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Five Management Ideas For Companies To Remain Competitive

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In today´s internet era, it is increasingly challenging for companies to remain competitive. Academics, consultants and businessmen need to do a better job at sharing their knowledge and expertise in order to come up with practical solutions that make a difference. With this in mind, last month I had the fortune of co-chairing The 34th Annual Strategic Management Society Conference, the most renowned event on strategic management in the world. Below are five top ideas from the conference that I feel are particularly pertinent for companies looking to not just compete, but thrive, in the near future:

1. Remember to consider the needs of all stakeholders, not just the shareholders

This means everyone from your employees, customers and suppliers to interest groups in your sector – in sum all of those people that are affected by your organization, not just those with a direct financial stake.

Why is this important? Companies who think long-term about the needs of all those who may be affected by the organization will be better positioned to engender greater loyalty among interested parties. This means in turn, they will be more likely to stick with and support the company as it navigates future challenges.

2. Develop and nurture intra-organizational networks on the individual/personal level.

Intra-organizational networks are critical for successful strategy implementation. In order to make things happen, you need to have the support and help of others within the organization. As a leader, you might have the best strategy in the world for your company, but without building allies within the organization – individuals who will ultimately help with the execution of any strategy – then any efforts to affect change in the organization are likely to fail. Nurturing informal relationships across the organization is key to ensuring your strategy is realized and not consigned to the dust heap.

To achieve this, set aside time in your regular day-to-day job to talk informally to people beyond your natural network at work, so you can start to form relationships with people who sit in different organizational departments. Again, this comes down to the important role networks, both inside and outside a company, play in keeping a company competitive.

3. Always take into account the local context.

Despite globalization and the increasing internationalization of many of today´s businesses, it´s a myth that as the world has gotten smaller differences between regions are no longer important to bear in mind. To survive, a company must always take into account the peculiar characteristics of the local context in which it operates. To do this, companies must develop local networks, and when expanding, understand the nuances of how networks may interact differently in different regions or cities.

4. Use analytics to support strategy.

A strategy should be consistently analyzed to see if it is working for the company. Collect relevant data from both within the industry and the macro-environment and analyze it frequently to see if the company´s strategy holds up or tweaks need to be made.

5. Greater collaboration between managers and academics

Managers & academics need to work hand-in-hand to generate knowledge that is useful for society. This can be done through initiatives such as:

  • Partnerships between companies and business schools
  • A focus on practical application of research
  • More collaborative events like the SMS conference

By Africa Ariño, Professor of Strategic Management at IESE and Director of IESE’s Research Center on Globalization and Strategy.