Editorial

Citation

(2010), "Editorial", Strategic Direction, Vol. 26 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/sd.2010.05626faa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Strategic Direction, Volume 26, Issue 6

The topic of our special issue for 2010 is business and the recession. In this issue we will look at some of the ways that businesses have had to adapt their strategy in order to remain competitive in challenging times.

Our Viewpoint article comes from Jim Watson, the Managing Director of Shred Easy, and Rachael Richards, and discusses how businesses within the UK have been affected by economic downturn. Our first review article: “Silver linings of recession clouds” looks at what positive messages can come from the recession, and how companies can look changing the way they do business to improve their competitive edge. In our second review piece: “Winning new markets in the economic decline”, we look at the case study of Lodha, an Indian luxury real estate firm that responded to the economic crisis by moving into new markets. Our third piece: “Business as usual“, provides us with a framework of strategic behaviours which can assist organizations in their survival, and also looks at the public sector’s role in the economic recovery.

The first of two interviews for this issue is with David Rhodes and Daniel Stelter, Managing Directors at the Boston Consulting Group, and authors of Accelerating out of the Great Recession, which presents new models for business leadership, and offers some sage advice on how organizations can create opportunities following the economic downturn. “Clothing Vault shows its style” reviews an innovative strategy used by a web-based clothing vault to outdo their competition, and is followed by an interesting look at what economists think “the new normal” may be in the aftermath of the recession in “Peaks and troughs on the way to recovery”.

In “Ten tips from turnaround strategies for sound financial management” we are offered some guidance on the practices that managers can adopt to successfully turnaround their organization, and our final article: “Leading out of the recession” looks at the role of leaders in times of extreme pressure. Our second interview, with Don Sull, Professor of Management Practice in Strategic and International Management at London Business School provides some interesting insights into the different tactics that organizations adopt to survive turbulent times; something which is discussed in more detail in his 2009 publication: The Upside of Turbulence.

Much of what this issue has highlighted is that times of crisis can present opportunities for businesses to improve their organizational systems; review managerial and leadership potential; reward talent, and maximize the resources available to them.