The American economy is profoundly dependent on the success of its retailers and the strength of its consumer spending. Yet, how do leading retailers create value for their customers? To a large extent this has been accomplished by streamlining operations and a decades-long focus on cost cutting and price competitiveness. Today, retailers realize that they need to discover new ways to differentiate themselves and attract consumer spending. The American Retail Value Proposition provides the framework for building that differentiation and establishing a competitive advantage that goes beyond price discounting. This framework is based on more than a decade of research, including hundreds of hours of interviews with executives from the world's leading retailers, including Starbucks, Walmart, Apple, Amazon, and Lowe's. Whether you are an aspiring merchant or an industry veteran, this book's strategic framework will help you build a solid foundation for your business in today's ever-evolving retail marketplace.

This book focuses on the development of strategies for the successful internationalization of large and medium-sized companies. Becoming international offers important opportunities for companies of all sizes, but in an increasingly complex environment, the strategic planning involved is also a challenge. The book addresses this, putting forward suggestions that allow large and medium-sized companies to profit from internationalization. After a comprehensive introduction to internationalization and strategic planning, the authors make clear recommendations, suggesting detailed processes for developing international strategies. The book distinguishes between going global for new markets and internationalizing production and sourcing. For both, the book proposes procedures for performing meaningful strategic analyses and for developing successful international strategies. Lastly, it highlights the challenges faced by international companies and discusses useful decision processes. The book offers valuable insights for company executives, participants in Executive MBA programs, and master's students.

A smart and witty take on strategy . . . an essential business topic

Every day, millions of professionals around the world discuss strategy, and they assume that everyone else in the room defines "strategy" the same way. But they don't. Howell J. Malham Jr. has created a simply designed and illustrated book that goes straight to the heart of the issue. Through the largely facetious dialog of two line drawn colorful characters, this clever, irreverent book seeks to get everyone in the room on the same page using the same definitions for the same words. This is a crucial first step to any business proposition, yet it is often the most overlooked.An open and visual book that defines the most over-used (and least understood) business term: strategyAuthor is the co-founder of Insight LabsProduced in a wry style, this book offers a witty, inventive take on a common business problem

At a time when business in general is groping in the dark for new solutions to persistent problems, this book is a breath of fresh air, reminding readers that they have to build a foundation before they can scale the walls.

Nowadays conferences are organized that raise the question: should we rethink growth? Corporate growth has always been one of the cornerstones of managerial thinking. External growth through mergers and acquisitions has come to the forefront of managerial practice over the last decade, due to the stagnation of internal growth. Most managers would agree that this drive for growth, almost without limits, has had important consequences.
Today, societal questions are at stake: is the abundance of the Western world still ethical? Although it is probably limited and marginal, the growing anti-globalization movement raises issues that are becoming of increasing importance for companies. These sustainability and responsibility themes are also being presented in an increasing number and variety of books and other publications. However, most of these publications ignore the holistic and dynamic framework within which a manager can really attain an overall understanding of and find possible alternatives to the issue of corporate growth. Social responsibility, sustainable development and growth are indeed deeply entangled. This book aims to provide the reader with a transversal, holistic view on these issues which will allow the reader to change his or her behavior.

Over the past several years, a great deal of research has been devoted to the use of information technology by small businesses. One technological tool now used to boost company success is Web presence enhancement in alignment with business strategy. ""Effective Web Presence Solutions for Small Businesses: Strategies for Successful Implementation"" is the first book to provide small businesses with a holistic approach to implementing their Web presence through identification of Web site content that matches their business strategy. A valuable read for small business owners as well as academicians and researchers, this book connects the various issues involved in the planning and execution of successful Web sites for small businesses.

Many social entrepreneurs struggle to take successful, innovative programs that address social problems a local or limited basis and scale them up to expand their impact in a more widespread, deeper, and efficient way. The editors address this issue with a comprehensive collection of original papers written by leading scholars that offers the latest thinking about how to scale social impact successfully.

