MIT Sloan Management Review
Fall 2011 Issue
Volume 53 Issue 1
Recent research shows that consumers collectively generate massive amounts of product innovation. These findings are a wake-up call for both companies and consumers — and have significant implications for our understanding of new product development.
By Eric von Hippel, Susumu Ogawa and Jeroen P.J. de Jong
Reflections on the role — and contribution — of individual innovators.
By Martha E. Mangelsdorf
Intelligence
What Influences Customers’ Online Comments
New research sheds light on several important dynamics that affect the opinions that customers post about products. Wendy W. Moe, David A. Schweidel and Michael Trusov
Crib Notes Notes on accepting responsibility during a crisis, reorganizing product development systems, being attentive to the needs of local customers, valuing constant exposure to user feedback and recognizing that competitive advantage may be temporary — plus other observations and ideas in this issue.
The Factor Environmental Ratings Miss There’s a problem with most major environmental rankings of businesses: Too often, the ratings fail to incorporate advocacy activities that influence environmental regulation. Auden Schendler and Michael Toffel Free to subscribers
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Rethinking Executive MBA Programs Students and companies have changing expectations for executive MBA programs. How should business schools respond? Francis Petit
Should You Have a Global Strategy? A globally integrated strategy isn’t right for every company. One important factor to consider is the combined market share of the largest companies in your industry — and how that’s changing. Chris Carr and David Collis
The Richard Beckhard Memorial Prize The editors of MIT Sloan Management Review are pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Richard Beckhard Memorial Prize, awarded to the authors of the most outstanding SMR article on planned change and organizational development published from fall 2009 to summer 2010.
Features
A small number of “idea scouts” and “idea connectors” are disproportionately influential in producing successful open innovation outcomes. Smart companies make sure they are linked. Free to subscribers
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By Eoin Whelan, Salvatore Parise, Jasper de Valk and Rick Aalbers
The right open innovation strategy can yield performance benefits — but first your company needs to overcome “not-invented-here” and “not-sold-here” attitudes.
By Ulrich Lichtenthaler, Martin Hoegl and Miriam Muethel
When 33 Chilean miners were rescued after being trapped underground for 69 days, the world cheered. Here’s what your company can learn from key leadership decisions made during the mine cave-in crisis. Free to subscribers
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Michael Useem, Rodrigo Jordán and Matko Koljatic
Our new survey suggests that companies experienced in analytics use are increasingly gaining competitive advantage — but their approaches vary.
By David Kiron and Rebecca Shockley
Business analytics projects are often characterized by uncertain or changing requirements — and a high implementation risk. So it takes a special breed of project manager to execute and deliver them
By Stijn Viaene and Annabel Van den Bunder
Just when you think you have settled on the right strategy, you may need to change. By understanding the particular circumstances and forces shaping your company’s competitive environment, you can choose the most appropriate strategic framework. Free to subscribers
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By Christopher B. Bingham, Kathleen M. Eisenhardt and Nathan R. Furr
Multinational companies often test new or improved processes by rolling out a limited pilot in one or several markets. New research identifies how to maximize the chances of success for these high-stakes dress rehearsals. Free to subscribers
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By Rhoda Davidson and Bettina Büchel
We asked: Are organizations spending more on sustainability? Does it merit more attention from the top? More than 4,700 managers responded. Here’s what they told us.
By Nina Kruschwitz and Knut Haanaes
Companies that pursue a number of improvement initiatives at once risk creating information overload for employees. Free to subscribers
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By Satya S. Chakravorty
Web Exclusives
In “The Age of the Consumer-Innovator,” Eric von Hippel, Susumu Ogawa and Jeroen P.J. de Jong share their latest research into the surprising extent of consumer innovation. In this online-only interview, von Hippel, a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, reflects on how companies can identify users who are most likely to innovate.
Eric von Hippel (MIT Sloan School of Management), interviewed by Martha E. Mangelsdorf
In just two decades, Statkraft has grown from a state-owned, Norwegian-focused power supplier to one of the world’s largest renewables power producers, with 233 hydropower plants internationally. With a new focus on renewable energy, the company gradually “filled our ambitions with organizational structures that helped us create both projects and profits,” says Statkraft president and CEO Christian Rynning-Tønnesen.
Christian Rynning-Tønnesen (Statkraft), interviewed by Michael S. Hopkins and Knut Haanaes
“We’re taking analytics from a planning perspective to a planning, execution and evolution perspective,” says David Kreutter, VP, US Commercial Operations at Pfizer Inc. As a result, analytics has become “much more operational than it’s been in the past.”
David Kreutter (Pfizer), interviewed by David Kiron and Rebecca Shockley
