Strategic Alliance Management presents an academically grounded alliance development framework, detailing eight stages of alliance development with consideration for specific management challenges. For each stage, readers are presented with theoretical insights, evidence-based managerial guidelines and a business case illustration. Other chapters consider alliance attributes, alliance competences, and alliance challenges, and cover topics such as innovation, co-branding, co-opetition, business ecosystems, alliance professionals, alliance capabilities, societal alliances and a tension-based alliance mindset. This fully revised 3rd edition leverages the book's strengths in marrying theory with practical insight. All the chapters have been updated to reflect the current academic literature, whilst new international case studies are incorporated throughout. Two new chapters feature in this edition, considering the importance of the mindset required to successfully navigate alliance arrangements, and emerging alliance practices, exploring how new technologies, sustainability and the external environment have disrupted alliance management. In-chapter text boxes discussing emerging themes provide opportunity for discussion and analysis. The textbook remains highly valuable core and recommended reading for postgraduate students of Strategic Management and Corporate Strategy, MBA and Executive MBA, as well as reflective practitioners in the field. Online resources include chapter-by-chapter lecture slides, two long case studies and short interviews with alliance executives.

Digital Pricing Strategy provides a best practice overview of how companies design, analyse and execute digital pricing strategies. Bringing together insights from academic and professional experts globally, the text covers essential areas of the value and pricing of data, platform pricing, pricing of subscriptions and monetization of the global environment. Case studies, examples and interviews from leading organizations, including Zuora, Honeywell, Relayr, Alcatel Lucent, ABB, Thales and General Electric, illustrate key concepts in practice. To aid student learning, chapter objectives, summaries and key questions feature in every chapter, alongside PowerPoint slides and a test bank available online for lecturers. Comprehensive and applied in its approach, this text provides postgraduate, MBA and Executive Education students with an understanding of the capabilities, processes and tools that enable executives to effectively implement digital transformations and capture value from digital innovations.

Cultural proximity consists in shared language, codes ,and norms of communication and exchange between actors. It is generally considered important for organizations, enhancing communication and facilitation interaction between actors. In such situation, diversity is often seen as a source of richness and originality. However, high levels of proximity might create some risk, leading to lock-in and inertia, with a negative impact on the innovativeness of the organization. While the role of cultural proximity is subject to much debate within organizations studies, a comprehensive understanding of cultural proximity remains elusive. This book explores the organizational implications of the concept of cultural proximity, delving into the managerial challenges posed by diversities and similarities in culture within a business environment using different levels of analysis. The key messages of the present book, grounded on original empirical evidence, can be summarized as follows: cultural proximity is a key factor for managing innovation in present times; innovation requires a deliberate orchestration of the dichotomy between cultural proximity/cultural diversity; there are specific circumstances where proximity can be beneficial for managers and entrepreneurs. The book will be of value to researchers, academics, managers, and students in the fields of management science, human resource management, innovation studies, and organizational studies.

'Fifth Discipline' is one of the very few approaches to management that has attained position on the International Hall of Fame. Professor Flood's book explains and critiques the ideas in straight forward terms. This book makes significant and fundamental improvements to the core discipline - systemic thinking. It establishes crucial developments in systemic thinking in the context of the learning organisation, including creativity and organisational transformation. It is therefore a very important text for strategic planners, organisational change agents and consultants.
The main features of the book include:
* a review and critique of 'Fifth Discipline' and systemic thinking
* an introduction to the gurus of systemic thinking - Senge, Bertalanffy, Beer, Ackoff, Checkland, and Churchman
*a redefinition of management through systemic thinking
*a guide to choosing, implementing and evaluating improvement strategies
*Practical illustrations.
Robert Flood is a renowned and authoritative expert in the field of management. He has implemented systemic management in a wide range of organisations in many continents and lectured by invitation in 25 countries, including Japan and the USA. Professor Flood has featured on many radio and TV programs. His book Beyond TQM was nominated for the 'IMC Management Book of the Year 1993'.

Related link: http://www.BobFlood.com

This book provides a broad overview of how sustainability reporting has grown, how it is used now and where it is heading. Daily, we read and hear in various media about concepts such as corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability reporting, sustainability accounting, environmental reports, corporate citizenship or environmental management systems. Accounting for Sustainability decodes this terminology by providing an accessible introduction to the topic that explores sustainability reporting from an internal and external perspective. It begins with an overview of how sustainability reporting has emerged and why it is important, before moving on to cover definitions of key terms and specific theories and frameworks. Subsequent chapters explore the role of financial management, sustainability standards, accounting communication and capital markets. With learning outcomes and study questions embedded in each chapter, this book will be of great interest to students of sustainability reporting and accounting, as well as practitioners taking related professional accreditations.

Four questions determine whether a company is using interorganizational cost management.

• Does your firm set specific cost-reduction objectives for its suppliers?
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• Does your firm help its customers and/or suppliers find ways to achieve their cost-education objectives?
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• Does your firm take into account the profitability of its suppliers when negotiating component pricing with them?
• 
  
• Is your firm continuously making its buyer-supplier interfaces more efficient?

If the answer to any of these questions is "no," your firm risks introducing products that cost too much or are not competitive. The full potential of the supply network can be realized only when the entire supply chain adopts interorganizational cost management practices.

Competitive pressure has led many firms to try to increase the efficiency of supplier firms through interorganizational cost management systems, a structured approach tocoordinating the activities of firms in a supplier network to reduce the total costs in the network.
It is particularly important to lean enterprises for two reasons:

• Lean enterprises typically outsource more of the added value of their products than their mass producer counterparts.
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• Lean enterprises usually compete more aggressively and must manage costs more effectively.

Interorganizational cost management can reduce costs in three ways: through product design, through product manufacture and through cooperative approaches between buyers and suppliers to build smoother interfaces.
However, more than just cost management must cross interorganizational boundaries. Suppliers are also a major source ofinnovation for lean enterprises. Successful supplier networks encourage every firm in the network to innovate and compete more aggressively. Read this book to learn to manage the supply chain to forge competitive advantage while reducing costs.

Market globalization is changing the way companies do business. It is now necessary for businesses to use mergers, joint ventures, and research consortia if they want to stay competitive and increase returns. The problem is that venturing into such partnerships has a substantial failure rate. In many cases, failure is due to poor preparation, inability to manage conflict, and simply being overwhelmed by the complexity of the partnership issues.The Nature of Chaos in Business offers answers to why such partnerships fail and how successful partnerships can be fostered through the complexity and supposed chaos of the situation. Based on models of complexity formulated and studied at the esteemed Santa Fe Institute, this guide demonstrates how complexity in business, as in nature, eventually falls into patterns. Through the recognition and use of these patterns, today's businesses can leverage each other's strengths into powerful alliances. The Nature of Chaos in Business is a fascinating, cutting-edge treatise on the application of complexity theory in business. The "war stories" throughout the book offer insight and wisdom from the real-life experiences of some of the world's largest, high-profile corporations and individuals.

'Tales from the Marketplace: Stories of Revolution, Reinvention and Renewal' is a highly innovative approach to building an understanding of the realities of market-led strategic change in companies. It provides an engaging, honest, and effective understanding of real market strategy in major organizations by focussing on the forces behind value-driven strategy.
Nigel Piercy provides new and incisive insights into strategy and marketing through business "stories" that are contemporary and provocative. These new "stories" depict how major organizations have experienced revolution in their traditional markets - created by new types of competitors with new business models. The search for superior value is overtaking traditional brand and relationship strategies. The challenge to companies is reinvention and renewal and the alternative is obsolescence and decline. After all, did the major banks really expect to be competing with supermarkets, car companies, Virgin and internet-based companies to provide retail bank services?
The book is based on the author's view that:
- Business is exciting, turbulent and unpredictable - the "stories" we read and study should be too!
- From Dell Computers and easyJet to Amazon.com and Skoda Cars, it is the most innovative companies that have most to teach us about reinvention and new business models
- The inflexible analytical frameworks of the past no longer apply - "stories" of reinvention and renewal show the creative strategies developed by companies to cope with threats and exploit opportunities around them.
'Tales from the Marketplace' is essential, timely and designed to be highly readable for managers. It also provides aninnovative approach for undergraduate and MBA level teachers and students, and for participants on executive programmes in marketing and strategic management.
Highly accessible and topical cases
Will support any text in this field including Piercy's own: 'Market Led Strategic Change'
Designed to create interest in the business issues examined.

