This book identifies and addresses the seven transformation journeys that are reshaping corporations today.
It integrates and builds on the collective experience and learning of IMD’s professors, who work directly with many organizations around the world and observe their transformation struggles at close range.
By taking a holistic and interdisciplinary view of how organizations are transforming themselves, IMD’s faculty accompany global executives – as individuals and as leaders of global corporations – on their transformation journeys.
Axiom Business Book Awards 2015
Category: International Business/Globalization
Gold medal
Category: International Business/Globalization
Gold medal
Leadership Thinking - Turbulent Business
Summary
To navigate a turbulent business environment, CEOs must understand their landscape and align leadership thinking priorities, advises IMD’s Michael Watkins.
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Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
CO-RO (B): Weathering the storm
Summary
Case B describes the unprecedented challenges faced by CO-RO in 2020. The implementation of the sugar tax in its largest Middle Eastern market led to a near 50% volume drop in CO-RO’s sales, and Covid-19 lockdowns impacted the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region in particular. These events led to a dramatic drop in net sales and gross profit, forcing CO-RO to re-evaluate its growth strategy and implement cost-saving measures. By 2022, CO-RO faced further challenges with global supply chain disruptions and inflation due to the war in Ukraine. This required strategic decisions to stabilize and ensure future growth amid ongoing external pressures.
Reference
IMD-7-2640
Copyright
©2025
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Organization
CO-RO Group
Industry
Consumer Goods, Food and Beverage
Available Languages
English
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
CO-RO (A): Storm clouds forming
Summary
The CO-RO Group is a manufacturer of fruit-based still drinks, concentrates and ambient ice (home-freeze popsicles) headquartered in Denmark. Although production takes place in Denmark, most of its products are sold internationally, with the company relying on long-term local partners to convert and market the finished products. Historically, the company focused on markets in which fruit-based drinks were rare, which led to steady growth in line with GDP and population increases; 70% of sales and 80% of profits came from the Middle East. Set between 2015 and 2019, Case A describes the company’s “Shape for Growth” strategy, which aimed to reduce over-reliance on key markets and resulted in new market entries and over 150 new products. This strategy also mitigated the effects of the 2014-2016 oil price crisis. However, in 2019, Saudi Arabia’s announcement of a 50% sugar tax on sweetened beverages threatened to significantly reduce market volumes.
Reference
IMD-7-2590
Copyright
©2025
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Organization
CO-RO Group
Industry
Consumer Goods, Food and Beverage
Available Languages
English
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
TBC Group: Future proofing a history of success
Summary
The case explores TBC Bank Group’s remarkable journey from a small Georgian bank to a regional leader in digital financial services across Central Asia. Founded in 1992 with just US$500 in initial capital, TBC evolved into Georgia’s largest financial institution and pioneered into digital banking. The case highlights TBC’s strategic expansion into Uzbekistan, where it rapidly built a leading digital banking ecosystem. Students will analyze TBC’s international growth approach as it transformed customer experience, leveraged technology and built a sustainable competitive advantage through product diversification, strong organizational culture and operational agility. The case explores international market entry, digital transformation and aligning strategies with local market needs, highlighting how TBC’s focus on innovation drives its regional expansion.
Reference
IMD-2651
Copyright
©2025
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Organization
TBC Bank Group
Industry
Finance and Insurance, Banking
Available Languages
English
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Boosting and sustaining operational excellence
Summary
The case explores the principles and challenges of operational excellence through the experience of Magdi Batato, former EVP of Operations at Nestlé. It examines how he implemented Mission-Directed Work Teams (MDWTs) to empower front-line workers,...
Reference
IMD-2653
Copyright
©2025
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Organization
Nestlé
Industry
Consumer Goods, Food and Beverage;Consumer Goods
Available Languages
English
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Technical change, jobs, and wages in the global economy
Summary
This paper presents a compact and intuitive framework that consolidates, simplifies, and extends results on the links between technology, trade, and labour market outcomes. It makes three main contributions. First, it presents closed-form solution...
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Nestlé Health Science: Building a healthy future towards 2030
Summary
The board of Nestlé S.A. announced that Anna Mohl would become the CEO of Nestlé Health Science (NHSc) — a global leader in nutritional science — on 1 January 2024. She was delighted to hear about her new position but knew there was little time to...
Reference
IMD-7-2636
Copyright
©2025
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Organization
Nestlé Health Science
Industry
Healthcare, Health and Medical Services;Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals
Available Languages
English
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
ABN AMRO (A): When culture drives transformation
Summary
The case describes two transformation journeys for ABN AMRO bank. The first transformation is cultural and the second is digital. It explores the interplay between these two journeys from the perspective of the head of the Personal Banking. The case goes into detail regarding how the bank rebuilt its internal operating model. The hierarchy was de-layered and replaced with agile ways of working, employee empowerment and a new performance management approach. At first, there was a lot of chaos, but, after some time for adjustment, benefits started to appear, such as higher NPS scores and improved financial results. The new approach also helped the bank cope with the Covid-19 pandemic as many of the changes were linked to remote working for employees and technology-mediated service provision for customers. The case also explores new challenges that appeared. While some teams embraced the new ways of working, others had trouble letting go of legacy approaches. There were inconsistencies and confusion around performance measurement. Despite improving performance in some areas, multifunctional teams were not necessarily delivering the best customer experiences. Sick leave was increasing, and there were signs that employee engagement was falling. The reader is placed in the shoes of the head of Personal Banking who must come up with solutions to these challenges.
Reference
IMD-7-2192
Copyright
©2025
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Organization
ABN AMRO
Industry
Finance and Insurance, Banking
Available Languages
English
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
ABN AMRO (B): The challenge of scaling self-organization
Summary
The B case picks up at the end of Case A. It’s now autumn 2022. Klaas Ariaans and Eric Jones, leaders within ABN AMRO’s Personal and Business Banking Division had been reflecting on the success of self-organization in their divisions. This new wor...
Reference
IMD-7-2439
Copyright
©2025
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Organization
ABN AMRO
Industry
Finance and Insurance, Banking
Available Languages
English
Contact
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Beyond foresight; Imagining distant futures
Summary
As uncertainty grows, organizations must rethink how they navigate a volatile world. Rather than relying solely on scenario planning based on historical data, organizations could take a more proactive approach—imagining and shaping distant futures...
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Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications