Idea posted: June 2014

Institutions: ESSEC Business School    Vienna University of Economics and Business    Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University   

Technology acceptance research tells us that user evaluations (i.e. beliefs, perceptions and attitudes) strongly influence rates of adoption and diffusion. The problem for companies that develop and sell new technologies…

Idea posted: May 2014

Institutions: INSEAD    University of British Columbia   

New products and technologies often fail to depose inferior ‘incumbents’. (The classic example is the Dvorak keyboard, which, despite being more efficient, lost out to the original QWERTY model in…

Idea posted: May 2014

Institutions: Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University   

Long-distance relocation of the whole of a company’s headquarters remains rare. Long-distance relocation of the offices of members of the top management team and of core functions such as finance…

Idea posted: May 2014

Institutions: Aalto University School of Business    Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University   

The ‘2D:4D’ ratio — the ratio of the length of the index (2D) and the ring finger (4D) — is an established biomarker for the level of testosterone to which…

Idea posted: April 2014

Institutions: IMD    ESMT European School of Management and Technology   

In many organizations, IT is managed via a Chief Information Officer (CIO), who is given a budget and mandate and simply left to ‘get on with it!’ This may be…

Idea posted: March 2014

Institutions: Oliver Wyman    George Washington University School of Business    University of Massachusetts Isenberg School of Management    University of St. Gallen   

The speed at which strategic decision-making takes place in an organization has been identified by many researchers as a critical factor for performance. Competitive business environments, shortened life cycles and…

Idea posted: March 2014

Institutions: Washington University Olin Business School    University of Toronto Rotman School of Management   

Consumers often have a choice between products that are convenient or easy- to-use and products that offer greater functionality but are less convenient. When making a purchase that involves a longer time…

Idea posted: February 2014

Institutions: EDHEC Business School    University of Zurich    HEC Paris   

Entrepreneurial spawning — whereby an existing company gives birth to another company, founded by former employees — is prevalent in many new industries. (California’s Fairchild Semiconductor, for example, is ‘mother’…

Idea posted: January 2014

Institutions: Toulouse School of Economics    Princeton University    HEC Paris   

Academics and practitioners have long known that without tight monitoring, CEOs of large public companies may take actions that are against the interests of their shareholders. The consensus has been…