Dr Surja Datta

This book offers a fresh approach to strategy by examining the idea of Optionality. Optionality is the right, but not the obligation, to take an action. Built on historic military tactics, static engineering principles, and equilibrium-seeking economics, conventional strategic-thinking suffers some weaknesses, principal of which is its inability to deal with conditions of high uncertainty. This book begins by dividing the business landscape into three distinct domains; (1) Fragile, (2) Robust, and (3) Long-shot (FRL), which alert us to the context-specificity of strategy tools, before suggesting that theoretical lenses are required to understand and implement strategy in VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) domains. The authors explore the concept and methodology of Optionality in order to demonstrate how it can be used in conjunction with existing strategy tools in order to achieve competitive success. It will be of great interest to academics and students of strategy and innovation.

This new book explores how firms achieve competitive advantage in a disruptive, digital and globalized business landscape.

An integrative framework, ‘The Four Rs of Competitive Success’, is introduced, which covers the four core pillars of global strategy: resources and capabilities, technology and innovation (recombination), internationalization and international markets (reach), and physical and virtual location (roots). It then explains how competitive advantage is achieved through an interaction of these four drivers against the backdrop of a globalized and digitized world. It is uniquely practical in its approach, combining theoretical understanding with international case studies and real-life examples throughout each chapter, including Apple, IKEA and Microsoft.

Unlocking Strategic Innovation is concise, applied reading for postgraduate students studying international business, corporate strategy, innovation and digital strategy, as well as academics in the field. It will also be important reading for practitioners looking to gain further understanding of how firms compete and flourish in a global and technology-driven environment. -- Provided by publisher.

This book explores the idea of the ‘Entrepreneurial University’ within the institutional environment that focuses on the production, dissemination, and exploitation of knowledge. Keeping its gaze firmly on the constitutive elements of the knowledge-based institutional environment – the key actors and their interactions – the book makes important theoretical and empirical contributions to the burgeoning literature on academic entrepreneurship.

The contributing chapters in the book draw insights from a range of disciplines including history, institutional and evolutionary economics, strategic management, entrepreneurship, and innovation studies to explore how institutions can create new business opportunities in turbulent times. This interdisciplinary approach has generated a rich and diverse set of insights on the idea of Entrepreneurial Universities for students, researchers, practitioners and policymakers interested in innovation and technology studies, entrepreneurship, and knowledge management.

This book provides an explanation of the nature of the Indian university system, including its specificities and its peculiarities as well as exploring how they developed. It offers a historical and institutional perspective by singling out the forces that have shaped the present Indian higher education system. Bridging the pre-independence and the post-independence eras, the book illustrates the continuities as well as the differences between the two epochs. It makes a compelling case for the idea that history matters, and an understanding of India’s history is crucial to understanding the present day Indian university scene. Using multiple paradigmatic case studies, based on the University of Calcutta, the Indian Institute of Science, and the Indian Statistical Institute, the book highlights the dominant ideologies and interests that have shaped the university system since its inception in 1857. It will be of great importance to students and scholars of history and education, particularly those with an interest in the history of India and its education system.

Growing a company is a challenge. To some fortunate startups and companies in thriving markets, it may come naturally, as part of a rising tide. But how can a mature company in a saturated market grow profitably?

This question inspired our research on the growth factors of manufacturing companies in mature markets. Based on an annual league table published by corporate finance adviser CFI Netherlands (you can find the 2018 list at bit.ly/CFI-2018), we identified a group of manufacturers in the Netherlands that have enjoyed annualised average growth of almost 9%. These companies have achieved extraordinary levels of turnover and profitability (based on annualised average EBIT and the return on invested capital).