Environmental and social performance measurement and reporting by business has become a high-profile issue during the 1990s. It is increasingly being requested by stakeholders and required by governments. Companies too are finding that they need better environmental and social performance data for effective internal management. And there are a growing number of standardisation initiatives - such as the ISO 14031 guidelines on environmental performance evaluation or the CERES Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) template for sustainability reporting - that are aimed at making it easier for more companies to take action, and for stakeholders to compare their progress. Sustainable Measures collects together most of the key work and individuals concerned with the topic from around the world. Contributions include: environmental and social reporting by John Elkington and colleagues at SustainAbility; the GRI discussion draft; Roger Adams and Martin Houldin on the FEE study of environmental reporting; Janet Ranganathan of the World Resources Institute on sustainability measures; and Martin Bennett and Peter James on ISO 14031 and the future of environmental performance evaluation. There are also chapters examining current practice in Austria, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands and South Africa, developments in electronic reporting, as well as case studies of Baxter, Kunert, Niagara Mohawk, Unox, The Body Shop and the UK water industry, and an analysis of leading social reports. The book is essential reading for all academics, campaigners, policy-makers and practitioners with an interest in issues such as: The standardization and comparability of environmental and social performance measures Measuring and reporting on sustainable business Eco-points and other means of evaluating product impacts The implementation of measurement and reporting Best practice in corporate environmental and social reporting New means of communicating environmental data Environmental performance evaluation in developing countries

Creativity and Innovation for Managers will appeal to any manager responsible for getting more out of a business. Creative thinking, creative problem solving and creative idea generation have become essential business drivers. This book provides an excellent executive briefing for senior management to understand what business creativity is, how it can benefit the company, and how to get the most out of it. It looks at the pitfalls on the road to innovation and the ways to avoid them, pulling together the experiences of key practitioners in the field both in the UK and the US.
By concentrating on the essentials, Creativity and Innovation In Brief is a waffle-free approach to creativity, providing a quick action focused and accessible insight into a complex topic.
It provides;
- a practical approach to business creativity without the hype;
- an agenda for making innovation happen in your business
- a real world view.

What is business creativity and how can it benefit your company?
How to avoid the pitfalls of creativity and innovation
Practical and action-focused

Healthcare is on a critical path, evolving with the introduction of Obama Care and now COVID-19. How will healthcare and specifically healthcare security adapt over the next few years? What tools will be necessary for healthcare security professionals and all security professionals to meet the demands of the transforming security environment? Security professionals need new tools and programs to adapt security services to the "New Normal." As healthcare emerges from pandemic threats, active shooter and workplace violence will re-emerge and new threats related to civil unrest, fraud, mergers, and further financial struggles will change how healthcare security will function. Healthcare Security: Solutions for Management, Operations, and Administration provides a series of articles related to the management and operations of healthcare security which will assist healthcare security professionals in managing the "New Normal" now and into the future. It is a collection of previously published articles on healthcare security and general security covering various topics related to the management of healthcare security and provides information on general security operations. It also includes unconventional topics that are necessary in the administration of healthcare security such as auditing principles, fraud prevention, investigations, interview and interrogation techniques, and forensics.

