From Global to Metanational: How Companies Win in the Knowledge Economy

“Metanational” is the term that Jose Santos, Peter Williamson, and Yves L. Doz–management and technology professors at the international INSEAD graduate school of business–coined to describe a new type of global corporation. It refers, they explain in From Global to Metanational, to “a company that builds a new kind of competitive advantage by discovering, accessing, mobilizing, and leveraging knowledge from many locations around the world.” … [ Read more ]

CP Group: From Seeds to ‘Kitchen of the World’

Thailand’s CP Group became Asia’s largest agro-industrial company through the development and geographic expansion of its vertically integrated system. In this new Case Study, Professor Peter Williamson and Keeley Wilson explain how CP build the capabilities required for success and used alliances and joint ventures to expand beyond its core business and into processed foods.

Why Go it Alone? How Alliances Serve to Accelerate Innovation

It used to be, if you had a good idea, you kept it within the confines of your own company. Today, the fast pace of business development is creating a whole new wave of collaboration, across borders and industry boundaries. In this new Working Paper, Professor Peter Williamson and Sarah Meegan explore alliances.

ARM Holdings Plc

In just ten years, ARM transformed itself from beleaguered computer company to designer of RISC chips that are today the de facto standard for mobile phones, storage devices, automotive computing, and others. In this Case Study, Eleanor O’Keeffe and Professor Peter Williamson present the company’s innovative business model based on partnerships that give it unrivalled capability to “learn from the world”.

SingTel (A): Newfound Status; SingTel (B): Taking Control

From state-regulated monopoly to pan-Asian powerhouse, the Singaporean telecom SingTel has come a long way. In this two-part case study, Research Fellow Sarah Meegan and Professor Peter Williamson focus on SingTel’s mobile operations, asking you to consider the firm’s history, its acquisition of Optus, and the challenges it faces in managing its network of partnerships and executing its regional strategy.

Joining Forces: Role of Alliances in Entrepreneurial Success

Entrepreneurs or a venture team often engage in a torturous, checkered process of nurturing and idea into a successful business. Professors Yves Doz and Peter Williamson show that alliances, at different stages of venture development, may help reduce the burn rate as well as improve the chances of success. Download the full text of this working paper to find explanations on an applied managerial level, … [ Read more ]

Turning Industry Convergence to Your Advantage

Why has it proven so difficult to deliver the potential benefits of industry convergence in practice, even when the end consumer is crying out for them? Industry convergence is a straightforward idea in theory. But three things have to happen before it can be turned into practical advantages for consumers and profits for suppliers:
– Strategy convergence
– Knowledge convergence
– Context … [ Read more ]

DBS (A), (B), (C), (D): Local Player to Regional Bank

This series of four cases detail DBS’s growth strategy to transform itself from a large local player to a significant regional player. Beginning with the much-publicised problems DBS faced with its first major overseas acquisition at the outset of the Asian Crisis, through the process of building the capability to become a successful acquirer, Keeley Wilson, Professor Peter Williamson and Chua Chei Hwee trace DBS’s … [ Read more ]