Business services sector

The Internet promises to give marketing the same boost in productivity that new operational strategies have given to manufacturing.

High-definition televisions (HDTVs) should, by now, be a huge success. Philips, Sony, and Thompson invested billions of dollars to develop TV sets with...

To maximize information exchange among employees, don't reward individual performance.

As commissioner of the New York City Police Department, Lee P. Brown faces two enormous challenges. The first is crime. In 1989 in New York City, 712,419 crimes were reported, including 1,905 murders, 93,377 robberies, and 3,254 rapes. As Brown is quick to point out, the situation has grown so severe that people in cities […]

You may have heard of "evidence-based medicine," the notion that medical decisions should be based on clinical research and evidence. What scares me about...

Author’s note: Alistair Hanna, Michael Reopel, and Stuart Flack, all of McKinsey & Company, contributed to this article. The U.S. defense industry is struggling to reorganize itself for growth, if not for survival. The disappearance of the communist threat and the desperate need to revive the U.S. economy have taken the defense industry for a […]

America’s banking crisis presents choices both perilous and promising. Perilous, because the failure to act intelligently will lead to the most serious economic collapse since the Great Depression. As much as 25% of the U.S. banking system—representing assets of more than $750 billion—has begun to post such massive loan losses that it must focus on […]

Stars are using their influencer status to launch their own products and capture more profits for themselves.

Online advertising is opaque and often funnels money to sites that can damage your brand. Here’s how companies can protect themselves.

Most businesspeople will serve on the board of a nonprofit organization at some point. But the governance of nonprofits can differ dramatically from the governance of businesses. Even the best intentions can prove disastrous when new board members fail to understand that their traditional business experience can carry them only so far.

Last week, I wrote about the dangers of overly relying on quantitative market research when developing innovation opportunities. A tendency to seek "safety...

What they should prove before you bring them on board.

Companies are spending more money than ever on advertising. So why are the results so disappointing?

For a leader, a public apology is always a high-risk move. Understanding what apologies can and cannot do will help you avoid both foolhardy stonewalling and unnecessary contrition.

Advising CEOs sounds like a dream job, but doing so can be perplexing and perilous. At times, the questions you must ask yourself--about your own motivations...

To really win their loyalty, forget the bells and whistles and just solve their problems.

On December 7, 1990, U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills appeared before the press in Brussels to announce the collapse of the four-year-long Uruguay Round of world trade talks. Casting blame on others, particularly on an intransigent European Community that refused to retreat on agricultural subsidies, she warned of dire consequences: world trade conflicts, global depression, […]

Relying on AI-generated personalities can be a low-risk, high-engagement strategy.

Using data to target customers has never been more controversial.

Coordination between advertising and price strategies may lead to higher profits. Analyses of data from 227 businesses show the price-advertising relationship....