In response to the world's rapidly growing social, economic and environmental challenges, a growing wave of "social intrapreneurs" are harnessing the power of large companies to create new business solutions to address societal problems. Social Intrapreneurism and All That Jazz reveals how these highly creative social innovators are improvizing alliances across, as well as beyond, their companies to create micro-insurance products for low-income people; offer delivery services to millions of small businesses in slums around the world; develop alternative-energy solutions inside a major gas and oil corporation; partner with a Brazilian community to produce new natural care products; establish a green advertising network within a major media company; apply engineering expertise to help alleviate poverty and much more - all while generating commercial value for their companies.Distilling insights from interviews with social intrapreneurs, their colleagues and experts around the world, the authors bring to life how business can be about more than just maximizing profit. They identify the mind-sets, behaviours and skills that have helped successful social intrapreneurs journey from initial idea to roll-out by their company - and some of the pitfalls.Although their journeys may be lonely at times and require considerable hard work while working "against the grain" of large conventional businesses, successful social intrapreneurs are, above all, great communicators who inspire others to join them in achieving a higher purpose beyond the realms of conventional business.Drawing on the metaphors of ensemble jazz music-making, the authors describe how "woodshedding", "jamming", "paying your dues", being a "sideman", joining and building a "band" but, above all, "listening" to what is happening in business and the wider world - are all part of the life of a successful social intrapreneurism project.Whether you're an aspiring social intrapreneur who wants to change the world while keeping your day job, or want to renew the entrepreneurial spirit of your own company, this book is for you.

Social media is now the dominant online activity and drives more website traffic than online search. The implications for businesses are as profound as the rise of Google fifteen years ago. Delegating this opportunity to a social media team is not enough—today’s leaders must personally grasp the tectonic changes arising from today’s social, always-connected customer, and must re-architect business practices and models accordingly.

In The Social Business Imperative, Silicon Valley entrepreneur and renowned thought leader Clara Shih identifies powerful new opportunities created by social media across the entire customer lifecycle. The functional breadth of this book is critical for today’s leaders, who must deliver a consistent experience across every brand touchpoint, from marketing to sales to customer service, online to offline, because that is what the customer expects.

This guide is a must-read for all professionals—from boards of directors to front-line sales managers, and from chief marketing officers to recruiting, IT, and compliance directors—who need to understand the digital transformation taking place not only in their own department but in all departments. Only with this broader understanding can functional leaders effectively collaborate on delivering a cohesive customer experience spanning previous organizational silos.

Going far beyond her global best-seller The Facebook Era, Clara offers unprecedented insights into why and how traditional organizations must re-imagine their existing business processes to capture “the digital last mile” across social media, mobile messaging apps, the Internet of Everything, and the collaborative economy.

There is a new business landscape, where companies are increasingly being judged on their ability to generate _social value_. But there is no off-the-shelf solution for the leaders and change makers in this new domain. Creating social value is a journey, and each company must chart its own path through uncertain and complex terrain. We invite you to discover how the entrepreneurial leaders profiled in this book have become trailblazers, using strategy and innovation to generate profits and social value simultaneously.Creating Social Value provides insights into the motivations and preoccupations of groundbreaking entrepreneurial leaders as they look to activate change not just within their companies, but also in their sectors, value chains and even through co-creating partnerships with their competitors. Such change requires fundamentally new styles of leadership and business design where companies seek to be generative rather than extractive.This book also bears witness to the emergence of new language to describe these innovative concepts. Working with and sharing ideas with social entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs inside, the authors became aware of the building blocks of a new lexicon with the power to inspire and positively influence the culture of an organization. Many of the leaders included in this book have driven change by harnessing the power of language to reroute their company's direction.For example, The Campbell Soup Company has created _destination goals_ to describe the long-term vision of the company to nourish its customers, employees and neighbours. Roshan has worked on _nation building_, creating physical infrastructure in Afghanistan, a country decimated by war. UPS has worked to understand its impact on the planet, building a _materiality matrix_ of the issues that matter to its stakeholders, while working to create a culture that fosters social innovation and seeks to understand _constructive dissatisfaction_. Ford is redefining its mission, imagining a different future in which it provides _mobility solutions_, rather than only manufacturing cars. Ford is working with Toyota to co-create technologies to combat climate change.This book sets out a manifesto for Social Value Creation, which is defined as a strategy that combines a unique set of corporate assets (including innovation capacities, marketing skills, managerial acumen, employee engagement, scale) in collaboration with the assets of other sectors and firms to co-create breakthrough solutions to complex economic, social and environmental issues that impact the sustainability of both business and society. Social innovation differs from corporate responsibility in two significant ways: it is strategic and it leverages a wide range of corporate assets and core competencies.Creating Social Value has been designed as a manual for change. It will be essential reading for business students, entrepreneurs and all of those wishing to effect positive, generative change in larger organizations.

In a global and digital society, businesses are constantly being challenged by innovative and disruptive management strategies. The dramatic changes that took place in all quadrants of the world during COVID pandemic confirmed companies need to constantly update their resources and anticipate trends. The new normal demands dedicated approaches to the markets, where technology and the digital channels have been gaining importance. Success will depend on the swift adaptation to change and to leading-edge practices that ultimately require digital transformation. Overall, companies are using digital channels to achieve a diversified set of business objectives. Indeed, digitalization offers endless innovation scenarios that companies take advantage of, some with resistance, others leveraged by gains in profitability and market share. The current changes demand an accurate and structured knowledge of strategies, drivers, and motivations for a digital transformation of companies, as well as an in-depth perspective of this new reality for students, educators and managers. This book analyzes the drivers of digital transformation of businesses, assesses digital transformation success factors, and presents case studies of digital adoption by companies in different business sectors. Overall, it provides valuable insights on the best practices and success factors of digital transformation for relevant stakeholders, namely managers, researchers, educators, students, digital strategists, business associations, communication and marketing agencies, future entrepreneurs, and all potential audiences with a specific interest in these topics.

This book presents 14 case studies of lobbying campaigns recently directed toward influencing policy and decisions in the EU, and illustrates the effects of recent wide-ranging change. Company lobbying has changed as cross-border mergers have concentrated their activity. The balance of power between member state governments and their devolved regions has shifted, and the regions are increasingly active players. The ability of NGOs to take a recognized part in policy formulation has increased and this change is accelerating. The included cases have been selected to illustrate the range of interest groups who lobby, and to broaden the coverage of lobbying cases in Europe.

Leadership and management education has relied too heavily on insights from North America and Europe - regions where growth has stagnated in recent years. In this book, EFMD and the top ranked business school HEC Paris have teamed up to explore and critically review key cases in leadership, management and several functional areas in the MENA region. The MENA region hosts a variety of countries with tremendous growth opportunities in both the present and future. Simultaneously, the region is highly heterogeneous. GDP, overall development and the nature of players and competition differ drastically. Based on the best submissions of the annual EFMD case competition, this book enables the reader to learn more about the success factors as well as the particularities of the region. The book is intended for all those readers interested in exploring to what extent doing business is culture-bound versus culture-free. With rich descriptions of contrasted settings, unique insights into the specific challenges and new solutions tailored to better prepare future actions, this book will be required reading for management scholars in many disciplines.

Editorial Objectives This series aims to present the latest research on entrepreneurship, innovation and the impact on economic performance. Topicality Advances in the Study of Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Economic Growth (ASEIEG) provides a timely and relevant discussion and exploration of entrepreneurial topics, their impact, and ties to key values in today's society, such as social, environmental and economic issues and challenges. Topics range from aspects of entrepreneurial behavior to determinants of entrepreneurial research with contributions from top scholars across the US and the globe. Key Benefits Organization and history of series allows a rich, multi faceted foundation for entrepreneurial topics in a rapidly changing information age. Research can be disseminated in a clear and effective manner to promote communication between the business and academic communities and to foster entrepreneurship within the society. Key Audiences Key audiences range from private industry to policy officials to researchers and educators. The role and understanding of entrepreneurship, the implications for current critical conditions and sustained vibrant economies, is rapidly growing. This series provides each with a highly useful blend of topics and scholarly perspectives. Coverage The series includes related articles and papers, frequently driven by organized colloquia and other business/academic exchange, with interdisciplinary perspectives including those of economics, marketing, law, finance, management, history, science, higher education administration and sociology. Coverage includes but is not limited to: Institutional entrepreneurial development Intellectual property concerns, patenting, and other property rights issues Environmental entrepreneurship and innovation Innovation within and across firms Effect of government regulation and tax policies Organizational factors, market structure effects and marketing strategies Entrepreneurship programmes and other educational activities Relative performance of entrepreneurial firms.

This book focuses on the challenges facing women who seek to create innovative entrepreneurial ventures, whilst also celebrating their scientific activities and contribution to technological advancement, society and economic development as a whole. It investigates and demonstrates the innovative and inventive achievements of women in the knowledge based society. It is almost universally accepted that scientific activities and discoveries are the most important sources of productivity growth and increased material welfare. Throughout history, women have been making significant contributions to scientific discoveries, innovation and inventions. However, they do not feature prominently in the inventive and innovative literatures except as exceptional examples. Current literature on scientific activities and discoveries, various facets of R&D or the management of technological change and scientific activities tends to ignore the gender dimension. This book seeks to redress this balance and contribute to current research and debate.

