Idea posted: August 2014

Institutions: York University Schulich School of Business   

What is the basis for a company’s competitive advantage? Traditionally, this question elicits one of two answers: 1) Industry structure. Finding the product-market space within a particular industry that is…

Idea posted: July 2014

Institutions: London Business School    University of St. Gallen    ESADE   

Many managers believe that quality is something that they as managers and decision-makers can control. Quality is internal and stable, unlike prices, which are subject to changing market conditions. Although…

Idea posted: July 2014

Institutions: Harvard Business School    Boston College Carroll School of Management   

The most basic business is product-based, involving the manufacturing, assembling and/or delivery of a product. A different type of business, once rare but becoming more and more common, is platform-based,…

Idea posted: July 2014

Institutions: Vlerick Business School   

Around 20 years ago, academics and consultants Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema identified three ‘value disciplines’ or models followed by top-performing companies: operational excellence, customer-intimacy and product leadership. The second,…

Idea posted: July 2014

Institutions: Vlerick Business School   

“Strategy is often like desert rain. Before the raindrops leave the desert floor, they evaporate, creating little or no effect below” — George Labovitz and Victor Rosansky, The Power of…

Idea posted: June 2014

Institutions: Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University    Cranfield University School of Management   

Competing aggressively and repeatedly on price can threaten the future of companies. The losers of price wars have been known to go out of business, and the survivors to suffer…

Idea posted: June 2014

Institutions: University of Southern California Marshall School of Business    Washington University Olin Business School    UCLA Anderson School of Management    Harvard Business School   

Competition has traditionally received much praise, particularly from economists who point to its contributions in lowering market prices and also improving the quality of goods and services. However, recent research…

Idea posted: June 2014

Institutions: Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®)   

Creating positive societal and environmental impact whilst retaining competitiveness has become an increasingly popular concept for companies in recent years—also known as ‘creating shared value.’ A term first coined by…

Idea posted: May 2014

Institutions: Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University    Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam   

Why do unethical practices become ‘normalized’ in some organizations? Why do errant employees sometimes go unpunished for long periods of time? These are questions that many people will have asked…