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Leadership is a prominent function within organizations and social entities, and research suggests leadership that is more active tends to be more effective. However, emerging research contends that more active leadership can place stressful demands on leaders, which can jeopardize their well-being and eventual effectiveness. In this article, we draw from research on job demands, job resources, and stress coping to outline an applied framework of leader strain management. The model explains how leadership demands (i.e., the challenges/hindrances leaders face) can influence leader strains (i.e., negative implications of the demands) and how leader resources (i.e., tangible/intangible assets) can be leveraged through coping activities to resolve demands or reduce strains. We propose five guidelines for leaders seeking to balance engaging their leadership responsibilities with maintaining their well-being and sustaining their effectiveness over time.

In recent years, greater disparities in incomes and growth in wealthy consumers have fueled new opportunities in luxury markets. As firms launched luxury brands, some have thrived as others stumbled. One important difference between those who succeed and those who struggle, we suggest, is brand authenticity. Scholars have studied authenticity extensively, and research has isolated different sources of authenticity. How firms draw on these sources to create legitimate luxury brands has, however, received surprisingly little attention. In this article, we discuss the research on the sources of brand authenticity, and we explore how brands rely on those sources to craft authentic luxury brands. Using the examples of Canada Goose and Shinola, we illustrate how one firm drew on multiple sources of authenticity and, through the symbolism of its actions, successfully created an authentic luxury brand. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for other firms seeking to enter the luxury market.

In today's rapidly changing but data-rich environments, managers at all organizational levels need to use appropriate intuition, balanced with analytic thinking, to create and capture opportunities. Intuition is often thought of as a single construct, but our 2-year longitudinal study of multiple managers developing opportunities uncovered four distinct types of intuition: expert intuition, based on previous experience; creative intuition, based on a sense of direction for a novel solution; social intuition, based on a sense of interpersonal relationships; and temporal intuition, based on a sense of the timing being right to create or capture an opportunity. We offer a range of recommendations regarding the strengths and limitations of each type of intuition. With a more nuanced understanding of the types of intuition, managers will be better equipped to leverage the strengths--and be wary of the limitations--of intuition in their own decision-making and that of others.

Technology is constantly changing, and new technologies are regularly being introduced. Business has been revolutionized by various technologies over the past few decades-namely, data science/artifical intelligence (AI) and blockchain. New technologies bring many opportunities with them, but they can also pose challenges for businesses, such as creating new and updated business models and finding the best adoption and digital transformation strategies. This books offers a guide to data science/AI and blockchain, two of the most relevant and important technologies for businesses today. Various topics are covered, including data science processes, AI-based businesses, and types of blockchain. Simple, straighforward descriptions of the technologies are provided along with more thorough explanations on how to effectively use them. By utilizing data science/AI and blockchain, businesses can stay competitive and be a catalyst for positive change. Chapter 1 describes the concept of emerging technologies, which includes any technology old or new that has unrealized potential. Through development or application, emerging technologies have the capability to change society. A brief history of technological disruption is provided, along with a description of the current "Fourth Industrial Revolution." Emergining technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution include data science/AI, blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, 5G technology, quantum computing, and robotics. Descriptions of all these technologies, as well as ways they can transform business, are offered. Ultimately, data science/AI and blockchain are two of the biggest emerging technologies right now and therefore are what decision makers need to know about. If businesses don't adopt these technologies, those businesses will eventually become obsolete.

Technology is constantly changing, and new technologies are regularly being introduced. Business has been revolutionized by various technologies over the past few decades-namely, data science/artifical intelligence (AI) and blockchain. New technologies bring many opportunities with them, but they can also pose challenges for businesses, such as creating new and updated business models and finding the best adoption and digital transformation strategies. This books offers a guide to data science/AI and blockchain, two of the most relevant and important technologies for businesses today. Various topics are covered, including data science processes, AI-based businesses, and types of blockchain. Simple, straighforward descriptions of the technologies are provided along with more thorough explanations on how to effectively use them. By utilizing data science/AI and blockchain, businesses can stay competitive and be a catalyst for positive change. Chapter 2 offers a brief overview of what data science is, how it can be useful, and how it can be applied. A short history of data science is provided. There are three core fields of data science: AI, machine learning (ML), and statistics; each of these fields and how they are part of data science is described. Machine learning is particularly essential to data science, and there are three main ML types: supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and reinforcement learning. These approaches are discussed along with other types of ML and how decision makers can use ML to their benefit. A thorough introduction to statistics is also given, including a description of different types of statistics and the benefits, applications, and potential problems of statistics-such as bias-for business. Case examples are offered, highlighting how data science can impact business.

