Skip to main content

Operations

Sort by:

Strategy

INSEAD Insights: March 2024 Research Picks

Lily Fang

Recent findings on the gender gap in start-ups, conspiracy theories, stock price predictions, improving supply chain networks and more.

Operations

How to Boost Health Product Supplies in Developing Regions

Prashant Yadav

Are development banks and philanthropic foundations using the right incentives to encourage global life sciences companies to cater to underserved markets?

Strategy

How to Spot the Next Technology Breakthrough

A. Shipilov, F. Burelli

The three factors that can predict which B2C and B2B technologies are about to take off.

Strategy

Chinese Automakers’ Secret to Scaling Up Electric Vehicles

Chengyi Lin

How China’s electric vehicle sector drove to the front of the pack.

Responsibility

Business Case for Sustainability: The Stakeholder Perspective

Atalay Atasu

If the environment were the new business stakeholder, could we still afford to ignore it?

Operations

To Bundle or Not to Bundle

Guillaume Roels

Bundling isn’t just a pricing tactic. It’s a strategic way of designing product offerings.

Career

What 2023 Taught Us: The Rules Are Always Changing

INSEAD Knowledge

This year's top trending articles explore how we can keep pace with a world in flux.

Leadership & Organisations

OpenAI's Crisis Is Yet Another Wake-Up Call

T. Evgeniou, Y. Lechell, L. Van der Heyden

Effective governance can save AI doomers, accelerationists, altruists and techno-capitalists from themselves.

Entrepreneurship

AI Is Coming for All Our Jobs... Or Is It?

Rachel Eva Lim

How leaders, employees and organisations can better prepare themselves for the impact of AI.

Leadership & Organisations

INSEAD Insights: November 2023 Research Picks

Lily Fang

Recent findings on human morality, publishing cycles, manufacturing in low-income markets, virtual assessments in acute care services and sarcasm.

Operations

How Anti-Discriminatory Measures Can Worsen AI Bias

Anton S. Ovchinnikov

Removing gender-related data from machine-learning models may paradoxically harm women instead of protecting them.

Leadership & Organisations

Making Stress Work for Organisations

F. J. Nitsch, L. V. Wassenhove

Moderate stress boosts performance. But can companies determine “optimal" stress levels for their employees?
1 comment

Operations

Disaster Response: Finding Order in Turmoil

A. Kayyal, I. Parsa, B. Urlu and L. Van Wassenhove

When disaster strikes, governments are faced with difficult, urgent decisions – but preparedness can make a difference.

Operations

Too Many Meetings, Too Little Time (to Work)

Guillaume Roels

What if there was a better way to schedule meetings for team coordination?

Marketing

INSEAD Insights: September 2023 Research Picks

Lily Fang

Recent findings on online marketplace dynamics, new market creation, trust in AI, diversity in corporate boards and consumer choices.

Economics & Finance

Managing Systemic Risks in Tech: Lessons from Finance

F. Candelon, D. Martinez, P. Nathanial, T. Evgeniou, L. Van der Heyden

The financial sector's track record in risk management offers invaluable lessons for the tech industry.

Operations

Why Has the Humanitarian Sector Been Slow to Localise?

L. Frennesson, L. Van Wassenhove

Despite a collective strategic intent to localise, progress has been slower than expected.

Operations

Is Transshipment More Cost-Effective Than Hubs?

Enver Yücesan

Drones, self-driving vehicles and other technologies have made shipping stock between locations a viable alternative to obtaining them from a centralised facility.

Operations

What Businesses Can Learn From Humanitarian Operations

Luk Van Wassenhove

Navigating uncertain and dynamic environments and overcoming resource and information scarcity are nothing new to humanitarian organisations.

Marketing

Customer Engagement in a Circular Economy

W. Ulaga, C. Senn

Embracing circular business models unlocks opportunities for companies to engage with customers, optimise resource utilisation and ensure a sustainable future.

Operations

Navigating Trust and Safety in the World of Generative AI

T. Evgeniou, J. Dunn, A. Hunsberger

The new generation of artificial intelligence can help defend against online harms – if we can effectively manage the risks.