Filling the need for a "how-to," step-by-step guide to strategic planning, Strategic Action Planning NOW! outlines team-based planning in four steps. Gate Gable's techniques provide detailed guidance into planning processes, strategic skills, recognition of challenges, consideration of goals, monitoring and measurement, and implementation tips to help the reader begin the planning process almost immediately.
Written in three parts, the author provides exercises with each chapter. Part one covers the pre-planning stages, defining who and what your team is and what your teams' goals are. The second part goes over the actual planning, identifying the challenges and setting the goals for your team. The third and final part deals with post planning, implementation and evaluating your team's progress.

Triple Bottom Line (TBL or 3BL) was coined as a wide and inspiring approach for businesses aimed at understanding how to create, track and manage economic, social, and environmental value added. The sustainability sector is strongly increasing its relevance among academics and practitioners, and the market opportunities associated with the Sustainable Development Goals are estimated in over $ 12 trillion per year by 2030. Although this is a promising context, a recent article suggested a rethinking of the TBL, arguing that sustainability goals' value should not be assessed in terms of profit and loss, but of people wellbeing and planet health, looking for a societal profit. Technology plays a crucial role in our society. Respectively, the Agenda 21 and the Paris Agreement consider technology to be essential in the pursue of the sustainable development and the achievement of the SDGs. Adding to this, the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital solution in several field, from the way of working to the way of buying and consuming. Companies are becoming more aware of the responsibility they have with the environmental and human context, and people are looking for a work reflecting their values and purposes to motive them. This book aims to contribute to the understanding on the role of technology and its emerging and innovative solutions in the achievement of a sustainable development while making profit. It will be of value to researchers, academics, practitioners, and students in the fields of strategic management, entrepreneurship, management of technology and innovation, and sustainable development.

Examining the negative consequences that arise from supply chain risks, such as production interruption and profit shrinkage, this book systematically explores firms' responses to these risks in different practical situations. In particular it focuses on sourcing strategies of firms under supply chain risks and the different mitigation tools they use, such as supplier development and multisourcing. Supply chains have expanded extensively as firms attempt to find new markets and cheap resources all over the world. Under the pressure of cost reduction, many firms try to take advantage of outsourcing of their raw materials and critical components. Though firms can reap significant benefits due to the globalization of supply chains and the widespread use of outsourcing, they have to deal with increasing and intensifying supply chain risks. In general, supply chain risks are various and may be originated from natural disasters, machine breakdowns, labor strikes, fires, etc. These risk incidents can cause serious damage to firms' profit performance. The analysis and insights from this book can be utilized by firms to alleviate the impact of supply chain risks in the sourcing process. It will also be of interest to researchers and students studying supply chain management.

Much has been written about the rise of the Asian economies in recent decades, and their coming economic dominance in the next century. The New Asian Emperors shows how and why overseas Chinese companies are achieving dominance in the Asia Pacific. In the wake of the Asian Currency crisis, this book takes a fresh look at the role of the overseas Chinese as they continue to create some of Asia's most wealthy and successful companies.
In particular, the authors tackle the principal difference between Western and Eastern business practices. The overseas Chinese, due to their origins and history developed a unique form of management - now they maintain it as their competitive advantage.
Although Asian governments are currently floundering, the overseas Chinese networks continue to prosper. The authors explain the following to Eastern and Western managers:
the sources and characteristics of overseas Chinese management,
how to combat the overseas Chinese,
the strengths and exploitable weaknesses of the overseas Chinese,
whether overseas Chinese management practices will spread in the same way as Japanese management did,
whether Western management technologies will find themselves outclassed.
A feature of the book are the exclusive, in-depth interviews with the New Asian
Emperors since most of them avoid the press and little is known of them.
- Develops a systematic theory of the Overseas Chinese networks and how they strategize
- Draws on interviews with CEOs of major Overseas Chinese companies, many of whom have never granted interviews before to academics

This impactful volume demonstrates the application and power of psychology and behavioural economics in the pursuit of quality and continuous improvement. It focusses on how the works of stalwarts such as Daniel Kahneman, Richard Thaler, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and many others can be used to build an organization that is known for quality products and flawless service delivery. The application of psychology and behavioural economics is still new to quality improvement, and in this book, Debashis Sarkar shares 25 lessons, featuring specific examples based on real life, that show how their application can increase the effectiveness of outcomes. Behavioural Science for Quality and Continuous Improvement: 25 Lessons from Psychology and Behavioural Economics is ideal for business improvement professionals of all hierarchies and across different functional areas and industries seeking to understand the potential of psychology and behavioural economics and their applications, as well as in training and executive development programmes and for scholars of operations management, quality management, and engineering.

