The rapid takeoff of the continent-sized national economies and the increasing expense of extraction have led to strong tensions in petrol prices and a race towards alternative driving systems. This book analyses the emergence of a second automobile revolution through the trajectories of automobile firms since the nineties.

Since the introduction of the One Belt, One Road initiative (OBOR), first proposed in late 2013, international scholars have begun to study this new policy and its implications in the global age. While OBOR provides new opportunities for China in terms of regional cooperation and global development, many also raise concerns about China's intentions of using economic means to achieve strategic and foreign policy objectives. Hailing from the West and the East, the authors reflect on the wide-ranging impacts of OBOR on specific countries, regions, economic policies, and geopolitical considerations. Including both theoretical research and empirical studies that explore opportunities and challenges related to OBOR, this edited volume will allow readers to gain a more comprehensive understanding of this ambitious undertaking and its long-term impact on the rest of the world.

In the network economy, concepts of management knowledge, management learning, and business school organization should change. Otherwise, they will not survive the 21st century. Different (f)actors are putting new demand upon providers of management education and traditional providers of management education are faced with new competitors. Moreover, the dynamics of the playing field have changed, as have approaches to (management) learning. Management Education in the Network Economy proposes the idea of networked business school to cope with these challenges. The book deals with the following subjects: 1) Current economic and organizational realities can best be viewed from the perspective of network organization; management knowledge and education should reflect these transformations to survive. 2) The idea and organization of (management) learning are revolutionizing, as well as the market for (management) education, which brings about huge changes for business schools. 3) Business school, particularly, should capitalize on these transformations and should strategically (re)organize and (re)position themselves to compete in the playing field for management education. 4) A networked learning environment is an integrative and effective learning environment for organizing management education in the 21st century network economy. 5) The networked business school is the organizational form to survive in the 21st century network economy, reflecting the environmental changes and demands, and to realize a competitive edge in the field of management education.

This book summarizes highlights of the investigation of "An Elucidation of the Role of Institutional Systems in Characterizing Technology Development Trajectories - A Global Comparative Analysis of Manufacturing Technology and Information Te- nology in the Enhancement of Business Practice" supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scienti?c Research (S) by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology/Japan Society for Science Policy over the period 2002-2006. Background and objectives of the investigation are summarized as follows: (a) Japan ranks far below the level of the USA with respect to the development and utilization of information technology (IT) in the information society that emerged in the 1990s. (b) This can be attributed toa vicious cycle between Japan's non-elastic institutions, insuf?cient utilization of the potential bene?ts of IT, and economic stagnation. (c) The source of such a vicious cycle can be derived from the fundamental d- ferences of the characterizing process of technology between manufacturing technology (MT) and IT during their diffusion processes. This investigation - tempted to elucidate this mechanism. Noteworthy ?ndings obtained include: (a) MT has been developed largely by the supply side and its functionality is - tablished during the stage of its supply to the market. In contrast, IT is strongly driven by the demand side and its functionality is created through diffusion in a self-propagating way. This contrast can be clearly observed in the dramatic advancement of Japan's mobile phone industry in the late 1990s.

Provides an updated view of knowledge management strategies of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) by focusing on how those firms manage innovation in their value chains and at the territorial level. Offers an original analysis of key processes of KIBS, specializing in design, professional firms and information technology.

"Through 18 brand new case studies this book shows how companies did not manage labor and customers as long as they did not need to. With competition becoming tougher and tougher, they tried to recover control, using more and more processes and reporting systems. The result is exactly the opposite: the more they rule, the more they lose control"--

The strategic concepts and tools illustrated in this book provide a framework for devising and implementing strategies favouring longevity of family-controlled business entities. The authors illustrate their arguments with examples drawn from their direct knowledge of representative Italian and European family firms.

The rewards of success in emerging markets are potentially huge, and as luxury companies continue to expand their global reach, they will need to continually assess if their current strategy is delivering competitive advantage. This text presents a repository of knowledge that brings clarity to key issues and trends for practitioners, academics and students of luxury brands. It sets out to decode the luxury markets in the primary emerging markets (BRICs) and provide a rich resume of the key factors that influence the effectiveness of luxury brand strategies.

