Our study examines the relationship between a firm’s multinationality and its performance. In a much-cited study, Lu and Beamish (2004) found evidence of an S-shaped relationship—with firm performance first decreasing, then increasing, then decreasing again as firms internationalized—in a sample of Japanese firms from 1986 to 1997.…Read More
Endogenous characteristics of alliance network structure have repeatedly been shown to predict future alliance ties in the strategic management literature. Specifically, the concepts and measures of relational, structural, and positional embeddedness (per Gulati and Gargiulo, 1999), as well as interdependence, are foundational for many studies.…Read More
Mack Institute Co-director Harbir Singh discusses his new book, The Strategic Leaders’ Road Map, co-authored with Wharton professor Mike Useem.…Read More
This paper investigates how “dual directors” enable firms that undertake corporate spinoffs to manage their post-spinoff relationships with the firms they divest, as well as the performance implications of dual directors serving simultaneously on these companies’ boards.…Read More
By learning to effectively manage a diverse organizational ecosystem, the NGO North Star Alliance is driving health care innovation in sub-Saharan Africa. Mack Institute researcher Aline Gatignon interviews its former executive director about getting organizational culture right.…Read More
No skills, no cooperation. That is the core finding of this book, which seeks to explain international inter-agency cooperation in the protection of the environment and the development of nuclear technology across the Global South.…Read More
The disruptive impacts of technological innovation on established industrial structures has been one of the distinguishing features of modern capitalism. In this book, four leading figures in the field of Schumpeterian and evolutionary economic theory draw on decades of research to offer a new, ‘history-friendly’ perspective on the process of creative destruction.…Read More
Dealing with the threat of new entrants into its market is among the most fundamental strategic imperatives for any firm. This threat could be enhanced for various reasons, most prominently institutional or technological changes.…Read More
Innovative new products come with hope, but also risk that they will not work as well as hoped. Thus testing and monitoring are key strategic decisions of an innovative firm in any market, and in some markets these strategic decisions will be intertwined with government regulatory policy.…Read More
We study how firms simultaneously engage in competition and cooperation in technology standard-setting multipartner alliances. Departing from prior research that has typically explored competition in isolation from cooperation, we bridge these two literatures by examining firm communication and community consensus in these venues.…Read More
A critical factor that determines whether a startup succeeds or fails is its level of spending, or burn rate. Research from professors Ron Berman and Pablo Hernandez-Lagos examines how an entrepreneur’s education and experience levels can predict a startup’s burn rate, and thus its odds of success.…Read More
Organizing for interdisciplinary research must overcome two challenges to collaboration: the cognitive incommensurability of knowledge and the political economy of research based in the disciplines. Researchers may not engage in interdisciplinarity because they would have to invest in new knowledge unrelated to their discipline or risk losing career-related rewards.…Read More
When it comes to tackling large-scale socio-economic problems, especially in emerging markets, several entities usually form partnerships to solve these challenges. But what is the optimal configuration of these partnerships? And how should they best be coordinated for maximum effect?…Read More
This article examines the importance of plasticity and diversity in organizational adaptation and with respect to dynamic capabilities. It begins by conceptualizing what elements comprise a dynamic capability within an evolving organization using the contrast between templates (genotypes) and realized practices (phenotypes).…Read More
Imagine that you could dramatically improve your firm’s forecasting ability, but to do so you’d have to expose just how unreliable its predictions — and the people making them — really are. That’s exactly what the U.S. intelligence community did, with dramatic results.…Read More
One key factor affecting consumer acceptance of electric vehicles is the price and performance of batteries, so the Electric Vehicle Forecasting Challenge includes a question about the cost per kilowatt-hour (KwH) in 2016.…Read More
The value of a patent traditionally depends on the number of citations it receives from subsequent innovations. But new research from Wharton management professor Tyler Wry and doctoral student Adam Castor calls into doubt whether citation numbers accurately reflect a patent’s true value.…Read More
In knowledge-based industries, continuous human-capital investments are essential for firms to enhance capabilities and sustain competitive advantage. However, such investments present a dilemma for firms, because human resources are mobile.…Read More
It’s one of the paradoxes of being human: even when we know what’s good for us, we often make choices that are less than optimal. Wharton Professor Iwan Barankay researches how incentives can be used to create positive behavioral changes even after the incentive goes away.…Read More
Betting on the most promising new ideas is key to creativity and innovation in organizations, but predicting the success of novel ideas can be difficult. To select the best ideas, creators and managers must excel at “creative forecasting”—i.e., predicting the outcomes of new ideas.…Read More
