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This case describes the organizational and strategic challenges of outsourcing research and development (R&D) activities from Denmark to China. Nokia Denmark was founded in 1996 as a subsidiary of the Nokia Corporation and contained the largest Nokia R&D unit, concentrating on the development of mobile phones, outside Finland. In 2007, Nokia Denmark received instructions from corporate headquarters to drastically increase the number of mobile phones developed. Motivated by the need to alleviate pressure on its in-house capacity, Nokia Denmark outsourced certain product development projects to the Taiwanese company Foxconn in a joint R&D (JRD) setup. Foxconn, one of the world’s largest electronic component manufacturers, which was also developing products for many of Nokia’s competitors, was given the responsibility of developing and testing selected standardized and less complex mobile phones. However, by 2010 Foxconn had become a central figure in Nokia Denmark’s product development process with responsibility for increasingly complex projects. <br><br>Given the growing importance of Foxconn for Nokia Denmark, the rising pressure from the corporate headquarters, and the competitive market environment, Nokia Demark thus faced the question of how to proceed with the JRD. Three alternatives were outlined for the future of Nokia Denmark’s JRD with Foxconn: the management could decide on scaling up, phasing out, or continuing the status quo.

By the late 1980s, Japan was the second-largest economy in the world, in part due to its ability to produce high-quality products like automobiles. But the Japanese Miracle, which had begun with Japan’s quick economic recovery after the Second World War, ended abruptly in 1990. This article suggests that Japan, while excelling at reverse engineering and incremental product improvements, must boost innovation in order to thrive. It attributes Japan’s innovation deficit to its culture of harmony, which affects decision making. Japan’s “nemawashi-ringi” decision-making process involves preparing the groundwork for a new proposal, including talking with those affected by the proposal, getting their feedback, and modifying the proposal. Unfortunately, this process is slow, focuses on incremental improvements, and suppresses innovation. A better process should be compatible with Japan’s culture of consensus building, should foster knowledge creation, and should fit a centralized, hierarchical firm. Top management should encourage the formation of self-organized groups (the engines of innovation) and use a Rapid Evaluation of Ideas process. This includes a group formulating a proposal on a specific problem, identifying stakeholders, preparing a list of assumptions for each stakeholder, assessing these assumptions’ “Importance” and “Certainty,” plotting assumptions on a two-dimensional scale, analyzing the plot and identifying the next steps, collecting more information, meeting a week later after gathering information, and determining the next steps.

The global nuclear industry is at a pivotal point, as risk is weighed against opportunity. The debate is fuelled by the recent disaster at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant, the global focus on a secure energy supply, climate change, and political instability in oil-producing regions. This article, co-authored by the communications director of the Canadian Nuclear Association, describes what steps the Association is taking to communicate its strategy to stakeholders and increase their understanding of nuclear. <br><br>True to its scientific focus, the Association built its 2010-2015 strategic plan and communications on mental models research, which helps in identifying deeply held expert and stakeholder beliefs about an issue. With insights from mental models research, the Association developed a communications strategy built on sociology and psychology, insights from social science-based research, a dialogue orientation, and an understanding of network effects. What the association learned about successful communications strategy was to a) create impactful, consistent branding; b) enrich your web site and social and mainstream media to energize dialogue; c) hold milestone events for continuity, connection, and consensus; d) educate, inform, and engage; e) build strategic partnerships for inclusiveness and transparency; f) advertise key information and issues; g) engage with all levels of government; and h) engage and support members and employees. The Association measures communications efficacy using a variety of techniques, including updated mental models research, social media assessments of participation, web metrics, stakeholder surveys, and advertising reach.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist Steve Coll is interviewed on the topic of ExxonMobil, the American multinational oil and gas corporation that is often considered both a corporate bully and a paragon of prudent management practices. In describing his research on ExxonMobil, Coll details its extreme degree of discipline and tightness of information released on the energy industry. He describes the former CEO Lee Raymond as sophisticated, concrete, and reform-minded, albeit intimidating to colleagues and ardent in his philosophy of anti-government regulation and climate change skepticism. Raymond focused on metrics for measuring company health, forced employees to follow the same script on operating performance, improved safety records, and bolstered financial discipline. He also had a close relationship with Dick Cheney, the U.S. vice president under George W. Bush. Besides his complex views on ExxonMobil, Coll shares his thoughts on “resource nationalism,” particularly the fraught relationship between oil and nationalism. He attributes opposition to building oil pipelines to environmentalist forces, and finishes the interview with his outlook on the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Companies must strike a balance between competing effectively in their current market while strategically innovating to capitalize on future opportunities. This article begins by examining the concepts of “competitive strategy” and “strategic innovation.” It details the Competitive Strategy Framework (5 C’s) of customers, competitors, channel configurations, cost structure, and core capabilities. It also unpacks the four archetypes of strategic innovation: attacking the mass market by designing a new value configuration; opening a new market by maximizing economies of scope through horizontal integration, value bundles, and enhanced customer experience; opening a new market by maximizing economies of scale through vertical and virtual integration; and pursuing the unserved, under-served, or non-consumers by tailoring products and business models to them. Managers should consider an organizational design that can both manage stability and handle change. The ability to continually adapt strategic moves as a function of strategic ambitions and new consumer behaviour will inspire new business models and innovations, which is the ultimate sustainable competitive advantage.

