A euphemism that is going out of fashion
How is it that so many companies have found it possible to slash their work forces? What is behind the fad of “downsizing”?
Oh Professor Porter, whatever did you do?
Is it really so bad to be “stuck in the middle”? If you can master the art of the “shifting concept” you can make any idea stick.
Down-payment required to curb bid fever
We would be better off if executives involved spent more time minding the store, rather than negotiating to buy each other's stores - so here is a proposal to put sand in the wheels of the takeover machine.
On the trail of a good bet
We evaluate risks poorly - whether it comes to insurance, speculation or beef scares. These mistakes cost us all money in the long run.
The coming age of a shop for all markets
Retailing exists because consumers are ignorant, small and immobile. Will the internet really change this?
Poor odds on the takeover lottery
Second hand firms have something important in common with second hand cars. This explains why takeovers have tended to disappoint.
Father Christmas does not exist?
Father Christmas does not exist? Tell that to investors who seem unable to ask how much value certain business really add
Learning to define the core business
Ted Levitt’s challenge to “define what business you are in” was based in a fundamental confusion between industries and markets.
Economics and Business: 1990
Economics has never been more relevant to business problems. The two key groups of question of interest to businessmen - the internal organization of the firm and its relationship between its suppliers and customers, and the nature of strategic interactions between small groups of firms - are clearly on the agenda of modern economics in a manner which has not been true for most of the last century.