new business model can disrupt an industry and knock down a once dominant incumbent. A classic example of this type of disruptive competitor is Netflix, which entered the movie rental industry with a brand new business model (first DVDs through the mail, later streaming videos), and put […]
Read More… from How to Fight Off an Upstart with a New Business Model
For companies looking to expand internationally, business networks can play a key role in identifying and implementing foreign market opportunities. Finding the right distribution or manufacturing partner or identifying an opportunity to acquire a chain of retail stores, for example, can influence the decision on which markets to enter. Business networks, however, are not the […]
Read More… from Investing Abroad? Use Your Country’s Diplomats