Operations

The Road Ahead for XR Technology in Business Education

INSEAD Knowledge

How business schools can navigate the challenges and maximise the impact of immersive learning using VR.

Responsibility

Business Not as Usual: Companies Stepping Up in Crisis

B. Urlu, E. G. Gülserliler, L. Van Wassenhove

In times of humanitarian disasters, the private sector must step up. Businesses can hardly be functional when society comes to a halt.
1 comment

Operations

Scaling Innovation in Genetics and Precision Medicine

Rachel Eva Lim

How biotech start-ups can identify and solidify their customer base, scale their operations and unlock the full potential of precision medicine.

Operations

Planning Matters: Coordination in Humanitarian Relief

I. Parsa, L. Van Wassenhove

In disaster response, humanitarian operations take place under high levels of stress and time pressure. There is no room for bureaucracy and ambiguity.

Operations

Can Companies Thrive in Permanent Beta?

Luk Van Wassenhove

When digital service providers come under pressure to put new and innovative services in the market fast, how does it affect the way companies measure service performance?

Operations

Humanitarian Versus For-Profit Operations: When Lines Blur

L. Van Wassenhove, I. Parsa, K. Aral

What are the repercussions when humanitarian organisations adopt a commercial structure?

Operations

How Large Mergers Can Benefit Smaller Players

Xabier Barriola

Joint ventures between dominant incumbents can create opportunities for smaller firms to enter the market and capture market share.

Operations

Circularity in Practice: Case of a Zero-Waste Island

A. Atasu, I. Gill

Implementing sustainable solutions has everything to do with influencing behaviour, as shown in the Just Go Zero project on the Greek island of Tilos.

Entrepreneurship

Local Innovation as a Driver of Global Development

Prashant Yadav

To achieve critical development goals, we need to champion local, innovative solutions to social problems.

Operations

Nonstop Flights Can Foster Global Firm Innovation

D. Bahar, P. Choudhury, D. Y. Kim, W. W. Koo

Nonstop flights can be a vital facilitator of innovation between international companies and their subsidiaries.

Operations

Twitter's Remarkable Mission in a Divided World

T. Evgeniou, L. Van der Heyden

Good governance is key to ensure that exceptional people, organisations and countries realise their full potential.

Operations

How Biotech Firms Can Improve Cross-Functional Collaboration

O. Schiltz, R. Lehman

Optimising the R&D-to-commercialisation handover process is crucial for the survival of young biotech companies.

Operations

Stakeholder Perspectives on Right-to-Repair Laws

E. Gulserliler, A. Atasu, L. Van Wassenhove

Laws to protect consumers and the environment could be a game-changer for businesses and prompt change in business models.

Operations

Do Unconventional Offices Promote Creativity?

M. Sosa, S. Lee

It is widely assumed that unconventionally-designed offices stimulate creativity. But that isn’t always the case – sometimes they may even impede innovation.
1 comment

Operations

Should Companies Allow Returns of Customised Goods?

Anton S. Ovchinnikov

Allowing customers to return customised products can be a win-win for both consumers and business.
2 comments

Operations

The Coming of Age of Humanitarian Logistics

Luk Van Wassenhove

We are closer than ever to a holistic supply chain management approach now that the humanitarian sector has recognised the importance of logistics.

Operations

Better Human-AI Collaboration May Depend on Workflow Design

P. Puranam, R. Mehra

Improving how humans work with algorithms could simply be a matter of redesigning workflow.

Operations

Making Sense of Attribution in Online Advertising

Antoine Desir

While online advertising has grown rapidly, methods to justify marketing spend on digital platforms have yet to catch up.
1 comment

Operations

Empowering Public Health Leaders in Africa

L. Van Wassenhove, P. Lalvani

A unique programme to foster leadership and supply chain skills through public-private capacity-building efforts.

Responsibility

Building Momentum in the Energy Transition: Key Insights from Davos and Beyond

Atalay Atasu

If the nascent energy transformation is to take off, business and government must work together to promote circular systems.