Technology is constantly changing, and new technologies are regularly being introduced. Business has been revolutionized by various technologies over the past few decades-namely, data science/artifical intelligence (AI) and blockchain. New technologies bring many opportunities with them, but they can also pose challenges for businesses, such as creating new and updated business models and finding the best adoption and digital transformation strategies. This books offers a guide to data science/AI and blockchain, two of the most relevant and important technologies for businesses today. Various topics are covered, including data science processes, AI-based businesses, and types of blockchain. Simple, straighforward descriptions of the technologies are provided along with more thorough explanations on how to effectively use them. By utilizing data science/AI and blockchain, businesses can stay competitive and be a catalyst for positive change. Chapter 3 builds on the previous chapter and explores data strategies. A data strategy should be constantly updated, cover technical and organizational aspects, and ultimately point toward and work with the business strategy. Data strategies can offer additional revenue and a competitive advantage to companies. Guidelines for how to create a data strategy are provided, including starting with the business strategy, building data use cases, understanding data architecture and data governance, and managing AI projects. The data science hierarchy of needs model is described. CRISP-DM is a process used for planning data science projects; its six main phases are business understanding, data understanding, data preparation, modeling, evaluation, and deployment. Tesseract Academy's 2-actor process is another popular process in data science and focuses on the problem definition, data management, the solution to the problem, and creating value through actionable insights. Several case studies are offered throughout the chapter.

Technology is constantly changing, and new technologies are regularly being introduced. Business has been revolutionized by various technologies over the past few decades-namely, data science/artifical intelligence (AI) and blockchain. New technologies bring many opportunities with them, but they can also pose challenges for businesses, such as creating new and updated business models and finding the best adoption and digital transformation strategies. This books offers a guide to data science/AI and blockchain, two of the most relevant and important technologies for businesses today. Various topics are covered, including data science processes, AI-based businesses, and types of blockchain. Simple, straighforward descriptions of the technologies are provided along with more thorough explanations on how to effectively use them. By utilizing data science/AI and blockchain, businesses can stay competitive and be a catalyst for positive change. Chapter 4 discusses data scientists-characteristics of good data scientists, skills they should have, their motivations, and how to effectively manage them. Essential skills for a data scientist include hacking skills, math and statistics knowledge, and substantive expertise. Data scientists tend to be curious, proactive, and innovative; many need to be mentally engaged, stimulated, and challenged. When hiring a data scientist, make sure to capitalize on these traits and their skill set. Ways for a company to attract data scientists are offered. Data scientists can be categorized into six groups: computer scientists, statisticians, quantitative specialists, self-taught data scientists, software platform users, and domain specialists. Each of these is described. The idea of a data-centric organization is also explored as well as how to build a data science culture and overcome resistance to change.

Technology is constantly changing, and new technologies are regularly being introduced. Business has been revolutionized by various technologies over the past few decades-namely, data science/artifical intelligence (AI) and blockchain. New technologies bring many opportunities with them, but they can also pose challenges for businesses, such as creating new and updated business models and finding the best adoption and digital transformation strategies. This books offers a guide to data science/AI and blockchain, two of the most relevant and important technologies for businesses today. Various topics are covered, including data science processes, AI-based businesses, and types of blockchain. Simple, straighforward descriptions of the technologies are provided along with more thorough explanations on how to effectively use them. By utilizing data science/AI and blockchain, businesses can stay competitive and be a catalyst for positive change. Chapter 5 explores blockchain, specifically what a nontechnical decision maker needs to know about it. A brief history of money and payment systems is offered, including the rise of blockchain. Blockchain is a decentralized ledger of records, a distributed database stored on multiple computers. Advantages of blockchain and differences between it and traditional databases are described. The elements of blockchain are explained, specifically blocks (containing data, nonces, and hashes), nodes, and miners. The relationship between cryptography and blockchain is discussed. The four main types of blockchain networks-public, private, hybrid, and consortium or federated-are explored, including their advantages, disadvantages, and uses. There are many applications of blockchain, several of which are described, including Bitcoin, nonfungible tokens (NFTs), and decentralized finance.

