by Stefano Cavallazzi

Research Fellow of Organization and HR Management

• Profilo
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• Altri Post (1)

What does it take to translate the organization’s entrepreneurial and innovative effort into effective market outcomes? How do you set proper execution practices that allow you to pursue new competitive opportunities? Since Schumpeter suggested that entrepreneurs are the main agents of economic growth and market renewal in 1936, Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) research has tried to shed some light on how firms can structure a process that allows the organization to identify and pursue value-creating opportunities leveraging on employees’ entrepreneurial behaviors. Scholars developed and refined the Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Instrument (CEAI) to evaluate four dimensions of organizational climate (management support, individual work discretion, rewards and time availability) as antecedents of innovative output and concluded that higher levels of entrepreneurial climate generate increased innovation.

by Markus Venzin

SDA Professor of Strategic and Entrepreneurial Management

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• Altri Post (10)

The BCG matrix and modified portfolio planning tools have for a long period of time occupied a fundamental position in corporate planning departments as well as in business school courses. With this contribution, I attempt to show that the BCG matrix has a number of flaws and its application is rather problematic. The Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) growth share matrix – and its close relatives (most prominently the GE/McKinsey matrix) - is one of the best known and persistent tools in strategic management. At the height of its success between 1972 and 1982, the BCG matrix was used by around 45% of the Fortune 500 companies. In 1975, the prominent strategy scholar Peter Lorange asserted that the growth share matrix has become the common method of corporate planning.

The apparent simplicity of having reduced a complex decision problem to a two dimensional matrix was of intuitive appeal. The central assumption was based on academic research (i.e., the PIMS study) and managers located in corporate headquarters were able to show their value added for their businesses. The proliferation of portfolio planning as a resource allocation tool was accelerated by the BCG consultants and their competitors like McKinsey, and Arthur D. Little which developed similar matrixes together with their clients.

by Olga Annushkina

SDA Professor of Strategic and Entrepreneurial Management

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International markets expose firms to an ample variety of risks, comprising the currency exchange rate fluctuations. In the past two months many firms had to deal with a number of “surprises” that confirmed the two mantras of the expert scenario planners: one cannot “cheat” forever the laws of economics and the unsustainable trends will reverse, at a certain point.

It is certainly easy to discuss and interpret the past events and fish out the “early warnings” that could have indicated to us the Russian Rouble’s plunge against most of the world currencies, the Swiss franc’s appreciation and the Euro’s decline against the US Dollar. But the ability to read between the lines and to imagine the key possible scenarios of the macroeconomic, social and political context evolution is the starting point for any manager or entrepreneur.

by Markus Venzin

SDA Professor of Strategic and Entrepreneurial Management

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In a strategy process, the current situation is often depicted as a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. A SWOT analysis is not much more than a simple listing of the factors falling under the four categories. It highlights the interaction among the company’s strengths and weaknesses, and the opportunities and threats in the marketplace. Strengths and weaknesses are judged by comparing the company’s own resources and capabilities with those of (potential) competitors. Opportunities and threats are determined through market analysis.

Surveys have revealed that the SWOT analysis ranks very high in the list of the most often used management tools. Maybe because the methodology is apparently simple to understand and to use. In a brainstorming session, it is relatively easy to come up with a list of internal and external factors that potentially shape the future of the firm.
However, I have seen too many flawed SWOT analysis’ in my professional life. The purpose of the article is therefore to discuss the most common mistakes made while using the tool and to contribute to a more sophisticated application of the SWOT methodology.

by Sara Mitterhofer

Research Fellow of Strategic and Entrepreneurial Management

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• Altri Post (4)

“Credo che i leader debbano tracciare la rotta. Essere un buon leader nei giorni nostri è molto più difficile di quanto non lo sia stato in passato. Negli ultimi 15-20 anni sono stati messi in crisi i modelli di riferimento occidentali. I leader della nostra generazione dovranno essere capaci di confrontarsi con i continui cambiamenti del contesto in cui si trovano ad operare, in cui l’unico “faro” è rappresentato da principi come integrità, coraggio e onestà intellettuale.”

Così Luca Morandi, 32enne, Corporate M&A Manager di Barilla, sulla leadership nelle nuove generazioni. Alle spalle, un percorso costruito con determinazione, passione e la voglia di esplorare settori e funzioni diverse: prima l'esperienza in consulenza, poi il private equity, e, infine, due grandi aziende come General Electric e Barilla, trovando anche spazio per il lancio di nuove iniziative imprenditoriali. Una formula per interpretare la sfida della crescita professionale in un contesto complesso e dinamico come quello attuale.