global strategic management
Knowledge@W. P. Carey -- Strategic Management
Knowledge@W. P. Carey is an online resource that offers the latest business insights, information, and research from a variety of sources. Content includes analysis of current business trends, interviews with industry leaders and faculty, articles based on the most recent business research, book reviews, conference and seminar reports, and links to other websites.
- Business Groups in China: Is Qiyejituan Membership a Guaranteed Advantage?
The "qiyejituan" -- collections of companies and firms that are joined via social and economic ties -- have been playing an increasingly vital role in China's economy, just as the "chaebol" have been so important to Korea and the "keiretsu" to Japan. Membership in these groups can help firms compete in the global marketplace, but a research team led by the W. P. Carey School's Robert Hoskisson has discovered that this may not always be the case. Some business groups -- specifically those subject to heavy government intervention, or those managed by individuals coming from the central-government tradition -- actually stunted innovation. - The Faith-Based Corporation: Organizational Sacralization and Sacrilege
From Google to Jet Blue and Patagonia to Trader Joe's, companies of all kinds are attempting to craft cultures and identities so idealistic that they could rightly be called "sacred." These companies are espousing these sacred ideals, values, beliefs, goals, behaviors and processes not only to attract and motivate employees and stakeholders but also as means to distinguish themselves from their competition. In fact, some say companies that take the sacred route may be able to offer something nearing spiritual fulfillment to customers and employees. Recently, three W.P. Carey management researchers -- Professors Blake Ashforth and Kevin Corley and doctoral candidate Spencer Harrison -- set out to investigate what might be behind this trend. - In Today's Process-Driven Workplace, Collaboration Is King
"The in-box culture is dead," says Evan Rosen in his new book, "The Culture of Collaboration: Maximizing Time, Talent and Tools to Create Value in the Global Economy." This may come as a surprise if you're one of those people who start work every day facing 500 e-mails begging ASAP replies. If, however, your company embraces a collaborative culture, those 500 e-mails can be addressed in minutes or even seconds using the appropriate tools of collaborative technology. This book is not for the casual reader, but if you are committed to understanding exactly how and why collaborative tools will motivate your employees and drive your business, this is the book for you. - Keeping It in the Family: Family Firms Willing to Take Risks to Retain Control
Studies show family-led companies implement better long-term planning and generally have greater internal organizational commitment than public companies. Even so, business researchers have for some time contended that because so few individuals control so much at family firms, executives there are less likely than their counterparts in public firms to take the kind of risks that truly successful companies need to take. This idea that family firms are naturally risk-averse has become a standard line of thinking in business academia. Unfortunately, says W. P. Carey management Professor Luis R. Gomez-Mejia, it's just not true. At least not entirely. - Academic Consultants Bring a Different Perspective to Business Problems
The stereotypes are familiar to consultants and people who hire them: Commercial consultants are in it for the money. They offer boilerplate products and simple answers to complex problems. Then there are academic consultants. They are detached from the real world, miss deadlines, and make things more complicated than they need to be. While kernels of truth can be found in these simplistic characterizations, commercial and academic consultants, in fact, bring different and important perspectives to problems companies face, according to W. P. Carey School of Business researchers. - Doing Business in the Political Marketplace: Strategies for Success
For many business people, politics is unfamiliar territory, where missteps bring unforeseen and often unfortunate consequences. But because so many issues that affect business wind up in the political arena, ignoring politics is not a good option, according to researchers at the W. P. Carey School of Business. They offer this piece of advice: Approach politics like it's a business, only with different rules.
- Podcast: 'Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast'
Companies that attempt strategic change without considering organizational culture risk failure, according to management Professor Angelo Kinicki of the W. P. Carey School of Business. When culture is not aligned with strategy, he explains, culture wins every time. Herb Kelleher, former CEO and current chairman of the board of Southwest Airlines, has been quoted saying that culture is the most important focal point for leaders. In this podcast, Kinicki describes how to identify your corporate culture, and how to manage it. - Want to Lure R&D? Investing in Tech Capabilities Trumps Financial Incentives
Where a multinational corporation (MNC) decides to put its manufacturing and research and development (R&D) facilities is important both for the MNC and for the host country. An MNC that makes the right move can gain a significant technological advantage over competitors, while the wrong decision can deal a major setback to its innovation efforts. The location choices of MNCs are the subject of a recent study by W. P. Carey management professor Robert Hoskisson. Hoskisson and his co-authors conclude that companies locating manufacturing and R&D facilities in more technologically advanced locations are better able to gain technological advantages. Countries that want to attract foreign investment often hold out tax breaks as a lure, but this study suggests that developing technical assets at home may be more important.
- Fight or Flight: How Employees Cope with Organizational Change
In a global marketplace, change isn't just good. For many companies, says Angelo Kinicki, it's necessary. In a recent paper Kinicki, a professor of management at the W. P. Carey School of Business, and his co-authors examined the effect of organizational change on workers in a large government office. They found that significant change greatly impacted both the psyche and performance of employees. Fail to take this into account and force changes that employees aren't prepared to handle, and your company risks alienating its workers, losing money and, in the end, seeing those great strategic changes fall flat.
- VEBAs: Autoworkers' Union Shares the Risk of Rising Healthcare Costs
The tentative contract agreement that assigned a role to the United Auto Workers in managing the healthcare costs of its General Motors members was a turning point in the relationship between business and labor -- and a sign of things to come in a global economy. In fact, Chrysler was seeking similar healthcare concessions in contract talks with the union. It's all about risk-sharing. VEBAs -- Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Associations -- will most likely make declining U.S. manufacturing industries more competitive; however, they may do little to reverse sagging U.S. union participation, according to experts at the W. P. Carey School of Business.
- Hand on Management: Lifelong Learning Key to Business Success
Judi Hand, president and general manager of Direct Alliance, a business process outsourcer, visited the W. P. Carey School of Business recently to speak to an audience of students attending the Executive Luncheon Series. Her message -- that success depends on your ability to keep learning and keep questioning -- is as true for mid-career practitioners as it is for students.
- No Phone for You! Sprint-Nextel Cuts Off High-Maintenance Customers
Telecom giant Sprint-Nextel recently decided about a thousand of its customers were just a little bit too demanding, so it went ahead and fired them. The remarkable move made headlines nationwide and since has left business analysts to ponder two questions. First, was Sprint justified? Second