Handbook of Business Strategy: Volume 6 Issue 1
Table of contents
Risk, uncertainty and probabilistic decision making in an increasingly volatile world
Mehmet UgurThis article aims to ascertain the extent to which probabilistic decision making can enable managers to make crucial decisions in a world of uncertainty associated with…
Use of scenarios in strategic and political risk analyses
Franc MilburnOver the next 10 to 15 years, the international system (and corporations) will have to adjust to changing power relationships in key regions. These have the potential to provide…
How to protect your assets against acts of nature and terrorism
Chris PolandMillions of earthquakes occur each year throughout the world, according to The National Earthquake Information Center in the USA and its cooperators around the globe. Fortunately…
Business maneuver: exploiting speed and surprise as key elements
Richard J. Pech, Bret W. SladeThe following chapter describes a paradigm shift in military thinking and its practical application for business strategists. It describes the concept of maneuver theory…
Reputational management: ignore at your own peril
Kevin Money, Louise GardinerOf a company’s most valuable assets, its reputation is among the hardest to build and the easiest to lose. Reputation is also no longer merely a question of brand image and…
Strategy in the context of uncertainty
Dave SnowdenThis paper challenges the assumption of discoverable order inherent in most approaches to strategy. A false dichotomy between order and chaos is removed by the introduction of a…
Strategic resilience: staying ahead of a crisis
Liisa Välikangas, Paul MerlynImagine a world without turnarounds – just well‐managed companies. Strategic exploration is the means to achieving strategic resilience. But how can senior managers build…
Superior products and services confer only a fleeting advantage
Terry BaconGlobal competition has created an endless cycle of innovation and imitation among companies striving to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Increasingly, the…
How to build a great product
Susan E. RauBuilding great products can be a reality for any company that takes the time and effort to create and execute the linkages between: winning strategy; the role of products and…
How DuPont used insights from needs‐based research to redefine brand, business
Keith Sena, Michael PetromilliBusinesses risk losing customers when traditional product‐based features, attributes, and benefits are no longer differentiated. Offsetting that risk requires taking a more…
Achieving marketing ROI – finally
Tim MunozAn age‐old conundrum with which marketers and, increasingly, their CEOs grapple is justifying the black hole of marketing expense. Finding a rational and reliable means of…
Getting to market faster by putting it all together
John NisbetEveryone pays lip service to integrating a company’s essential functions in order to maximize productive capacity and market success. But how many companies actually achieve it…
Making site selection decisions in the worldwide economy
Carol BergeronThis article provides a practical approach for making site selection decisions driven by organizational business needs. New site selection decisions are best made when: business…
Become a “thought leader” and move ahead of your competition
Ken LizotteThe purpose of this paper is to illustrate the high competitive advantages of using thought leadership as a marketing strategy. The design of the paper is to draw conclusions from…
Partnering for innovation and growth
Douglas FergusonPartnering in recent years has emerged as an increasingly critical competitive competency for any firm that aims to drive sustainable growth through innovation. In fact, it may…
The five pillars of organizational excellence
H. James HarringtonGood is no longer good enough. To survive in today’s competitive environment, you need to excel. To excel, an organization needs to focus on all parts of the organization…
Successful strategies for new venture development
Joey TamerPresents a detailed overview of the challenges of creating new ventures within established corporations, and offers success strategies for overcoming these challenges. The author…
Intellectual capital and strategy: a primer for today’s manager
Göran RoosThis paper discusses the value of applying the intellectual capital perspective in strategic theory and application. It draws on the historic development of the strategy field, to…
Intellectual capital in waiting – a strategic IC challenge
Leif Edvinsson, Peder Hofman‐Bang, Kristine JacobsenThe purpose with the paper is to bring forward the opportunities we face by realizing that future economics lie in knowledge and intangibles. We want to communicate this as a…
Strategy implementation – an insurmountable obstacle?
