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Opportunity Recognition: 15 Ansätze für mehr Unternehmenswachstum
by Andreas Engelen Monika Engelen Clara von GagernDas Lehrbuch beinhaltet eine umfassende Darstellung von Tools, mit deren Hilfe systematisch innovative Ideen für neues Unternehmenswachstum generiert werden können („Opportunities“). In der Praxis lässt sich beobachten, dass Unternehmen erhebliche Anstrengungen unternehmen, Ideen für Innovationen zu identifizieren, die ihre Branche entscheidend prägen können. Grund dafür ist nicht zuletzt das Wissen, dass eine verpasste Innovationswelle zu großen Problemen für das gesamte Unternehmen führen kann. Eine zentrale Erkenntnis der betriebswirtschaftlichen Forschung ist, dass Ideen zur Generierung zukünftiger Wachstumschancen oft kein Zufallsprodukt sind, sondern Ergebnisse systematischer Analysen. Die Autoren bieten eine strukturierte und umfassende Übersicht der wichtigsten Tools zur Erkennung neuer Wachstumschancen. Sie unterscheiden zwischen unternehmensbezogenen, marktbezogenen und umweltbezogenen Ansätzen, binden zahlreiche praktische Beispiele ein und geben anwendungsorientierte Hilfestellungen zu diesen Tools. In die zweite Auflage des Buchs flossen die neuesten Erkenntnisse aus der Forschung ein, einige Beispiele wurden aktualisiert und ergänzt sowie das Buch um praktische Anwendungsaufgaben für Lehre und Praxisworkshops erweitert.
Opportunity Recognition: 15 Approaches for More Business Growth
by Andreas Engelen Monika Engelen Clara von GagernThe textbook contains a comprehensive presentation of tools that can be used to systematically generate innovative ideas for new business growth ("opportunities"). In practice, it can be observed that companies make considerable efforts to identify ideas for innovations that can decisively shape their industry. The reason for this is not least the knowledge that a missed wave of innovation can lead to major problems for the entire company. A central finding of business management research is that ideas for generating future growth opportunities are often not a product of chance, but the results of systematic analyses. The authors provide a structured and comprehensive overview of the most important tools for identifying new growth opportunities. They distinguish between company-related, market-related and environment-related approaches, incorporate numerous practical examples and provide application-oriented assistance with these tools. The second edition of the book incorporates the latest research findings, some examples have been updated and supplemented, and the book has been expanded to include practical application tasks for teaching and practical workshops.
Opportunity: How to Win in Business and Create a Life You Love
by Eben PaganMake the most of life's opportunities with savvy internet marketer Eben Pagan's ode to opportunity: how to recognize it, how to find more of it, and how to make it work for you.Well-known entrepreneur teacher and technology investor Eben Pagan has spent thousands of hours studying opportunity. After interviewing hundreds of successful entrepreneurs, self-made millionaires, and billionaires, Eben found that successful people have something in common: they are better at finding and creating opportunity, and they're better at choosing which opportunities to bet on. This book shows you how they do it, giving you the tools to find and create a lot more opportunity in your work, in your business, with money, and in your life.In today's world, we have more options than ever to travel to new places, meet new people, start new businesses, and make new investments. But with this increase comes "opportunity shock" and the confusion that comes from having too many options. Inside this book, you'll learn: * What opportunity is, how it works, and where to find it * How entrepreneurs and investors are turning big change into big opportunity * How to discover and develop more great opportunities in business, money, investing, health, happiness, relationships, and personal development * How to overcome fear of failure so you can have more of what you want in your life * How to become an innovator and thought leader, helping others find their own opportunities"In the world of online entrepreneurship, Eben Pagan is one of the most original, brilliant thinkers out there. Opportunity is a must-read for anyone who wants to make it online."-- Larry King, award-winning television and radio host
Opportunity: Seize The Day. Win At Life.
by Rob MooreOpportunities are limitless and abundant.The problem is, many people can't recognise them.It can feel like opportunity doesn't knock for you, or other people get more opportunities, or you have bad luck and timing.You just need to know where to look. How to ask. When to ACT.Opportunity can be a window or a door; sometimes it opens right in front of you and sometimes it knocks. You need to be ready: windows, doors and eyes open.Are you waiting for that once-in-a-lifetime or business opportunity to change your life? How will you know when it comes? How will you be sure it's right for you?This book is not about waiting for an opportunity. It's a book containing strategies that can be employed immediately, ensuring you attract opportunities abundantly, both big and small, and you're ready to recognise and take them. To turn ideas into opportunities. Successful people often make their own luck - they find success because they have trained their minds to recognise great opportunities and make the most of them, rather than freezing with uncertainty or lacking the vision to see them through. They know the opportunity cost of not taking them.In this book you'll learn how to spot, seize and implement the right opportunities, and how to say NO to the wrong ones. You'll learn to take fast and slow opportunities. When opportunity appears you'll be ready to take advantage, seize the day, and win at life.
