Mission Statement
Named in honor of one of the world’s most far-seeing business thinkers, the C.K. Prahalad Initiative brings together the resources of the Ross School to pursue fundamental questions about the role of business in global society and how innovation can shape the relationship between profit generation and social value creation.
The C.K. Prahalad Point of View
Over his career, C.K. Prahalad devoted himself to a range of questions. He examined the tension multinational corporations experience between the need for global integration and local responsiveness. He developed concepts of core competence and strategic intent. He explored the landscape of customers co-creating value with producers. He pioneered the idea that the base of the global socioeconomic pyramid could provide profit opportunities for businesses. And he investigated the nature of innovation in an era shaped by increasingly global resources and a growing demand for customization from consumers. Most importantly, he asked how businesses could innovate to do more with less for more people.
And yet, though his mind ranged widely and boldly, there are some constants in the way Prahalad approached the task of thinking about business and management. Much of his work began with a point of view driven by the following three questions.
- What is the prevailing thinking preventing us from seeing and asking?
- How can the benefits of growth and value creation be made more inclusive?
- What are the innovations and next practices that might transform an organization or an industry?
The C.K. Prahalad Initiative adopts this point of view as a starting point in developing opportunities for Ross students and faculty to partner with organizations around the world as part of the Ross School’s commitment to leading in thought and action.
Read an article about the initiative in the Spring 2011 issue of Dividend.