Andreas RapsStrategy implementation is an enigma in many companies. The problem is illustrated by the unsatisfying low success rate (only 10 to 30 percent) of intended strategies. The primary…
Strategic management of intangible value drivers
Bernard MarrOrganizations are recognizing that if they want to survive and prosper in the long run they need to strategically manage their intangible assets. New theories of strategic…
Strategic thinking and knowledge management
Iraj Tavakoli, Judith LawtonThis article is a conceptual framework and literature review on strategic thinking. It examines some of the more recent definitions and identifies a number of key elements…
Strategic leadership in permanent whitewater
Michael F. KippA whitewater ride calls for a particular type of leader – one with an acute sensitivity to the situation, a high degree of personal autonomy and the ability to discern and convey…
Beating stress and preventing burnout
Barbara KaufmanFueled by the relentless pressures of the 24/7 work schedule, globalization, large‐scale initiatives and scarce resources, leaders today are experiencing more and more stress…
Unique study assesses interactivity, impact of leadership styles
Nada K. Kakabadse, Andrew Kakabadse, Linda Lee‐DaviesThis paper examines existing concepts of the leadership development of high potential managers and aims to take a step further toward them understanding their leadership…
Why success formulas fail
Craig R. StokelyMost businesses concentrate on refining their business model to enhance results. We see examples everyday of market leaders such as United Airlines, McDonald’s and Blockbuster who…
The platform‐driven organization
Howard RubensteinThe purpose of this paper is to shed light on two key developments in the field of leadership that are significantly impacting organizations today. These two new developments are…
What constitutes leadership and why it can’t be taught
Russell L. AckoffLeadership is an art and, as such, requires talent. Talent can be enhanced but not taught. Leaders must be able to formulate inspiring visions and strategies for approaching them…
Driving sustainable growth and innovation: pathways to high performance leadership
Ronald S. JonashThe challenge for business leaders, across all industries, is to recognize and accept a new reality in which easy answers, quick fixes and magic bullets are harder to find. This…
Want to motivate your employees? Keep your company safe and you will
Joan CurticeThis paper examines the value of a work environment that is safe, dignified and respectful. Not only does the law mandate such an environment but it also makes good business sense…
Managing dispersed teams: new challenges, new solutions
Elaine CrowleyThis article describes considerations and techniques to increase the productivity of geographically dispersed (also known as “virtual”) teams. Challenges and recommended solutions…
Workforce, diversity and corporate creativity
Jeffrey A. GovendoThis article is written for business executives, managers, team leaders, and HR specialists who recognize the importance of employee creativity and corporate innovation for…
What to do when people are your most important asset
Laurie Bassi, Daniel McMurrerThe article describes the constraints of the current system for accounting for the value and importance of an organization’s human capital. It describes the Human Capital…
Value‐added benefits consulting can save the day
Dan CassidyTechnology has changed the way companies do business. As such, it has changed the way consultants dispense their expertise. Without a thorough re‐evaluation of the technology vs…
Mentor, don’t just manage, your next round of leaders
Michael H. ShenkmanSuccession is a stated priority for many CEOs. Yet, many executives let the time it takes to select and groom a successor slip away. Shenkman shows why this happens: mentoring…
Applying small business success strategies in the corporate world
Marc JohnstoneThe purpose of this article is to help corporates learn from the small business owner so they can implement winning strategies in their own business and/or also sell more…
Radical strategies may be required in today’s 24/7 society
Jonathan GroucuttA combination of the Internet and changing lifestyles has significantly affected how many societies interact with business. This article considers some of the challenges facing…
Is the Internet putting your corporate identity at risk?
Douglas R. WolfThe purpose of this paper is to review problems related to Internet, trademark, and domain name issues. The paper was developed by studying recent legal developments and drawing…
Manage your IT projects like an investment portfolio
Vin D’AmicoThis paper provides a clear and simple means of evaluating and managing a portfolio of information technology projects. The ultimate goal being a major reduction in the failure…
How technologies support winning strategies and productivity
Alberto CarneiroThis article intends to contribute to a better understanding of the role that technologies may play within the fields of organizational operations, namely the formulation of…
Framework for strategic IT decisions
Auroop R. Ganguly, Amar GuptaStrategic IT decisions have significant impact, but can be rather difficult to formulate in an objective manner. This article takes a fresh look at the e‐business adoption and…
E‐content: the key to developing a strategic advantage
Michael UtvichElectronic content, today’s principal means for information exchange, is dramatically reshaping how businesses compete and meet their goals and performance objectives. Now that…
Best practices for dealing with offshore software development
David A. Vogel, Jill E. ConnellyThe purpose of this article is to examine why US companies outsource software development offshore and to present the factors to be considered to determine if the benefits of…
Hottest new title in the executive suite? Chief customer officer
Curtis N. BinghamThis article explores the methods and benefits of creating an executive‐level position accountable for maintaining and enhancing the value of the customer base as an asset. This…
Knowledge management: how to foster creation and flow
William E. HalalThe purpose of this article is to help managers and scholars understand the state‐of‐the‐art in knowledge management (KM) and how it is likely to develop further. The paper draws…
Strategic conversations with your customers helps hone the planning process
Michael OleksakThis paper makes the case that customer feedback is a valuable input to a company’s strategy development. The paper also suggests a process for capturing and using this input. By…
Unpredictable ways to release the natural intelligence of your organization
Jay W. VogtThe purpose of this article is to demonstrate the immediate and practical value of a new way of thinking about organizations – not as machines, but as living things. The article…
Best way to improve your performance: improve how you impart core values
Bill EvansThe purpose of this paper is to propose a model for delivering greater customer value through the clear shaping, enhancing, and living of core values. The approach is to construct…
The knowledge value chain: a pragmatic knowledge implementation network
Catherine L. Wang, Pervaiz K. AhmedIn this article, we address the issue of knowledge management (KM) implementation by developing a pragmatic yet theoretically rigorous knowledge implementation framework, referred…
Collaboration now a strategic necessity
Ronald C. BeckettThis paper shares experiences from action research carried out by the author in an SME business setting where collaboration is becoming a strategic necessity. Many industry…