Opportunity: Seize The Day. Win At Life.
by Rob MooreOpportunities are limitless and abundant.The problem is, many people can't recognise them.It can feel like opportunity doesn't knock for you, or other people get more opportunities, or you have bad luck and timing.You just need to know where to look. How to ask. When to ACT.Opportunity can be a window or a door; sometimes it opens right in front of you and sometimes it knocks. You need to be ready: windows, doors and eyes open.Are you waiting for that once-in-a-lifetime or business opportunity to change your life? How will you know when it comes? How will you be sure it's right for you?This book is not about waiting for an opportunity. It's a book containing strategies that can be employed immediately, ensuring you attract opportunities abundantly, both big and small, and you're ready to recognise and take them. To turn ideas into opportunities. Successful people often make their own luck - they find success because they have trained their minds to recognise great opportunities and make the most of them, rather than freezing with uncertainty or lacking the vision to see them through. They know the opportunity cost of not taking them.In this book you'll learn how to spot, seize and implement the right opportunities, and how to say NO to the wrong ones. You'll learn to take fast and slow opportunities. When opportunity appears you'll be ready to take advantage, seize the day, and win at life.
Opportunity: Seize The Day. Win At Life.
by Rob MooreSuccess is all about spotting opportunities, acting with purpose, and taking advantage. This audiobook will ensure you're flexible, prepared and ready to win, when it counts.Are you waiting for that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change your life, change your business or change the world? How will you know when it comes? How will you be sure you're ready?This book is not about waiting for an opportunity that might never come. It's a book for right now containing ideas and strategies that can be employed right away, and will ensure that you attract opportunities, whether big or small, all the time. Successful people are sometimes lucky - but most of all they find success because they have trained their minds to identify great opportunities and make the most of them when they arrive, rather than freezing with uncertainty or lacking the vision to see them through. In this book Rob Moore, the bestselling author of MONEY, START NOW. GET PERFECT LATER and I'M WORTH MORE shows you how to elevate your emotional intelligence and decision making to ensure that when opportunity strikes you are ready to take advantage, seize the day, and win at life.When Opportunity knocks, you'll be ready.(P)2021 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Opposable Mind
by Roger L. MartinIf you want to be as successful as Jack Welch, Larry Bossidy, or Michael Dell, read their autobiographical advice books, right? Wrong, says Roger Martin in The Opposable Mind. Though following best practice can help in some ways, it also poses a danger: By emulating what a great leader did in a particular situation, you'll likely be terribly disappointed with your own results. Why? Your situation is different.Instead of focusing on what exceptional leaders do, we need to understand and emulate how they think. Successful businesspeople engage in what Martin calls integrative thinking creatively resolving the tension in opposing models by forming entirely new and superior ones. Drawing on stories of leaders as diverse as AG Lafley of Procter & Gamble, Meg Whitman of eBay, Victoria Hale of the Institute for One World Health, and Nandan Nilekani of Infosys, Martin shows how integrative thinkers are relentlessly diagnosing and synthesizing by asking probing questions including: What are the causal relationships at work here? and What are the implied trade-offs?Martin also presents a model for strengthening your integrative thinking skills by drawing on different kinds of knowledge including conceptual and experiential knowledge.Integrative thinking can be learned, and The Opposable Mind helps you master this vital skill.
