George Day - Faculty Research in Knowledge@Wharton

Eyes Wide Open: Embracing Uncertainty through Scenario Planning

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:41:58 EST

As a result of the global financial crisis, more and more companies are being forced to make decisions in complex and uncertain environments. According to experts from Wharton and elsewhere, this is a good time for executives to use so-called scenario planning techniques. These exercises anticipate various future scenarios and develop strategic responses to each of them. As a result, experts say, even if executives can't predict the future, they can at least be better prepared for it.

A World Transformed: What Are the Top 30 Innovations of the Last 30 Years?

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:51:20 EST

Is it possible to determine which 30 innovations have changed life most dramatically during the past 30 years? That is the question that Nightly Business Report, the Emmy Award-winning PBS business program, and Knowledge@Wharton set out to answer to celebrate NBR's 30^th anniversary this year. The list includes innovations from the world of technology, health care, energy and even finance. Can you guess which one is No. 1?

Finding Money for Innovation: Develop Those People Skills

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:53:55 EST

Innovating during a financial crisis is no small challenge. Experts at a recent Wharton panel discussion offered tips: Align innovation goals with company goals, focus on technology that can cut costs, and develop the "street smarts" needed to sell technology initiatives to investors or senior management.

Why an Economic Crisis Could Be the Right Time for Companies to Engage in 'Disruptive Innovation'

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:45:28 EST

While globalization has witnessed the decline of U.S. dominance in manufacturing, energy and even finance, one thing had long been presumed unassailable: a willingness to engage in transformative, or "disruptive," innovation. But with the economy in a tailspin, will business, government and academia shy away from the risk-taking and short-term costs that come with the territory of innovating? Wharton faculty and practitioners offer their views on why companies these days should be more interested than ever in trying out radical new ideas.

Philips Lighting CEO Rudy Provoost: Innovation Means Putting Consumers' Needs First

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:18:03 EST

Approximately 19% of the world's electricity bill comes from lighting, according to Rudy Provoost, CEO of Philips Lighting. As such, Philips, the world's largest producer of industrial and consumer lighting products, has a big role to play in the ongoing transformation from incandescent to solid-state lighting using LED technology. Provoost, who until last year was CEO of Philips Consumer Electronics, is no stranger to new technologies, which he says are "just a vehicle to respond to needs." Figuring out what those needs are, weeding out needless complexity and innovating with an eye on the bottom line are the keys to growth, Provoost says. He recently spoke with Wharton marketing professor George Day and Knowledge@Wharton about the challenges of staying ahead in a rapidly changing industry.

Chief Receptionist Officer? Title Inflation Hits the C-Suite

Wed, 30 May 2007 15:38:15 EST

We're all familiar with titles like chief executive officer, chief financial officer and chief operating officer. We have even grown used to chief technology officer, chief marketing officer and chief diversity officer. But what about chief talent officer, chief cultural officer, chief innovation officer, chief privacy officer, chief apology officer and chief geek, to name just some of the more contemporary titles in today's companies? On the surface, this looks like title inflation -- an overabundance of C-level jobs that cheapen the prestige that used to go along with promotions. Yet according to several Wharton faculty members, there is more to this story than inflated egos.

Sustaining Corporate Growth Requires 'Big I' and 'small i' Innovation

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 14:55:13 EST

All companies, from major multinationals to start-ups, face a common challenge: how to keep growing. These firms find it difficult to sustain growth because they become risk averse, opting for safer incremental product and service improvements instead of more rewarding, but riskier, major initiatives, according to a study by Wharton marketing professor George S. Day. Companies, Day says, need to better understand the risks inherent in different levels of innovation and achieve a balance between BIG I innovation and small i innovation.

Vigilant vs. Operational Leaders: Changes at Ford, the Coke-Pepsi Fiasco, and Other Management Moments

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 15:51:08 EST

As Wharton marketing professors George Day and Paul Schoemaker see it, the recent and well-publicized travails of Ford Motor, Coca-Cola and Pepsi offer clear examples of the distinction between vigilant leadership and operational management. To explain that distinction, Day and Schoemaker have identified four leadership traits: external focus, conceptual ability, organizational role and time horizon.

Logistics Make the World Go Round, at Least in the Global Marketplace

Thu, 22 Jun 2006 13:51:35 EST

During a panel discussion titled, "Logistics: Bridge to Global Prosperity," at the June 8-9 Wharton Global Forum in Istanbul, moderator George Day described logistics as "the connective tissue that makes the global economy work." Logistics, he said, can be "a huge source of competitive advantage and help expand and launch new business models." Combined with information technology, he added, logistics can "dramatically extend the geographic reach of both large and small organizations." To explain the ever-expanding role of logistics, Day, a Wharton marketing professor, was joined on the panel by Michel Akavi, CEO of DHL Worldwide Express, Middle East, Mirzan bin Mahathir, executive chairman and president of Malaysia-based Konsortium Logistiks Berhad, and Yavuz Cizmeci, chairman of Turkey's ACT Airlines.

