Month: April 2020

Most companies cannot quickly change their business model to open up new revenue streams. Different firm activities are interlocked with one another via standard procedures. There’s a high cost to switching internal operations. The result is like a pyramid: sturdy and impressive, but rigid and brittle. Coronavirus has exposed the vulnerabilities of companies whose competitive …

In a Crisis, Ecosystem Businesses Have a Competitive Advantage Read More »

Virtual meetings are here to stay. It’ll upend how all corporate decisions are made from here on. HONG KONG: Like thousands of other professors, the executive education programmes I teach have either been cancelled or migrated over to Zoom, under the shadow of a pandemic. Just the other day, one of my class participants, John, …

Commentary: How Zoom-Working Will Change Companies Forever Read More »

Not enough financial incentive for firms to ramp up production of masks United States President Donald Trump sees every development as a triumph. After he signed a Defence Production Act to compel 3M to produce face masks on April 2, he confirmed last Tuesday that 3M will import 166.5 million N95 respirators from its other …

Profit Gets in the Way of US Covid-19 Fight Read More »

Late on Thursday night, Trump announced he had signed a Defense Production Act to compel 3M to produce face masks, specifically for the N95 respirator. The Defense Production Act, which was passed in 1950, grants the president the power to expand industrial production of key materials or products for national security and other reasons. “We hit 3M hard today …

3M Makes A Lot Of Masks But Trump Can’t Increase Its Supply Read More »