Articles and News

IMD’s signature program re-energizes business leaders in Singapore

130 executives from around the world meet on Sentosa Island to explore 20 + hot topics at IMD’s Orchestrating Winning Performance (OWP)

Alibaba’s Singles’ Day report card

By Michael R. Wade with Jialu Shan.

Despite a rosy picture painted by the company’s executives, Alibaba needs a win after a disappointing performance on Singles’ Day. It is perhaps not fair to claim that generating $30 billion of sales...

While politicians get protectionist, more businesses are pushing moral agendas

By Vanina Farber

Donald Trump’s delayed reaction to the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi shows how the US president’s “America First” campaign is shifting the government’s role towards a more...

Will the most competitive countries in 2018 rank highest in talent?

By Arturo Bris, Christos Cabolis, José Caballero

The IMD World Talent Ranking assesses how the 63 economies studied by the IMD World Competitiveness Center, attract and retain highly-skilled professionals. Cultivating a skilled and educated...

Outpacing the competition

Simone Giandolfi's career in sales took off thanks to his ambition and desire to stand out from the crowd. Attending IMD's Strategic Thinking program was, for him, a defining moment in his career...

Amazon's sexist hiring algorithm could still be better than a human

By Maude Lavanchy

Amazon decided to shut down its experimental artificial intelligence (AI) recruiting tool after discovering it discriminated against women. Although Amazon is at the forefront of AI technology...

Where to go on vacation?

By Christos Cabolis

Redesigning what it means to be innovative

Yelena Tagiyeva attended the Disruptive Innovation program to help her make the right decisions when setting up her yoga and mindfulness training website and teaching programs. It helped her...

Hitching a ride on social or political movements can help firms profit, and change for the better

By Brian Bolton

Companies that take a stand on controversial social issues, leverage the interest in these social movements to generate profits. This doesn’t make these companies evil or hypocritical. It’s...

Why family businesses are better equipped to deal with a fractured world

By Denise H. Kenyon-Rouvinez

There is overwhelming evidence that a short-termist business culture, guided predominantly by financial indicators with a bias towards maximizing profit and growth, is failing. It is not only...

IMD online programs: Participant on how he implemented his learnings

In addition to its degree granting, open enrollment programs, and custom programs, IMD also has a growing suite of highly personalized online courses that cover topics ranging from leadership...

The digital tsunami: How it impacts your business

By Georges Haour, Peter Vogel, Karine Avagyan with Michelle Perrinjaquet.
Contributors: Benoît Morel, Solange Ghernaouti, Sébastien Ziegler, Carmela Troncoso, Isabelle Borfiga, Sławomir Kukliński.

The digital revolution is gaining momentum. At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Korean Telecom was the first to use 5G on a large scale, making it possible to transmit data roughly 100 times faster than...

IMD joins the Forté Foundation as part of the school’s commitment towards women in business

PRESS RELEASE: IMD joins forward thinking international business schools, corporations and non-profit organizations to increase the number of women in business leadership roles

Is agility the latest management fad? Or not?

By Bettina Büchel

Agility is the hot topic in management, but should all companies introduce agile practices. IMD Professor of Strategy and Organization, Bettina Büchel, shares her thoughts on agility for companies.

Why PSD2 and open banking regulations are more disruptive than all the FinTechs and challenger banks combined

By Elizabeth A. Teracino, Nikolaus Obwegeser, Michael R. Wade

Many banks are responding with a veritable frenzy of activity to ward off the many disruptors – a powerful triumvirate of FinTechs, challenger banks, and digital giants. Meanwhile a true...

Four IMD Professors among best-selling case authors for 2017/2018

The Case Centre has just announced its top-40 list of best-selling case authors for 2017/2018. This year four IMD professors are among the world’s best business education case writers with...

Mandating boardroom diversity can narrow the opportunity gap for women

By Brian Bolton

Jerry Brown, recently signed into law new requirements for companies headquartered in California to include more women on their boards. Supporters believe increasing board diversity is important...

The Chinese AI innovation chasm

By Michael R. Wade

Despite heavy investment and easy access to data, China may struggle to realize its AI ambitions. The main obstacle for AI development in China is not lack of funding, but lack of innovative...

Every innovation needs a story

By William A. Fischer

Innovation can never just be about the technology. It must have an empathetic view of the audience and it must speak to their needs. Often entrepreneurs are desperately in love with their ideas and...

Bankruptcy of Sears: A not-so-surprising case of disruption

By Michael R. Wade

Sears has just announced its bankruptcy. Professor Michael Wade analyzes what it means for the retail industry as a whole.

IMD Professor Knut Haanaes appointed to Lead New Global Leadership Institute at the World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum announced yesterday that Professor Knut Haanaes is appointed the first Dean of the new Global Leadership Institute. Haanaes joins the Forum from IMD, where he is...

Why YouTube’s attempt at a new music service will fall flat

By Michael R. Wade, Stefan Michel

Last week, YouTube announced a new music streaming service—a revamped version of the existing YouTube Music. Launching Tuesday, the free, ad-supported version will remain in place, and there will be...

Scandals in the non-profit sector: Research shows people attempt to psychologically offset misdeeds

By Jennifer Jordan

This year has seen a number of scandals in the humanitarian sector come to light – from Oxfam to a high-profile aid-worker in Nepal. What’s common in all these stories is that the accused workers...

IMD’s EMBAs mark the end of an intense and rewarding learning journey

This Friday IMD’s June 2018 EMBA cohort will commemorate the end of one chapter of their journey and the beginning of another with an elegant graduation ceremony at the Beau-Rivage Hotel in...

IMD races to raise funds for international charity

Members of the IMD 2018 MBA class and IMD staff recently participated in a charity sporting event in Geneva called Race for Gift organized to raise funds for over 20 international and...

Machine intelligence will shake up banking, but the disruptors won’t be fintech startups

By Howard H. Yu with Urs Rohner.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are being woven into the fabric of every aspect of our lives. The financial sector, historically faced with inefficiencies, is already...

Tesla’s problem: overestimating automation, underestimating humans

By Bettina Büchel with Dario Floreano.

Tesla was hoping to produce 5,000 new Model 3 electric cars each week in 2018. So far, it has failed to manufacture even half that number. Questioned on the matter, the company’s CEO, Elon Musk...

IMD thought leadership recognized for excellence by EFMD

EFMD, an international, not-for-profit, membership organization of business schools and corporations recently announced the winners of its annual case writing competition and IMD authors...

Why we can't innovate

By William A. Fischer

“Ad Hoc, slow, short-term, insular.” That’s the overall characterization of corporate innovation processes that appears in a recent “State of Innovation” report by CB Insights, based on a survey of...

The US overtakes Hong Kong at first place among world’s most competitive economies

PRESS RELEASE - Marking its 30th edition this year, the IMD World Competitiveness Rankings emphasize a long-term trend highlighted in past editions – that the countries on the top of the list each...