Aligning the Organization with the Market: Focusing on 'The Customer's Total Experience'

Wed, 31 May 2006 14:49:23 EST

When Lou Gerstner became chief executive of IBM in the early 1990s, Big Blue was on a course to be broken up into smaller companies, each responsible for separate IBM business units such as PCs, software and the like. But Gerstner concluded the strategy was "wrong-headed" because it was contrary to the wishes of customers, according to Wharton marketing professor George Day. Rather than assemble their computer systems from a variety of vendors, customers wanted help putting everything together. So IBM embarked on a multi-year journey to align its organization with the marketplace. For IBM, the experiment was successful. But in a forthcoming paper titled, "Aligning the Organization with the Market," Day reports on a survey that found only mixed results among 347 medium- to large-size firms that attempted customer-focused reorganizations.

Podcast: George Day: Keeping an Eye on Distant Events that Can Make or Break Your Company

Wed, 10 May 2006 17:28:27 EST

In Wharton marketing professor George Day's world, the term "peripheral vision" means the ability of companies to detect, interpret and act on distant signals, whether a rumor heard about a new rival, a newspaper article about a new medical device, or the popularity of a blog started by a dissatisfied customer. Day and co-author Paul Schoemaker have written a book entitled, appropriately enough, Peripheral Vision: Detecting the Weak Signals That Will Make or Break Your Company, designed to help firms avoid being blindsided by unexpected events. According to the authors, only 20% of companies have succeeded in developing peripheral vision well enough to stay ahead of their competitors. Day talked with Knowledge@Wharton's Mukul Pandya and Robbie Shell about his book.

Managing Brands in Global Markets: One Size Doesn't Fit All

Wed, 01 Jun 2005 17:22:46 EST

Theodore "Ted" Levitt of Harvard Business School set the marketing world abuzz in 1983 with a bold prediction: Globalization had arrived, and before long global companies would be selling products and services in the same way everywhere on earth. More than 20 years later, however, Levitt's prediction has not come to pass, according to Wharton marketing professors George S. Day and David J. Reibstein, who note that only a handful of truly global brands exist today despite the increased globalization of markets. Day and Reibstein, who address this issue in a book entitled "The INSEAD-Wharton Alliance on Globalizing: Strategies for Building Successful Global Businesses," suggest that adapting brands to local conditions can often be the best approach.

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.

Getting Close to the Customer: Quantitative vs. Qualitative Approaches

Wed, 05 May 2004 13:10:03 EST

After adapting information technology to develop ever more sophisticated research methods, marketers are taking a second look at more human, qualitative approaches to tapping into the hearts and minds of consumers. As one Wharton marketing professor says: “We can put each customer’s order on a microchip, but as far as having a sense of what’s inside making him tick,” the answers remain elusive. He and others suggest that companies use both quantitative methods – such as data mining – and qualitative methods, ranging from “concept banks” to “brand communities” to customer advisory boards, always keeping in mind the cost-effectiveness of these varied approaches.

Biosciences: High Risk, High Reward, and the Potential for "Real Chaos"

Wed, 22 Oct 2003 13:48:09 EST

While bioscience researchers struggle to understand the workings of the human body, biotech managers and investors are searching for ways to better understand this complex and quickly evolving industry, according to participants at a conference last month entitled, �Value Creation and Destruction in Emerging Technologies: Lessons for the Biosciences.� The conference, sponsored by Wharton�s Mack Center for Technological Innovation, discussed such topics as the productivity gap in the pharmaceutical industry, the likelihood of more �killer� products, the lifespan of biotechs and the outlook for venture capitalists.

Which Customers Are Worth Keeping and Which Ones Aren't? Managerial Uses of CLV

Wed, 30 Jul 2003 00:00:00 EST

Managers have long been interested in weeding out customers that they consider to be less profitable than others. The question is, how do managers determine who belongs in that group? According to several Wharton marketing professors, there is no easy answer, despite new and increasingly sophisticated efforts to measure what is called �Customer Lifetime Value� (CLV) � the present value of the likely future income stream generated by an individual purchaser. CLV, it turns out, is hard to calculate and harder to use.

Sifting Through Data Overload to Broaden Your Company's Vision

Wed, 04 Jun 2003 00:00:00 EST

Abbott Laboratories, FedEx and Pitney Bowes did it right; Royal Dutch Shell and Monsanto missed the mark. The issue, according to participants in a recent Wharton conference entitled, �Peripheral Vision: Sensing and Acting on Weak Signals,� is how well companies are able to make sense of enormous changes in markets and technologies, and broaden their scope and vision accordingly. Part of the challenge is the ability to analyze huge amounts of data, much of it on the periphery, and determine its relevance to company strategy.

