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The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking
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Article
What everyone gets wrong about change management

Corporate transformations still have a miserable success rate: About three-quarters of change efforts either fail to deliver the anticipated benefits or are abandoned entirely. And because flawed implementation is most often blamed for such failures, organizations have focused on improving execution. But poor execution is only part of the proble…

Strategy Change Management
Selected for HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Change Management, updated and expanded collection 2025
By Jean-Louis Barsoux and Anand Narasimhan
in Harvard Business Review
November-December 2017, vol. 95, issue 6, pp. 78-85
What everyone gets wrong about change management
By Jean-Louis Barsoux and Anand Narasimhan
in Harvard Business Review November-December 2017, vol. 95, issue 6, pp. 78-85
Summary
Corporate transformations still have a miserable success rate: About three-quarters of change efforts either fail to deliver the anticipated benefits or are abandoned entirely. And because flawed implementation is most often blamed for such failures, organizations have focused on improving execution. But poor execution is only part of the proble…
Selected for HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Change Management, updated and expanded collection 2025
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Article
How managers become leaders

Harald (not his real name) is a highpotential leader with 15 years of experience at a leading European chemical company. He started as an assistant product manager in the plastics unit and was quickly transferred to Hong Kong to help set up the unit’s new Asian business center. As sales there soared, he soon won a promotion to sales manager. Thr…

Leadership Talent Management Change Management Team Dynamics
Selected for HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Leadership, updated and expanded collection 2025
By Michael D. Watkins
in Harvard Business Review
vol. 90, no. 6, June 2012, pp. 64-72
How managers become leaders
By Michael D. Watkins
in Harvard Business Review vol. 90, no. 6, June 2012, pp. 64-72
Summary
Harald (not his real name) is a highpotential leader with 15 years of experience at a leading European chemical company. He started as an assistant product manager in the plastics unit and was quickly transferred to Hong Kong to help set up the unit’s new Asian business center. As sales there soared, he soon won a promotion to sales manager. Thr…
Selected for HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Leadership, updated and expanded collection 2025
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Article
The set-up-to-fail syndrome: How bosses create their own poor performers

France’s recent successes make it more important than ever to understand what makes its managers tick. This year, France surpassed Japan and the U.K. in acquisitions of U.S. companies. And many French companies are world leaders, including Michelin and L’Oreal. According to the authors, who have studied the French model of management development…

Organizational Behavior Leadership
Selected for HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Managing People, updated and expanded collection 2025
By Jean-François Manzoni and Jean-Louis Barsoux
in Harvard Business Review
vol. 76, no. 2, pp. 101-113
The set-up-to-fail syndrome: How bosses create their own poor performers
By Jean-François Manzoni and Jean-Louis Barsoux
in Harvard Business Review vol. 76, no. 2, pp. 101-113
Summary
France’s recent successes make it more important than ever to understand what makes its managers tick. This year, France surpassed Japan and the U.K. in acquisitions of U.S. companies. And many French companies are world leaders, including Michelin and L’Oreal. According to the authors, who have studied the French model of management development…
Selected for HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Managing People, updated and expanded collection 2025
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Article
Put purpose at the core of your strategy

Eight years ago, Malnight, Buche, and Dhanaraj launched a study of high growth in companies, looking at three strategies known to drive it: creating new markets, serving broader stakeholder needs, and rewriting the rules of the game. To their surprise, they discovered a fourth driver they hadn’t considered at all: purpose. Companies have long be…

Strategy Leadership Purpose
Selected for HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Leading with Purpose collection 2024; Selected for HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Strategy, updated and expanded collection 2025
By Thomas W. Malnight, Ivy Buche and Charles Dhanaraj
in Harvard Business Review
September-October 2019, vol. 97, issue 5, pp. 70-79
Put purpose at the core of your strategy
By Thomas W. Malnight Ivy Buche and Charles Dhanaraj
in Harvard Business Review September-October 2019, vol. 97, issue 5, pp. 70-79
Summary
Eight years ago, Malnight, Buche, and Dhanaraj launched a study of high growth in companies, looking at three strategies known to drive it: creating new markets, serving broader stakeholder needs, and rewriting the rules of the game. To their surprise, they discovered a fourth driver they hadn’t considered at all: purpose. Companies have long be…
Selected for HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Leading with Purpose collection 2024; Selected for HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Strategy, updated and expanded collection 2025
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Academic publications
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Article
Psychological perspectives of owner-managers on voluntary retirement

The study aims to assist small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in preparing for the retirement of their owner-managers and smoothing their management transition. It explores how owner-managers perceive and navigate their retirement journey from a psychological standpoint.

