INSEAD Knowledge Podcast

In this episode, Ben Charoenwong, Associate Professor of Finance at INSEAD and former pod shop veteran, discusses his case on Millennium Partners, and looks at how their adoption of the “pod shop” model has allowed the firm to become one of the most successful hedge funds in the world.As well as exploring the strengths of this plug-and-play approach, Charoenwong highlights the fact that this model has now been adopted by many hedge funds and is impacting the broader financial services industry. Private banks and asset managers are among those taking a similar structural approach, where independent advisory teams are managed under a large organisational umbrella that handles compliance, technology and other functions.However, while the model has brought great success, it also carries inherent risks. Charoenwong raises concerns about market fragility due to the consolidation of trading power among a few key players. This concentration can lead to sudden and dramatic market movements, or “blips”, when a major pod is forced to liquidate positions, as observed in a recent event involving the Japanese yen.

Does artificial intelligence enable organisations to do things differently, or to do different things?In the first episode of the new podcast series “The INSEAD Perspective: Spotlight on Asia”, Sameer Hasija, Dean of Asia at INSEAD, speaks to Hyunjin Kim, INSEAD's Assistant Professor of Strategy,  about arguably the most pressing topic affecting business and society today: The impact of AI on business and entrepreneurship. There's a spectrum of views about the impact of AI, but where its effect on entrepreneurship is concerned, few share the vantage point with Kim, whose research covers a cross-section of over 500 start-ups and their interactions with AI.Despite Asia’s relatively young population and drive, the “Asian Century” hasn’t come to fruition, notes Hasija. Kim remarks that the biggest challenges entrepreneurs face are access to capital and labour. AI can reduce these frictions and help build more capital- and labour-efficient businesses, bringing new opportunities to the region.

In a special episode of the INSEAD Knowledge podcast, we shine a spotlight on a sister podcast series, The Age of Intelligence. Hosted by Theodoros Evgeniou, Professor of Technology and Business at INSEAD, and Tim Gordon, co-founder of Best Practice AI, the series features insightful conversations with notable guests from a range of different fields. Its aim is to look at how AI is rebalancing our world – from disrupting national powers and influencing business competitiveness to impacting individual lives. In this episode, Evgeniou and Gordon speak with computer scientist and MIT professor Pattie Maes. Their discussion centres on Maes’ pioneering work in AI and her unique perspective that technology should be used to augment human intelligence, not replace it.

The "kill zone" refers to the space near a tech giant’s core business where start-ups risk being copied or crushed simply for getting too close. But what if survival were possible?In this episode, Associate Professor of Strategy Michaël Bikard walks us through a case that begins with a promising partnership between Airbnb and Sofar Sounds, but ends with the two companies going head to head.London-based start-up Sofar Sounds built its brand on intimate secret gigs in living rooms and other low-key spaces around the world. “It's all about human offline connections through music, bringing together people in a very intimate setting,” said Bikard. “There is some fairy dust there.” A partnership with Airbnb seemed like a perfect match. Airbnb would gain some of Sofar Sounds’ cool factor. Sofar Sounds could scale through Airbnb’s global reach. But the alliance didn’t last.A few months later, Airbnb came up with their own version of Sofar Sounds, Airbnb Concerts. It looked like the classic tech “kill zone” scenario. “At the time… it felt like they [Sofar Sounds] were gonna be eaten alive, frankly,” said Bikard. “And the interesting thing is that exactly the opposite happened.”

Andy Yap, an Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD, explores how leaders can enhance their influence through effective communication. He emphasizes the power of active listening and emotional intelligence in diverse settings. Yap addresses challenges like imposter syndrome, advocates for adaptability in communication styles, and underscores the importance of authentic connections. He also discusses the value of honest feedback for continuous improvement, making communication an essential tool for impactful leadership.

“People who eat healthily don’t have that much more willpower. They have just engineered their environment to avoid having to resist temptation.”Pierre Chandon, Professor of Marketing at INSEAD, challenges the idea that healthy eating is a matter of self-control. On the INSEAD Knowledge podcast, he explains how our surroundings – what we see, where we are and how food is framed – play a far greater role in shaping what we eat.Chandon explains that there are four ways food products claim to be healthy. Some brands say it’s because they have improved the nutritional properties of the food. They use labels like “enriched” if they have added “good” vitamins and minerals or “diet” if they have removed “bad” sugar and fat. These are the traditional, nutrition-based ways to be healthy.Other food products claim to be healthy “by nature”. These brands claim they have preserved the food's natural characteristics by either not adding anything “bad” (these includes claims such as “clean” or “free from” additives or hormones) or by not removing anything “good” (these includes claims such as “whole” or “organic”).“Consumers are less and less interested in the nutritional approach,” says Chandon. Rather, they now favour foods that are healthy by nature.In a series of studies with his co-author Maria Langlois, he found that nature itself can nudge people towards better choices. When participants walked in a park rather than through city streets, they picked fruit over unhealthy snacks. Even just looking at pictures of green landscapes had a similar effect. “A natural view makes people more willing to trade off taste and diet for natural healthy food,” he says.He also points to a disconnect between how brands talk about health and what consumers actually want. For instance, his research with Romain Cadario shows that in France, labels on cereal packages align with local preferences. However, in the United States, companies miss key signals. “It’s not enough to say I’m healthy,” he says. “You have to be healthy in the right way.”

