Global Business & Culture

Something happens on the way from a strategy’s creation to its execution: the unpredictable, which can leave many a carefully crafted plan in tatters. Eastern philosophy offers paths to confronting inevitable uncertainty.

The WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic two years ago. In one of the largest health psychologies studies ever, a Darden professor researched factors related to adherence to public health measures, including: national identity — different from nationalism — political affiliation, and consistent messaging from leaders across the political spectrum.

Western analytical tools are important to the process of understanding industries and competitors, but true insights can be achieved with what the Buddha called beginner’s mind. In this The Tao of Strategy excerpt, the authors explore how Eastern philosophy complements Western strategy-making and offer 12 principles that can inform business leaders

Does “waiting in line” need translation, or do all cultures view a wait as undesirable? It turns out there’s cultural nuance to queueing, according to Darden Professor Elliott N. Weiss and colleagues Graham Gillam, Kyle Simmons and Donald Stevenson.

New research by Darden Professor Gaurav Chiplunkar tracks the rise and fall of dowry in India and analyzes common theories about trends in the practice, as well as offers speculation on mitigating it: “As there is a public interest in eliminating dowry due to harmful effects, education may be an effective strategy to fight it.”

A feeling that part of one’s identity is unwelcome at work threatens an employee’s connection with others and the organization, and a feeling rejection due to religion can be extreme. Here: A framework to think about how people respond when they feel their religious identities are threatened at work, in context of organizational culture.

Have you ever shown up to a meeting thinking you’ve got great ideas, piercing insights and the motivation to make a positive impact, only to discover the decisions you thought were still on the table have already been made? You’re left wondering if you were the only person who didn’t know. How did that happen?

China manufactures nearly a quarter of the world’s high-tech goods, but most of those goods’ microchips come from the U.S. When tension rose in U.S.-China relations, one Chinese company found an M&A win-win with a European chipmaker looking to expand in China’s market. Here’s how a CEO turned around an existential threat and supply chain weak link.

As COVID-19 continues to spread, hospitals in the hardest-hit areas operate at near capacity. Professor Elliott N. Weiss believes that understanding capacity management and other fundamental concepts in operations can help us make sense of the current crisis and invites us to examine it through the lens of operations.

China’s progress towards modernization and marketization gave women unprecedented opportunities to launch and scale private enterprises and make billions in the process. Professor Ming-Jer Chen shares insights on how China managed to forge a new class of super-successful female founders.