Strategy Forum / Panelist

Bruno Cassiman

Department of Management, Strategy and Innovation

KU Leuven

Belgium

Bruno Cassiman’s research interests have centered on the economics of strategy and innovation with a particular focus on the connections between science and industry in the innovation process and the complementarity between different innovation activities.

Voting History

Statement Response
Blockchain is more likely to be a sustaining innovation than a disruptive innovation in the financial sector. Neither agree nor disagree “Disrupting or sustaining innovations lie in the eye of the beholder. What is clear is that it will change the way interactions in the financial sector happen. Does it mean that incumbents will be disrupted by new players? What is clear is that new opportunities for innovation have surfaced with opportunities for entry into some activities, but a lot will depend on how incumbents respond or can respond due to existing commitments.”
The field of strategic management has overlooked the role of corporate purpose in driving business performance. Agree “Purpose (or mission) was typically considered as conditioning the feasible strategy of an organization. Relating business performance causally to purpose (conditional on the strategy) is probably a pending issue for the field but will require clear definitions of strategy and purpose first.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has permanently changed how companies should think about business strategy. Disagree “While companies might have to rethink their business strategy given some permanent shifts in their environment, the principle of creating value and developing a competitive advantage to capture part of this value has not changed. After the often knee-jerk reactions at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations have been forced to take a close look at the viability of their business strategy and long-term survival. At the same time, many companies are evaluating new opportunities in the wake of the pandemic.”
Antitrust policy should intervene more decisively to limit the scope of large technology platforms. Disagree “Limiting the scope would not be the correct policy as economies of scope would ensure technologies and markets are developed by large technology platforms. I would worry more about technologies that do get acquired and are not developed, as they would limit future competition.”
In the next decade, we will see the first sustainably profitable private commercial activities in space. Agree “Private funding for commercial activities in space is becoming available, and several companies are already involved in commercial space travel. Given the current international environment, it is unlikely that there will be any agreement to regulate the commercialization of space. The next Wild West?”
A hard Brexit will have a significant negative impact on many businesses, even if they do not have a U.K. or European presence. Agree
In the absence of a carbon tax, industry self-regulation can help mitigate the worst fallout from climate change. Disagree “How many examples of optimal self-regulation of an externality do we know?”
Restrictions on skilled immigration will cause US firms to to shift more operations overseas. Agree “The measure would reinforce the trend of increasing R&D investments outside the U.S. and Europe by companies headquartered in these regions.”
Uber has to develop self-driving cars in the next 10 years in order to remain viable. Disagree “Uber is experimenting to figure out the path toward staying relevant. Getting into the development of self-driving cars is one possible path they are exploring.”
A trade war will be more disruptive to business than to consumers. Did not answer
Concern over consumer privacy will fundamentally limit businesses’ ability to use big data. Agree “It will depend on how this gets legally implemented as it creates some transaction costs which might affect large versus small players differently.”