Collaborating for results

How to stimulate creativity? Go live abroad

Enrich your social capital with the right networks

As much as we think that collaboration makes good business sense, there are times where it can go horribly wrong, so says Morten Hansen, a professor of entrepreneurship at INSEAD.

People who live abroad are more creative; and the more time they spend away from home, the more creative they become. That's according to a recent study done by William Maddux, an assistant professor of organisational behavior at INSEAD.

Networking is not all that it’s cracked up to be; in fact it can even be downright harmful, so says Martin Gargiulo, an associate professor of organisational behaviour at INSEAD and expert on social network analysis.

Exploring the migration of patient classification systems worldwide

It has been called the most significant innovation in US medical financing since the Second World War. Introduced in 1983, the Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRGs) system for classifying patients gave healthcare providers and payers a tool to manage patient care and slow the rising cost of health care. Since then, DRGs, or patient classification systems (PCSs) as they are known outside the US, have caught the attention of health care policymakers around the world.

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Leadercast: Patrick Kron, chairman and CEO of Alstom

In what has been called one of the more successful corporate turnarounds of all time, Patrick Kron, chairman and CEO of Alstom reveals how he managed to deliver the previously-troubled company from a commercial crisis.

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Think big, start small and move fast

Business school students have changed since Julie Meyer, the venture capitalist who is chief executive and founder of Ariadne Capital, did her MBA in the late 1990s. Then, no-one wanted to start their own business, she thought. Financing them, though, seemed more attractive to many. "I used to joke that if you wait long enough, your entire class becomes a venture capitalist," she says.

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Debunking myths about entrepreneurs

Successful entrepreneurs are a rare breed because they face myriad obstacles. But one fundamental flaw in the system makes it even harder for entrepreneurs to realise their dreams.

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Finding 'vintage' returns in times of economic turbulence

This year and next could well be “vintage years” for private equity returns, even though the private equity market has shrunk dramatically from its peak in 2006 and 2007.

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Struggling for survival

Private equity was the darling of the investment world in the five years between 2003 and 2007, enjoying exponential growth fuelled by cheap liquidity, growing profitability across industries, rising asset prices, and strong support from investors. Today, amid the global economic slowdown, the private equity industry is struggling for survival in the face of "a perfect storm".

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Helping countries emerge from the economic crisis: a World Bank perspective

Even though world leaders are talking up signs of economic “green shoots”, it’s still too early to tell whether the global economic crisis is near a bottom or even whether the economic decline is slowing, says Shigeo Katsu, Vice President for Europe and Central Asia at the World Bank.

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Measuring the green label

When it comes to understanding the environmental impact of products, life cycle assessment (LCA), an analytic method developed nearly two decades ago, is beginning to take root.

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A new chapter for energy

If the birth of renewable energy in the US can be pinpointed to the early 1970s, following the first Middle East oil crisis, then Lee Bailey, a Managing Director of US Renewables Group, has literally bought into most of it.

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Examining responsible competitiveness in the Arab World

Islamic finance is experiencing a resurgence in the Arab world as a result of the economic recession, according to Alex MacGillivray, senior partner at AccountAbility, one of the co-authors of a new report entitled Responsible Competitiveness in the Arab World 2009.

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Social entrepreneurs find silver lining in economic downturn

Social enterprises are not immune to the effects of the economic downturn. Jop Blom, a social entrepreneur based in Amsterdam, says as companies turn their attention to survival, they are focusing on reducing costs and corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects are cut as these are not regarded as a priority during these times.

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Extending a steady hand to businesses wanting to make a difference

Ever played Mikado or 'pick-up-sticks'? It’s a game that requires skill, strategic planning and a steady hand. Serra Titiz decided to call her company 'Mikado' because it's an unusual name name in Turkey, but mostly because that's what her company is there for: to provide skills, strategy and a steady hand to businesses which want to make an impact in society.

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The promise of India

The day before she was to launch her new company, Maya Hari found that she was expecting her first baby. She decided to put the launch on hold. Two years later, in August 2008, Stylkist was set up, but this came just days before Lehman Brothers went under and the financial meltdown began.

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An unlikely hero

Somaly Mam is a driven, dynamic, inspiring and indefatigable leader. Those are some of the qualities that make her one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people and a CNN Hero.

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