Blockchain is a transformative driver for change in all industries. Learn from the latest research and case studies how this technology can and will be used to revolutionize supply chain management. Blockchain and the Supply Chain provides a complete overview of blockchain and the key benefits of integrating this technology into the supply chain. This textbook explains how track and trace can be improved, transaction efficiency increased, visibility enhanced, and more through blockchain. With extensive case studies, learning is underpinned by practical insights as well as cutting-edge research. Clear and accessible information is provided to students on how blockchain will affect supply chain processes, metrics and performance and how to capitalize on the potential of this technology. The fully revised new edition includes the latest information on Enterprise Blockchain, Ethereum and Hyperledger. Focus is also placed on the application of Cloud, Internet of Things (IoT), Machine learning (ML) and other technologies that support supply chains and their integration with blockchain. This textbook highlights how to use blockchain as an enabler and key driver for solutions in the end-to-end supply chain. Online resources include lecture slides and example assignments and quizzes.

Stop feeling overwhelmed by data and start using it to its full potential, to create an agile and forward-looking strategy that enables customer-centric marketing, builds your brand and develops product strategies. Many brands talk about creating a marketing strategy powered by data, analytics and metrics. Yet too often they're still overwhelmed by data, or unsure of how to use it to create a flexible and future-focused strategy that doesn't just validate what's happened in the past. Marketing Metrics takes readers through all the stages of implementing a data-first strategy, from early-stage adoption to more advanced customization. Featuring examples from a range of organizations including Coca-Cola and Mercedes-Benz, it shows how to create a strategy which leverages consumer data for customer-centric marketing, establishes the ROI of channels and campaigns, strengthens brands and creates data-driven product strategies. Covering the range of new global laws that impact consumer privacy and data collection and usage, Marketing Metrics shows how to use data in a non-invasive, secure and ethical way. Also showing how to communicate critical data to the right stakeholders and the skills of the data-savvy marketer, this is a clear and jargon-free guide to creating a future-focused and data-powered marketing strategy.

The CIM Handbook of Strategic Marketing targets senior executives responsible for shaping and managing the company's strategic direction. The strategic dimensions of marketing management are emphasised along with the critical importance of matching the company's capabilities with genuinely attractive market sectors. The Handbook's strategic perspective and pragmatic outlook pervade the text and underpin its practical foundations.

The rise of global competition and continuous innovation have redefined market structures, reshaped industries and given customers unprecedented value and choice. In this era of customer sovereignty there is a tremendous amount of pressure on organizations to adopt the principles of the marketing concept and to develop a much sharper strategic focus.
The CIM Handbook of Strategic Marketing is a reference source to guide effective marketing practice. It provides supportive material for managers and employees who are building their marketing competence by attending training programmes, and includes contributions from leading academics - such as, Peter Doyle, Malcolm McDonald, Nigel Piercy
The book amounts to a firm blueprint written by leading marketing thinkers for designing and implementing effective marketing strategies and improving business performance.
Colin Egan is Professor of Strategic Management at Leicester Business School.
Michael J Thomas is Professor of Marketing at the University of Strathclyde Business School.
Reference source to guide effective marketing practice
Supportive material for managers and employees who are building their marketing competence by attending training programmes
Includes chapters written byleading authors in their field - Malcolm McDonald, Nigel Piercy and Peter Doyle

