The McKinsey Quarterly articles from June 2002

The McKinsey Quarterly archives from June 2002

Give Alliances Their Due. (This Quarter)
June 22, 2002... Corporate alliances have never been more popular. Their numbers have grown by more than 20 percent a year over the past two decades, while the way they are used has changed dramatically: the cross-border and technology agreements of the 1980s...

CRM in the Air. (Current Research)
June 22, 2002... In the 1980s, airlines introduced frequent-flyer programs to increase the loyalty of their customers, thereby pioneering a new approach to marketing that has come to be known, more broadly, as customer relationship management. Today, CRM...

Equity Trading's Future in Europe. (Current Research)
June 22, 2002... In Europe, as elsewhere, 2000 was a truly spectacular year for equity trading. In France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, the industry as a whole made profits of [euro]6.6 billion ($6.02 billion). (1) But 2001 was an equally...

The Numbers Behind On-Line Profits. (Snapshot)
June 22, 2002... Thousands of Internet retailers, undone by their own flawed business models, have closed shop during the past three years. But not every such company shut its doors. A 2001 McKinsey study of more than 120 Asian, European, and North American...

Wholesale Moves in China. (Snapshot)
June 22, 2002... With China now in the World Trade Organization (WTO), the wholesaling landscape is changing. Foreign trading companies, retailers, and consumer products companies will find plenty of opportunities to generate larger profits later in this...

Patent profits. (Toolbox).
June 22, 2002... Much has been made in the business press of the potential value of the patents and proprietary processes lying fallow in many companies. One of the success stories in this respect it IBM, which in 2000 generated $1.8 billion - 16 percent of...

A Premium for Good Governance. (Corporate Governance)
June 22, 2002... Does good governance pay? In theory, it should increase the market valuation of companies by improving their financial performance, reducing the risk that boards will make self-serving decisions, and generally raising investor confidence....

Better Boards in Thailand. (Corporate Governance)
June 22, 2002... Investors pay a premium for the shares of well-governed companies in Thailand, as they do for the shares of such companies in other emerging markets (see 'A premium for good governance," on page 20). In our study of the 100 largest companies...

A market for the well governed. (Corporate Governance).(small and midsize companies that follow strict governance requirements perform better on stock market)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 2002... Italy's small and midsize companies have historically been overlooked by fund managers, who are wary of their low liquidity and poor standards of governance. In an effort to allay these concerns, the Mercato Italiano di Borsa, Italy's stock...

Managing an Alliance Portfolio: Large Companies Often Have Dozens of Alliances-And Little Idea How They Are Performing
June 22, 2002... As corporations have evolved from command-and-control structures with sharply defined boundaries into loosely knit organizations, corporate alliances (1) have become central to many business models. Most large companies now have at least 30...

Tomorrow's Cars, Today's Engines: That Fabulous Invalid the Internal-Combustion Engine Is Very Far from Dead
June 22, 2002... The internal-combustion engine was synonymous with the automobile throughout the 20th century. But its future is now at risk, since it faces competition from both the hybrid gasoline- and diesel-electric engine (that is, the hybrid) and from...

Roadside Retail in China: To Make Money from the Expansion of the Chinese Market, Most Oil Companies Will Have to Sell Much More Than Gasoline
June 22, 2002... China's automotive market is predicted to be the third largest in the world by 2008.1 The accompanying growth in demand for gasoline and related car fuel products--combined with government plans to deregulate the sector and the need to...

A Value Culture for Agriculture: To Become High-Performing Businesses, Agricultural Co-Ops Must Move Away from Their Traditional Role as Service Providers
June 22, 2002... Despite the $1.5 trillion a year that agriculture and the activities associated with it bring to the US economy--fully 16 percent of GDP--much of the industry is destroying value. The problem is not only the agricultural boom-and-bust cycle...

A Hard Turnaround for Software: Software Companies Caught in a Downward Spiral Find It Exceptionally Difficult to Escape. Yet a Determined Few Succeed
June 22, 2002... While executing a turnaround in any industry can be a difficult task, digging a software business out of trouble is a Herculean one. Certain product, financial, and labor market forces unique to the sector reinforce one another when a...

Making More of Pharma's Sales Force: Pharmaceutical Companies Have Lost Their Focus on Doctors. the Key to Higher Sales Is Regaining It
June 22, 2002... US pharmaceutical companies have for decades relied on the "pinball wizard" sales model: sales representatives bounce from one doctor's office to another in hopes of catching a few moments with physicians and influencing which drugs they...

The Unexpected Return of B2B: Suppliers Put off by Open Business-to-Business Exchanges Might Find That the Newly Emerging Private Ones Offer a Better Deal-As Well as Four Ways to Play
June 22, 2002... Business-to-business (B2B) exchanges are making a comeback--though not everyone is cheering. Burned by pricing and other concessions and still waiting to see the promised volume and liquidity levels, many suppliers are wary of further...

The Secret Life of Factory Service Centers: For a Lucrative New Source of Revenues, Profits, and Market Information, Manufacturers Need Look No Further Than Their Own Repair Shops
June 22, 2002... A few miles off Interstate 696, outside Detroit, the factory service center of a consumer goods company blends easily into the commercial landscape. The seven people who work at the customer support site sell parts, refurbished products, and...

Europe's Banks: Vergin on Merging; in the Coming Wave of Cross-Border Consolidation, Banks That Keep Their Potential Specialties in Mind Will Probably Do Better in the Long Term Than Those That Rush Headlong into the First Available Deal
June 22, 2002... Any moment now, bankers in Europe expect a wave of cross-border deals among its many universal banks. (1) But no such wave has come yet, and for good reason: because of differences among Europe's national banking markets, regulations, and...

Travel Tips for Retailers: Three Strategies Can Help Retailers Expand Abroad. the Trick Is to Choose the One That Best Suits Your Particular Ambitions and Your Starting Point
June 22, 2002... Retailing was once a stay-at-home sector. A few retailers, such as Benetton and IKEA, seemed to travel well, taking their distinctive brands far and wide. But most were content to grow at home. Universally appealing product assortments are...

Taking Tesco Global: David Reid, Deputy Chairman of the United Kingdom's Largest Grocer, Explains the Company's International Strategy. (Interview)
June 22, 2002... Many retailers have tried and failed to establish themselves outside their home markets. Likewise, some retailers have gone astray trying to exploit Internet shopping. As a result, Tesco, the United Kingdom's biggest grocer, has attracted...

What Germans Really Think. (A Closing View)
June 22, 2002... The people are ready for change and for the tough decisions needed to push the economy. Their leaders now have a chance to engage them in a serious dialogue about economic reform and revival. Germany, once the home of the Wirtschaftswunder...