A recent MBA graduate has just received a one-year business assignment as a business development and marketing advisor to work with the Vietnam Handicraft Initiative (VHI), a vocational training and employment center for people with disabilities, located in Central Vietnam. Her job is to assist the VHI to increase its productivity, become sustainable and strengthen the capacity of the organization through improved business and marketing plans. Within the first four weeks of her arrival, she needs to detail her assessment of the VHI and provide key recommendations and focused work objectives for the remaining 11 months of her placement. She expects that the many cultural differences encountered along the way will provide a real challenge in accurately assessing the VHI and developing a detailed work plan.

Souk el Tayeb, the farmers' market, and Tawlet, the farmers' kitchen are two legal entities, the former adopting the legal structure of an NGO and the latter, an income generating company, joined by one vision namely to "celebrate food and traditions that unite communities and support small-scale farmers and producers and a culture of sustainable agriculture." Souk el Tayeb founder, Kamal Mouzawak, first launched Souk el Tayeb, a farmer's market, in May 2004 in Beirut, Lebanon. The idea was to create a communal space for farmers across the country to sell their organic produce and products. The over-arching vision was to create a platform that joined different people celebrating food, culture and traditions and in parallel promoting and supporting the agricultural sector in Lebanon. Mouzawak and his business partner were in the process of brainstorming ways to scale the impact of their social business while not compromising quality standards and meeting the ever looming challenge of financial sustainability.

This case deals with an exporting challenge faced by Ferro Industries (Ferro), a small enterprise within the steel industry in India. The company's manufacturing facility was located in the National Capital Region of Delhi. Ferro's main products were roll-forming machines, cut-to-length lines and slitting lines; the company was one of only three firms in the Indian sub-continent catering to the market for such products. This case raises two basic questions in relation to Ferro's role as an exporter: Firstly, at what stage should an importer have to pay an exporter? Secondly, should the exporter release consignment to the importer before receiving payment? The case illustrates the challenges of exporting and international entrepreneurship for a small firm, taking into account payment risk, product pricing, deal-making strategies, promotional strategy and client-management strategies. It also addresses the complexities involved in the decision-making process while exporting, as well as outlining various conflict-resolution techniques for closing a deal effectively while considering the appropriateness of taking risks.

It was also in debt and out of fashion. It had acquired a reputation as "one of the least user-friendly museums in the world." One senior figure from the museum was even quoted as saying that he didn't want children in there. Compared to rival venues, visiting the BM was like a "trip back in time" - but not in a favorable sense. In the space of nine years, MacGregor reversed its fortunes and restored its sense of pride and purpose. He raised its profile through engaging exhibitions, television shows and the Internet - but most surprisingly of all through the use of radio. He presided over a startling transformation in the image and fortunes of the BM, with net income quadrupling in nine years and donations and legacies growing eight-fold under his watch. Visitor numbers reached record highs and the BM has become a template for other museums. A cultural institution that was once in danger of becoming an embarrassing monument to British imperialism is now viewed with pride. As one commentator put it: "As an exercise in rebranding, it is surely up there with the best." The case considers the methods used by MacGregor to achieve these results and some of the key turning points, as well as the lessons for other organizations, including in the private sector. It also explores the possible complications of following a charismatic leader. Learning objectives: The case covers six key issues to do with leadership and organizational change: 1) The difficulties of changing an entrenched public sector culture, shaped by curatorial divisions and the weight of the BM's heritage. 2) The challenge of managing multiple stakeholders. 3) The various roles adopted by a leader - and changing the scope of the job. 4) The importance of finding a purpose that resonates with employees and visitors alike. 5) The process of institutional transformation and the challenge of building on MacGregor's legacy. 6) The benefits and drawbacks of charismatic leadership.