Opposition by Imitation: The Economics of Italian Anti-Mafia Activism (Diverse Economies and Livable Worlds)
by Christina JerneDefying the mafia with everyday acts of resistance For more than 150 years, Italy has been home to a resilient and evolving resistance against the pervasive influence of mafias. While these criminal organizations are renowned for their vast international business enterprises, the collective actions taken to oppose them are less known. In Opposition by Imitation, Christina Jerne explores anti-mafia activism, revealing how ordinary people resist, counter, and prevent criminal economies from proliferating. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among anti-mafia alliances in Campania, Sicily, and other parts of Italy, Jerne details a particular aspect of mafia activities: providing cash relief and other forms of patronage to individuals and groups. Her research shows how activism has evolved to imitate this sustaining role. Activists are increasingly challenging mafia control both by creating alternative economies—from producing food that interrupts mafia labor practices to organizing tourism that supports anti-mafia hospitality—and by subversively adopting business tactics similar to the mafia&’s to compete with their social influence and legitimacy. Exposing the political implications of this mimetic opposition, Jerne points to its potential impact on crime prevention and criminalization, both in Italy and globally. Opposition by Imitation shows how these modern-day Robin Hoods are redefining collective action, taking what was controlled by the mafias and returning it to the collective. This contentious economic turn, against the backdrop of broader social movements, reveals significant political possibilities afforded by imitative opposition. Retail e-book files for this title are screen-reader friendly with images accompanied by short alt text and/or extended descriptions.
Oprah Winfrey
by Katherine Miller Nancy F. Koehn Erica Helms Rachel K. WilcoxThe case explores the entrepreneurial journey of Oprah Winfrey, examining how she built an audience for one of the most successful television shows in history; how she created the company, Harpo Productions, that produces that show as well as other media offerings; how she leads and manages her organization; and how she has chosen to use the authority and other fruits of success to make a significant social as well as business contribution. The case uses interviews with Winfrey and her team to analyze how the business model and strategy of the company has changed-in the context of a dynamic marketplace, rapid technological innovation and Winfrey's own evolving conception of her purpose and path.
Oprah!
by Andrew N. Mclean William W. GeorgeOprah Winfrey believed in sharing the experiences that shaped her development and enabled her to become the wealthiest women in the entertainment industry and first African American billionaire. Traces her childhood and entertainment career, drawing connections in Winfrey's own words between passages in her turbulent childhood, both beneficial and traumatic, that became keynote lessons for her talk-shop audience and later guided her business and philanthropic activities. Raises questions about the motivations behind a business career, the value of authenticity in leadership, and the origins of unique abilities.
Oprime refrescar: La aventura de redescubrir el alma de Mi
by Satya NadellaOprime refrescar es un conjunto de reflexiones, meditaciones y recomendaciones presentadas como algoritmos de parte de un líder con principios que busca el progreso para sí mismo, para una empresa con amplia trayectoria y para la sociedad.El CEO de Microsoft narra la historia de transformación constante desde dentro de la empresa, trazando su viaje personal desde su infancia en la India hasta dirigir algunos de los cambios tecnológicos más importantes de la era digital, y ofrece su visión para la era de tecnologías inteligentes que se avecina.Oprime refrescar habla del cambio individual, de la transformación que se está produciendo dentro de Microsoft y de la llegada de la ola de tecnología más emocionante y perturbadora que la humanidad ha experimentado hasta hoy, que incluye aspectos como la inteligencia artificial, la realidad mixta y la computación cuántica. Analiza cómo las personas, las organizaciones y las sociedades pueden y deben actualizarse en su búsqueda constante de nuevas energías, nuevas ideas, relevancia continua y reinvención. En esencia, el libro trata sobre los seres humanos y sobre cómo una de nuestras cualidades básicas, la empatía, será cada vez más valiosa en un mundo cuyo statu quo se verá trastornado como nunca antes por el avance tecnológico.Además de sus reflexiones sobre estos impresionantes avances científicos, Satya Nadella habla de su infancia antes de emigrar a Estados Unidos y de cómo aprendió a liderar durante el proceso. También comparte sus meditaciones al ocupar el cargo de CEO, siendo casi un desconocido que sucedía al inteligente Bill Gates y al dinámico Steve Ballmer. Explica cómo la compañía redescubrió su alma y lo transformó todo, desde su cultura y sus alianzas empresariales hasta el paisaje tremendamente competitivo de la industria.Nadella concluye estableciendo una ecuación para restaurar la confianza digital: principios éticos al diseñar la tecnología y crecimiento económico para todos.
