Knowledge at Wharton

Entrepreneurs love to grumble about the roadblocks and delays created by bureaucrats. Government officials they say are slow bumbling and concerned only about sticking to the rules and clocking out at 4:55 p.m. But in a study of global entrepreneurship Raffi Amit and Mauro Guillen both Wharton management professors have found that a simple if smart bureaucratic initiative mattered critically in determining a country’s level of entrepreneurship.

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For marketers the Internet changes everything -- and nothing at all. For example it enables companies to instantly reach consumers in different countries and economically tailor messages to them based on demographics buying habits and other information. Yet it doesn’t free these companies from the constant challenge of building distinct durable brands. At the 2007 Wharton Marketing Conference participants on a panel titled ”The Challenge of Going Global and Staying Local ” debated the potential pitfalls of global marketing. A second panel discussed new media strategies and asked whether traditional off-line media are no longer effective.

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When Thomas Friedman wrote his popular book The World Is Flat one of its central arguments was that geography might soon become history. The proliferation of information technology and telecommunications networks has integrated the world in ways that were unimaginable in the past -- and this has transformed how companies produce and distribute products and services. One result of this transformation is the rise of networks of companies that are bound together through IT and logistics. How can firms strive for and gain competitive advantage in such an environment? Victor and William Fung group chairman and managing director of Hong Kong-based Li & Fung and Yoram (Jerry) Wind a professor of marketing at Wharton deal with this issue in their new book Competing in a Flat World: Building Enterprises for a Borderless World. They recently spoke with Knowledge at Wharton.

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As medical costs escalate and the number of Americans without health insurance continues to rise the 2008 presidential candidates have responded by putting health care near the top of their agendas. Indeed many candidates have already laid out detailed programs to address the nation’s health care problems. As a result meaningful change in the system seems likely to occur once a new president takes office. As Mark V. Pauly Wharton professor of health care systems notes: ”I’m optimistic this time that we’ll get something.... There is actually a chance of doing more good than harm and I wouldn’t have said that in some other years.”

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Long gone are the days when firms expected their chief information officer to function as ”chief technology mechanic.” As companies look for ways to maintain a competitive edge in new markets CIOs are playing a more central leadership role taking on increasing responsibility for corporate strategy and other duties outside of core technology. Even so CIOs are still expected to ensure the quality and performance of the IT organization. How can CIOs balance these priorities? To answer that question and others Knowledge at Wharton spoke with Mark McDonald group vice president and head of research for Gartner Executive Programs Michael Shannon chief information officer of international law firm Dechert LLP and Tony Habash chief information officer of the American Psychological Association.

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When the AARP recently announced its seventh annual ”Best Employers for Workers over 50” awards the winners didn’t get there by offering the traditional fringe benefit trio of health life and disability insurance. Instead the AARP recognized companies for providing workers over 50 with ”forward-looking” benefits packages that include for example alternative work schedules and lifelong learning and career training opportunities. But are companies interested in offering jobs or job security to older workers? And why aren’t these workers following the retirement path their parents did?

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Former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca once noted ”You can have brilliant ideas; but if you can’t get them across your ideas won’t get you anywhere.” In their new book The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas Wharton legal studies and business ethics professor G. Richard Shell and management consultant Mario Moussa provide a systematic approach to the problem Iacocca identified. Using relationship-based emotionally intelligent persuasion to secure both individual and organizational buy-in everyone from CEOs and entrepreneurs to team leaders and mid-level managers can sell their ideas -- a skill that everyone needs to learn if they want to be effective in their organizations the authors say.

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It is a scene millions of Americans have been in -- sitting next to a real estate agent at closing to sign the papers for a new home. Often the buyer has spent months with the agent. And to hear agents tell it they are indispensable guides through the hazardous home-buying terrain. How is it then that millions of borrowers took on toxic subprime mortgages that could cost them their homes? Why did their agents not warn them off? While much criticism has been leveled at subprime lenders and mortgage brokers some experts say that real estate agents have managed to escape their share of blame for the subprime mess.

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”He who takes medicine and neglects to diet wastes the skills of his doctors.” This proverb highlights the findings of a new study by Wharton marketing professor Lisa Bolton and two colleagues that explores how consumers in China choose between traditional Chinese remedies and Western medicine when seeking treatment. According to the study Chinese consumers tend to prefer traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) but will opt for Western medicine in particular situations such as when they are hoping to quickly alleviate their symptoms. While the study has implications for marketers of Western medicine and TCM alike the researchers found that remedy choices also have broader consequences for consumer health and well being.

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It is perhaps the core question in the ongoing debate over corporate governance: Does the corporation exist for the benefit of shareholders or does it have other equally important stakeholders such as employees customers and suppliers? A new study by Wharton finance professor Franklin Allen and two colleagues does not claim to provide a definitive answer but it does show the various benefits of the stakeholder approach. It also demonstrates that the issue is not as settled as some researchers and business people in the United States United Kingdom and other shareholder-oriented nations might think.

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