The DHL Global Connectedness Index 2014 report, prepared by a research team led by Pankaj Ghemawat – a colleague of mine at IESE Business School – has been published. Global connectedness refers to “the depth and breadth (geographic distribution) of a country’s integration with the rest of the world as manifested by its participation in […]
Talent development and African values
Last week I attended a conference of business school administrators hosted by IESE Business School. The theme was “Quality in context: Management education for the developing world,” and the focus was on Africa. In one of the panels, a leader from one of the most prominent MNCs, which has operations in 13 African countries, highlighted […]
Locating a business in Africa: how much of a hassle?
Different countries offer different travel and living conditions. This has an effect – identified as the “hassle factor” by professors Andreas Schotter and Paul Beamish from the Ivey Business School in Canada – on companies’ decisions to locate their operations in a particular country. Not all countries are the same in Africa, and the hassle […]
African women: a paradox
This week I met a group of great women business leaders from West Africa. African women are a powerful driving force. At the same time, their social recognition is not always on a par with that force. I find this somewhat paradoxical. African women have an important role to play on every level: some women are […]
How personal networks matter in Africa
Last month, the annual meeting of the Strategic Management Society (SMS) revolved around the theme “Strategies in a world of networks.” Have you ever heard anyone say “connections are not important in this part of the world”? That would be quite unusual, don’t you think? It’s no surprise, then, that networks matter in Africa just […]