Opt Out on Obamacare, Opt Into the Private Health Care Revolution
by John TorinusHeading into 2014, American businesses face an important decision about health care: Opt in or opt out? With the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, in effect, companies with more than 50 employees will either offer health care benefits or face penalties. And the choice isn't as straightforward as it may sound—in many instances, some companies could save money by paying the fines rather than funding a health care plan. Others would lose money if they dropped coverage. Most employers would like to offer the benefit, but it needs to be truly affordable. Fortunately, the stampede of innovations introduced in the private sector over the last decade has simplified the decision; health costs can be managed if corporate managers make it a strategic priority. John Torinus Jr., author of The Company That Solved Health Care, the eye-opening book detailing one company's game-changing health care program, now gives Opt Out on Obamacare, Opt Into the Private Health Care Revolution, a game plan for improving workforce health and dramatically lowering health costs. Unlike the new national law, it concentrates on management science, not politics. Innovative corporations have engaged their employees in taming the hyper-inflation that has plagued the health care industry for decades. CEOs, CFOs, and COOs in front-running companies are deploying management disciplines and marketplace principles to invent a better business model for health care. They are bending the curve, and this book shows you how to follow suit.
Optical Distortion, Inc. (A)
by Darrel G. Clarke Randall E. WiseA new product, contact lenses for chickens, is to be introduced by a small firm formed to market the product. An entry strategy must be planned including price, sales force, size, and location. Allows data for computation of economic benefit to farmers. Includes state-by-state chicken population data for planning a rollout sales program. Software for this case is available (9-588-539).
Optical Distortion, Inc. (C): The 1988 Reintroduction
by Patrick J. KaufmannIn 1988, Optical Distortion, Inc. was ready to reintroduce its only product, contact lenses for chickens. Tests had shown that the lenses significantly reduced bird aggression and feed costs, leading to potentially huge cost savings for egg producers. In the years since the (A) case, margins for egg producers had become so small that if a large producer could sustain a significant cost advantage, many small producers could be forced out of business. In this case the company's only salesperson must decide whether to concentrate on closing a sale to an aggressive major producer who may demand all the company's capacity for the next year, or to spend time spreading the word to smaller more vulnerable producers. In doing so, he faces the difficulty of convincing the farmers that cost savings which appear "too good to be true" are, in fact, real. The case is short and can be used in conjunction with Optical Distortion, Inc. (A). In addition to the ethical issues, it also raises issues of sales strategy and the diffusion of innovations, and can be used to examine negotiation strategies.
Optical Illusions: Lucent and the Crash of Telecom
by Lisa EndlichWhen Lucent Technologies was spun off from AT&T in 1996, the new company was full of promise. An old-line manufacturer, it quickly became a sizzling hot stock thanks to the emergence of the Internet and the build-up of telecommunications. The stock market was soaring, and Lucent flew with it. Within a few short years it became the sixth-largest corporation in America and the most widely held stock in the country. Yet only months later, Lucent was gasping for life, victim of the greatest stock-market bubble in history. Optical Illusionsis the story of a financially sound company steeped in world-class talent, dominant in one of the fastest-growing industries, that in the space of two years found itself downgraded to a junk-bond credit rating, under investigation by the SEC for its accounting practices, the value of its stock reduced to the price of a cup of coffee. Lisa Endlich tells the fascinating tale of the company that epitomized the misfortunes of the telecom industry, leaving investors and employees shocked and confused. In writing this book Endlich had access to more than a hundred people who played a role in the drama, as well as previously sealed courtroom documents. She explains how the conflicting styles of CEOs Henry Schacht and Rich McGinn contributed to Lucent's woes, and she shows how the loss of skilled executives such as Carly Fiorina hurt the company at a crucial moment. When it was all over, Schacht -- Lucent's first CEO, who was later brought back to right the listing ship -- acknowledged that Lucent had allowed itself to be swept up in the market mania, distorting its corporate values in the process. Although the stock-market mania of the late 1990s is remembered as "the Internet craze" or "the dot-com madness," asOptical Illusionsshows, the damage was more widespread and lasting. In fighting for its survival, Lucent laid off more than 70 percent of its employees, wrecking retirees' savings and investors' portfolios alike.
Optimal Control Applications for Operations Strategy
by Bowon KimThis book focuses on the applications of optimal control theory to operations strategy and supply chain management. It emphasizes the importance of optimal control theory as a tool to analyze and understand fundamental issues in the respective fields. Delving deeper, the book also elaborates on how optimal control theory provides managerial and economic insights, enabling readers to comprehend the dynamic activities and interactions in operations. Given that optimal control theory is not a dominant approach to studying operations management in the current literature, this book fills that gap by showing its effectiveness as a tool to supplement other methodologies in operations.