Want to know how to build a great company? Then buy and read "Rock Solid." Not only will it help you lay a firm foundation, it will help you build a future that will be rock solid and sound. Isn t that what we all want? -Peter Legge, OBS, LL.D (HON), D. Tech. Chairman/CEO-Canada Wide Media Limited

If you re in business and you d like to build a strong company then " Rock Solid-How to Strengthen Your Company" was written with you in mind.

It is a practical, how to guide for achieving success in business. It s packed full of down to earth, common sense advice and innovative new concepts that were born and raised in the trenches of small business.

"Rock Solid" delivers ideas that genuinely work in today s business world. If you aren t getting business results you want or you plan to grow your business then this book will be an extraordinarily interesting read.

"Rock Solid" is a fable that follows Jen Russell s journey as she discovers and documents the Company Strength Program developed by Mark McKinley a savvy, community minded business veteran who now lives in a rest home.

This volume serves to recognize the uniqueness of the moment; the number of new users of e-services worldwide will double during 2015-2018 (moving from 2 billion users mostly living in the developed nations to an additional 2 billion users mostly living in developing nations). This radical embrace of new e-service technologies will substantially improve the quality of lives for most residents globally. A profound happening occurring now! The new technologies combine rapidly delivering of a multitude of services at extremely low cost to adopters now having extremely low incomes relative to residents living in developed nations. Adoption of e-service among residents in developing nations ends the debate as to whether or not marketing to the "bottom of the pyramid" is possible. The more relevant issues focus on describing and explaining e-service adoption processes in developing nations. How are these processes being implemented? What obstacles had to be overcome in achieving these adoptions? How were these obstacles overcome? Read this volume for research providing useful answers to these questions.

Many of those interested in the effect of industry on contemporary life are also interested in Frederick W. Taylor and his work. He was a true character, the stuff of legends, enormously influential and quintessentially American, an award-winning sportsman and mechanical tinkerer as well as a moralizing rationalist and early scientist. But he was also intensely modem, one of the long line of American social reformers exploiting the freedom to present an idiosyncratic version of American democracy, in this case one that began in the industrial workplace. Such as wide net captures an amazing range of critics and questioners as well as supporters. So much is puzzling, ambiguous, unexplained and even secret about Taylor's life that there will be plenty of scope for re-examination, re-interpretation and disagreement for years to come. But there is a surge of fresh interest and new analyses have appeared in recent years (e. g. Wrege, C. & R. Greenwood, 1991 "F. W. Taylor: The father of scientific management," Business One Irwin, Homewood IL; Nelson, D. (Ed. ) 1992 "The mental revolution: Scientific management since Taylor," Ohio State University Press, Columbus OH). We know other books are under way. As is customary, we offer this additional volume respectfully to our academic and managerial colleagues, from whatever point of view they approach scientific management, in the hope that it will provoke fresh thought and discussion. But we have a more aggressive agenda.

The book intends to make a contribution to new theoretical concepts and knowledge to existing leadership theory. Through in-depth case studies of international corporations that have achieved business innovation, the book aims to provide new leadership theory of practitioners who promote strategic knowledge creation activities to achieve business innovation and new practical insights. The book discusses in detail theoretical concepts and practical knowledge in the leadership interaction among the different management layers (top, middle and lower layers) and among the different layers (formal layer, psychological boundary layer, and informal layer).

Properly conceived and executed mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have the potential to unlock value for a wide range of corporate stakeholders. However, many of these transactions fail to deliver the expected outcomes.

In this fourth edition of Mergers and Acquisitions: A South African overview, the most important factors that contribute to M&A failure are identified. Suggestions are also provided on how to avoid the identified pitfalls in future endeavours.

The book fills an important gap in the academic literature on M&As in South Africa post-2020. Not only is considerable attention given to the strategic objectives prompting business combina- tions and restructurings, but several valuation techniques are also presented to determine the fair value of a target. Numerous case studies are included to highlight the implications. Focus is furthermore placed on the importance of due diligence investigations and post-intergration analyses.

Real-life examples, practical exercises, quick quizzes, multiple choice questions and long questions are included to enhance the reader's understanding of key concepts and calculations.

All four authors are Professors in the Department of Business Management at Stellenbosch University.

