Knowledge at Wharton

While some students may be using notebooks or netbooks to read textbooks these days some experts predict that within the next 10 years most U.S. college students -- and many high-school and elementary-school students as well -- will probably be reading course materials on an electronic device instead of in a paper book. And that will have a broad impact on students and teachers not to mention the $9.9 billion textbook-publishing business.

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Alex Panos and his colleagues at TSG Consumer Partners a San Francisco-based investment fund believe that consumers will always be interested in products that enhance their lives even if it means paying more than they have in the past. That philosophy has brought impressive results for TSG primarily in the beauty food and beverage areas. Panos who joined the 23-year-old firm in 1998 spoke with Knowledge at Wharton about the company’s strategy why it favors family-owned businesses where to find opportunities in a recessionary economy and how to build up a brand among other topics.

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Last fall after losing previous bids Rio de Janeiro -- Brazil’s second-largest city -- won the approval of the International Olympic Committee to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. According to Carlos Roberto Osorio secretary general of the Brazilian Olympic Committee this time around Rio had learned from its earlier failed bids and had the success of hosting the 2007 Pan American Games under its belt. That combined with Brazil’s ”special circumstances” of economic stability amid the global downturn helped it to beat out rival cities. In an interview with Wharton professors Felipe Monteiro and Ken Shropshire Osorio discussed the winning bid and the challenges that lie ahead.

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Fear is growing that Greece may default on a massive pile of debt creating a ripple effect of problems throughout Europe and beyond. Following pressure from the European Union and the European Central Bank the Greek government on March 3 announced a new round of austerity measures that include spending cuts and tax increases which critics fear will harm Greece’s economy. Meanwhile Wall Street banks are facing scrutiny for the complex financial instruments they used to allegedly disguise the country’s real debt. What caused Greece’s debt problem to spin out of control? And what steps should it take to remedy the situation? Wharton finance professors Richard Herring and Itay Goldstein weigh in.

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When an entrepreneur has identified a potential business opportunity the next step is developing a business plan for the new venture. What exactly should the new plan contain? How can the entrepreneur ensure it has the substance to find interest among would-be investors? In this installment of a series of podcasts for the Wharton-CERT Business Plan Competition Wharton management professor Ian MacMillan explains that business plans must contain several crucial elements: They must articulate a market need; identify products or services to fill that need; assess the resources required to produce those products or services; address the risks involved in the venture; and estimate the potential revenues and profits.

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Why do more than half of all start-ups fail? Because they bungle their marketing according to Leonard Lodish a professor of marketing at Wharton and co-author of two books Entrepreneurial Marketing and Marketing That Works. ”The dogs won’t eat the dog food is the way venture capitalists describe it ” Lodish says. The key lies in how a marketing plan is crafted. In this installment of the podcast series for the Wharton-CERT Business Plan Competition Lodish explains that marketing plans must take into account three critical strategic and tactical factors: positioning targeting and pricing.

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A critical step in the creation of a new venture is raising the capital to bring the new business to life. What sources of capital can an entrepreneur tap and what factors must she or he keep in mind while going through the process? According to Stephen Sammut a senior fellow and lecturer at Wharton so-called angel investors represent one possible option. Another source is venture capitalists (VCs) who may fund start-ups or invest at a later stage in a company’s growth. In this podcast for the Wharton-CERT Business Plan Competition Sammut explains the promises and pitfalls of dealing with venture capitalists.

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Who are you? What do you stand for? What do you want? Entrepreneurs usually know the answers to those questions when they start up companies. But do their leadership teams? To make sure they do top entrepreneurs develop a ”blueprint” that will guide their companies as they grow from six to 60 to 600 employees says Michael Useem Wharton professor of management and director of its Center for Leadership and Change Management. In this installment of the podcast series for the Wharton-CERT Business Plan Competition Useem discusses blueprints and other things that entrepreneurs need to develop successful leadership teams including a knack for telling a good story.

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The question of whether CEOs of America’s major companies are overpaid has been a subject of interest for many years. Are the compensation practices for these elite men and women fair and appropriate? Do they provide proper incentives or do they reward excessive caution or risk taking? Wharton accounting professors John Core and Wayne Guay have just completed a study on this topic. Guay along with colleague Chris Armstrong sat down with Knowledge at Wharton to discuss executive compensation and the controversies that it continues to generate.

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Two recent events have rocked the publishing world. First The New York Times said it would abandon the practice of providing free online content and start charging regular readers beginning in 2011. And second Apple’s much-hyped tablet -- the iPad -- made its appearance. What implications will the Times’ decision have for newspaper publishers and other providers of free online content? How will the iPad re-define what a book means as well as how it is produced marketed and delivered? Wharton professors Peter Fader and Stephen Kobrin weigh in.

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