”It is usually better to be an excellent you than a mediocre them” - Seminar with Professor Jay Barney
04.05.2017
Professor Jay Barney (University of Utah, USA)
Professor Jay Barney (University of
Utah, USA) a guru in strategic management and firms’ competitive
advantage, visited the ReInRe research project’s seminar organized by
the Entrepreneurship Unit of the Turku School of Economics. In his
presentation Barney introduced the audience to 10 truths about the company's competitiveness.
- The success of a company is a responsibility of every employee, not just the manager, Barney proclaimed and continued with an example of Nissan company and with the details he had encountered at the production facilities.
His example showed how deep the sources of company's success and competitiveness actually extend. He continued challenging the audience to think that if a company is content to be mediocre, it will never become a better company.
In addition to professor Barney, researcher Peter Zettinig from International Business Studies addressed how organizations can cope with the constant change and uncertainty surrounding them. Zettinig emphasized the fact that the innovation potential of companies can be harnessed through breaking company hierarchies, blurring the companies’ boundaries and by crushing the potential organizational obstacles standing in the way of renewal.
In addition, senior researcher Pekka Stenholm from the Entrepreneurship Unit summarized the recent results of the ReInRe research project which is partly funded by Tekes. He stressed that successful companies in comparison to less successful ones differ in their strategic features. In constructing their strategies and success through narratives successful companies highlight the persistence and bearing with uncertainty. Successful companies also emphasize the entrepreneurial culture through which they have been able to encourage success among their employees. Moreover, they highlighted the importance of flexibility in decision-making.
- Both successful and less successful companies emphasized the importance of listening to customers but successful companies have gone very close to the customer and instead of solely listening to need, they try to solve customers’ problems sometimes even before customers recognize them, Stenholm stressed.
Seminar was closed by Olli-Pekka Lumijärvi, strategy director of Accenture Oy, who provide sharp conclusions about the challenges of often product-based Finnish companies when many things around them and in their industry change.
presentation Barney introduced the audience to 10 truths about the company's competitiveness.
- The success of a company is a responsibility of every employee, not just the manager, Barney proclaimed and continued with an example of Nissan company and with the details he had encountered at the production facilities.
His example showed how deep the sources of company's success and competitiveness actually extend. He continued challenging the audience to think that if a company is content to be mediocre, it will never become a better company.
In addition to professor Barney, researcher Peter Zettinig from International Business Studies addressed how organizations can cope with the constant change and uncertainty surrounding them. Zettinig emphasized the fact that the innovation potential of companies can be harnessed through breaking company hierarchies, blurring the companies’ boundaries and by crushing the potential organizational obstacles standing in the way of renewal.
In addition, senior researcher Pekka Stenholm from the Entrepreneurship Unit summarized the recent results of the ReInRe research project which is partly funded by Tekes. He stressed that successful companies in comparison to less successful ones differ in their strategic features. In constructing their strategies and success through narratives successful companies highlight the persistence and bearing with uncertainty. Successful companies also emphasize the entrepreneurial culture through which they have been able to encourage success among their employees. Moreover, they highlighted the importance of flexibility in decision-making.
- Both successful and less successful companies emphasized the importance of listening to customers but successful companies have gone very close to the customer and instead of solely listening to need, they try to solve customers’ problems sometimes even before customers recognize them, Stenholm stressed.
Seminar was closed by Olli-Pekka Lumijärvi, strategy director of Accenture Oy, who provide sharp conclusions about the challenges of often product-based Finnish companies when many things around them and in their industry change.