Citation
Randall, R.M. (2009), "Editor’s letter", Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 37 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/sl.2009.26137eaa.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Editor’s letter
Article Type: Editor’s letter From: Strategy & Leadership, Volume 37, Issue 5
There’s a moment after every issue of Strategy & Leadership is completed when the editorial team asks itself rhetorically, “So what did we learn this time?” For this issue, the answer is, “Quite a lot, actually.” Here in no special order are some memorable concepts and case examples that we think readers will also find brand new.
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Complexity. A.T. Kearney consultants Daniel Mahler and Adheer Bahulkar introduced us to a truly strategic approach to complexity management called “Smart Complexity.” Long-time readers of S&L may remember the firm’s previous innovative article on this topic, “Finally, a strategic way to cut unnecessary SKUs,” by Bob Byrne, in Volume 35, Number 1, 2007.
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Decision analytics. Liam Fahey launched us into an exploration of the new field of “analytics” and showed us how executives managing projects need to learn to ask crucial questions to ensure that this decision support technology supports the business goals of the firm. In a case example of the technology by Tip Clifton, we learned of the existence of the “deep web,” a new source of research data. And for good measure shows us how a company utilized social network analysis to study their competitors.
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Chinese mid-market. International companies have long sought success in China by entering the high-end of the market. But researchers Heiko Gebauer, Thomas Fischer and Elgar Fleisch believe that firms that want to compete long-term should learn the specific set of competencies for winning in the huge mid-market, the fastest growing segment.
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Innovates on a dime. What’s sleeker than a Porsche and stingier on gas than a Prius? Researchers Martin Hoegl, Matthias Weiss, Michael Gibbert and Liisa Välikangas found a small start-up car maker in Marl, Germany, that makes the Loremo, a car that hopes to be the first production vehicle to achieve highway speeds and 100 miles per gallon. For this firm, having less resources drove more innovation.
And there’s more for you to discover. Good reading,
Robert M. RandallEditor