Operations

Making Humanitarian Operations More Sustainable

Luk Van Wassenhove

Do good intentions always lead to good outcomes? Experience shows that the lack of coordinated response can lead to future humanitarian and sustainability challenges.

Operations

Mind the Inventory Risk: Price Paradox Under Competition

A. Ovchinnikov, H. Pun, G. Raz

In competitive environments, operational innovation could well be the answer to inventory risk.

Operations

Are Our Supply Chains Ready for the Next Global Health Crisis?

Prashant Yadav

We need resilient healthcare supply chains to prepare for the next global health emergency. Here’s how to do it.

Operations

Unfinished Business: Co-Creating Solutions With Beneficiaries

Atalay Atasu

Under severe budget constraints, how can NPOs manage the trade-offs between offering variety versus serving more beneficiaries?

Operations

Designing a Circular Business Strategy That Works

Luk Van Wassenhove

To avoid costly mistakes due to overly optimistic assumptions, a good understanding of the market and the product is needed.

Operations

Putting Covid-19 Testing to the Test

Prashant Yadav

The pandemic has underscored the chronically poor testing capacity and calls for diagnostics strategies at the national level.

Operations

Want to Help Ukrainian Refugees? Don't Send Random Stuff

Luk Van Wassenhove

An open letter urging well-intentioned donors to think twice before inadvertently doing more harm than good.
5 comments

Operations

‘Tech for Good’ Needs a ‘Good Tech’ Approach

T. Evgeniou, L. Van der Heyden

Responsible practices using tested processes must be the focus when creating new technology.

Leadership & Organisations

AI: A World of New Opportunity and Risk

T. Evgeniou, K. Firth-Butterfield, A. Sarkar, C. Zimmerman

A new toolkit for C-suite execs on how to responsibly adopt artificial intelligence.
1 comment

Operations

Using the Global Goals as a Systemic Approach to Relief

M. Besiou, A. Pedraza-Martinez, L. Van Wassenhove

With the UN SDGs as a guide, how can non-profits and NGOs do their work while considering long-term impact?

Operations

Boosting Vaccine Production Needs the Right Degree of Flexibility

P. Yadav, A. Désir

The unequal access to Covid-19 vaccines stems from production shortfalls. Building more flexibility into manufacturing processes can help – here’s how.

Operations

Improving Women’s Access to Mobile Family Planning Services

Luk Van Wassenhove

Cash-strapped NGOs could reach more clients in rural areas – at no extra cost – by basing their visit frequency on data instead of habits.

Operations

How to Create a Safe (and Open) Online Space

F. Candelon, L. de Franssu, T. Evgeniou

Regulatory and business challenges must be met for an internet that is both safe and allows for freedom of expression.

Operations

When the Problem Isn’t the Problem

L. Van Wassenhove, P. Yadav

Private healthcare facilities in low- and middle-income countries may not have all medical supplies in stock, but collaboration mitigates individual clinic level shortages. Policy design should not ignore this.

Operations

Why Targeted Lockdowns Could Be Better for Everyone

D. F. Ciocan, D. Iancu, S. Zoumpoulis

Covid lockdowns may be with us for a long time to come, but they could be made sharper, less painful and possibly even more effective.

Operations

How Online Product Reviews Affect Market Share

H. Cho, M. Sosa, S. Hasija

To find out how user-generated content affects your bottom line, you need a fine-tuned strategy for data analysis.
4 comments

Operations

How a Second Opinion Could Help Curb the Opioid Crisis

Michael Freeman

Altering management decisions early in the process can have a significant impact on long-term opioid use.

Operations

Putting People at the Centre of Operations

Guillaume Roels

The field of operations management has deep roots in developing effective processes for people. How can we encourage further growth in this area?

Operations

Overcoming Barriers to Supply Chain Agility

A. Gumaledar, S. Hasija, P. Padmanabhan

A careful look at how some firms responded to the Covid-19 crisis reveals a new, more effective supply chain frontier.

Operations

How the SDGs Can Change Your Organisation, From the Inside Out

A Atasu, M Sosa, L Van Wassenhove

Put the framework at the heart of your sustainability strategy. Start by using it to audit your internal resources.
2 comments

Operations

Product Development: When to Crowdsource and When to Commit

The decision should be based on a holistic view of the project and its supply chain environment.

Operations

How Operations Can Stop Labour Violations Before They Happen

S. Hasija, N. Taneri

Three business characteristics can serve as leading indicators of possible human-rights abuses in the making.

Operations

What Fuels Rumours and How to Put Them Out

Enver Yücesan

Unfounded rumours can be spread far and wide by anyone who knows their way around social media. We can’t stamp it out but we can – and should – fight fire with fire.

Operations

Building the Supply Chain for Large-Scale Covid-19 Testing

Prashant Yadav

Widespread Covid-19 testing will be a fact of life for years to come. Scaling up the supply chain requires governments to answer five key questions.

Operations

Making the Crowd Wiser

Ville Satopää

Tools that use averaging to make future predictions might be leaving a lot of relevant information on the table.

Operations

When Is Learning a Marathon and When Is It a Sprint?

Guillaume Roels

Practice strategies are not one-size-fits-all.

Operations

When Several Queues Are Better Than One

G. Roels, H. Song & M. Armony

One reliable method of queueing is less effective in knowledge industries. Here’s why.

Operations

Why Public Healthcare Systems Weren’t Prepared for the Pandemic

S. Bhattacharya, S. Hasija, L. Van Wassenhove

Healthcare resource sharing can be the difference between life and death. And it can be done without sacrificing agencies’ autonomy.
1 comment

Operations

Africa’s Drone Medical Delivery Service Saves Lives in Lockdown

Lee Seok Hwai

Could airborne despatch of medical supplies also be the answer to the needs of developed countries?

Operations

The Supply Side of Covid-19 Patient Management in Hospitals

S. Chick, A. Alban

A tool for hospital managers faced with scaling up their ICU capacity to handle Covid-19 cases.

Operations

A Post-Covid Outlook: The Future of the Supply Chain

Eric Buatois

Revisit global logistics across three dimensions.
1 comment

Operations

A Closer Look at the Weekend Effect

Michael Freeman

A study of one hospital’s A&E department shows that bigger is not always better when it comes to data.

Operations

Harnessing Technology in Our Battle With COVID-19

T. Evgeniou, X. Hua, G. Rodier

Tech companies are pumping out new services and products to tackle pandemic challenges.

Operations

Lessons From Past Outbreaks Can Inform Public Health Policy Now

Stephen E. Chick

Scientific approaches to infectious disease transmission models can help us make better decisions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
1 comment

Operations

A Crisis Management Blueprint for COVID-19

L. Van der Heyden, P. Nathanial

Crisis is conquered through a positive combination of talents and competencies.
1 comment

Operations

Supplying the Frontline of the War on Coronavirus

Lee Seok Hwai

Countries and businesses must fight as one to prevail over the pandemic.

Operations

How Formula One Teams Handle Underperformance

D. Clough, H. Piezunka

It may be the driver… or is it the engine? Here’s how professional racing constructors trace performance problems to their source.

Operations

Bringing Critical Supply Chains Back From the Brink

Lee Seok Hwai

Will the coronavirus outbreak lead to a watershed in international collaboration, or will history repeat itself?
7 comments

Operations

COVID-19: Preparing for the Worst Before Crisis Strikes

P. Yadav, INSEAD Humanitarian Research Group

Diagnostic capabilities and coordination among and within countries can mean the difference between life and death.

Operations

Where AI Can Help Your Business (and Where It Can’t)

Phanish Puranam

Your firm produces data, so surely it can benefit from applying AI, right? Wrong. Here are five questions to ask yourself about whether a business problem is “AI-solvable”.
1 comment

Operations

Managerial Biases Cost Your Firm More Than You Think

A. Ovchinnikov

Firms that let biases run amok in their procurement department give their more informed competitors a huge advantage in terms of profit.

Operations

A Sustainable Future for Food

Chengyi Lin

What can Big Food do to better serve all its stakeholders? Start anywhere, but follow it everywhere.
2 comments

Responsibility

Climate Crisis: From Dreams to Hope

Hubert Gatignon

Sustainable trends in business need to focus on facts, rather than on romantic ideas about the environment.
1 comment

Operations

Supply Chain Solutions for Healthcare Inequality

Atalay Atasu

Hospitals in developed countries have more supplies than they need; those in less fortunate countries lack the basics. Academic research can help close the gap.

Operations

Preparing Your Firm for AI

Theodoros Evgeniou

Firms looking to leverage the transformational potential of AI should remember that it is still people who determine the context in which the new technology develops and thrives.

Operations

The Optimal Design of Loyalty Programmes

S. Y. Chun, A. Ovchinnikov

Revenue-based loyalty programmes yield better profits, but consumers don’t have to be on the losing end.

Operations

How Purchasing Departments Should Operate Abroad

A context-aware approach to international purchasing may drive double-digit improvements in business performance.

Operations

The State of the Blockchain Revolution

Don Tapscott

Bitcoin was just the beginning of blockchain-driven disruptive innovation.
2 comments

Operations

A Potential Playbook for the Future of the Car Industry

S. Hasija, V. Choudhary & S. Netessine

Here’s how automakers should optimise their processes in Manufacturing 4.0.

Operations

If Agile Isn’t Working, Don’t Blame Your Team (Right Away)

Luk Van Wassenhove

Project managers need to keep their eyes wide open when it comes to Agile norms.
1 comment

Operations

What Firms Can Learn From NGOs in Africa

L. V. Wassenhove & H. de Vries

Cross-learning between the corporate world and non-profits helps both sectors to best serve their stakeholders.

Operations

Your Guide to the Gold Rush of Digital Logistics

The massive shift to digital ecosystems creates brand-new business opportunities in the logistics space.

Operations

R&D Spending: Steady Wins the Race

To maximise R&D output, firms should evenly spread their R&D spending over time.

Operations

Decision Makers Should Rely on Hybrid Forecasting Models

S. Makridakis & S. Smyl

Machine learning may be hyped as the way of the future, but as a forecasting method, it works best when combined with standard algorithms.

Operations

Seeing Your Firm Through a Hacker’s Eyes

Cyber-exposure is the best predictor of future hacking activity.

Operations

Devising an Optimal Sourcing Strategy

Sameer Hasija

How firms can make informed, project-based choices between single- and multi-sourcing.
1 comment

Operations

Local Capacity Building Crucial to Contain Pandemics

Luk Van Wassenhove

Building local capabilities and supply chains is half the battle in winning the war on pandemics.

Operations

Why Asia Has the Cybersecurity Advantage

A new ranking shows how companies around the world are actually faring in the fight to protect data from cybercriminals.

Operations

How Companies Can Assess Their Readiness for the Circular Economy

Luk Van Wassenhove & Patricia van Loon

Companies must assess both the financial and environmental feasibility of remanufacturing before jumping into the circular economy.
1 comment

Operations

Designing Deals to Improve Demand Forecasts

Why supply chain partners rarely collaborate to reduce demand uncertainty, and what can be done.

Operations

Cybersecurity: The Role of the Board

A three-step process for board directors to start improving cyber-oversight.
1 comment

Operations

A Better Way to Design Clinical Trials

Stephen E. Chick

A new type of trial design can help the healthcare industry bring beneficial therapies to patients sooner and stop researching inferior ones earlier.

Operations

Warning: Do Not Just Average Predictions!

A novel framework for understanding and aggregating multiple predictions from diverse sources.

Operations

Unpacking the Amazon-Whole Foods Deal

Even if Jeff Bezos’s gambit succeeds, there is still cause for concern.

Operations

The Era of Linear Supply Chains May Soon Be Over

Sangeet Paul Choudary

As supply chains are increasingly digitised, the most successful ones will evolve into platform-enabled ecosystems.
5 comments

Operations

Improving the Accuracy of Hospital Rankings

Ville Satopää

Decision makers should never lose sight of reality when providing public ratings.

Operations

Agility Under Pressure

Luk Van Wassenhove, Charles Delagarde & Joachim Mikalsen

A large humanitarian organisation with Strategic Agility shows others how to quickly respond to strategic challenges without creating more chaos.
2 comments

Operations

Rethinking Resilience in Global Supply Chains

Attempts to diversify may make supply chain disruptions more damaging when they occur.
1 comment

Operations

Product Design in the Age of Variety

Consumers want more variety than ever before. This means product design needs to be rethought to avoid multiple and costly production lines.

Operations

India’s Free Specialty Hospitals Combine Medicine With Mindfulness

Sunil Shenoy

How a pair of Indian hospitals have made no-cost surgery a sustainable healthcare paradigm.
18 comments

Operations

Overcoming Obstacles to a Sustainable Economy

The goal of a “circular economy” is important, but the road is long.

Operations

How Alessi Merged Manufacturing and Art

The marriage of industrial production and postmodern art techniques was a tough sell internally.

Operations

Machine Learning for Risk Management

G. Hilary, S. Viswanathan

Growing artificial intelligence systems are unearthing previously unknown wrongdoing in organisations, but they should be matched by human oversight.
2 comments

Economics & Finance

Commercial Real Estate Needs a Digital Transformation

From landowners to urban residents, all stakeholders would benefit from bringing digital, collaborative and transformational elements together in the traditional real estate value chain.

Operations

Three Questions to a More Enlightened Business

Loic Sadoulet & Gerlinde Silvis

By regularly “checking-in” with employees, leaders create emotionally sound companies able to help drive organisational change.

Operations

Managing the Challenges of “Coopetition”

Luk Van Wassenhove

Sometimes the best way to stay competitive is not to compete. It may be less risky than you think.
1 comment

Operations

The Human Cost of Digital Technologies

Pawel Korzynski, Elizabeth Florent Treacy, Manfred Kets de Vries

As companies race towards digitisation, the expectation that people in organisations need to be permanently on-call is creating very human challenges. How well an individual copes depends on their personality.
2 comments

Operations

Making Digital Work For You

Liri Andersson & Ludo Van der Heyden

For over a decade companies have been urged to “digitalise” or risk getting left behind. While many accept this as a reality, we argue that the precept is at best confusing and at worst unclear for those eager to act.
2 comments

Operations

Better Fleet Management Could Save NGOs Millions

L. Van Wassenhove, N. Kunz

The benefits of centralised procurement systems are especially pronounced in the humanitarian sector.

Operations

The Professionalisation of Cyber Criminals

Opportunistic hackers are taking advantage of the maturing dark web markets and Cybercrime-as-a-Service business model to professionalise their activities.
1 comment

Operations

Holding PE to its Word – A True Measure of Value Creation

Deal selection and leverage are no longer core differentiators for PE fund managers, as investors are increasingly looking for replicable operational expertise

Operations

How Cybercrime Is Evolving

The anonymous and borderless nature of cybercrime puts every organisation at potential risk.
3 comments

Operations

Can Algorithms Replace Academics?

Algorithms will augment the professor’s research, taking it into realms previously unimaginable in academia. But where does this leave the academic?
1 comment

Operations

How Bike Sharing Could Become Mainstream

Bike sharing could scale up enough to make a real impact on urban air pollution and plug public transport gaps.

Operations

The "Internet of Things" at Risk

Internet-enabled devices improve productivity and help us achieve greater innovation, but there are three major risks that could unravel it all.
2 comments

Operations

The End of Human Risk Management?

Automation only works well when humans are highly involved.

Operations

How “Focused Factories” Deal With Disruption

Establishing a clear and consistent focus, and knowing when to change it, is the essence of manufacturing agility.