Optimal Control Theory and Static Optimization in Economics
by Daniel Leonard Ngo Van LongOptimal control theory is a technique being used increasingly by academic economists to study problems involving optimal decisions in a multi-period framework. This book is designed to make the difficult subject of optimal control theory easily accessible to economists while at the same time maintaining rigor. Economic intuition is emphasized, examples and problem sets covering a wide range of applications in economics are provided, theorems are clearly stated and their proofs are carefully explained. The development of the text is gradual and fully integrated, beginning with the simple formulations and progressing to advanced topics. Optimal control theory is introduced directly, without recourse to the calculus of variations, and the connection with the latter and with dynamic programming is explained in a separate chapter. Also, the book draws the parallel between optimal control theory and static optimization. No previous knowledge of differential equations is required.
Optimal Control Theory: Applications to Management Science and Economics
by Suresh P. SethiThis fully revised 3rd edition offers an introduction to optimal control theory and its diverse applications in management science and economics. It brings to students the concept of the maximum principle in continuous, as well as discrete, time by using dynamic programming and Kuhn-Tucker theory. While some mathematical background is needed, the emphasis of the book is not on mathematical rigor, but on modeling realistic situations faced in business and economics. The book exploits optimal control theory to the functional areas of management including finance, production and marketing and to economics of growth and of natural resources. In addition, this new edition features materials on stochastic Nash and Stackelberg differential games and an adverse selection model in the principal-agent framework. The book provides exercises for each chapter and answers to selected exercises to help deepen the understanding of the material presented. Also included are appendices comprised of supplementary material on the solution of differential equations, the calculus of variations and its relationships to the maximum principle, and special topics including the Kalman filter, certainty equivalence, singular control, a global saddle point theorem, Sethi-Skiba points, and distributed parameter systems.Optimal control methods are used to determine optimal ways to control a dynamic system. The theoretical work in this field serves as a foundation for the book, which the author has applied to business management problems developed from his research and classroom instruction. The new edition has been completely refined and brought up to date. Ultimately this should continue to be a valuable resource for graduate courses on applied optimal control theory, but also for financial and industrial engineers, economists, and operational researchers concerned with the application of dynamic optimization in their fields.
Optimal Control Theory: Applications to Management Science and Economics (Springer Texts in Business and Economics)
by Suresh P. SethiThis new 4th edition offers an introduction to optimal control theory and its diverse applications in management science and economics. It introduces students to the concept of the maximum principle in continuous (as well as discrete) time by combining dynamic programming and Kuhn-Tucker theory. While some mathematical background is needed, the emphasis of the book is not on mathematical rigor, but on modeling realistic situations encountered in business and economics. It applies optimal control theory to the functional areas of management including finance, production and marketing, as well as the economics of growth and of natural resources. In addition, it features material on stochastic Nash and Stackelberg differential games and an adverse selection model in the principal-agent framework. Exercises are included in each chapter, while the answers to selected exercises help deepen readers’ understanding of the material covered. Also included are appendices of supplementary material on the solution of differential equations, the calculus of variations and its ties to the maximum principle, and special topics including the Kalman filter, certainty equivalence, singular control, a global saddle point theorem, Sethi-Skiba points, and distributed parameter systems. Optimal control methods are used to determine optimal ways to control a dynamic system. The theoretical work in this field serves as the foundation for the book, in which the author applies it to business management problems developed from his own research and classroom instruction. The new edition has been refined and updated, making it a valuable resource for graduate courses on applied optimal control theory, but also for financial and industrial engineers, economists, and operational researchers interested in applying dynamic optimization in their fields.
Optimal Control and Optimization of Stochastic Supply Chain Systems
by Dong-Ping SongOptimal Control and Optimization of Stochastic Supply Chain Systems examines its subject the context of the presence of a variety of uncertainties. Numerous examples with intuitive illustrations and tables are provided, to demonstrate the structural characteristics of the optimal control policies in various stochastic supply chains and to show how to make use of these characteristics to construct easy-to-operate sub-optimal policies. In Part I, a general introduction to stochastic supply chain systems is provided. Analytical models for various stochastic supply chain systems are formulated and analysed in Part II. In Part III the structural knowledge of the optimal control policies obtained in Part II is utilized to construct easy-to-operate sub-optimal control policies for various stochastic supply chain systems accordingly. Finally, Part IV discusses the optimisation of threshold-type control policies and their robustness. A key feature of the book is its tying together of the complex analytical models produced by the requirements of operational practice, and the simple solutions needed for implementation. The analytical models and theoretical analysis propounded in this monograph will be of benefit to academic researchers and graduate students looking at logistics and supply chain management from standpoints in operations research or industrial, manufacturing, or control engineering. The practical tools and solutions and the qualitative insights into the ideas underlying functional supply chain systems will be of similar use to readers from more industrially-based backgrounds.