Family Business Entrepreneurship
By Lea Wang, Jung Eung Park and Benoit F. Leleux
in International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research
12 September 2025, ePub before print
Psychological perspectives of owner-managers on voluntary retirement
By Lea Wang Jung Eung Park and Benoit F. Leleux
in International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research 12 September 2025, ePub before print
Summary
The study aims to assist small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in preparing for the retirement of their owner-managers and smoothing their management transition. It explores how owner-managers perceive and navigate their retirement journey from a psychological standpoint.
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Article
Making the old new again through the process of recombinant innovation

Recombinant innovation—the process through which atypical and unexpected combinations of knowledge generate novel outcomes—is a critical driver of organizational distinctiveness and market transformation. While prior research has focused on firm- and industry-level mechanisms, less attention has been given to multilevel dynamics underpinning the…

Innovation Organizational Change
By Vittoria Magrelli, Josip Kotlar, Alfredo De Massis, Federico Frattini and Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli
in Journal of Product Innovation Management
4 September 2025, ePub before print, https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.70003
Making the old new again through the process of recombinant innovation
By Vittoria Magrelli Josip Kotlar Alfredo De Massis Federico Frattini and Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli
in Journal of Product Innovation Management 4 September 2025, ePub before print, https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.70003
Summary
Recombinant innovation—the process through which atypical and unexpected combinations of knowledge generate novel outcomes—is a critical driver of organizational distinctiveness and market transformation. While prior research has focused on firm- and industry-level mechanisms, less attention has been given to multilevel dynamics underpinning the…
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Article
Outcome-based typology of social enterprises: Interlacing individual transformation, capital provision, and societal influence

Social entrepreneurship has emerged as a global phenomenon aimed at tackling societal grand challenges through market-based activities. A holistic understanding of social enterprise outcomes is crucial for reflecting their effectiveness in meeting social objectives and informing internal organizational processes. This study explores the outcomes…

Social Innovation
By Georgios Polychronopoulos, Martin Lukeš, Giuliano Sansone, Anirudh Agrawal, Florian Ulrich-Diener and Veronika Šlapáková Losová
in Journal of Management Studies
September 2025, vol. 62, no. 6, pp. 2387-2413, https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.13138
Outcome-based typology of social enterprises: Interlacing individual transformation, capital provision, and societal influence
By Georgios Polychronopoulos Martin Lukeš Giuliano Sansone Anirudh Agrawal Florian Ulrich-Diener and Veronika Šlapáková Losová
in Journal of Management Studies September 2025, vol. 62, no. 6, pp. 2387-2413, https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.13138
Summary
Social entrepreneurship has emerged as a global phenomenon aimed at tackling societal grand challenges through market-based activities. A holistic understanding of social enterprise outcomes is crucial for reflecting their effectiveness in meeting social objectives and informing internal organizational processes. This study explores the outcomes…
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Article
Research on family offices: What is the way forward? A systematic literature review Author links open overlay

Despite the growing presence of family offices (FOs) in practice, research on FOs is still in its infancy. Through a systematic literature review (SLR) of 104 papers, we synthesize existing knowledge in the field by integrating insights from both academic and practitioner research. Our SLR provides a state-of-the-art understanding of FOs and ide…

Family Business
By Patrik Hayoz, Bingbing Ge and Alfredo De Massis
in Journal of Family Business Strategy
September 2025, vol. 16, no. 3, 100670, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfbs.2025.100670
Research on family offices: What is the way forward? A systematic literature review Author links open overlay
By Patrik Hayoz Bingbing Ge and Alfredo De Massis
in Journal of Family Business Strategy September 2025, vol. 16, no. 3, 100670, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfbs.2025.100670
Summary
Despite the growing presence of family offices (FOs) in practice, research on FOs is still in its infancy. Through a systematic literature review (SLR) of 104 papers, we synthesize existing knowledge in the field by integrating insights from both academic and practitioner research. Our SLR provides a state-of-the-art understanding of FOs and ide…
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Article
Ethnography in Entrepreneurship research: Promises, pitfalls, and practical pathways

