261 Posts found for Source: European Business Forum (EBF)

Everyone has their own idea of what makes a good leader. But while leadership has long been linked to corporate success, many see it now as a critical boardroom element if public faith in the integrity of business is to be restored. What should business leaders do? Do we expect too much from them? How does academic research help form new models? What style is … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Leadership, Organizational Behavior

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Universities are engaged in a balancing act between national traditions and global pressures.

Content: Prospective MBA Content | Authors: Peter Gomez, Sascha Spoun | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: International MBA Issues

History will look back on the last decade of executive compensation in the United States as an atrocity. The levels of pay exceeded any historical precedent, bore little comparison with compensation in other countries, and – most importantly – failed to have any correlation with the creation of value for shareholders.

Content: Quotation | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Compensation, Corporate Governance

“The world has changed. From 1960 to 1999 manufacturing companies’ share of GNP in the US, as well as its workforce, fell from 30 per cent to 15 per cent. Strategic models of the world, however, have not changed. When managers develop strategies for their companies, they still use the tools and language of the manufacturing organisation – most commonly the concept of the Value … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Espen Andersen, Øystein Fjeldstad | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Management, Strategy

Neither first movers nor followers are doomed from the start. What matters are the interactions between different causes and different effects.

Read the companion opinion pieces
Brigitte Cerfontaine on ‘Entry strategies’
Content: Article | Authors: Regis Coeurderoy, Rodolphe Durand | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: Strategy

As consumers are increasingly drawn to ‘lively’ designs with an element of surprise, creating products with true charisma becomes an important way to differentiate a company from its rivals.

Editor’s Note: I am not sure how useful this article will be in application but it is interesting background reading. If this article does interest you, read the companion opinion piece, “Ismael Fernandez on ‘Designed to … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Josiena Gotzsch | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: Miscellaneous

Efforts to restore public trust in the governance of corporations are hampered by abuse of power at board level and the neglected rights of shareholders.

Editor’s Note: an excellent, though very critical look at corporate governance practices. A nice complement to this article (and part of the larger EBF debate on corporate governance) is “Professionalism or incarceration – what future for boards?” by … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Robert Monks | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: Corporate Governance

Business and risk have always been inseparable, if not synonymous. But given current geopolitical instability, gyrating stock markets and the fragility of most new business models even the most tough-minded entrepreneurs are struggling to remain sanguine.

Is it really true, though, that the corporate environment is markedly more risky than in earlier times? Has the increased scale of risk not been matched by advances in … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Management, Risk Management

It was meant to be the decade that launched Europe as a global economic superpower. Companies operating inside the EU would achieve new economies of scale as internal trade barriers tumbled, cross-border competition would hasten the restructuring of inefficient businesses, and national protectionism would become a thing of the past. But what has happened since the ‘arrival’ of the Single Market on 1st January 1993? … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: International – Europe

“Europe’s top performing employers see people as a vital strategic asset. In a survey undertaken by Hewitt Associates in France, Germany, UK and Austria top performers ranked human resources (HR) first when asked what would have most impact on their ability to compete in Europe…Hewitt Associates’ ‘Best Employer Best Results’ survey sought to understand how the management and development of an organisation’s people resource affects … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Thomas Aleweld, Wolf-Bertram von Bismarck | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Human Resources, International – Europe

Disruptive innovation enables companies to do business in ways they never could before, but its turbulent track record promotes scepticism among managers. New research shows how to harness its strategic value for the long-term by following a three-step blueprint.

Content: Article | Authors: Darrell K. Rigby, Philip Deane, Rudolf Pritzl | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Innovation, Management

It is not enough to change or re-regulate the rules of corporate capitalism. The present crisis requires a more substantive transformation of business.

Content: Article | Author: Laszlo Zsolnai | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Ethics, Social Responsibility (ESG)

Companies, investors and policymakers have had their faith in financial markets shaken recently, even though questionable market practices and conflicts of interest were already rife. Read the EBF debate which addresses the root causes of the problem, possible solutions and the outlook for international accounting standards and further European integration. EBF’s distinguished contributors are: Bocconi Professor Valter Lazzari; Tony Jackson, ex-market analyst and former head … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Corporate Governance, International – Europe

Free markets cannot always be relied on to produce socially optimal, or even acceptable, outcomes. In many cases market evaluation is misleading from a social or environmental point of view – it may be a necessary form of evaluating economic activities, but it is not sufficient. Alternative evaluation of economic activities by the techniques of environmental and social reporting, accounting, and auditing is also needed. … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Capitalism, Social Responsibility (ESG)

The communist government is casting off its ideological shackles. Aided by its ‘red capitalists’ the country is beginning to march in step with the rest of the world.

Content: Article | Author: Allan Zhang | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: International – China

A capitalist economy can show individuals and organizations relative prices and profitable ways of resource allocation – but it cannot relieve them of the choice between goals and values.

Content: Quotation | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: Capitalism

US experience shows that changing the chief executive is not necessarily a panacea for improved company performance. Europeans should take note.

Content: Article | Author: Margarethe Wiersema | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Corporate Governance, International – Europe

Laissez-faire capitalism is dangerous since it can undermine the very values on which open and democratic societies depend. [George] Soros has warned that the instabilities and inequalities of the capitalist system can feed into nationalistic, ethnic and religious fundamentalism.

Content: Quotation | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: Capitalism

A convincing business case for CSR continues to prove elusive despite a welter of academic studies. BT Group, however, believes it has quantified a highly significant link to the bottom line.

Content: Article | Author: Chris Tuppen | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: Social Responsibility (ESG)