As 2024 draws to a close, we look back on the insights from INSEAD professors and alumni that have helped individuals and organisations navigate a transformative and turbulent year.  

Generative AI continues to dominate headlines, and our faculty examined the game-changing technology from diverse angles. From AI-human collaboration to gaining competitive advantage, they offered timely takeaways and solutions to companies grappling with the GenAI revolution. 

We continued to contribute to the sustainability agenda with on-the-ground insights. Together with the Director of Sustainability of Paris 2024, our professors analysed the Paris Olympics’ comprehensive strategy to minimise emissions and waste. Meanwhile, we also showed how economic development and environmental protection can go hand-in-hand in Africa. 

In organisational dynamics, our faculty proposed fresh perspectives with advice about dismantling hierarchies and building high-performing teams. On entrepreneurship, we highlighted how scientific methodologies can significantly improve venture outcomes. 

The year also brought some unexpected discoveries, such as the influence of gut bacteria on decision-making, and pragmatic career insights suggesting that "growing" professional passion may be more effective than pursuing an idealised dream job. 
 
Looking towards 2025, with a change in power looming in the United States, our article exploring the link between democracy and economic power remains a timely read for executives and decision-makers.  

Scroll down to find out more about each of the featured articles. 

Thank you for reading Knowledge. We wish you a very good year ahead. 

New Pathways to Africa's Challenges 
In Africa, tackling the twin imperatives of sustainable development – meeting the needs of the present without negatively impacting the future – and economic growth is paramount. These are not diametrically opposed, says Affiliate Professor of Strategy Lite Nartey, and we must acknowledge that one cannot occur without the other. 

Paris 2024: A Model for Greener Games 
With an ambitious plan to halve greenhouse gas emissions, Paris 2024 was designed for sustainability from the start. INSEAD alumna Georgina Grenon, Director of Sustainability at Paris 2024, and her team identified carbon-emitting activities and designed mitigation strategies. Professors Atalay Atasu and Luk Van Wassenhove explain how the 2024 Olympics could provide the sustainability blueprint for future Games and large-scale events, and even the decarbonisation of business and society.

Video: INSEAD Explains Sustainability – Nutrition and Health 
The global food industry is facing multiple challenges, from widespread obesity to climate change and ethical treatment of animals. In this episode of the INSEAD Explains Sustainability series, Professor of Marketing Pierre Chandon argues that marketers are in a prime position to help find solutions that offer a triple win for sustainability, consumers and companies.  

Could More Human-Like AI Undermine Trust? 
From virtual assistants to self-driving cars, the use of modern AI technologies based on deep-learning architectures has increased dramatically in recent years. But why do we perceive some forms of AI to be more trustworthy than others? Professor of Strategy Phanish Puranam and University College London’s Bart Vanneste explore the nuanced ways human trust in AI can be affected, and how interventions meant to stimulate trust may actually backfire. 

Video: INSEAD Explains GenAI – Four Ways GenAI Can Give You a Competitive Edge 
INSEAD professors Anton Ovchinnikov, David Dubois, Miguel Lobo and Hyunjin Kim reveal four ways GenAI can be leveraged to gain a significant edge. They unpack how the technology can help businesses scale decision-making power, learn from the past, unlock new possibilities and amplify existing strengths. 

Podcast: Negotiating Beyond Win-Win  
The world is becoming more interconnected and yet many countries are experiencing greater polarisation and conflict. What we really need is not just a one-time “win”, but more constructive dialogues and sustainable negotiation strategies, say Horacio Falcão, Roderick Swaab and Eric Luis Uhlmann, co-founders of the Negotiation and Conflict Management Collaborative at INSEAD. 

The Science of Successful Start-Ups 
Entrepreneurs have long sought novel formulas in their quest for success. Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship Chiara Spina and her colleagues found that the most potent tool might be one that's centuries old: the scientific approach. Start-ups that were trained by the researchers to use this approach were more likely to weed out unviable ideas, pivot to more promising directions, and generate more revenue than those in a control group. 

Podcast: How to Dismantle Hierarchies in Teams 
Rigid hierarchical team designs seem to have fallen out of favour with contemporary organisations. However, making the switch to a decentralised structure is by no means easy. Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour Michael Y. Lee explains why firms can fail in their bids to jettison rank-based structures and offers tips that can set companies up for success. 

The Six Dimensions of Winning Teams 
Teams with clear goals, values, rules, roles and processes, backed by full individual commitment, are primed for peak performance. In a working paper, Emeritus Professor of Technology and Operations Management Ludo Van der Heyden and co-author Alain Goudsmet argue that "values" and "rules" are essential for building teams that go beyond simply functioning and truly excel.