We seek to make ethnography more intelligible and accessible to entrepreneurship scholars. We begin by defining ethnography and discussing the promises and challenges of conducting ethnographic studies in entrepreneurship. Next, we offer practical advice for entrepreneurship scholars interested in conducting ethnographic studies, including sugge…

Entrepreneurship
By Eliana Crosina, Marco Mismetti, Alfredo De Massis, Michael G. Pratt and Trenton A. Williams
in Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice
25 August 2025, ePub before print, https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587251364820
Ethnography in Entrepreneurship research: Promises, pitfalls, and practical pathways
By Eliana Crosina Marco Mismetti Alfredo De Massis Michael G. Pratt and Trenton A. Williams
in Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 25 August 2025, ePub before print, https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587251364820
Summary
We seek to make ethnography more intelligible and accessible to entrepreneurship scholars. We begin by defining ethnography and discussing the promises and challenges of conducting ethnographic studies in entrepreneurship. Next, we offer practical advice for entrepreneurship scholars interested in conducting ethnographic studies, including sugge…
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Article
Seminal contributions and future directions in international business political behavior and nonmarket strategy: A tribute to Jean Boddewyn

Purpose Jean Boddewyn’s (1929–2022) work in international business political behavior launched a stream of research at the intersection of international business (IB) and strategic management that is now referred to as international nonmarket strategy (INMS). This article aims to pay tribute to Boddewyn’s scholarly legacy by providing an overvi…

Global Business Geopolitics
By Maria Andrea De Villa, Jonathan P. Doh, Izzet Sidki Darendeli, Marleen Dieleman, Joao Albino-Pimentel and Robert Grosse
in Multinational Business Review
15 August 2025, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 401–430, https://doi.org/10.1108/MBR-10-2024-0201
Seminal contributions and future directions in international business political behavior and nonmarket strategy: A tribute to Jean Boddewyn
By Maria Andrea De Villa Jonathan P. Doh Izzet Sidki Darendeli Marleen Dieleman Joao Albino-Pimentel and Robert Grosse
in Multinational Business Review 15 August 2025, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 401–430, https://doi.org/10.1108/MBR-10-2024-0201
Summary
Purpose Jean Boddewyn’s (1929–2022) work in international business political behavior launched a stream of research at the intersection of international business (IB) and strategic management that is now referred to as international nonmarket strategy (INMS). This article aims to pay tribute to Boddewyn’s scholarly legacy by providing an overvi…
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Book
SuperEurope: The unexpected hero of the 21st century

This book is a vindication of Europe. It challenges the view of Europe as a tired, overregulated continent, arguing instead that Europe has emerged from decades of crisis—financial turmoil, Brexit, COVID-19, war in Ukraine—as a resilient, reformed, and quietly successful model of governance and society. While the world often focuses on the rival…

Geopolitics Competitiveness Global Business
By Arturo Bris
Published by Independently published, © 2025
SuperEurope: The unexpected hero of the 21st century
By Arturo Bris
Published by Independently published ©2025
Summary
This book is a vindication of Europe. It challenges the view of Europe as a tired, overregulated continent, arguing instead that Europe has emerged from decades of crisis—financial turmoil, Brexit, COVID-19, war in Ukraine—as a resilient, reformed, and quietly successful model of governance and society. While the world often focuses on the rival…
Copyright ©2025
Copyright owner External Copyright
Available Languages English
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Book
The state of globalisation

The State of Globalisation brings together leading economists to examine how technology, policy, and geopolitics are simultaneously reshaping the global economy in unprecedented ways. Far from marking a simple retreat, today’s divergent forces are transforming cross-border trade, investment, and supply chains, generating both new risks of fragme…

Geopolitics Global Business Economics
Edited by Richard Baldwin and Michele Ruta
Published by CEPR Press, © 2025
The state of globalisation
By Richard Baldwin and Michele Ruta
Published by CEPR Press ©2025
Summary
The State of Globalisation brings together leading economists to examine how technology, policy, and geopolitics are simultaneously reshaping the global economy in unprecedented ways. Far from marking a simple retreat, today’s divergent forces are transforming cross-border trade, investment, and supply chains, generating both new risks of fragme…
Copyright ©2025
Copyright owner External Copyright
Available Languages English
Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications