Who owns data available on the Internet? An article in MIT Sloan Management Review examines that question.
A new study explores the relationship between venture capitalists' location and their investments -- and finds some quite intriguing results.
Joseph Romm, the indefatigable policy analyst at Climate Progress, makes the point that despite some shortcomings, the passage of the climate bill last week in the House was a milestone in a larger process.
Relationships between a company's R&D and marketing departments aren't always cordial -- but they can be improved, according to a new article.
A paper from the Transportation Research Institute at U. Mich. projects that US car profits will rise if companies get in gear and ramp up fuel economy. And here's the kicker - profits will rise faster for Detroit than for the Japanese.
A couple of decades ago, there was a popular food label known as "natural." Problem was, companies began slapping it on everything and consumers lost faith in it. Which raises a question: Is "green" following in natural's footsteps?
To generate innovative ideas, companies need to look beyond the familiar.
Electric car start-up Tesla Motors, set to begin delivery of its $128,500 roadster next month, expects to turn a profit, according to a blog post by CEO Elon Musk. Toyota also reported record sales for its new Prius.
Innovation strategy expert Vijay Govindarajan thinks that businesses should be careful not to abandon innovation in their quest for efficiency and cost control during a recession -- but they may need to reduce their focus on risky breakthrough innovation plans.
Andrew Lippman of the MIT Media Lab discusses the problems associated with trying to build products that will have appeal for a long time. The alternative? Build architectures that allow people to build their own products.
Talk about novel ways to use waste. San Jose has embarked on a $20 million project to turn the remnants of human waste -- what usually ends up as sewage sludge in landfills -- into 900,000 gallons of biogas.
Should established companies even try to launch new ventures regularly? Two management researchers discussed that question recently.
Fifty-three percent, or $184 billion, of global stimulus spending is going to projects and to companies that improve the efficiency of buildings, transportation and industry.
Some companies pursue growth despite a recession --and there's a theory behind that.
The rush by investors into agricultural land is becoming a hot issue. This week, for example, Fortune had a long piece about a hedge fund manager buying up farm land for investment in the U.S., but the same trend is underway globally.
Innovation consultant Scott D. Anthony, author of a new book called "The Silver Lining: An Innovation Playbook for Uncertain Times," calls the era we're in "the great disruption" -- a period when competitive advantage is temporary. And "no matter how tough the times, innovation happens," Anthony observed[…]
Royal Dutch Shell agreed to pay $15.5 million to settle a case accusing it of taking part in human rights abuses in the Niger Delta in the early 1990s, though it admitted to no wrongdoing.
Has the U.S. economy suffered in recent years from a disappointing level of successful innovation?
President Obama may visit the climate talks in Copenhagen this December, bringing even more emphasis to a new regime. He said as much in Europe this week.
Environmental business consultant Joel Makower asserts that in the midst of GM's current crisis, the company is getting it. The "it," of course, is a strategic shift that will put the company on a greener trajectory
Two pieces of news: 1) Some companies are trying an approach to launching products that involves less up-front market research and more experimentation in the marketplace. 2) Innovation is on the agenda of the U.S.'s new CTO.
NRDC in a new report finds that industry in California can cut its water use in half, saving as much water as San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego together consume.
June has been declared "Innovation Month" here in New England -- where MIT is located. Maybe it should be "Innovation Month" everywhere.
Two researchers consider a number of Apple's innovations over the years -- and conclude, among other things, that incremental technological innovations can sometimes have more influence than more radical ones.
The WSJ blog environmental capital argues that the GM Volt - that new electric car with a $40,000 price tag - may not make any sense once GM is in bankruptcy.
Aluminum cans, fluorescent lamps, wood waste, scrap metal -- all are hot items for corporate recycling and some companies are even making money from it.
Are the dynamics of innovation shifting in ways that favor larger companies more than entrepreneurial ones?
Worldwatch Institute reports that global wind power installations climbed nearly 29% last year, with the U.S. leading the way. It now ranks first in cumulative capacity and electricity generation from wind, having surpassed Germany.
What should we make of the role of financial innovation in precipitating the financial crisis -- and how might problems with risk management that the crisis revealed be addressed?
It's a virtual belief from mainstream environmental groups to green VCs in Silicon Valley that the price of carbon must rise to change business and consumer behavior. Well, not all greens are buying it.
While bankrupt ethanol producers are making headlines in the U.S., a less visible trend trend is underway of rich nations snapping up land in Africa and Eastern Europe for future food and biofuel operations.
MIT Sloan School professor Arnoldo C. Hax, a well-known strategy expert, thinks companies need a different approach to thinking about strategy.
The winning technology company at this year's MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition had its roots in an experience that began with frustration.
We've all heard about organic and green products, but at the "Cooking for Solutions" conference at the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Thursday, executive director Julia Packard announced that 37% of all retailers were had removed seafood items from their shelves that were not sustainable.
Trying to create sales projections in an uncertain economic environment? New research suggests that the sentiments consumers express online may be a leading indicator of future sales.
China is pushing ahead in coal technology, rolling out plants that are far more efficient in deriving electricity from coal. Whether this constitutes "clean coal" is another matter.
How has Microsoft adapted to the era of open source? A new book, Burning the Ships: Intellectual Property and the Transformation of Microsoft, gives a detailed view into that question.
According to Clayton Christensen, the customer is the wrong unit of analysis for innovators to focus on. Instead, focus on the job that customers are trying to get done when they use your product or service.
The Obama administration is walking a tightrope to support the ethanol industry, rolling out more government loans for the battered industry but also delicately acknowledging environmental costs of the fuel.
C.K. Prahalad thinks we are entering a period where a key challenge is managing volatility and discontinuities.
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