War, Disease and the Economy Are Battering the Airlines. What Lies Ahead?

Wed, 09 Apr 2003 00:00:00 EST

The airline industry can�t catch a break. First it was pummeled by a weak economy, then clubbed over the head by travelers� fears after September 11. Just as the airlines started to adapt to a recessionary market, the SARS disease crisis and the Iraqi war hit. Airlines have gone from merely trying to figure out how to survive a world of lowered demand to figuring out how to survive unexpected crises approaching from all sides. Wharton professors and other experts predict what travelers can expect in the near future.

Why Some Companies Succeed at CRM (and Many Fail)

Wed, 15 Jan 2003 00:00:00 EST

What makes some companies so much better at managing customer relationships than their competitors? Put a different way, how are companies like Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Pioneer Hi-bred Seeds, Fidelity Investments, Lexus, Intuit, and Capital One able to stay more closely connected to customers than their rivals, in ways that significantly influence the profitability of the firm? It�s a question that Wharton marketing professor George Day answers in a new paper. His research notes, among other things, three distinct approaches to customer relationship management (CRM), each with dramatically different results.

Surviving the Shakeout: Where B2B Exchanges Went Wrong

Wed, 04 Dec 2002 00:00:00 EST

As the dust settles in the Internet shakeout, business owners are realizing that it�s the market that matters � not necessarily the technology. In a new paper, Wharton professor George Day, consultant Adam Fein and analyst Gregg Ruppersberger look at the winners and losers in one sector of the Internet marketplace, and come up with key lessons for incumbents and entrepreneurs alike.

eBay: Last Man Standing

Wed, 27 Mar 2002 00:00:00 EST

The eBay juggernaut rolls on. Few would have thought that the website created in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar to sell Pez dispensers and other collectibles would by 2002 be one of the few remaining companies that continue to demonstrate the potential of e-commerce. So strong is eBay�s growth, say some observers, that the only force capable of stopping eBay is eBay itself. Is that likely?

From Skin Creams to Life Insurance to Medical Care, Biosciences Are the New Frontier of Business Opportunity

Wed, 27 Feb 2002 00:00:00 EST

In the brave new world of biosciences, new developments in genomics, bioinformatics and proteomics have the potential to dramatically affect such industries as pharmaceuticals, medical care, agriculture, life insurance, consumer products and information technology. How can companies capitalize on these advances when many managers don�t even understand the terminology used to describe them?

Marketing Ethics in a Post-Terrorist Economy: What is the Right Pitch?

Wed, 21 Nov 2001 00:00:00 EST

Following the events of Sept. 11, marketers and advertisers must reconsider not only what products they sell but how they sell them � all against a backdrop of the War On Terror, the Anthrax scare and a badly slumping economy. What approach can companies and ad agencies adopt that is both ethical and effective? Wharton faculty, and the manufacturer of one uniquely American product, offer some suggestions.

Hewlett-Packard and Compaq: If It Goes Through, Here�s How to Try and Make It Work

Thu, 13 Sep 2001 00:00:00 EST

Faculty members at Wharton who have studied mergers and acquisitions and industry consolidations say Wall Street�s thumbs-down on Hewlett-Packard�s proposed acquisition of Compaq comes as no surprise. Still, if H-P and Compaq proceed with the transaction and receive shareholder and regulatory approval, there still may be additional ways to try to strengthen the new company�s competitive position, say several professors.

Making Customer Relationship Management Work

Wed, 04 Jul 2001 00:00:00 EST

Customer relationship management, or CRM, is the buzzword du jour in business circles. To hear some proponents talk about it, all a company needs to do is buy and install a sophisticated CRM software package to maximize its returns from customers. Wharton faculty members point out, however, that making CRM work involves doing a lot more.

Foot-and-mouth Disease Poses Challenge for U.S. Beef industry

Wed, 11 Apr 2001 00:00:00 EST

First there was mad cow disease. Now there is foot-and-mouth disease. And through it all is the stampede of media reports on each new outbreak, written in lengthy and often graphic detail. How do members of the beef industry in the U.S., which has reported no cases of mad cow disease and no foot-and-mouth since 1929, deal with a potential public relations crisis that, so far, just hasn�t been a problem?

New Economy or Old Economy, a Shakeout is a Shakeout

Mon, 19 Mar 2001 14:05:25 EST

Still wondering why the dot.com bubble burst? And what�s going to happen to all those smaller bubbles, the approximately 12,000 dot-coms that are still alive, many of them just barely? In a paper entitled, Shakeouts in the New Economy, Wharton marketing professor George Day and co-author Adam Fein analyze the causes of the bust and tell how to pick which companies will survive the downturn.

