Abstract:
The planned output of the project is a research empirical paper on the costs of trade financing around the world, and its implications for capital structure decisions in emerging markets with under-developed financial systems.

Contact Arturo Bris

Abstract:
In the last months, the SEC has started investigations on illegal insider trading activities by hedge funds. Apparently, in their search for abnormal alpha, hedge funds are crossing the line imposed by regulation. The objective of the paper is to use the methodology developed in my paper "Do Insider Trading Laws Work", published in European Financial Management in 2005, to measure insider trading activities in relation to hedge fund penetration in one country.

Contact Arturo Bris

Abstract:
This study focuses on a major global issue: the rise of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs). Using the largest data set of their holdings to date, we document a large SWF premium that amounts to 15% of firm value. Using data from 2002 to 2007, we find that firms with higher ownership by SWFs have higher firm valuations and better operating performance. Our results also indicate that SWFs have a stabilizing role in financial markets, and that they do not have a strong demand for firms in high-tech industries or those operating in areas involving intensive research and development.

Contact Nuno Fernandes

Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of leveraging and upgrading investments in corporate venture capital investing in the telecommunications and telecom equipment sector.

Contact James Henderson

Abstract:
Understanding culture is important for many aspects of management, both in single-country and multinational settings. People's cultural backgrounds influence their assumptions about organizational work and how interactions with other people should proceed. Culture's influence, though, is so profound that it often goes unseen. This results not only in deep and difficult conflicts, but also in untapped potential.

CPQ Project

Abstract:
A new research project on organizational strategies for growth in China, investigating leading local and international companies in China – with a particular emphasis on cross-border joint venture and acquisitions. The plan for the first stage is to identify 8-10 companies for further study and then conduct the first round of interviews with key executives.

Contact Vladimir Pucik

Abstract:
Work on updating, streamlining and shortening four chapters from my textbook on International HRM for the second edition due in 2009. The chapters which I will focus on cover structural coordination, performance management, joint venture and alliances, and M&A.

Contact Vladimir Pucik

Abstract:
We are researching companies that were able to really understand what drives customer behaviour, and to develop products and services to address their latent needs. These companies are going beyond traditional market research and focus groups, which tend to generate incremental innovation at best. Instead they are getting close to their customers, talking to them about the issues that concern them (using a wide variety of techniques), to gain more subtle insights into what it is they are seeking from a particular product or service. In this way, they have been able to come up with radically different approaches which address these needs, and thus increase customer satisfaction.

Contact John Walsh

Abstract:
This project seeks to better understand the processes through which firms effectively manage the dissemination of market data within firms so that insights are clear and thus provide guidance and motivate firm response - thus creating customer and firm value simultaneously.

Contact Sean Meehan

Abstract:
This project focuses on the growing challenge that low cost competitors (companies offering "good enough" product and services at very attractive prices) pose for traditional players in many industries. Cases and other teaching materials on low cost competitors are being developed. They focus on how low cost competitors compete and the lessons they might offer for traditional players. The project also looks at the strategies and tactics that traditional players are using to respond to the low cost challenge. Again cases and other teaching materials are being developed. The final output will be a practitioner-oriented book targeted at executives in companies that face the challenge of low cost competition.

Contact Adrian Ryans

Abstract:
Among marketing practitioners and market observers there is broad consensus that the last few years have been characterized by a power shift from product brands to retail brands. At the macro level this trend finds its expression in the fact that, in the US, Walmart has, in terms of annual revenues, overtaken P&G (as well as pretty much any other firm). In Europe, Carrefour – founded in 1959 – leads venerable Nestle – founded in 1866. At the consumer level, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence suggesting that for the consumer of a packaged good the name on the box matters less than the name on the store where the box was purchased. This view of retailers’ market power is not necessarily shared by marketing academics who often fail to find – what they consider – tangible evidence of such retailer strength. For a selected set of product brands and retail brands, the proposal consists of engaging consumers directly in a systematic exchange that reveals the relative value that they attach to the product and retail brands chosen for this study. A major goal of this inquiry will be to identify factors that can be expected to mediate brand effects such as consumers’ knowledge of the chosen product category, their involvement in shopping transactions and – broadly – the cultural environment in which they find themselves.

Contact Martin Koschat

Abstract:
An examination of wine industry data to determine the impact of cluster organization on the quality variance and price variance per unit of quality in the wine industry.

Contact James Henderson

Abstract:
Global Trends 2008: The project will include updating the global trends posters/database/CDs/ presentations and involve working on a new survey for OWP. However, the key focus will be on extending the scope and focus of global trends activity beyond data and analysis to develop a framework and approach for identifying patterns and implications for businesses from the trends – implications which will impact strategic decision-making and the resulting organizational architecture. This will require a combination of desk and field research, as well as interactions with a network of organizations to be able to push our thinking into even more useful forms for our clients. Our clients are already excited about the work we have done to help them understand the trends better – what they really want now are frameworks, approaches, tools that will really help them to translate trends into their business decisions and strategies, as well as helping them cascade this understanding through their organizations. The research output will include teaching materials (and toolkits) for ASM, OWP 2008, discovery and marketing events/materials and may be adapted for some in-company programs. There will also be a series of articles, PFMs, TCs, a CD and hopefully press coverage as we extend the survey coverage and capabilities.

Contact Tom Malnight

Abstract:
This on-going project focuses on the various stages of the product launch and deployment process (launch strategy, planning and preparation; product launch, roll-out and deployment; and launch feedback) and their synchronization with the product development process.
The first part of this research has resulted in three cases: 

• "Logitech: Getting the io Digital Pen to Market" - IMD, 2003 
• "Philips Sonicare: Developing a Launch Strategy to Go Global" - IMD, 2004
• "Medtronic's Deep Brain Stimulation-Turning a Revolutionary Therapy into "Standard of Care" – IMD, 2006

The next step will be another case in the high-tech medical equipment industry (planned for June 2008).

Contact Jean-Philippe Deschamps

Abstract:
This research contributes to the intra-organization, inter-organization, and new product development (NPD) management literature by studying the impact of a firm’s internal organization design on the communication and performance of NPD projects conducted with strategic alliance partners (alliance’s NPD projects). We identify the role the industry and alliance’s NPD project characteristics play in determining the intensity of communication required between the alliance’s NPD project partners. Then, we examine how the internal organization design impacts the actual intensity of communication of the alliance’s NPD project. This research is now in the phase of designing the questionnaire and sending it out for data collection. Planned output: Article for AMJ or SMJ or JM in 2009.

Contact Bettina Buechel

Abstract:
The simulation is designed to highlight 4 of the 7 insights from the "Smarter Execution" book:

"Smarter Execution" Book Insights - Seven Insights to the Successful Execution of Strategic Initiatives

• 1. Focus first (Strategy) - out of scope
• 2. Pick the best team (OB) - out of scope
• 3. Set the course (scope) PM - out of scope
• 4. Set up to Win (get organization commitment and energy) Change Management - in-scope
• 5. Think it through (mentally rehearse the execution steps) Project Management - in-scope
• 6. All aboard (get team and organization support) Change Management - in-scope
• 7. Follow-through (monitor progress) Project Management - in-scope

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the intertwined role of project and change management - you need to do both to be successful
• Understand that the value of strategic initiatives can go down if stakeholders are not sufficiently bought in

Contact Bettina Buechel

Abstract:
In this article, I introduce the concept of normative delegitimation - the process by which an organization's normative legitimacy is diminished through challenges by outside organizations. I frame the phenomenon as a unique form of firm exposure, social risk- exposure to possible loss and/or constraints on strategic choice resulting from normative delegitimation challenges by external organizations. Using the context of social movement organizations' normative delegitimation challenges of firm behavior, I put forward propositions concerning firm, institutional, and socioeconomic antecedents that drive social risk. After this analysis, I consider extensions to the theory - particularly in terms of inter-organizational dynamic processes and the strategic management of social risk.

