Innholdsfortegnelse for November/December 2016 i The European Business Review

 How do energy executives see the potential of the Blockchain? Is it just hype, or does it have real potential to disrupt the functioning of the industry? The German Energy Agency dena and ESMT Berlin have compiled findings on German energy executives’ current opinions, actions and visions of the Blockchain. Survey shows that German energy executives see a broad range of possible applications of Blockchain in the energy system, both in terms of processes as well as platforms. Innovation in the 21st century business world is driven by peer-to-peer platforms such as Ebay, Uber, Airbnb, Zipcar, or Kickstarter. These businesses follow the idea of a “sharing economy” by dismantling established hierarchies, diverting societal influence from organizations to individuals, often using democratic instead of autocratic decision processes, and empowering consumers, based…

By bringing together buyers and sellers, but not owning what is bought and sold, matchmakers build great companies with virtually no startup capital. Are you looking for a venture capitalist to finance or grow your startup but you’re struggling in doing so? Surprisingly, perhaps, the vast majority of fast-growing companies get the funds they need from a much more hospitable and agreeable source – their customers. John Mullins shares five effective ways to do it. Along-accepted notion in entrepreneurial circles is that the way to start and grow a thriving business is to come up with a great “idea”, write a great business plan, raise capital from angels or VCs, flawlessly execute the plan, and (Voila!) get rich! But it hardly ever happens this way, and the vast majority of…

 The luxury of a global lifestyle and world travel can be achieved through acquiring a second passport. Citizenship-by-Investment (CBI) programs are a respectable way to acquire this. A second passport presents holders with various benefits such as easier travel, added security, and simpler tax situations. In this interview with Till Neumann, IMCM, founder and managing partner of Citizen Lane, he shares to our readers the numerous opportunities with CBI programs and why Citizen Lane should be your preferred partner in acquiring an alternative citizenship. “Citizenship programs are nowadays viewed as perfectly respectable due to the fact that they have proper legal frameworks, providing the legal certainty that an applicant needs.”- Till Neumann Q We have heard from some of our journalist colleagues that it is possible to buy a passport…

How people and businesses encounter, experience, and purchase products and services continues to evolve as new technologies and interfaces proliferate, and the implications for brands are profound. The fundamental relationships among brands, media, and people are being transformed at an unprecedented rate, necessitating a new definition of customer relationships. This article offers specific and practical guidelines for brands to understand, develop, and improve all points of interaction with people by adopting new mindsets and approaches. How do most brands view people today? As masses of consumers categorised by purchasing power? Potential customers to be wooed, flattered, and fleeced? Or maybe as participants in a mutually beneficial symbiosis? While that last one may sound a bit far-fetched, it is clear that the fundamental relationships among brands, media, customers, employees, and other…

An important problem that prevents companies to foster an architect mindset concerns the fact that experimenting and learning about the beneficial impacts of human nature on organisational design requires short-term losses to achieve long-term gains. If organisations are serious in building cultures that can translate the desire to create joint value into a competitive advantage, it is needed that they become architects of systems that account for the human nature of its employees. One company that has become known to implement experimental approaches based on insights on how human nature works is the Chinese telecom giant Huawei. Although effective organisations that create joint value combined with a long-term view are predicted to be the future model, they are still considered to be a rarity. A contemporary problem is that all…

As the oldest and most effective form of passing knowledge between generations, the art of storytelling represents the way people perceive and interpret past, present and future events. Storytelling has become an essential element of the business environment to deliver information, manage conflicts, support team building processes, and create emotional bonds with a company’s stakeholders. This article will explain how you can effectively adapt the storytelling approach from a consumer brand perception. “The best brands are built on great stories.” – Ian Rowden, Chief Marketing Officer, Virgin Group Introduction Throughout the ages, all aspects of life in societies and cultures have been influenced by stories that form human values and dreams. As the oldest and most effective form of passing knowledge between generations, the art of storytelling represents the way…

“Reverse Innovations” are innovations that were explicitly designed and invented in such developing markets and later spilled over into advanced country markets. Recognising the growing role that emerging economies play in the global innovation landscape, the article provides a measure for the extent of the phenomenon identifying Asia as the main source of a new threat – and opportunity – for Western companies: reverse innovation. Introduction With production and the supply chain increasingly moving to low-cost countries in Asia-Pacific, and local markets in China and India expanding at three to four times faster than in the US and Europe, creativity and innovation were among the few advantages global managers thought that could be retained in the West. It appears that even this domain is being taken over by competitors from…

787, the Dreamliner, was believed to be the most advanced commercial aircraft ever built and the most efficient to operate, due to its unprecedented use of the lightweight composite materials. Reconciling an empirical study 1  of 787 delays with an economic analysis of financial incentives, we reveal a subtle incentive trap in the risk sharing partnership that encouraged Boeing and the suppliers to delay deliberately despite the disastrous effect. We suggest a remedy to avoid the trap and greatly alleviate delays for joint development programs of this kind. 1. Introduction The Boeing 787 Dreamliner was the fastest-selling plane ever in the commercial aviation industry,2 but its development was a nightmare. In this article we analyse Boeing’s traumatic experience, discover what really happened, identify the root causes, and offer ways…