MIT Sloan Management Review

To foster sustainable development, an innovation strategy must have vision that transcends a maelstrom of complex, and sometimes contradictory, demands.

There's no shortage of advice available to guide managers about to embark on an overseas mission.

Most people accept that innovating involves risk. If a gene therapy patient dies, regulators stiffen controls, but they don’t make gene therapy impossible. Similarly, the United States must apply balance in addressing business scandals.

Commanding laggards to “copy exactly” the best practices of performance leaders isn’t always the ideal solution. A balance between uniformity and discretion is optimal.

Four types of organizational energy can either stimulate or handicap competitiveness. Companies are learning to identify and focus the kind best suited to their culture and goals.

Companies should spend less time trying to fool customers with hidden charges and devote more effort to competing on differences that really matter, say the authors. Imaginative managers may want to consider how a move toward honest pricing in their industry — such as unit pricing at supermarkets and the U.S. government”s Energy Star program — could help sell more and better products to a loyal customer base.

Europeans and Americans have traditionally viewed bankruptcy and financial recovery differently. There”s a commitment in the United States to explore options for a “second chance”

Organizational structure, the authors contend, is increasingly irrelevant to how work is actually done. Citing BP, Duke Power and W.L. Gore and Associates, they demonstrate that it is not formal structure but the adaptability of processes, people and technology that enables companies to build lasting value.

It takes more than superior abilities or expertise to become a high-performing knowledge worker. It takes connections. But high performers are much more than “social butterflies,” say the authors. Effective knowledge workers actively employ three tactics to build deep relationships that will be mutually beneficial over time.

Business-process outsourcing is a key trend shaping the future of human resources. Six factors can help companies determine which HR processes to outsource and which to retain.

Organizational responses to the increasingly varied composition of the workplace — including women; racial, ethnic or religious minorities; gays and lesbians — have engendered a complex mix of reactions.

As more and more firms realize that the brand names associated with their products or services are among their most valuable assets, creating, maintaining and enhancing the strength of those brands has become a management imperative.

Few organizations understand the benefits of having tactical planners, who use computer models to optimize the supply chain, in close communication with the senior managers who formulate strategy. The author outlines a planning approach that ensures that critical supply-chain details inform a company’s business strategy and that supply-chain management aligns with the strategic direction.

Companies undertake venturing for a variety of reasons. To be successful, they must be clear about their objectives and disciplined in executing the one of four business models most appropriate to achieving them.

Businesses are increasingly trying to enhance customers’ experiences, but that’s not easy when dealing with scenarios that are inherently routine. The authors relate how three companies — Jordan’s Furniture, Commerce Bank and Stew Leonard’s — have been successful at injecting fun into seemingly neutral environments.

At a time when competitive factors have weakened the power of many storied brands, companies can regain an advantage by acquiring or developing a branded feature, service, program or ingredient. As examples, the author cites Westin Hotels, Krispy Kreme, UPS Supply Chain Solutions and many others.

A review of research that explores the link between valuation, activity and performance. Christa H.S. Bouwman, Kathleen Fuller and Amrita S. Nain

Managers of pension funds exert different pressures on a company from those who oversee investment funds.