Research & publications

Where Have All the 10-Year Strategies Gone?
Short-term planning is the strategy of choice for many leaders as they fixate on keeping up with the speed of change in uncertain times. The real winners, however, are those that keep a cool head and combine short-term thinking with a long-term view.
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The A.T. Kearney Strategy Chessboard
Dozens of schools and frameworks claim to be the best for strategy development. The A.T. Kearney Strategy Chessboard helps select the right one for the right situation.
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"Home-Grown" CEO
Business leaders who achieve extraordinary short-term financial gains for their companies often become celebrities. But how does a company secure long-term value for their shareholders, and how does this correlate with CEO leadership? More specifically, what do we know about the importance of effective succession management?
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Family Business in the GCC: Putting Your House in Order
GCC family businesses can double their profitability with better governance and planning, and an improved understanding of their core capabilities.
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Pulling the Capex Lever
How much a company spends and where it should be spent is a fundamental question that must be answered in a radically different way.
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When the Trend Is Not Your Friend
While we're reminded to "expect the unexpected," we continue to focus on trends and forecasts. How often are companies overtaken by unforeseen events? Anything from a food scare to a hurricane can cause a profound change in the business environment. Whether such shifts are good or bad, they all offer a lesson.
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Recovering Markets, Revised Ambitions
In the wake of a global real estate crisis, what is the next move for developers active in emerging countries?
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Smart Cost-Cutting
A sustainable restructuring plan can reduce short-term uncertainty while taking advantage of long-term opportunities.
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Business Wargaming
In today’s uncertain business environment, traditional strategic planning tools may no longer be sufficient. Business wargaming can help decision-makers prepare their companies for special situations that are not in line with well-known trends or past experience.
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Battle Plans for a Downturn
On the battlefield of a major economic downturn, do you go on defense, hunkering down until the battle ends? Or offense, attacking first and fast to capitalize on competitors' weaknesses? The right answer is not to answer — at least not until you've examined all competitive positions.
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How to Survive the Economic Storm
No time to wait for the economy to work its way out of the Crash of 2008. You still have a business to run.
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Growth for Its Own Sake Is ... Overrated>
A strategy of growth for its own sake is an addiction that's hard to break - and overrated, because it's not necessarily attuned to the actual drivers of profitable long-term growth. In fact, too much unchecked growth can sometimes destroy the very elements that make some corporations succeed.
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Future-Proofing the Company Against Risk
As companies build more relationships up and down an increasingly global value chain, their risk management strategies cannot be merely preventive, defensive, reactive or just compliant. The best strategies assess the peril and potential of every business decision.
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Designing the Leveraged Organization
Is the strategic business unit a thing of the past? Companies are increasingly leaving it behind to pursue new modular opportunities for growth— cross-unit synergies, strategic alliances and outsourcing. The danger is, however, that so many different directions can wreak havoc on the corporate strategy.
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Are You More Capable Than Your Competitors Are Ruthless?
In a competitive world, the best players win by setting the terms by which others must compete. Long-term success often suffers when competitors seize advantage by rewriting the rules. How should you react when the game suddenly changes?
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The Inside Story on Organic Growth
While many companies look to external factors to sustain growth, the leaders know that internal actions are the most effective. No matter the industry or business climate, every company has the internal resources to propel its organization to unprecedented levels of organic growth.
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The New Global Champions: Road to Glory Leads to Emerging Markets
The A.T. Kearney Global Champions 2008, identified from the world’s 2,500 largest companies operating internationally, have not only successfully balanced global expansion and value growth, they’ve also clearly outperformed their peers and the market.
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Beating the Global Consolidation Endgame: Nine Strategies for Winning in Niches
Based on 15 years of extensive research, this book is an action guide for niche companies around the world that aim to claim the 30-40% of global revenues not governed by global
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The Inside Story on Organic Growth
While many companies look to external factors to sustain growth, the leaders know that internal actions are the most effective. No matter the industry or business climate, every company has the internal resources to propel its organization to unprecedented levels of organic growth.
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Building the Optimal Global Footprint
It is no longer a question of offshore versus onshore, or here versus there. Today, there is just one global market to tap into.
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World Out of Balance: Navigating Global Risk to Seize Competitive Advantage
A dynamic approach to survival and success in a rapidly changing business world.
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Stretch! How Great Companies Grow In Good Times and Bad
Based on in-depth case studies and analysis of some 29,000 global companies over 14 years, Stretch! combines hard data, fresh ideas and practical guidance on achieving real growth in any economy.
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A Dangerous Time to Be a Niche Player
Friendly and unfriendly takeovers are around every corner, and it doesn't take an acquisition to put a niche company out of business. This excerpt, from Beating the Global Consolidation Endgame: Nine Strategies for Winning in Niches (McGraw-Hill, 2008), offers tips for surviving industry consolidation.
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