current issue: March / April 2012

Innovation nations
by Stephen Bernhut

Behind the extraordinary emergence of the BRIC countries as economic powers is a national industrial policy. In each case, the state has been a potent, and at times, creative force. Behind the success of Brazil, Russia, India and China has been a state that has influenced the skills and capabilities acquired and developed by private industries. It is important to understand that while the State supported companies in the BRICs, it refrained from being a fly on the wall of the R&D labs in those countries. In a variation of a phrase...
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features

Reverse innovation and the emerging-market growth imperative

by Chris Trimble

Many established global companies discount the need to innovate when competing in emerging markets. After all, innovation is expensive and risky. So, how can it make sense to spend heavily on an innovation for a market in which customers...

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Accelerating innovation in Israeli industry

by Yaara Ben-Nahum and Miriam Erez

Israel’s prowess in developing successful, leading edge high-tech companies is well known. Such success overshadows the failure of traditional Israeli industry to be more agile and innovative. With this in mind, the government has established several key programs that...

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Building and leveraging your ecosystem to spark innovation-based growth

by Walter Van Dyck

What matters most in creating and sustaining innovation is building and strengthening interdependent links amongst ecosystem players, or building an ecosystem. Readers of this article will learn not only how to build an ecosystem, but also how to manage one...

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Frugal engineering: An emerging innovation paradigm

by Nirmalya Kumar and Phanish Puranam

There may perhaps not be any better example of the dictum that necessity is the mother of invention than can be found in India. Whether it is a refrigerator, ECG device or an automobile, Indian engineers have brought innovative products...

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Does the thinking of yesterday’s management gurus imperil today’s companies?

by M.S.S. el Namaki

Ansoff’s Matrix, Porter’s Five Forces competitive analyses and Drucker’s Management By Objectives are 3 of the best known and most frequently applied management concepts. But are these vaunted concepts, incubated and given meaning in a relatively calm and predictable...

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To a better understanding: The leadership odyssey explored

by Kanina Blanchard

Introspection and reflection have never been appreciated for their ability to steady a leader’s hand. In the past few years, however, practitioners and consultants have come to appreciate the importance of looking within. This article seeks to guide the...

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The need to integrate project management and organizational change

by Henry Hornstein

Contrary to what seems to be the current practice advocated by the Project Management Institute (PMI) and others, project management processes must also consider how to engage employees from the beginning so that they come to see any initiative...

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That’ll Never Work: Six important lessons from successful entrepreneurs

by Dennis Fortnum

In the first few months of a business, an entrepreneur is likely to face challenges that, if not managed properly, may well sabotage the new venture. Imagine the confidence of that entrepreneur, however, if he or she could have...

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The Hershey Company: Aligning inside to win on the outside

by Rick Kash

Changes in the marketplace, if not monitored, can cause serious losses in profit, market share, and in stakeholders’ confidence. Such was the case with one of the most celebrated American companies, Hershey’s. When the company failed to keep its...

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