Big data is a capability that allows firms to extract value from large volumes of data. When combining two dimensions — business objective and data type — the use of big data can be organized into four main strategies. 1) Performance management involves understanding the meaning of big data in company databases using pre-determined queries and multidimensional analysis. The data used for this analysis are transactional. 2) Data exploration makes heavy use of statistics to experiment and get answers to questions that managers might not have considered. It leverages predictive modeling techniques to predict user behaviour based on past business transactions and preferences. 3) Social analytics examines the vast amount of non-transactional data, often on social media platforms. 4) Decision science involves experiments and analysis of non-transactional data, such as consumer-generated product ideas and product reviews. In addition to explaining these strategies, this article provides a list of popular big data techniques and vendors and identifies three emergent big data practices: a) integrating multiple big data streams; b) building a big data capability; and c) being proactive and creating a big data policy.

Despite its crucial role in corporate success, human capital has not received the rigorous study it deserves and workforce analytics has been underutilized. Workforce analytics is not about simple measurement — “counting heads,” reporting turnover, cataloguing employee knowledge and skills, reporting engagement scores, or buying analytics software. Instead, it is a systematic approach used to define workforce problems, test successful solutions, and make better decisions. This article provides six steps for maximizing the value of strategic workforce analytics: 1) Frame the central problem. 2) Apply a conceptual model to guide the analysis. 3) Capture relevant data. 4) Apply analytical methods. 5) Present statistical findings to stakeholders. 6) Define action steps to implement the solution. The authors leverage their experience at IBM and elsewhere to explain how embedding workforce analytics into companies requires the integration of timely, accurate, and multi-purpose data; a flexible and responsibe set of processes and technical infrastructure; individuals who possess the functional, statistical, and business-oriented skills needed; and adequate governance structures.

In today’s complex world, having a disruptive innovation capability is mandatory, both for growing a business and protecting existing markets. Though disruptive innovation transforms and creates markets, many of today’s executives rise through the ranks of management, where predictability is valued, and therefore lack the ability to lead disruptive innovation. This article highlights the key dynamics involved in leading disruptive innovation and proposes a five-phase model (with the acronym LEAPS) that provides the structure for understanding the ways that leaders create clarity during times of uncertainty. L – Listen: Start with yourself, not the market; be instinctual. E – Explore: Go outside to stretch the middle; appreciate ambiguity and push personal boundaries. A – Act: Take small, simple steps repeatedly; embrace continuous adaptation. P – Persist: Take the surprise out of failure; accept setbacks as a normal part of leading disruptive innovation. S – Seize: Make the journey part of the destination; the firm’s focus may change over time and luck may play a role.

Many companies want to enter emerging markets, but this requires changing their approach to innovation. Rather than innovating for Western consumers who want advanced product features, here they must innovate for the bottom of the pyramid. The first key factor in frugal innovation is affordability, and many firms have turned profits even when selling products at a fraction of normal prices. A second major success factor is understanding target customers’ circumstances, such as Nokia did in designing phones for the Indian market that withstood exposure to dust and high variations in ambient temperatures, or when the telecom firm Safaricom realized that many Africans, though using mobile phones, were not using traditional banking services and so introduced fund transfers through text messaging. A third key factor is flexible value chains, meaning firms are often required to tweak their value chains at both ends — suppliers/vendors and distributors/channels. GE showed a strong distribution model when it partnered with the State Bank of India to provide no-interest loans to rural Indian doctors in order to sell its ECG device. This article provides an analysis of and framework for these three key factors in frugal innovation.

Despite China’s rapid economic and technological development, its intellectual property rights (IPR) protection environment is inadequate. Foreign companies and Chinese technology firms like Lenovo, Huawei, and Haier are pressuring the Chinese government for stronger protection. The government, in turn, wants to enhance innovative capacity in science and technology to boost economic progress, climb the value chain, and reduce dependence on foreign technologies. Patent applications in China have dramatically increased, particularly technology patents for strategic or defense purposes. The quality of the de facto IPR system and enforcement varies across regions, being more robust in the coastal provinces and major cities. Previous studies on IPR have mostly focused on the United States and Europe, not China, yet it is crucial for firms operating in China to understand its IPR environment. This article proposes four strategies for patenting in the country.<br><br>1) Incremental patenting is a strategy for complex technological products (i.e. semiconductors, communications, computers) in regions with weak IPR protection. It focuses on the lesser known utility-model patents, which are cheaper, granted faster, and shorter in duration than invention patents. 2) Effectual patenting is for complex technological products in regions with good IPR protection. It is suited to firms with technological products of higher strategic value. 3) Augmented patenting is for discrete technological products (i.e. chemicals, biotech, pharmaceuticals, life sciences) in regions with weak IPR protection. It is ideal for products with higher economic value. 4) Foundational patenting is for discrete technological products in regions with strong IPR protection. This strategy provides the strongest IPR protection possible.