Few industries fit the description of high turbulence and high velocity better than the computer games industry. Relatively young, rapidly evolving, and frequently experiencing disruptive innovation, its potential for growth and new business opportunities seems barely exhausted. And indeed, in the current economic climate this industry seems positively recession-proof. Those making and those playing games use digital technology to share an enthusiasm for the industry's products that we rarely find elsewhere. This fascination with computer games and gaming and the economic significance of the industry make it one of the most remarkable socio-cultural phenomena of our world. As the industry emerges, we become more aware of the need to trace it and to understand it in all its meanings, and the challenges it poses. The 10 chapters in this book provide an examination of the computer games industry from 10 different perspectives, discussing the following aspects: -The spatial logic of the industry-Business model innovation-Games development - a risky business-Co-production and the role of the consumer-Business sustainability-The place of creativity-Emerging people management challenges-Violent games and work well-being-A critical perspective on games as phantasmagoric commodities-Virtual worlds - blurring boundaries between realities and games

Improving Banking Supervision shows how greater market discipline can be used to help improve the quality of banks and their management in a world of increasing complexity, size, and innovation. The book is based on research undertaken in the Nordic countries and New Zealand, and set in an international context through reference and comparison to the experiences of banks throughout the EU and the US. The authors show how traditional methods of regulation, particularly across borders face limits and can impose substantial costs on customers. They propose alternatives for today's international banks, based on a network of incentives to prudential behavior and focusing on three main issues: the development of transparent corporate structures; the public disclosure of comparable meaningful information so that markets can assess banks; and the implementation of effective means to allow banks to exit without unacceptable costs to society.

Communication creates organizations, and the ways individuals communicate determines the functions and processes of organizations. Understanding communication challenges is necessary in order to understand organizational successes and organizational change. Transformative Practice and Research in Organizational Communication is an essential reference publication featuring the latest scholarly research on the practice of organizational communication. The chapters cover a range of topics such as business expertise, social media, and capitalism. This book is ideally designed for academicians, students, professionals, and managers seeking current research on organizational communication practices.

We now possess the capability to make great business decisions in even the most difficult or ambiguous of situations with the use of today's advanced software capability. The authors, who are experts in cognitive science, software, and practical decision-making, explain the new science of decision-making and offer examples and advice that will enable readers put it to use in their organizations.

A sequential guide that takes the entrepreneur from inception of an idea to success and all the way to exit. Lindile details the milestones of growing and evolving a business in a journey that is by no means linear.

This playbook reveals a path to the desired destination of every entrepreneur who uses it, where the entrepreneur can define his or her own formula of success, from the very first inkling of an idea and turning that into a reality. Lindile push-starts the entrepreneur using a strategy he calls Rapid Deployment to monetise ideas by turning them into reality. It is a model that can move an idea from zero to a hundred in a matter of days. Fast implementation allows the idea to go through an entire life cycle in a short space of time. Most importantly, it forces the budding entrepreneur to start.

This playbook outlines the importance of investing in oneself.

A successful exit is determined at the point of entry. The entrepreneur must take full control of how the journey ends or evolves. This guides the decisions that the entrepreneur makes as he or she starts and grows the business. Ultimately, entrepreneurship requires consistency, resilience, adaptability, mental strength and acute awareness. All of this must be rooted in mindfulness. Although mindfulness is not something taught in business schools, it is an essential element of success.

At its very core, The Young Entrepreneur’s Playbook is for anyone with an idea to bring to life, something of value to provide, challenge to move past, aspiration to chase after and willingness to do something about it. This is a playbook of how to get it done, all the while embracing failure as an important part of the process but ultimately a useful tool to expedite the very outcome that you seek.