Companies looking to succeed in emerging markets must listen to local needs and tailor their proposition accordingly.That’s the message from Affiliate Professor of Strategy Lite Nartey and digital financial services expert Bruno Akpaka in this INSEAD Knowledge podcast, which examines how mobile payments system Mobile Money was successfully introduced in Ghana.Akpaka, who oversaw the launch of Mobile Money in 2009 as mobile telecom firm MTN’s general manager for Western Central Africa, explains how the company took the time to speak to all stakeholders involved. Alongside banks and regulators, the MTN sent representatives out to speak directly with market traders and their customers, many of whom had never previously had access to financial services.This led MTN to eschew the traditional banking route in favour of a distribution model that brought the service to unbanked consumers through a network of agents. This allowed the company to customise their proposition and develop a product that met the needs of local consumers, offering them convenience, security and simplicity.What started out as a project with financial inclusion goals, has since evolved into a comprehensive financial system. By the end of 2024, Mobile Money had more than 17.2 million users in Ghana – approximately half the total population.While such a tailored approach might seem obvious, Professor Nartey highlights how many global firms still try to apply strategies from developed markets without fully understanding local contexts. As the Mobile Money case shows, each market has its own challenges – and requires its own tailored solution.

What’s common across the Boeing 737 MAX debacle, the 1MDB financial scandal and America’s opioid crisis? They are all illustrations of how business leaders, in pursuit of performance, neglected and undermined progress – specifically fairness, well-being and sustainability.With each such scandal, trust in business frays. While one may blame specific firms and leaders, too much is amiss in modern business to solely blame the actors, says INSEAD Professor of Strategy and Management Subi Rangan in this podcast. Business theory and business education also warrant careful scrutiny and correction.

Can dreaming really help solve waking problems? And could a specific form of dream analysis help an organisation better achieve shared goals and objectives? In this INSEAD Knowledge podcast, Susan Long, Emeritus Professor at the National Institute of Organization Dynamics Australia and Michael Jarrett, Professor of Management at INSEAD offer their perspective on the value of social dreaming for firms.The roots of social dreaming can be traced back to World War II, and German journalist, Charlotte Beradt's documentation of dreams during the Nazi era. Inspired by her findings, British psychoanalyst Gordon Lawrence developed the concept of social dreaming as a structured method for exploring the unconscious dynamics operating within contemporary social groups.This method moves beyond the traditional view of dreams as purely personal experiences. While individual dreams often address personal wishes and daily events, social dreaming suggests that groups of people, interconnected within a social system, also collectively dream about issues, desires and problems relevant to the group as a whole.The conversation goes on to explore the practicalities of running a social dreaming session – from the importance of the Matrix to the role of the host in leading the group through the dream reflection dialogue.Citing real life examples, Long and Jarrett explain how they have both used social dreaming to work with firms to identify and address the unconscious concerns and emotions that influence behaviour and decision-making. In this way, social dreaming can offer deeper insights into shared concerns. This allows for improved communication, collaboration and a more comprehensive understanding of the complex dynamics at play within groups.Further reading:The Third Reich of Dreams: The Nightmares of a Nation, Charlotte Beradt.Introduction to Social Dreaming: Transforming Thinking, W. Gordon Lawrence.Social Dreaming: Philosophy, Research, Theory and Practice, Susan Long and Julian Manley (eds.).

Christoph Senn is an Adjunct Professor of Marketing at INSEAD, while Mehak Gandhi heads Research and Training at Value Creator. Together, they explore the shift from traditional product selling to a customer-centric relationship model in their new book, Triple Fit Strategy. They discuss the importance of alignment in planning and execution to foster deeper partnerships. The conversation covers the power of collaboration, lessons from Maersk, and the challenges organizations face when adopting this innovative approach to enhance customer engagement and drive growth.