Knowledgecast (Audio version)

INSEAD research suggests the best returns come from companies who never make the news.

Innovation makes millionaires and undermines monopolies. It raises the profitability of companies and puts a premium on the shares of the most successful. But how can companies foster it? New research by INSEAD Professor Hal Gregersen sheds light on the innovation process and how firms can tap into it to raise their performance and their share price.

New corporate governance strictures are making way for women on corporate boards. But how to find suitable candidates? And what do women really add to the board room?

Africa is turning the page on 50 years of over-reliance on Western economies, thanks to strengthening trade and investment links with emerging countries like China, India, Turkey and oil-rich countries in the Middle East. And although the continent’s economic growth will be hit this year by the turmoil in North Africa, analysts say prospects for sub-Saharan Africa are brighter than they have been for some time.

Strong headwinds are challenging Spain’s largest wind turbine manufacturer despite a surging demand for renewable power. Gamesa’s CTO discusses its emerging markets expansion, new technologies and the outlook for offshore, and rising competition in the rapidly evolving wind energy sector.

There’s one thing about innovation: you never know where you’ll find it. A new report shows that there’s an abundance of innovation in Latin America that more than compensates for the region’s information technology challenges.

Business models help support strategic goals, but too often executives don't inject them with the necessary dose of creativity to bring about real success, according to new research by two INSEAD professors.

Most start-up companies allocate a hefty budget for advertising and marketing at the beginning, especially when they have lofty goals of capturing market share. But an Indian online travel start-up has proven the unthinkable: you can do it all by word-of-mouth and not spend a penny on advertising.

The arrest of former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in New York is the latest in a long list of assaults on the EU and the Euro. INSEAD political science professor Douglas Webber opines on the status and future of it all.

Thomas Huertas of the Financial Services Authority, regulator of the financial services industry in the UK, is a firm believer that better regulation will avoid a repetition of the recent financial meltdown.

When the new government swept into power in the UK, the mandate seemed clear: Get out of debt fast. Now, it's not so easy.

The road to success is littered with the wreckage of strategies gone awry. Here is a six-step stress test for your strategy.

INSEAD professor of finance Theo Vermaelen makes a case for his own version of convertible capital as the panacea to government bailouts when banks fail.

The UAE finds itself caught between being the centre of economic opportunity in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and at the same time surrounded by the political turmoil in the Middle East. Elaine Jones, CEO of Asteco Property Management, assesses the opportunities and impediments for UAE's real estate recovery.

Take a stroll down London's Old Bond Street or Milan's Via Montenapoleone and you will see the latest offerings of Chanel and Gucci. Hop over to Oxford Street or Corso Vittorio Emanuele, and you will discover the window displays of H&M and Zara are exhibiting pretty much the same designs. Guess which is flush with cash? INSEAD Assistant Professor, Frederic Godart, has some surprising predictions as to which way this lucrative market is heading.