Shock of the new
Not all business strategy problems have answers, including those of BT, as Sir Christopher Bland will find when he takes over.
Intellectual rights and wrongs
What do the arguments over Napster and South African drugs have in common? Both illustrate weaknesses in the existing regime for the management of intellectual property.
More brickbats than bouquets
Despite the great optimism at the time, privatisation did not remove all the problems of the former state-owned enterprises. On the whole the performance of the privatised companies has been disappointing. A closer examination of these firms and industries can help to shed light on these problems and the challenges for policy-makers.
A corporation by any other name
Companies that trade under the family name of their founder have become increasingly rare in recent years, but firms are still concerned with their brand name. It has important functions and sends signals to customers and investors about the firm's reputation.
Of gas and cell phones
The alleged success of the British mobile phone auctions in raising revenue for the government poses many questions about the desirability of licences and auctions in general. John's article examines the underlying logic of auctions and suggests that the current enthusiasm may be misguided
Beauty and the bidder
Should scarce assets be allocated by auction to the highest bidder or by a beauty contest of suitable applicants? From FIFA's decision on where to hold the World Cup to the ways in which European governments assign mobile phone licences, the choice of process is the economic issue of the moment.
Buyers must master art of the particular
If stock-picking fails to beat the index, why should picking companies? It won’t, unless mergers carefully match the firms involved.
Mechanics of the market
Efficient markets make money for market participants, but not for market makers. That is something the enthusiastic promoters of B2B exchanges have yet to understand.
Blurring of responsibility
You can be responsible to people to whom you are not accountable; and you can deal with interlocking and conflicting responsibilities. Why do so many thoughtful people fail to realise this?
The key to the banks
Great size is a warning of trouble ahead in the banking industry; and the trouble may be for the taxpayer as much as the shareholder.