Today's global enterprises face a profound dilemma: They cannot compete without networks to access resources or markets. In fact, networks are proving to be an extraordinary source of value creation: one that is permanently transforming the very nature of the organization. However, these immensely powerful networks present equally large risks - as has been proven in events ranging from China's toxic milk scandal to the United States' toxic asset collapse. In this book, more than 50 of the world's most innovative business thinkers take on the #1 challenge faced by today's large organizations: the challenge of managing and leveraging networks. Renowned Wharton Business School innovators Jerry Wind and Paul Kleindorfer have brought together 28 new essays that identify the core challenges businesses face in a networked world; reveal the business implications of emerging information-based, social, and biological networks; and guide businesses in leveraging networks for innovation. Executives will find actionable insights for optimizing organizational structure, promoting internal and external coordination, mitigating risk, and -- above all -- increasing long-term profitability. They will find indispensable knowledge for managing everything from supply chains to social networks, leadership to strategy, IT to terrorism and infectious disease. This book won't just transform the way business leaders think about networks: it will transform the way they build, use, and profit from them.