Contact Michael Yaziji

Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to challenge the conventional wisdom of the benefits of outsourcing. The paper will focus on when vertical integration makes sense especially in process based industries. Furthermore, we would like to test the success of vertical integration decisions in process based industries.

Contact James Henderson

Abstract:
Shimano is the leading bicycle component production company in the world. Shjmano’s innovative products are used in various kinds of bicycles such as road racers and mountain bikes. Since they are so dominant in the bicycle industry, people call it "Shimano Inside", just as "Intel Inside". Shimano is literally a global company and has production locations in Japan, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and  the Czech Republic. In order to facilitate knowledge sharing across regions, Team Shimano Concept was developed and implemented at Shimano. By this concept, Shimano could transfer global best practices very effectively and efficiently. As a result, Shimano could become a global brand. This research tries to clarify the process, and enablers for creating global brand with a focus on global knowledge sharing.

Contact Kazuo Ichijo

Abstract:
Many Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies are discovering that innovation, time to market, price performance and quality depend at least as much on the efforts of their suppliers as on internal competencies. Often innovations with big potential originate from the suppliers. But if a supplier has an innovative idea, to which customer will that idea be presented? Which customers are most attractive to a given supplier? More importantly – for the customer – how does it become attractive to the smartest suppliers? These are the basic issues to be explored in this research. The FMCG companies are going through a process of consolidation, including end-producers, their suppliers, and their customers. Many FMCG companies are reducing the number of suppliers in the hunt for improved cost efficiency. It is in the interest of both end producers and their key suppliers to understand how to capitalize on the challenges in these critical relationships. We believe customer-supplier attractiveness and a better understanding of dyadic relationships are crucial. How does a company become attractive from the suppliers viewpoint and vice-versa? How do companies transform buyer-supplier relationships into true win-win situations? The underlying mechanisms for achieving these goals - and thereafter maintaining them - are key research objectives of high interest to our research team. Therefore: "We explore how firms can benefit from the suppliers' competencies by being an attractive customer - and vice-versa: how suppliers can develop new competencies by working with attractive customers." The research is conducted primarily through case studies/structured interviews and secondly through an extensive on-line survey. Hence, we now invite FMCG companies and selected suppliers (e.g. dyads) to participate in the project. To focus the research and subsequent analysis, the suppliers will be limited to packaging companies. That is, the research will focus on multiple dyads between FMCG firms and their key packaging suppliers.

Contact Carlos Cordon

Abstract:
This on-going research deals with the specific characteristics and behavioral attributes of "innovation leaders", those critical senior executives, whatever their function, whom top management sees as the linchpins of its innovation process and the "evangelists" of an innovation and entrepreneurship culture.
The first outputs of this research have been: 

• The shooting and editing of videotaped interviews of innovation leaders
• A chapter on "Innovation and Leadership" that was published in the "International Handbook of Innovation", by Elsevier Sciences in 2003
• A case: "Innovation Leadership at Logitech" - IMD, 2003
• A case: "New Business Creation at Tetra Pak - Reinventing the Food Can" - IMD, 2004 
• An article on: "The Leadership Imperatives of Innovation Strategies"

The most recent output will be the book: "Innovation Leaders: How Senior Executives Promote, Steer and Sustain Innovation", to be published in May 2008 by Wiley/Jossey-Bass.

Contact Jean-Philippe Deschamps

Abstract:
Innovation governance is the allocation of innovation responsibilities and decision rights inside and outside the company. The goal of good governance is to find and choose the right innovation problems to solve, maximize the resources available to solve those problems, and assign those resources to the problems. Innovation governance is not the same as innovation leadership - governance is about creating the environment where innovation leaders have the authority, resources and skills they need to succeed. This research project is focused on understanding and quantifying the impact of good innovation governance practices.