Operations

The Foolhardy Quest for a European Google

With the increasing globalisation of businesses and their supply chains European policy-makers should take a second look at where the real value lies.
1 comment

Operations

How “India Inc.” Can Own Frugal Innovation

India’s homegrown innovation culture has the potential to become a globally relevant business methodology.
3 comments

Operations

The Power of Simplicity

Managing several products in a rapidly changing consumer goods industry is no easy task. They key is simplicity. For multinationals reducing the number of brands in a factory can offer big competitive advantages.

Operations

Could IBM Become the Nokia of Supercomputers?

Supercomputing is being squeezed by new cloud computing competitors and more expensive component suppliers. How will the likes of IBM adapt to this hostile environment?

Operations

Product Knowledge Drives Sales Leadership

Retail sales associates with strong brand expertise sell 87 percent more than peers without.

Operations

When Big Data Meets Manufacturing

Developed market manufacturers can’t compete on price or lean management anymore. The winners are finding ways to lock in customers with collaborative, data-driven services and activities.

Operations

How Can You Leverage Big Data?

Research and ideas shared at recent INSEAD alumni panel discussions shed light on the elements required to capture and effectively use big data.
1 comment

Operations

Avoiding an E-Waste Emergency

Luk Van Wassenhove

“Where there’s muck there’s brass”. Letting market players make money out of e-waste is key to avoiding rapidly expanding landfill. But with so many interests at stake it’s not as simple as it sounds. The recently recast Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive attempts to address the changing environment. But is it flexible enough?
2 comments

Operations

CEO Pay-Performance Relationships

Debate about pay practices for corporate CEOs continues but is there really a disconnect between CEO compensation and performance?

Operations

The Decision-Making Edge of Social Business

Social media is helping consumers make better purchasing decisions, but it can give companies greater insights to help them make better business decisions.

Operations

Beyond Moneyball: Data-Mining the Premier League

The numbers are coming in thick and fast but can big data and advanced analytics influence a team’s performance in the Premier League?
2 comments

Operations

Avoiding the Damage of Product Recalls

Recalls have increased significantly across all industries in recent years. And while their damaging repercussions are evident, the causes are often hotly contested. We have found that there are systematic reasons for product recalls that can be addressed by managers.

Operations

Mentor or Martyr? Beware the Rescuer Trap

Are you addicted to helping others or is your mentor relationship creating unhealthy levels of interference? Perhaps you’ve fallen victim to the Rescuer Syndrome.
4 comments

Operations

Meditate for More Profitable Decisions

It’s a practice rooted in Hinduism and adopted by beatniks seeking spiritual guidance. Now evidence shows meditation can improve business decisions and save your company from expensive investment mistakes.
6 comments

Operations

Is Anybody Listening?

“Innovation” may be the buzz word of the post-crisis world, but getting decision makers at multinational corporations to pay attention to ideas that are new, foreign and at odds with the company’s business model can leave subsidiary managers banging their heads against the wall.
1 comment

Leadership & Organisations

Down to Basics

How do you manage 250,000 employees in 23 countries on six continents working in six industries, all still emerging from the Soviet mould?

Leadership & Organisations

Executive Coaching from Prince Hal

GUEST COMMENTARY: An increasing number of executives are turning to Shakespeare for advice on how to run their businesses. Nigel Roberts reflects on the Bard’s stories, myths & archetypes.
4 comments

Operations

Don’t Waste Your ICT Investments

Are you ready for cloud computing? Before opening your wallet, take a good hard look at what your ICT infrastructure is really like.

Entrepreneurship

It’s Not Just German Engineering

The German luxury car market has not lost speed through the recession, despite high production costs and slack demand in Europe. The secret of success lies not just under the hood but in the boardroom and the research labs.

Operations

Labour Efficiency: Workloads or Makework?

New INSEAD research shows that indeed if you want something done, give it to a busy person. But how long can that formula work for?

Economics & Finance

Merger Control in the BRIC Countries vs. the EU and the US: The Facts

Karel Cool

Written by Karel Cool, Nicolas Harlé and Philippe Ombregt With more than 90% of global GDP growth coming from the rapidly developing economies,[i] companies from around the world are targeting these markets for future expansion. The BRIC (Brazil-Russia-India-China) cluster has been a major magnet as it represents about 25% of global GDP and over 60% of global growth.