Remarkable is more than just a word. It's a vision. It's the art to create meaningful impact to prospects and customers. Being remarkable is something that I believe every company can achieve. The Remarkable Effect was written to help tech-entrepreneurs-on-a-mission shape the software business they've always aspired to run: Remarkable and Impactful. In The Remarkable Effect Ton Dobbe reveals the ten traits that define a remarkable software company. Stacking them up behind each other will not only help you stand out in your category, but also create clear leverage of value; exponential value, not just incremental - hence 'The Remarkable Effect.' It might be, however, you aren't the CEO (yet!) and are still selling products day to day with prospects, or maybe you are at the strategic helm of your company looking for solutions to uniquely position the value you have to offer, or potentially you are looking for fresh product strategy perspectives to keep you stay one step ahead. If your goal is to further the business you own, run or work for, this book for you. It is not about processes and procedures - the 80% under the water. This book is about the 20% that will separate you from the rest. The ideas and strategies in this book have been proven to be highly effective for start-ups, underdogs, established market leaders (who are often in danger of losing their edge), small companies, large companies and everything in between. There's an art and a science to being remarkable, and it hasn't got anything to do with where you are on your journey. So, are you ready to take the journey to unleash the remarkable effect inside your software business?

Volberda, Morgan and Reinmoeller have joined with Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson to develop a truly landmark strategic management textbook that is ideally suited for courses in Europe, the Middle East and Africa as well as other global markets. With a new process perspective to supplement the text's trademark integrated approach, Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalization provides the most comprehensive and thorough coverage of strategic management now available in the market. Whilst maintaining the strengths and hallmark features of the original work, this new strategy text has been specially prepared to match the modern EMEA curriculum with boosted coverage of implementation issues, analysis of how firms use strategic management tools, techniques and concepts, a balanced emphasis on economics and resource-based perspectives and expanded coverage of comparative governance and organizational renewal. Strategic Management has been shortlisted for the 2011/12 CMI Management Book of the Year awards in the ebook and Management and Leadership Textbook categories. More information about the CMI and the competition can be found here http://yearbook.managers.org.uk/index5.htm.

Conquering Global Markets offers assessments of the issues, statistics, cases, and best practices of mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and alliances throughout the world. Using information gleaned interviews with CEOs, the book provides insights into making global M&As successful.

For many business owners, navigating a path to success can be compared to walking through a minefield. New business owners - as well as those operating mature businesses - often face unexpected problems at every bend in the road. Confronting these challenges need not be as fraught with worry and confusion as it may appear. Ken Boyar, a business consultant and CPA with more than 25 years of experience will guide you through some of the more common problems entrepreneurs face. Through his examples, you will learn not only how to avoid common mistakes but how to gain the tools you need to fix problems that may have already occurred. This primer on the "do's and don'ts" of business operations will help set you on the path to mastering your own small business.

This book introduces e-Roadmapping--a new tool set for executives and entrepreneurs who need to strategize in the new economy. The rapidly changing commercial environment and new focus on innovation and speed of execution means that for many organizations the old models of assessing the competitive landscape and forecasting a long-term strategy are dead. So how are company leaders to plot their future and maintain a sense of direction for their business? "E-Roadmapping" examines ways of dealing with this complexity and provides a tool-kit for formulating strategy with an entrepreneurial spirit. Stefan Bornheim demonstrates models of "mapping" the business landscape, pin-pointing areas of competition, and planning an organization's transformation. Based on extensive in-company research and full of examples of the models in action, "E-Roadmapping" is a stimulating look at the sharp end of the new economy.

Emerging from the authors' work with companies such as Coca-Cola, Motorola, 3M, General Motors and Unilever, The Delta Project provides a unique model through which to develop strategy in the new economy. Hax and Wilde examine how globalization, deregulation and the emergence of the internet infrastructure have changed the rules for success and identify three distinct strategic positions that can be used to realign the direction of your business. Introducing new models of 'bonding', 'complementors' and 'customer lock-in' this book provides a fundamental shift in the way we think about competitive positioning.

