What every entrepreneur should know about growing his business: Six insights from our experts

Vlerick business experts work across all sectors and with businesses at many different stages of growth. They are renowned in the fields of finance, strategy, entrepreneurship, people and reward management, and many more. In this paper our 6 Vlerick experts each give one key insight for growing your business

Governance: The art of aligning interests. Liber Amicorum Lutgart Van den Berghe

In this paper we argue that the outperformance of family listed firms is not a result of the ownership difference per se, but the combination between the characteristics of such ownership, entrepreneurial drive and multi-generational time horizon amongst others, on the one hand and the fiduciary quality of the company's governance context, both at the country level and ultimately at the company level on the other hand

Rebranding as fuel for growth

Many companies have introduced the supply chain function in their organisation. Little attention, however, is devoted to the way the supply chain function is organised, e.g. the range of responsibilities it has, the position it occupies in the hierarchy and the skills it requires. The literature on this is scarce. This paper provides initial benchmarking data on company decisions regarding the roles and responsibilities of their supply chain managers and how the various supply chain tasks are coordinated and integrated. Our empirical study in the food, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries shows that differences in supply chain organisational structures are not random. We find that the way the supply chain function is organised seems to depend on the industry and its complexity and, we might speculate, on the strategy of the organisation. By highlighting and trying to explain these differences, we hope to raise top management awareness regarding the structuring options for their supply chain function and the importance of this issue for the organisation

The acquisition and integration of Zanussi by Electrolux : A case study

The story of the acquisition of Zanussi by Electrolux, a process begun in 1983, is a classic success one involving an aggressively acquisitive company growing strategically in a difficult industry. Although Zanussi was not targetted, the troubled Italian producer was a very good fit for the expansion of Electrolux in Europe. This prize-winning Case Study recounts the acquisition, turnaround and post-acquisition management of the Zanussi organization in all its aspects which gave Electrolux a clear lead in the major appliance industry in the '80s.

Strategy and performance management at DSM

The case describes the strategic planning process and performance management system implemented at DSM, a global chemical company. In particular, it describes how the company's value based business steering system is designed to create alignment between strategy formulation and execution through strategic value contracts. The case illustrates the performance management process in action at one of the business groups. It highlights managers' dilemma between continuing to pursue the current business strategy which is in line with corporate strategy, versus responding to the financial pressures exerted by the new value based management approach which would require a radical change in strategy. The case allows students to discuss the various elements of DSM's value based management (VBM)-inspired strategy and performance management processes, and how they impact one of the business groups' efforts to improve performance. The class can analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the company's approach to aligning its strategic planning and financial management processes by introducing strategic value contracts. Finally, the case shows how DSM distinguishes between performance indicators to monitor strategy implementation, and value drivers to measure economic value creation