Operations

Outclassing Sourcing Champions

With increasing specialization, technological complexity, and globalization, firms now buy a long list of products and services from many outside providers. In industries like automobiles, consumer electronics and retail, reliably sourcing a multitude of products from supply chain partners is the key to success.

Leadership & Organisations

Steve Jobs: Speaking from the wilderness

Editor’s Note: Nearly 16 years ago to the day, I interviewed Steve Jobs at an investment conference in San Francisco, California. He was “out of favour,” in-between his bifurcated tenure at the helm of Apple, revolutionising movie-making as chairman and CEO of Pixar. In retrospect, we see that Jobs brought his Apple technology approach to the movies and took movie marketing with him back to Apple…

Leadership & Organisations

The secret of success: Do your homework!

To err is human but how often do we get it wrong? More often than we realise, according to new research, and the biggest mistake corporations make is not being prepared.

Entrepreneurship

John Deere in Spain

Courage, adaptability, and the ability to anticipate brought John Deere’s Spanish tractor manufacturing operations from the brink of oblivion to the pinnacle of success, and an award for industrial excellence. The CEO tells INSEAD Knowledge how he did it.

Economics & Finance

India’s top-performing CEOs

A new INSEAD study reveals the emerging nation’s top-performing CEOs. Who made the list and what earned them top marks?
1 comment

Entrepreneurship

Networking: Is it vital to an entrepreneur’s success?

Can sharing an idea help take it from the drawing board to the marketplace? Talk may cost nothing but new research indicates it gives an entrepreneur a better chance of success.

Operations

Managing uncertainty

Why are we constantly surprised by the emergence of crises such as the current financial meltdown, and what are the lessons that we can apply when tackling these?

Operations

Error management: A pre-emptive move

If Murphy’s Law is to be believed, we should be doing a lot more to prevent mistakes from happening in the first place, especially when such errors can potentially turn into disasters. Take Chernobyl or the more recent NASA Columbia catastrophe, events that will long be remembered, but for the wrong reasons.

Operations

The changing role of the CIO: new skills needed

In today’s knowledge-based economy, the functions of the chief information officer (CIO) are becoming increasingly complex and multi-dimensional. And while some CIOs are already starting to assume leadership roles, recent studies have revealed a real need for education and training in order for CIOs to obtain the skill sets required to move into leadership positions.

Operations

The changing face of the CIO

As CEOs increasingly turn to technology to help them cope with a rapidly changing business environment, chief information officers (CIOs) are no longer simply ‘the IT guys’. Increasingly, they are expected to play a more strategic role.

Operations

Changing individuals changes organisations

Small and large businesses have been searching for decades for the holy grail of organisational change: the perfect way to motivate employees to change their old ways for what management (or consultants!) deem to be better, new ones.

Operations

The transcultural leader: Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault, Nissan

“I think one of the basics of transcultural leadership is empathy,” says Carlos Ghosn, the man who is credited with turning around major Japanese car maker Nissan.
1 comment

Operations

CEO view: Ben Verwaayen of BT

Sustainability is becoming an increasingly hot topic in business circles, but when it comes to grasping the sense of urgency surrounding the issue, many of the current generation of business leaders aren’t very good at ‘getting it’. That’s according to the outgoing CEO of BT plc, Ben Verwaayen.

Responsibility

Creating a climate for change

A new INSEAD-European Business Summit report on climate change has highlighted a surge in ‘green’ activities by US entrepreneurs, backed by venture capital.

Responsibility

Microsoft: Using technology to tackle climate change

Tackling climate change for Europe is “an incredible opportunity to innovate and compete with the rest of the world.” That’s the view of Microsoft International President Jean-Philippe Courtois, speaking at the recent European Business Summit in Brussels, which was devoted to climate change.

Career

The Experience Trap

When companies look for a manager, they should look for experience, right? Well, maybe not. INSEAD professors Kishore Sengupta and Luk Van Wassenhove say their research has revealed what they call the ‘experience trap.’