Work has changed forever. How can HR and leaders adapt? How can they deal with the wellbeing and productivity crisis, address the skills gap and build better organizations? This book has the answer. Written by a leading voice in the people profession, The New World of Work takes an evidence-based approach to provide practical advice on how the business and employees can succeed. It covers how to combat stalling productivity, poor wellbeing and the increase in mental health issues in the workplace as well as the need for agile learning, ways to close the skills gap and a refreshingly realistic look at the impact of technology. There is also essential discussion of job design, flexible working, diversity and inclusion (D&I) and how to engage both an ageing workforce and new Gen Z recruits. This book also includes guidance on how to build a business which is responsible, trustworthy and transparent, is based on the principles of 'good work' and is one that employees are proud to work for. With global examples and case studies from private and public sector organizations, The New World of Work is the book that HR and business professionals need to seize the opportunity and allow both the business and its people to succeed.

Social entrepreneurship is revolutionizing the way societal challenges are being approached and solved. Instead of waiting for government or big business to take action, individuals across the world are developing and implementing innovative, effective, and sustainable solutions to some of our most pressing social and environmental challenges. In Entrepreneurship for Social Change, a cast of expert contributors explore how the growing trend towards social entrepreneurship, along with a variety of political, cultural and social influences, have developed across sectors and countries. The book features a diverse array of chapters on subjects such as peer-to-peer lending, venture capital, the digital silk road, small business contracting and women's health social enterprises.

Business Intelligence (BI) and Performance Management (PM) - the development and delivery of business insight for users and the management of execution based on that insight - are two solution-types that promise to bring great value to enterprises. Yet most organizations haven't yet realized the elusive bene?ts of these two important disciplines. The reasons for this are manifold. However, the primary causes are the culture of the organization and it leadership. This is a topic, which I've addressed at length in my latest book: Pro?les in Performance - Business Intelligence Journeys and the Roadmap for Change. The culture and leadership of the organization determines the importance and strategic intent surrounding the use of BI and PM. Sadly, most organizations lack the motivation to embrace transparency and accountability - or to align with the strategy of the organization - enabling execution and coordination in unison with the mission. However, once an organization and its leadership are ready to take a step towards real change - creating an environment of openness, sharing and alignment - with BI and PM as its centerpiece - the next question then becomes one of "how and where to begin"? Even with great strategic intent, missteps in the development and deployment of BI and PM and can cause disillusionment and disappointment - lending support to the naysayers of the organization - and leading to failure and abandonment of these critical programs.

To stay ahead of the pack, you must translate your organization's competitive strategy into day-to-day actions that will enable your company to win in the marketplace. This means channeling resources into the right efforts, striking a balance between innovation and control, and getting everyone pulling in the same direction. How to accomplish all this? Continually ask the right questions, advises Harvard Business School professor Robert Simons. By posing these provocative questions, you identify critical gaps in your strategy execution processes, focus on the most important choices you must make, and understand what's at stake in each one. In this concise guide, Simons presents the seven key questions you and your team must regularly explore together: *Who is your primary customer? Have you organized your company to deliver maximum value to that customer? *How do your core values prioritize shareholders, employees, and customers? Is everyone in your company committed to those values? *What critical performance variables are you tracking? How are you creating accountability for performance on those variables? *What strategic boundaries have you set? Does everyone know what actions are off-limits? *How are you generating creative tension? Is that tension catalyzing innovation across units? *How committed are your employees to helping each other? Are they sharing responsibility for your company's success? *What strategic uncertainties keep you awake at night? How are you riveting everyone's attention on those uncertainties? These questions force you to reexamine the unspoken assumptions underlying your strategy and analyze how it's implemented through your business processes and structures. Simons' extensive examples then help you understand your options and make the tough choices needed for your company to excel at execution. Drawing on decades of research into performance management systems and organization design, Seven Strategy Questions is a no-nonsense, must-read resource for all leaders in your organization.

This book focuses on "creative destruction" in the context of the knowledge economy and society. It examines the ideas of innovation and entrepreneurship developed by Joseph Schumpeter in the early part of the twentieth century; ideas that challenged the orthodoxy of his peers and continue to be a critical force for developing sustainable advantage among enterprises. The discussions and examples illustrate ideas and provide arguments - for both the academic and practitioner - maintaining that although Schumpeter's concepts were developed over seventy years ago, his theory of "creative destruction" is essential for organizations to survive in the future.