What Xerox Should Copy, and Not Copy, from Its Past

Wed, 25 Oct 2000 16:42:06 EST

Nearly 20 years ago the management at Xerox was accused by critics of squandering its core competitive advantage and bringing the company to the edge of bankruptcy. Within six years, Xerox had engineered a triumphant comeback. The question is, can the company do it again? The company has flat revenues, declining earnings, a severe cash crunch and a battered stock price. On Oct. 24 CEO Paul Allaire announced a turnaround plan that he hopes will get the Stamford, Conn.-based giant back on its feet. The key, suggest several Wharton faculty, lies in figuring out which strategies from the past should be duplicated and which deleted.

How to Keep Others From Ripping Off Your Ideas

Wed, 30 Aug 2000 13:27:51 EST

As many companies and individuals have learned the hard way, coming up with a new technology doesn�t necessarily mean you will reap the gains from it. What steps can you take to protect your innovation � there are four of them - and how do these strategies work in the brave new world of emerging technologies? Management professor Sidney G. Winter, one of the authors of Wharton on Managing Emerging Technologies, offers some guidance.

What�s Behind the Food Industry�s Appetite for Mergers?

Wed, 05 Jul 2000 14:32:30 EST

The food industry apparently has a huge appetite for mergers. In the past few weeks Philip Morris has announced its intention to buy Nabisco Holdings for $14.91 billion, and Unilever has said it plans to pay an estimated $20.3 billion to acquire Bestfoods, the maker of Knorr soups and Skippy peanut butter. In a relatively smaller but still significant transaction, ConAgra has agreed to take over International Home Foods�the maker of Chef Boyardee pasta products and Bumble Bee seafood products�for $1.6 billion plus the assumption of debt. What is behind this sudden hunger for acquisitions? Huge egos, the Internet, cost savings through economies of scale, and a drive to regain dominance over retail distribution channels are feeding the frenzy, according to industry watchers�and the end isn�t here yet. More mergers�possibly involving smaller food companies�could be on their way. But the fast-paced M&A activity also has some industry watchers asking whether the strategy is worth the price.

A Different Game: Wharton Book Explores Managing Emerging Technologies

Wed, 07 Jun 2000 15:47:49 EST

How are the skills necessary to manage emerging technology businesses different from the skills needed to run established technology firms? A new book edited by two Wharton researchers draws on the insights of corporate leaders and academics to answer this question. Their findings should change the way companies approach such issues as technology assessment, strategy, marketing and organizational design.

Staying Close, but Not Too Close, to the Customer

Fri, 10 Dec 1999 09:13:32 EST

When Wharton Professor George Day coined the term �market driven strategy� nearly a decade ago � in a conference and a book by that name � he was a pioneer in putting a market focus at the center of the strategy process. Day�s latest insights on this subject form the basis of his new book, The Market Driven Organization (Free Press, 1999). In a recent interview with Knowledge@Wharton, he explains how market driven companies neither slavishly follow customers nor ignore them. He also explores the capabilities of successful market driven firms that allow them to attract and keep valuable customers.

Winning and Retaining Customer Loyalty

Wed, 29 Sep 1999 14:41:30 EST

In this the third and final report on the new book Mastering Marketing, we focus on the ways top companies are winning and retaining customers in today�s high-tech global economy as seen by more than 50 marketing strategists from the University of Pennsylvania�s Wharton School, the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, the London Business School, and INSEAD, the European institute for management education. Earlier versions of these articles first appeared in the Financial Times, which has now published the book with Prentice Hall as part of its FT Mastering series.

New Strategies for Success

Fri, 17 Sep 1999 10:05:12 EST

Today�s business environment is changing so fast that companies are being forced as never before to rethink their core marketing strategies. In the previous edition of Knowledge@Wharton we examined the forces changing the fundamentals of marketing as discussed in Mastering Marketing, a book containing the views of more than 50 marketing strategists from the University of Pennsylvania�s Wharton School, the J.L.Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, the London Business School, and INSEAD, the European institute for management education. In this, the second of three reports, we look at what these marketing specialists, plus two others from Bentley College and Emory University�s Goizueta Business School, are recommending to companies determined to stay ahead of the competition.

Understanding Today�s Global Marketplace

Wed, 01 Sep 1999 12:25:11 EST

Revolutionary changes are redefining marketing as it exists today. In a three-part report on Mastering Marketing, a new book authored by more than 50 leading marketing experts from the Wharton School, the Kellogg School of Management, the London Business School and INSEAD, Knowledge @ Wharton looks at some of the forces changing the fundamentals of marketing, the new strategies needed to deal with these changes, and the ways to win and retain customers in today�s global economy.