Technology is constantly changing, and new technologies are regularly being introduced. Business has been revolutionized by various technologies over the past few decades-namely, data science/artifical intelligence (AI) and blockchain. New technologies bring many opportunities with them, but they can also pose challenges for businesses, such as creating new and updated business models and finding the best adoption and digital transformation strategies. This books offers a guide to data science/AI and blockchain, two of the most relevant and important technologies for businesses today. Various topics are covered, including data science processes, AI-based businesses, and types of blockchain. Simple, straighforward descriptions of the technologies are provided along with more thorough explanations on how to effectively use them. By utilizing data science/AI and blockchain, businesses can stay competitive and be a catalyst for positive change. Chapter 6 explores how blockchain can be applied to and improve several industries, such as finance, cybersecurity, shipping, and the metaverse. All capital market participants will benefit from blockchain, including issuers, fund managers, investors, and regulators. Blockchain can improve supply chains as well, especially with development sourcing, production logistics, information systems management, and coordination. The likelihood of fraud regarding the authenticity of legal documents could be eliminated with blockchain; the shipping industry could increase efficiency while decreasing costs; cybersecurity could be enhanced; and file sharing could become decentralized. Blockchain could also assist in building the metaverse through providing proof of ownership, offering safe value transfer, and ensuring fair and transparent governance. Case examples are given throughout the chapter.

Technology is constantly changing, and new technologies are regularly being introduced. Business has been revolutionized by various technologies over the past few decades-namely, data science/artifical intelligence (AI) and blockchain. New technologies bring many opportunities with them, but they can also pose challenges for businesses, such as creating new and updated business models and finding the best adoption and digital transformation strategies. This books offers a guide to data science/AI and blockchain, two of the most relevant and important technologies for businesses today. Various topics are covered, including data science processes, AI-based businesses, and types of blockchain. Simple, straighforward descriptions of the technologies are provided along with more thorough explanations on how to effectively use them. By utilizing data science/AI and blockchain, businesses can stay competitive and be a catalyst for positive change. Chapter 7 discusses the maturity curve, a framework used to think about a technology's level of adoption within a business. Adopting emerging technologies tends to require a change in mindset. An organization must analyze its capabilities and the industry's potential to be disrupted by AI and blockchain. AI maturity is a concept that refers to various levels of adoption and looks at how much value a company can derive from AI. Four main components are needed to reach full adoption: knowledge, data, culture, and talent. All four of these are discussed. Questions are offered to help organizations find out if blockchain will be beneficial for them; these questions are categorized into business, technology, and legal questions. Businesses must be mindful of and adapt to technological changes in order to be successful in the future.

Most large companies take a similar approach to corporate innovation, running it out of centralized innovation groups. But companies in China, both domestic and foreign, are much more likely to turn to market-facing sources of innovation, including customers, competitors, and front-line employees. China's fast growth is producing a disproportionately large share of new customers for many industries, which demands an orientation toward generating ideas closer to customers to drive more market-led innovation.

Setting goals regarding relationship conversion, leverage, and defense can drive future revenue and lower costs, but this work requires a clear understanding of the heterogeneity of customer needs and economies of scale as they emerge over time. To inform and act upon this understanding, companies need an integrated approach to customer portfolio management and customer portfolio lifetime value.

On May 27, 2020, a blowout occurred in Well No. 5 at Baghjan (Assam); the well, owned by Oil India Ltd., caught fire on June 9, 2020. For almost five and a half months, the company tried to douse the 200-foot high flame but failed to do so. Finally, on Day 173, Oil India Ltd succeeded in capping the well. Biswajit Roy, Director (Human Resources and Business Development), was tasked with investigating the nature and cause of the crisis. Roy pondered on the nature of the crisis: Had it been purely technical or stakeholder-induced? What had led to the chaotic condition? Could things have been done differently?

