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

The key to a successful acquisition is knowing the value of revenue synergies.

Content: Article | Authors: Brett Savill, Philip Wright | Source: European Business Forum (EBF)

Benchmarking is a frequently used buzzword that merely glamorises a simple idea. It means comparing the performance of products, activities, processes or organisations (‘systems’) against a selected standard: the benchmark. Experience suggests that benchmaking is often misused, not through a deliberate attempt to mislead but as a result of not understanding the data involved.

Content: Article | Authors: Antonio Mazzariello, Charles-Peter Nai, Jürg Huber, Rudolf Schwob | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Best Practices, Social Responsibility (ESG)

Like the skills of individuals, the capabilities of firms are based partly on explicit records, theory and models, partly on un-codified, tacit knowledge. Articulation of the latter is often a value creating activity but it is also expensive in terms of time and effort. The questions as to how and to what extent firms should articulate the tacit portion of their knowledge base are important … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Lars Håkanson | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: Knowledge Management

The experience of doing business in Asia has been a sobering one for many MNCs – but companies can learn from the mistakes of others if they understand changing consumer behaviour and its strategic implications.

Content: Article | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: International – Asia, Marketing / Sales

According to Prospect Theory, if you want to drive decision-makers towards a riskier decision, convince them that they are already losing. If you want to drive decision-makers towards a risk-averse decision, convince them that they are ahead and stand to lose quite a bit.

Content: Quotation | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Economics, Personality / Behavior

One important characteristic of the next big thing is that it must have the power to surprise at the time it starts to become big, but surprise only a little bit.It’s not whether you can see it coming; it’s whether your neighbour doesn’t, but only by a little bit. Your neighbour must also share the perception that the next big thing has the power to … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Innovation, Trends / Analysis

Communist China is morphing into something that will one day become a pillar of global society. In the meantime, foreign investors need to consider the many possible routes the country may take to get there.

Editor’s Note: see related articles, “China’s State-Owned Enterprises: prepare for a turbulent flight”
Content: Article | Authors: Allan Zhang, Giles Chance, Jonathan Story | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: International – Asia

MNCs face the most difficult dilemmas because they operate in countries with widely diverging socio-economic and environmental conditions. The lesson from the last decade or so is that regulation and self-regulation are both needed.

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

The objective of this article is twofold. The first part will look at the new field of sustainable investment activity, and examine how it works. The second part provides more detailed insights into what is expected from companies, focusing particularly on the growing opportunities for a fruitful dialogue. Much of the argument is based on the experience of the Triodos Meerwaarde Fund, part of the … [ Read more ]

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

Entrepreneurship is once again fashionable with policymakers, business schools, large corporations and the media. But in the light of the dot-com crash, many wonder whether it can provide the much needed spark to re-ignite growth. What exactly is the link between rates of new business formation and the wider performance of an economy? Can large corporations replicate the conditions in which small companies successfully innovate … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, General

The case of Allianz Group’s drive to break away from the competition illustrates the positive impact inter-firm competition can have on overall firm strategy.

Note: This is an edited excerpt of a case study written by the Allianz Management Institute with Christoph Lechner, Karolin Marx and Günter Müller-Stewens of the University of St. Gallen. It was originally intended for classroom discussion but in this form, … [ Read more ]

Content: Case Study | Authors: Christoph Lechner, Günter Müller-Stewens, Karolin Marx | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Industry Specific, IT / Technology / E-Business | Industry: Insurance

Michael Porter is perhaps the management ‘guru’ most listened to and respected by corporate boards and executives worldwide. But his keynote speech on the role of corporate philanthropy at The European Academy of Business in Society’s 2nd Colloquium at Copenhagen Business School in September 2003 provoked strong reactions from an audience of mainly European academics and business managers. Here Mette Morsing, associate professor and director … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Michael E. Porter | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: Social Responsibility (ESG)

Business schools in Europe appear to be focusing more on managing their reputation and identity than on disputing the rankings. This is a wise strategy.

Content: Article | Author: Ilja van Roon | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: International – Europe, MBA Related

Are Psychometric tests a reliable method of selection? A US academic, Robyn Dawes and two headhunters, Robert Irving and Stuart O’Reilly of Whitehead Mann, debate the evidence.

Content: Article | Authors: Robert Irving, Robyn Dawes, Stuart O’Reilly | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Human Resources, Organizational Behavior

For the more chauvinistic European executive the very question could be impertinent. For the unthinking global imperialist it can be equally dismissed. As far as most of us are concerned this question presents an important challenge at the end of a decade which has seen growing support for the gospel of shareholder value, ever closer European integration, and the rise and rise of an Internet … [ Read more ]

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

The findings of one of the biggest pan European research projects suggest that senior executives get a big performance boost if they introduce complementary programmes of change.

Content: Article | Author: David Shaw | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Change Management, Management

Ian Wells reports that leaders increasingly find bringing their own personal agenda out into the open is one of the most important factors in achieving major change.

Content: Article | Author: Ian Wells | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Change Management, Management

Rudolph G Burkhard commends the management thinker and writer Eli Goldratt and urges corporate leaders to focus on the small number of issues which are likely to be frustrating the growth of shareholder value.

Editor’s Note: examines Goldratt’s five focusing steps and four different types of constraint; also offers a nice criticism of the following concepts:
– Management by objectives
– Measurements
– … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Rudolf G Burkhard | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: Management

The case of Silicon Valley provides valuable lessons for multinationals trying to exploit regional networks.

Key messages:
– Multinational companies move to hubs like Silicon Valley to raise credibility back home, set up listening posts and look for fresh expertise, ideas and markets.
– Foreign subsidiaries can benefit as much as domestic firms by embedding themselves in the network.
– Gaining access … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Lars Håkanson, Sigrid Hofer | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: International, Organizational Behavior

New research shows that out-performers emphasise the strategic, the external and change, whereas under-performers focus on the tactical, the internal and control.

Content: Article | Authors: Brett Savill, Miguel Rosellón, Pieter Roeloffs | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Best Practices, Management