Saikat Chaudhuri - Faculty Research in Knowledge@Wharton

Going Green: Why Germany Has the Inside Track to Lead a New Industrial Revolution

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:01:31 EST

Already a leading player in so-called clean technology -- the mix of environmentally benign power generation and environmentally friendly technologies -- Germany may become the epicenter of the world's next industrial revolution: the triumph of clean, cheap, sustainable electricity.

A Matter of Degrees: German Education Reform and Its Consequences

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:01:19 EST

While Germany's education system has had a proud legacy, policy makers in recent years have become frustrated with a system that seems stuck in a number of ways. Knowledge@Wharton asked experts at Wharton and leading German universities to explain what's changing in post-secondary education and the impact these changes will have on German business and society.

German Inter-city Competition Enters a New Millennium

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:01:27 EST

While few European cities have a business-friendly reputation, German cities are an exception. Drawing upon their historic strength as competitive centers in a decentralized economy, cities are actively vying to attract global business. Düsseldorf, which has successfully courted companies from around the world, is a case in point.

SAP's Bill McDermott: The Future of Enterprise Software

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:25:47 EST

As president and CEO of SAP Americas, Bill McDermott is responsible for managing the German software developer's strategic initiatives in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, and most recently in Japan, China and India. In an interview with Wharton management professor Saikat Chaudhuri, McDermott offered his views on where enterprise software is headed and how the company has leveraged worldwide resources to deliver its services globally. The two also discussed SAP Americas' relationship with Microsoft and threats the company faces from arch rival Oracle.

Mergers in the Air? Microsoft/Yahoo and Delta/Northwest

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:54:55 EST

The ongoing takeover battle between Microsoft and Yahoo has taken several surprising turns over the past few weeks. After rejecting Microsoft's unsolicited $44.6 billion offer in late February, Yahoo has announced a two-week ad testing program with its main search rival, Google, and has reportedly entertained a possible merger with Time Warner's AOL. Meanwhile, Microsoft was rumored to be considering News Corp. as a possible ally in acquiring Yahoo. While spectators wait for the next twist in this saga, another headline-making deal has been announced: a merger between Delta and Northwest Airlines to become the world's largest airline. Knowledge@Wharton spoke with Wharton management professor Saikat Chaudhuri and Wharton legal studies and business ethics professor Kevin Werbach to find out whether these deals make sense and for whom.

Once Called the 'Sick Man' of Europe, Germany Is Showing New Signs of Vitality

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 13:10:22 EST

Talk about good timing. With Germany assuming the rotating presidencies of the European Union and the Group of Eight (G8) developed nations, the country is enjoying an economic resurgence. It remains a formidable exporter of goods worldwide, its unemployment rate has eased and a recent major tax increase has not dampened economic activity as much as many had feared. Still, there is some question whether the recovery is sustainable and whether Germany is up to meeting such long-term challenges as an aging population and a declining birth rate, according to faculty members at Wharton and German business schools, as well as other experts.

Indian BPO Firms Step Out of the Back Office, toward Knowledge Process Outsourcing and Beyond

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 15:24:37 EST

At every juncture in the Indian outsourcing industry's growth curve, its players seem to be discovering a changing array of new frontiers, beyond merely scaling up in their familiar territories. Interviews with experts from Wharton, Boston Consulting Group and outsourcing companies reveal that the industry is moving well beyond transaction-intensive services like call-center support or check processing, and now seems to have achieved critical mass in its quest to provide knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) services -- where skills, judgment and discretion are the tools.

India in the Global Supply Chain: Can Domestic Demand and Technology Skills Help It Catch Up?

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 15:24:42 EST

Hampered by poor infrastructure, bureaucratic red tape and restrictive labor laws, Indian manufacturing has failed to make its presence felt globally. But that is rapidly changing, say experts from Boston Consulting Group and Wharton. More and more multinationals are setting up manufacturing operations in India, attracted by India's burgeoning domestic market and its relatively low-cost, highly skilled workforce.

Bharat Forge Pulls Ahead of Indian Manufacturing, but Obstacles Lie Ahead

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 15:24:46 EST

It's a surprising fact: The world's largest factory for forgings -- parts for engines, axels and the like -- sits not in Detroit, Tokyo or Stuttgart, but in the industrial city of Pune in western India. The factory belongs to Bharat Forge, foremost among a group of auto parts companies that are rapidly putting India on the world map for manufacturing. Yet, say experts at Boston Consulting Group and Wharton, Bharat Forge's story also illustrates the hurdles Indian industry must overcome, ranging from weak infrastructure to low labor productivity.

Private Equity Is on a Roll, but Are Investors in for a Let-down?

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 15:27:02 EST

With private equity investors of all types flush with cash -- from venture capitalists and hedge funds to large leveraged buyout (LBO) firms such as The Blackstone Group and The Carlyle Group -- private financing hit record levels in 2006 and is likely to remain strong in the new year, according to Wharton faculty and industry analysts. Nearly a third of the dollar value of all U.S. acquisitions last year involved private equity firms, up from 3% five years ago. But just how long can this boom continue, and what changes may be in store for private equity models?

Indian Companies Are on an Acquisition Spree: Their Target? U.S. Firms

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 15:19:43 EST

Reliance Gateway Net, VSNL, Scandent and GHCL aren't exactly household names in the U.S., but they may be signs of bigger things to come. These are only a few of the growing number of Indian businesses that have acquired U.S. firms in the past few years. And the U.S. merger-and-acquisition activity is just part of a bigger picture. Indian companies -- usually quietly, but sometimes with media fanfare -- have been on a buying spree in continental Europe, Great Britain and Asia in attempts to become key players in global markets.

Podcast: Cisco's Graeme Wood: Acquisitions Happen Quickly, but Integration Is a 'Slow, Steady Process'

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 15:25:42 EST

Graeme Wood is director of acquisition integration at Cisco, the leading worldwide supplier of networking equipment and network management for the Internet, headquartered in San Jose, Calif. Since In this role, he has overseen the integration of 30 Cisco acquisitions -- the most notable of which is Scientific Atlanta. The $7 billion deal, completed earlier this year, allows Cisco to offer an end-to-end data, voice, video and mobility solution for carrier networks and the digital home. During a recent visit to campus, Wood spoke with Wharton management professor Saikat Chaudhuri about how acquiring a global company like Scientific Atlanta fits into Cisco's overall acquisition strategy, and the lessons learned about integrating on a large scale.

To Blog or Not to Blog: Report from the Front

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 16:48:45 EST

Kevin Werbach, Wharton professor of legal studies and business ethics, is a dedicated blogger, especially when it comes to technology news and innovation. He sifts through 300 to 400 blogs using NetNewsWire for the Mac, a blog management tool that allows him to quickly scan new posts. "I look for blogs that tell me something I don't already know, including in areas where I am an expert," he says. Knowledge@Wharton asked several faculty members and technology experts to comment on the appeal and usefulness -- or lack thereof -- of blogs.

The Succession Question at Tech Firms: When's the Right Time to Go?

Wed, 03 May 2006 15:07:25 EST

The recent resignation of Scott McNealy as CEO of Sun Microsystems, the company he founded 22 years ago, is another milestone in the succession process of a large technology company. But tech companies often pose unique succession issues, in part because of their unusually fast growth and young founders, according to Wharton faculty and technology experts. The challenges are especially critical when the entrepreneurs are celebrities, and when the company has grown large enough that broad-based management skills become as crucial as entrepreneurial passion.

Germany's Angela Merkel: A 'Continental European Politician in the Making'

Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:42:04 EST

During her first few months in office, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has attained the kind of approval rating that politicians the world over dream about, largely due to the way she has handled herself on international matters in visits to Washington, Moscow and Brussels. But her main challenge is Germany's economy, Europe's largest and the world's third biggest. It is a challenge that has been staring German leaders in the face for a long time, for a number of reasons: lackluster GDP growth over the last five years; a vast, overburdened welfare state; an anemic service sector; stubborn protectionist sentiment, and an aging population that will place greater strain on the nation's budget in years to come. In whatever policies she proposes, Merkel will have to tread softly to avoid alarming citizens and trade unions wary of change, say scholars at Wharton and business schools in Europe.

From Retailers to Manufacturers, Complexity in Products Begs the Question: How Much Is Too Much?

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 17:04:36 EST

In a recent advertising mailer, one of the largest U.S. grocery retailers boasted having 300 varieties of beer and 1,800 varieties of wine. It seems like a great sales pitch, but what is the impact of all that variety on costs? Moreover, with 1,800 varieties of wine, what will be the customer response -- confusion or delight? Experts from George Group Consulting and Wharton agree that increasing product complexity in both retail and manufacturing is a very slippery slope: As a means of meeting evolving consumer demands or capturing new market share, expanded product portfolios can backfire because of the strain they place on already scarce resources, and because true profitability is masked. In addition, as companies expand their offerings, complexity can seep into internal processes, producing inefficiencies that can lead to customer dissatisfaction down the road.