On July 24, 2021, Chinese authorities issued the Double Reduction Policy to ease the burden of excessive homework and off-campus tutoring for students undergoing compulsory education in China. Off-campus English tutoring became strictly regulated, and hiring foreign teachers abroad to carry out training activities was strictly prohibited. 51Talk had achieved great success in the K–12 English online tutoring market, and this business accounted for more than 95 per cent of the company’s total revenue. However, the company would not be able to continue its K–12 student English online tutoring business in the Chinese market under the Double Reduction Policy. Jack Huang, 51Talk’s founder and chief executive officer, had to consider how to transform the company in order to survive.

In June 2022, Kelvin Van Rijn, owner of The Fritter Shop in London, Ontario, is considering multiple options for the future success of his business. The Fritter Shop had experienced significant growth over its first years in business and had recently relocated to a new production facility. This facility provided approximately 1,500 square feet of unused production space and Van Rijn is wondering how to make the best use of it. Van Rijn’s options include maintaining the status quo, seeking additional franchisees, wholesaling his fritters, selling the business, and exploring co-tenancy.

Founded in 2014 in Guangdong, China, Guangdong Haiqixing Marine Technology Co. Ltd. (Haiqixing) was a total solution service provider for marine big data applications. In the early stage of its development, Haiqixing achieved growth through a business development strategy. Unfortunately, since 2019, it had been affected by such factors as the reorganization of national government agencies and the impact of COVID-19, which had caused its business to suffer inevitable shocks. In 2020, to enhance the company’s ability to cope with environmental changes and ensure continuous growth of the business, Haiqixing’s chair carried out a strategic transformation, changing the company’s business development strategy to one oriented toward product development. Consequently, the company achieved a rapid increase in operating income. However, the company’s existing technical capabilities could not meet customers’ needs. The chair needed to determine Haiqixing’s next steps. Should Haiqixing continue to pursue its product development strategy, or should it adopt a technology exploration strategy to improve its technical capabilities?

Founded in 1950, King’s Hawaiian, a Los Angeles–based bakery, operated in the competitive bread industry with an expansive list of rolls and bread, as well as a selection of other baked goods, which varied by region. As the business grew over the years, it had added production facilities and increased marketing. For decades, King’s Hawaiian had focused on its core bread products, using occasion-based marketing to target consumers. However, in April 2021, with an ever-increasing market, the company had to decide whether to scale up into a mass-market company or continue to service a niche occasion-based segment by offering its unique sweet bread through in-store bakery and deli departments.

In January 2020, Philippe Isler, director of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (Alliance), was preparing for the Alliance’s steering group meeting that spring. He needed to set forth a plan on how to scale Alliance operations to deliver on current and proposed projects. The Alliance had only three years left in its current funding cycle, and a long list of projects to complete. Isler knew that meeting the funding governments’ expectations with the current structure would be a challenge for the Alliance. He thus faced a complex organizational design challenge and had to reflect how to develop the efficiency of the Alliance. Isler considered three options to scale Alliance operations: growing organically, adding several arms-length implementing partners, and adding a new implementing partner into the Alliance secretariat. Alternatively, he could dial back the Alliance’s current growth plans.

Beginning with an ambitious, lean start-up effort in the highly competitive restaurant industry in Auckland, New Zealand, a husband-and-wife team built a small empire of successful fine dining Indian restaurants. Then came the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed their extreme vulnerability to external forces and the subsequent volatility of the restaurant industry. Their quick pivot to launching a line of Indian sauces for home cooks, Cassia at Home, was an instant success. As the couple contemplated different paths to recovery from the pandemic disruption, they wondered how they should expand their newest business into a sustaining brand and what the future of the existing restaurants would look like. Should they continue to expand the new retail business, abandon the move into manufacturing and broader distribution, or even focus on reviving their existing restaurant businesses?<br><br\><br><br\>An earlier version of the case was awarded Second Place in the 2021 John Molson Business Ownership Case Writing Competition sponsored by the Bob & Raye Briscoe Centre in Business Ownership Studies, John Molson School of Business, Concordia University.

Leaders of companies anchored in traditional value chains can drive growth by transforming their existing customers into digital customers. Digital customers' interactions generate streams of data that can be used to create fresh revenue and expand the scope of product and service businesses. To achieve this, however, leaders must shift strategic priorities and develop new marketing, business, and revenue- and profit-generation models.