The lack of adequate and timely IT involvement in the merger and acquisition process costs companies millions of dollars every year. Current research shows that IT accounts for 20-30% of the post-acquisition benefits in a merger or acquisition, and it is growing. With M&A activity back on an upwards trend, the need to get IT right has never being greater.
- How can a merger be achieved in today's business world with successful use of IT?
- How can companies avoid M&A failure and additional risks in an IT M&A project?
- What should your company be doing about IT when contemplating a merger or acquisition?
This book addresses these topical questions and provides the answers. By presenting new analysis and research, this book appeals to multiple audiences. Whether you are an international group or small company, a practitioner CIO or IT manager, a consultant or senior manager there are plenty of management and technical best practices to give you a practical insight into how to make use of IT in a M&A transaction.

What can you learn from one of the most successful companies in the world? The Spanx Story will help you understand and adopt the competitive strategies, workplace culture, and daily business practices that enabled entrepreneur Sara Blakely to dominate the shapewear industry and become a billionaire. Sara Blakely had a problem. She had a beautiful pair of white designer pants hanging in her closet just calling out to her to wear them, even though they accented her least favorite feature: cellulite. After searching high and low for a solution and coming up empty, an idea was born: Spanx. The Spanx Story chronicles Sara's journey from long nights researching patent and trademark law, to years of cold shoulders she received from the titans of the pantyhose industry, to the cold call that led to the shelves of Nieman Marcus. It was a long road of incredible hard work and determination that led Spanx to become the iconic brand it is today. Through Sara's story, you will learn: How to develop an idea and turn it into a business. How to start a company with very little capital by thinking outside of the box and dedicating every spare moment to your goal. How to recognize when it's better to hire a CEO than to be the CEO. How to stay the course and continue to believe in your idea, despite naysayers and going against an industry resistant to innovation. The Spanx Story educates and inspires entrepreneurs and innovators to find the problem for their solutions and persevere through the hard work that goes into building a billion-dollar company.

The 6th International Asia Conference on Industrial Engineering and Management Innovation is sponsored by the Chinese Industrial Engineering Institution and organized by Tianjin University. The conference aims to share and disseminate information on the most recent and relevant researches, theories and practices in industrial and system engineering to promote their development and application in university and enterprises.

Towards 2020, a rapid changing landscape will emerge in Asia where the opportunities for Asian companies to benefit from international branding efforts will be larger than ever before. The growing emphasis on shareholder value and brand strategy to drive value will move up the boardroom agenda and become one of the most prominent drivers of value in Asia Pacific.
Asian Brand Strategy offers insights, knowledge and perspectives on Asian brands and branding as a strategic tool and provides a comprehensive framework for understanding Asian branding strategies and Asian brands, including success stories and challenges for future growth and strengths. The book includes theoretical frameworks and models and up-to-date case studies on Asian brands, and it a must-read for Asian and Western business leaders as well as anyone interested in the most exciting region of the world.
The book presents the Asian Brand Leadership model illustrating the paradigm shift Asian brands need to undertake to unleash their potential.
First, mindsets and practices need to change in the Asian boardroom. The book invites a complete shift in the way Asian boardrooms think of branding: from a tactical view to a long-term, strategic perspective, from fragmented marketing activities to totally aligned branding activities, from a vision of branding as the sole responsibility of marketing managers to branding as the most essential function of the firm led by the boardroom.
Second, this new perspective must be steeped into a more acute perspective on the consumer behaviour patterns. Asia is not a homogenous entity. Even more importantly, Asian countries are more and more traversed by cultural flows permeatingthe region: cinema, music and fashion trends that are present extend beyond national borders to capture the imagination of millions. Branding and brands do not operate in vacuum, but are closely linked to developments in society, to people and to cultures.
Third, managers wanting to succeed in Asia need to abandon the idea of an oriental Asia of the past. Asian consumers are all vying for an Asian type of modernity that has nothing to do with colonial imagery.
Fourth, to create iconic brands, Asian managers will have to become trendsetters. The perspective developed in this book is that, in order to be successful, Asian brands need to capture the spirit of the region, but they also need to lead the way by creating that spirit.
Finally, this shift can be achieved only if everybody in the company is convinced by the power of branding and if all strategies and actions are aligned around the brand. This must be led by the Asian boardroom.