We already have completed cases at CarMax, McDonald’s, Ducati, LEGO, Disney, and Alessi. We also wrote case vignettes about Cailler, Xerox PARC, and Philips. We will do a few more cases at LEGO as well as cases at Solvay, BT, Canon, Volvo Cars, Best Buy, and a few others.

Contact David Robertson

Abstract:
This project will examine generic supply chain interface challenges and feature select best practice studies in topics such as:

• Supply Chain Portfolio Management
• Supply Chain Performance Measurement
• Supply Chain Transformation

The research will combine managerial insights from stylized quantitative modelling and case examples. The output of this project will be managerial articles and teaching materials.

Contact Ralf Seifert

Abstract:
This research develops frameworks and models to define, understand and implement Supplier Relationship Management in organizations. It is based on the concept that companies must have the biggest part of their spending with a few key suppliers with whom they work together developing joint superior practices. For years executives and researchers have argued that collaborative relations lead to better financial results, more innovation and much less problems. However, there is not consistent understanding of what creates sustainable growth relations with suppliers. This project addresses that void by developing understanding and frameworks to create and nurture such type of relations.

Contact Carlos Cordon

Abstract:
The privately owned enterprises in China are a formidable force in shaping the world's second largest economy. Chinese entrepreneurship has had a long history. Its success is widely demonstrated in Chinese communities in South-East Asian countries. However, between 1949 and 1980, entrepreneurship was systematically suppressed in China since entrepreneurship does not easily conform to the communist ideology and was thus often labelled capitalistic. At the end of the 1970s, the entrepreneurial spirits that infused modern day Chinese private enterprises was once again released from artificial confinement. As the then paramount leader Deng Xiaoping put it, "To get rich is glorious". Entrepreneurs who are hard working, creative, and familiar with the local markets are at the core of the Chinese private enterprises. They are strong forces in driving the phenomenal economical growth in China. They are successful at marketing and exporting goods to other countries. They accumulate wealth at an amazing speed and now comprise the middle and upper class of Chinese consumers. Most important of all, they can be critical partners as well as fierce competitors for MNCs both in China's domestic market and in the global market. To understand China's economic growth, we need to understand these people. Consider Dannone, the French food group giant that raked in over $1 billion in revenues in China in 2003. Their success is directly attributable to a series of partnerships forged with leading Chinese entrepreneurs, most notably the Hangzhou Wahaha Groups. Wahaha is a leader in the bottled water market and it competes directly with Coca Cola and Pepsi in China. It is fair to say that, outside of a few major metropolitan areas, Wahaha is actually winning the battle. The output of this project will be a book, focused on small - and medium-sized enterprises and their entrepreneurs all over China. Through semi-structured interviews, we intend to use their stories to piece together the essence of Chinese Entrepreneurship.

Contact Winter Nie

Abstract:
This book traces China’s emergence on the world commercial stage and using the output from China Future’s survey and the model that is embedded in it, looks at likely future scenarios for China, and discusses the competitive and managerial implications of each.

Contact Bill Fischer

Abstract:
The Forum for Corporate Sustainability Management (CSM) is IMD’s corporate sustainability research initiative. Corporations participate in the forum to build a sustainable business advantage through social and environmental strategic action.

CSM initiative

Abstract:
Examining the utility of existing theories and proposing alternative frameworks where needed. The initial focus will be on Indian MNCs. The aim here would be to write some exploratory case studies and a working paper capturing the early learning from this project.

Contact Bala Chakravarthy

Abstract:
This research paper builds on Birley, Leleux and Muzyka (1996) to analyze the venture risk attributes and their perceptions by various categories of investors, notably venture capitalists, corporate managers and family businesses. The hypothesis is that investor groups differ in their mental definitions and perceptions of risk, leading to quantitatively different evaluations of objectively similar investment opportunities. These differences may be driven by prior experiences, group dynamics, culture, psychological factors, and governance issues. For example, anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that large, established family businesses are rather active and aggressive venture investors, but little is known about how the family element affects their perceptions and willingness to assume risk.

Contact Benoit Leleux