IMD Annual Report 2019

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A new partnership Being an independent academic institution has a number of disadvantages. We cannot share with anyone the cost of operating in an increasingly complex and compliance-heavy world, and we do not have a natural partner in other scientific disciplines relevant to business. On the positive side, not having a “natural partner” means that we have a choice. At IMD, we are very fortunate that we are located close to a number of world-class institutions, and we have developed several joint initiatives with some of them over the last three years. In 2019 we decided to go one step further by formalizing a new partnership with the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and EPFL (the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne). This partnership gave rise to the Enterprise for Society Center (E4S) , which will enable the three partners to join forces wherever we believe that joining forces will lead to a whole that is more than the sum of the parts. At a big picture level, E4S aims to contribute to solving some of the world’s biggest challenges by enhancing the dialogue and cooperation between researchers and practitioners working with technology and those focusing on socio-economic issues. E4S’s research will hence focus on the challenges and opportunities of technology- based innovation in a world that must become more inclusive and sustainable. The second pillar of E4S will be a more cohesive and synergistic approach by the three partners toward the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, which already features numerous successful startups but could do even more. Last but not least, we will be launching a joint pre-experience master’s degree in sustainable management and technology.

Launching a new Center and a new partnership is but the first step in a long road tomake this Center a great success. We will need to find external funding for the Center, and tri-partite agreements are never simple. But we are observing a lot of energy building among the faculty of the three institutions, resulting in the fast launch of a few very promising projects. As mentioned above, 2019 was a year during which IMD formalized a strong point of view on the role of business in society. There is no doubt that over the last decades, our economic system based on increasingly globalized economic activity has contributed to lifting hundreds of millions of human beings out of poverty. There is also no doubt that over the last century, medical advances have contributed to a remarkable increase in human life expectancy and quality of life. There is also no longer any doubt that the model on which these developments have been built is no longer sustainable for the planet, and the consequences of this situation for human beings are already becoming increasingly clear. The COVID-19 crisis we are experiencing in the first half of 2020 is but another reminder that the world has probably pushed the globalized model just a bit too far. Governments, regulators, and increasingly consumers, communities and society as a whole will more and more force corporations to internalize costs that they have until now largely externalized. These corporations will increasingly be unable to succeed financially unless they become a smaller part of the problem, or better yet become part of the solution. IMD can – and must – play a leading role in this transformation.