Best Buy has survived the economic recession that took out competitor Circuit City only to find an increasingly competitive landscape. Their dominance of the retail electronics industry is being challenged by online retailers and big-box retailers such as Walmart and Target. CEO Brian Dunn is scheduled to present a five-year growth plan to shareholders in just two months. With an uncertain economy and invading competitors, what strategies for growth should he present to keep Best Buy from the same fate as Circuit City?

Jeffrey Immelt started his tenure as General Electric's CEO in what would be called the "Decade from Hell". It started in 2001 with an economic depression due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and was followed by the global financial crisis in 2008. GE's stock price fell 13% in a single day after missing its quarterly earnings forecast in 2009. On the heels of that loss, Standard & Poor's downgraded GE's AAA credit rating. Despite Jeffrey Immelt's efforts, the share price reached its all-time low of $6.66 on March 5, 2009. By 2010, GE's market capitalization was cut in half to $200 billion. Immelt knew that something had to change with GE's Corporate Strategy. He focused efforts on innovation in energy and healthcare that became known as ecomagination and healthymagination initiatives. Ecomagination sought innovative solutions to ecological challenge while healthymagination focused on delivering solutions for the healthcare industry. By 2010, the efforts from these initiatives had restored some of GE's market capitalization, but were far from the original $400 billion that he had inherited as CEO. Was Immelt's strategic plan enough to carry the company back to its former glory? And, would investors have the patience to stick o this path?

The global sentiment towards energy has focused on reducing fossil fuel dependence. This move to alternative energy represents an opportunity for the world's largest energy technology companies, such as Siemens, to lead the future with a disruptive innovation. There are many new and developing technologies vying to unseat fossil fuels. Wind, solar, geothermal, hydropower and nuclear are the most mature technologies. Siemens Energy has a hand in each of these technologies with its greatest focus in wind and solar, although the time has come to choose which alternative it will focus on to disrupt the industry. This decision comes down to anticipating the most successful technology for the future. Should Siemens wait to acquire a smaller company with an innovative product in order to limit its risk? Or, should Siemens partner with competitors despite bad history?

Apple Inc.'s rise to success was punctuated by culture that Founder/CEO Steve Jobs had instilled in the company for over thirty years. This culture created the successful fusion of computing, industrial design, and brand power that led to popular innovations such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Apple experienced ups and downs along the way. Externally, it had to defend itself from competitors like IBM, Microsoft, and Dell. Internally, Apple suffered through power struggles that left it without Jobs for a season between 1985 and 1997. During that time, Apple's market share sunk to its lowest point - a mere three percent worldwide. Jobs returned as CEO after successfully founding Pixar Animations Studio and NeXT computer company. His return hailed one of the greatest corporate comebacks in modern history. However, what would happen to this company whose success seemed to be so closely tied to its founder when he was no longer able to lead?

Ctrip is a $437 million Chinese on-line travel services company with a scientific, data driven approach to management. The case explores Ctrip's founding and early growth, its expansion into multiple market segments including hotel reservations, air ticketing, leisure travel, and corporate travel, and the sources of its competitive advantage. The firm's culture, organization and call center operations are described in detail, as are its decision-making and business processes. At the end of the case, executives are considering whether Ctrip should actively pursue either the budget or luxury travel segments, which would mean shifting attention from the company's core customer base of Frequent Independent Travelers.

From 2005-2006, Federated Department Stores converted some 15 regional department store chains into a single national brand, Macy's, with 810 stores across the United States. In addition, the company repositioned the consolidated Macy's in the overall retail landscape in an attempt to differentiate the new company from its competitors. These maneuvers were undertaken to counter decreasing sales and profits in the traditional department store industry. Some retail analysts suggested that the consolidation of Macy's, while interesting, was destined to fail because the traditional department store was an obsolete entity; however, other analysts suggested that Macy's strategy may have held the key to success in a declining industry. In 2008, the U.S. economy entered a recession, and, by 2011, it remained far from booming. Did Macy's need to change parts of its strategy to remain competitive? What would need to change?