Meeting Mintzberg --and thinking again about management education

Henry Mintzberg's contribution to management theory is summarised as a classification of managerial decisionmaking which distinguishes between analysis and intuition. We are also taken through Mintzberg's deeper and broader concerns with organisations and management education. Against a background of the development of management theory, particularly with its "cameralist" (statistical and scientific) tradition, John-Christopher Spender sets out Mintzberg's lessons for management educators. They are: recognising intuition and pursuing "all-round" knowledge, seeking an active organisational balance, and incorporating social and ethical issues in management.

What do managers really do for their organizations?

Organisation theories imply managerial functions. As classical organisation theory has been extended through systems thinking and the human relations work, so the implicit managerial function has been much extended. Simon's criticism of the rational model of decision making and Williamson's work on the relationship between organisational and market activity extends the managerial function further. Closer attention to the analysis of uncertainty by Knight and Barnard shows that managers must also bring their judgement to bear on their decision-making. The resulting full typology of managerial tasks is displayed as the Strategic Balance Matrix.

Startups and open innovation: a review of the literature

Purpose: Startup companies represent a powerful engine of open innovation (OI) processes. The purpose of this paper is to represent a first step in building a map of the state-of-the-art knowledge of the “startups in an OI context” phenomenon. Through the selection and analysis of relevant literature, this study aims at deepening our understanding of the theme and at providing directions for future research. Design/methodology/approach: By using an explicit method for the review (Pittaway et al., 2004) the authors selected a set of papers, which cover the knowledge domain object of this study. In total, 41 articles about “startups and OI” have been selected and the full papers have been analysed. Findings: The analysed literature has been synthesized in seven sub-topics, which have been evaluated as the most relevant in explaining the phenomenon of startups in relation to OI. Implications for research, for managers and for policy makers conclude the paper. Practical implications: The review produced valuable knowledge for both managers and policy decision-makers. The paper allows a better understanding of the role of startups in OI processes. This improved understanding can help managers of large firms as well as policy makers involved in OI in making their decisions. Besides, implications of OI strategies for startup managers have been singled-out. Originality/value: Startup companies are intrinsically open organizations, necessarily engaged in innovation processes. Research at the intersection between the themes of OI and startups is gaining momentum. This review of the literature represents the first attempt to organize the scientific knowledge related to the intersection between the startups and OI phenomena systematicall