Research

Once best known for making computers and selling them to corporations and government entities around the world, IBM refocused on technical support and professional services in the 1990s, in the process becoming the leading edge of a change that has swept manufacturing companies.

Xerox still makes copy machines, sells toner and fixes broken office equipment. But its fastest growing segment does not market a physical product.

The home-equity loan industry is crowded with competitors, making it tough for mortgage companies to hang onto market share — much less grow revenue, according to Brad Connor, president of Chase Home Equity, who recently spoke at the 18th Annual Compete Through Service Symposium, sponsored by the

Chris Zane goes to work every day with a smile on his face, buoyed by his philosophy that "most of the population are good and sound and trustworthy people." Sound naïve? Perhaps. But Zane apparently knows what he's talking about.

How much are we willing to pay today to reduce the ill effects of climate change in the future?

Under pressure from activist investors, fast food restaurant chain Wendy's International has been exploring options, including selling off the whole company, as a way to unlock value for shareholders.

Companies that attempt strategic change without considering organizational culture risk failure, according to management Professor Angelo Kinicki of the W. P. Carey School of Business. When culture is not aligned with strategy, he explains, culture wins every time.

It looks like a recipe for a customer-service nightmare: A company offers a product that is inconsistent, the frontline employees are mostly part-timers who don't work directly for the organization, and many of the customers have been drinking alcohol.

The dollar has been in sharp decline in recent months — the greenback is now worth less than the Canadian dollar, and against the euro, it has lost 60 percent of its value since 2001. A doomsday scenario has the U.S.

Despite dire predictions that the price of oil, the recent credit crisis and the ailing housing market will bring the U.S. economy to its knees, one prominent economist has faith in its resilience. Dr. Ken Mayland, recipient of the 2007 Lawrence R.