Purpose – Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – Scans the top 400 management publications in the world to identify the most topical issues and latest...

Purpose – This article focuses on product and design cost. Design/methodology/approach – This article is prepared by an independent writer. Findings – Having an automated and integrated cost environment changes the way engineering firms can do business and brings this incredibly detailed...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the recently published report entitled Funding Technology: Britain Forty Years On . Design/methodology/approach – The report forms the fourth in a series that has examined the funding of innovation and entrepreneurship in...

Purpose – Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the...

The planning stage in start‐ups still typically overlooks the importance of organizational capability. Yet experience shows that this frequently leads to operations and maintenance problems that can threaten the viability of new capital projects. So what are the priorities? And how can...

Improving business performance often focuses on clearly articulated strategies, definite goals and structural change. However, even the best laid plans for change often fail to address that performance is inseparable from how an organization does what it does. Improved performance is impossible...

Companies implement TQM initiatives because they seem to be a “fast track” to improved performance and profitability. TQM is also customer driven because as more and more firms receive accreditation they prefer to deal only with similarly accredited companies. However, the TQM failure rate...

Whatever happens, stay focused on your vision, mission and core values, even when other companies are frantically trying to jump on (or off) the Internet bandwagon. That is the core message on how to develop a business strategy when the general business environment is turbulent. Easier said than...

In theory, joint ventures do not sound too complicated. There are decisions to be made and contracts to be drawn up of course, but basically they are just about two or more firms pooling their expertise for mutually beneficial effects. What’s more, they are nothing new and hundreds of...

“It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it – that’s what gets results”: words from a 1980s pop song that also happen to be sound business advice. After all, merely having a good strategy does not guarantee success. It must also be properly implemented. And with one study...