The 2006 Gadget Parade: A New Era of Convergence and Convenience

Wed, 08 Feb 2006 16:48:22 EST

Apple's iPod again ruled beneath the Christmas tree in 2005 after the latest model of the iconic music player was outfitted with a video screen. And as the new year begins, a long-anticipated era of convergence in consumer technology products draws closer, according to Wharton faculty and technology analysts. Meanwhile, cell phones that play video, e-mail delivered to handheld computers, telephone conversations over the PC -- and hundreds of other glimpses into Christmas future -- were on display at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week where the stepped-up presence of digital giants, including Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and Intel, signaled their ever-increasing interest in expanding from the office into consumers' living rooms.

The Art of Walking Away from the Deal

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 16:32:12 EST

On December 15, 2004, Johnson & Johnson announced a deal to acquire cardiovascular device maker Guidant for $25.4 billion. Months later, after Guidant had recalled thousands of defibrillators and pacemakers and received subpoenas from U. S. Attorneys offices in Boston and Minneapolis, J&J insisted on renegotiating the purchase price lower. The two companies eventually agreed on a new price -- $21.5 billion. While the J&J case has recently been complicated by a counteroffer from medical device maker Boston Scientific, what Guidant experienced in the course of negotiations with J&J is a "material adverse change," a phrase that refers to events that happen between the time a deal is announced and the day it closes. How often do material adverse changes lead to deal breakups, and what role do they play as a bargaining chip for companies trying to renegotiate their original offers?

The Innovation - through - Acquisition Strategy: Why the Pay-off Isn't Always There

Wed, 16 Nov 2005 16:31:00 EST

During the tech boom of the 1990s, leading edge companies began buying up smaller firms -- and their promising, if untested, technologies -- to stay one step ahead of the competition. Then the tech bubble burst and M&A activity came to a screeching halt. Acquisition leader Cisco, which purchased 70 companies between 1992 and 2000, bought just two in 2001. It became evident that while some purchases helped acquirers reap benefits, many failed to create the intended value. Wharton management professor Saikat Chaudhuri believes he knows why. His research is especially timely given the recent growth in M&A activity in the tech sector and other innovation-driven industries.

R&D in India: The Curtain Rises, The Play Has Begun...

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 14:55:50 EST

Motorola, Microsoft, Intel and other high-tech firms are launching ambitious R&D programs in India. Many of these projects complement research being conducted in other parts of the world and deal with products meant for the world market. What forces are driving the migration of high-tech R&D into India? Experts say it has a lot to do with the fact that companies expect some of the fastest growth in the future to come from the Asian giants -- India and China.

Free Advice from Wharton: Here's What Hewlett-Packard's New CEO Should Do

Tue, 10 May 2005 15:57:04 EST

When it was announced on March 29 that the board of Hewlett-Packard had tapped Mark V. Hurd to be the company's new CEO and president, the most notable part of the deal was Hurd's relative obscurity. But in the weeks and months to come, Hurd will be front and center. His personality may be lower key than that of the flashy Fiorina, but Wharton faculty members say he faces tough strategic decisions that will raise his visibility at a company whose stock has plummeted in value in the last five years. Chief among the decisions facing Hurd: Should H-P, which acquired Compaq Computer in a controversial move by Fiorina in September 2001, be broken up?

In eBay's Success May Lie Hints of Trouble Ahead

Wed, 09 Mar 2005 16:03:13 EST

When eBay reported its 2004 financial results on January 19, it looked like business as usual. Annual revenue was up 51% from a year ago, and net income jumped 76%. But then the company cut its outlook for 2005 and rankled customers with a fee increase. On Wall Street the Internet darling got panned as shares tumbled 19% in one day (January 20). Are these issues short-term growing pains or the beginning of something worse? Is eBay becoming a mature company that won't be able to keep up its heady growth? And what competitors are targeting eBay? Wharton experts say there's no need to get too worried about eBay's prospects right now. In the future, however, things may become more interesting.

The H-P Compaq Merger Two Years Out: Still Waiting for the Upside

Wed, 20 Oct 2004 15:58:19 EST

Two years after Hewlett Packard's merger with Compaq, people are still asking some hard questions about the company's prospects. The reason, say experts at Wharton and elsewhere, is that the reconfigured H-P remains a work in progress. Chairman and CEO Carleton (Carly) Fiorina has made strides in integrating the operations and cultures of the two companies. But if H-P's stock price is any indication of the company's future, investors still harbor concerns about whether the merger will ultimately strengthen the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company against its two chief competitors, Dell and IBM.