Optimal Control of Age-structured Populations in Economy, Demography, and the Environment (Routledge Explorations In Environmental Economics Ser. #29)
by Natali Hritonenko Yuri Yatsenko Raouf BoucekkineThis book covers a wide range of topics within mathematical modelling and the optimization of economic, demographic, technological and environmental phenomena. Each chapter is written by experts in their field and represents new advances in modelling theory and practice. These essays are exemplary of the fruitful interaction between theory and practice when exploring global and local changes. The unifying theme of the book is the use of mathematical models and optimization methods to describe age-structured populations in economy, demography, technological change, and the environment. Emphasis is placed on deterministic dynamic models that take age or size structures, delay effects, and non-standard decision variables into account. In addition, the contributions deal with the age structure of assets, resources, and populations under study. Interdisciplinary modelling has enormous potential for discovering new insights in global and regional development. Optimal Control of Age-structured Populations in Economy, Demography, and the Environment is a rich and excellent source of information on state-of-the-art modelling expertise and references. The book provides the necessary mathematical background for readers from different areas, such as applied sciences, management sciences and operations research, which helps guide the development of practical models. As well as this the book also surveys the current practice in applied modelling and looks at new research areas for a general mathematical audience. This book will be of interest primarily to researchers, postgraduate students, as well as a wider scientific community, including those focussing on the subjects of applied mathematics, environmental sciences, economics, demography, management, and operations research.
Optimal Currency Areas and the Euro, Volume I: Business Cycles Synchronization
by Peter Alfons Schmid Johannes Kabderian DreyerThis book analyses business cycles synchronization in the Euro Area (EA), one of the 3 criteria that define Optimal Currency Areas (OCAs). Even before its launch, economists questioned whether the EA has what it takes to become an OCA. The onset of the sovereign debt crisis in 2010 confirmed the challenges relating to its construction. But did the EA change over time, and what key drivers may be necessary in the future to strengthen the common currency?
Optimal Currency Areas and the Euro, Volume II: Capital and Labor Mobility
by Peter Alfons Schmid Johannes Kabderian DreyerThis book is the second of three volumes that uses the theory of Optimal Currency Areas (OCAs) and applied econometric techniques to provide the reader with a compact analysis of the Euro area, its evolution and future perspectives. Each volume of the series is dedicated to one of the three critical criteria for an OCA: 1) business cycle synchronization, 2) factor mobility and 3) the existence of a risk sharing system. This second volume deals with the criterion of factor mobility. The authors investigate and discuss whether there are signs of labor and capital mobility that have helped dampen economic shocks among the regions of the Euro during its short history. The book is of interest to a wide range of researchers in financial economics, macroeconomics and economic policy.
Optimal Design of Queueing Systems
by Shaler Stidham Jr.The First Comprehensive Book on the SubjectFocusing on the underlying structure of a system, Optimal Design of Queueing Systems explores how to set the parameters of a queueing system, such as arrival and service rates, before putting it into operation. It considers various objectives, comparing individually optimal (Nash equilibrium), socially opt
Optimal Distinctiveness: A New Agenda for the Study of Competitive Positioning of Organizations and Markets (Elements in Organization Theory)
by Eric Yanfei ZhaoOptimal distinctiveness – being both 'similar to' and 'different from' peers – is an important imperative of organizational life and represents a common research question of organizational scholars across various disciplinary domains such as strategy, organization theory, entrepreneurship, and international business. This Element reviews the historical grounding and recent development of optimal distinctiveness scholarship, based on which an orienting framework is proposed to stress the highly contextualized and dynamic nature of optimal distinctiveness. The orienting framework provides several powerful and unique angles for understanding organizations' competitive positioning in various types of markets, for applying optimal distinctiveness research to different levels of analysis, and for nurturing a more cross-disciplinary and mutually generative conversation on optimal distinctiveness theory.