Despite the astonishing technological developments in our times, it is surprising how little has changed in the way organizations are structured and managed. However, organizations are finally changing as they embark on agile transformations. Agility concepts emerged from the dynamics of project management and have evolved as they are being applied to organizational structure and operations. This phase of the agile evolution is known as enterprise agility. Filled with real-world scenarios and company case studies, Enterprise Agility: A Practical Guide to Agile Business Management covers the evolution of agility, including applied processes, lessons learned and realized outcomes. The book starts with the initial phase of the agile evolution, project agility and describes how waterfall project management is transformed into scrum, which can have positive effects on project timelines, scope and budget, as well as team motivation. The second phase of agility, organizational agility, is the evolution of the agile principles from temporary projects to permanent organizational structures. The book explains the main components of organizational agility, including structures, roles and ways of organizing work. It emphasizes the advantages of transitioning from traditional organizational management to agile. Finally, the latest phase, enterprise agility, transforms each function of the organization. The book acts as a guide and describes the change through the lens of each managerial domain (sales, marketing, HR, finance etc.) and by presenting the positive impact generated on the company's overall performance based on case studies. The last chapter illustrates the enablers of this transformation and how they can help the change to be internalized so that the enterprises realize improvements. The book is based on the author's over 15 years of experience of supporting more than 25 companies in varied sectors on their transformational journey, with the last 5 years concentrating on agility. By combining business management trends and principles of agile business development, it shows managers how to lead the transformation to enterprise agility by following the path from project agility to full enterprise agility.

Brings innovative new strategic management models to the field of public management, to help public managers adapt their practices in an era of New Public Management reforms New chapter on open, co-operative and collaborative strategy-making, in line with the most innovative approaches to strategy An expanded list of mini-cases, a very popular feature of the first edition, as well as new chapter summaries to help reinforce learning Takes a comparative and international view for advanced level learners, unlike other texts on the subject

Effective Management of Benchmarking Projects shows you how to apply benchmarking to a variety of projects.
Effective Management of Benchmarking Projects equips the project team or manager with all the necessary competence for managing projects effectively. This practical book begins with definitions of 'what to benchmark' and ends with a stimulating real case study where a benchmarking project was conducted by observing all the necessary rules and with total adherence to the various protocols.
This book deals with the application of benchmarking. It gives real examples of effective applications from such companies as:
Rank Xerox, D2D, American Express, Rover, Texas Instruments.
Author is a leading authority on benchmarking
Blends theory with practice appealing to both academics and practitioners
Includes examples of best practice in a variety of fields eg the public sector, utilities sector, financial services, car after-sale service

Project management skills are valuable for any healthcare project, not just technology projects. Non-technology activities that would benefit from project management skills include implementing a new policy housewide, updating training for use of the electronic health record (EHR), creating a new orientation program, quality assurance activities, submitting an article or presentation, writing a research proposal, or opening a new patient care unit. In addition, project management skills are not just for project managers, but they can be used by anyone leading these types of activities, such as managers, staff, educators, and researchers. Many books on healthcare project management have been focused on technology projects while non-technology projects flounder without the required knowledge or skills of the person leading the project. The purpose of this book is to discuss these skills based on the Project Management Institute (PMI) standards in a way that non-project managers would be able to understand and apply. Concepts from project initiation through project closure will be presented twice, first for novices and then for project leaders with more advanced skills. Practical, accessible, and containing numerous examples for each phase of the PMI Framework, this book will be a valuable resource for all healthcare professionals and both novice and experienced project managers.

Business and Economics of Port Management is a comprehensive but concise textbook and reference for insights into the workings of port industry from the business and economics perspectives. The book examines port management from various entities which include the government, port operator, shipping line, logistics companies and other port service providers. It provides in-depth discussions on strategic issues, challenges and disruptions that are faced by this industry. Given the uniqueness of each port and international nature of the port business, the book comes with useful case studies and lessons from different port regions around the world. Key lessons on challenges and issues faced by port managers, developers and regulators are highlighted and discussed using a combination of professional insights and publicly available information sources. The aim is to illustrate the decision-making process with the purpose of contributing to better outcomes for the industry, government and the public at large. Anyone who is approaching the subject matter will gain utmost understanding of how ports are critical in the global economy and societal well-being.