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RUBRIK HIER ONE MAN – millions in profits Tiny companies are everywhere you look. They market themselves globally, have almost no capital and, thanks to the Internet, can market their products and services worldwide. 26 THINK ACT SEPTEMBER 2011
UNTANGLING those transaction costs Sports like kite surfing, which is enjoying a rapid worldwide increase in popularity, are supplied almost exclusively by small companies. Much of the innovation is being driven by fans rather than big design departments. Elsewhere, sales at the world’s biggest online platform for handicrafts, etsy.com, are approaching USD 500 m. Smaller manufacturers are enjoying a renaissance throughout the Western world. Anyone can buy Gucci, but true connoisseurs can make a statement by buying an ethical fashion label from Amsterdam. You might expect the world’s biggest seller of Darjeeling tea to be Unilever or some other food giant, yet it’s the Berlin company Teekampagne, founded by a professor of entrepreneurship and run by a handful of people. Perhaps the most impressive victory over the industry giants has been by a multitude of small and medium-sized companies with no names; over 50% of the world motorcycle market is now controlled by a network of suppliers and assemblers in China. Even the biggest are not exactly household names – Qingqi, Jialing, Zhejiang, Jincheng, Xindazhou – but these companies make very good bikes at affordable prices and sell them under eminently forgettable brand names. In the developing countries, they easily outsell the Japanese giants Yamaha, Honda and Kawasaki. Untangling those transaction costs In a standardized, networked world of flat hierarchies, small companies can often fight way above their weight class. It’s also an appealing idea, since Davids RUBRIK HIER To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The online world is populated not only by tiny businesses, but also by juggernauts like Google, Facebook and eBay. The economies of scale apply just as much to clicks-and-mortar business models. THINK ACT SEPTEMBER 2011 27
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Page 5 and 6: world. There’s no point having de
Page 7 and 8: “People who apply to us often ask
Page 9 and 10: Photos: DPA (2) Project 2012 Global
Page 12 and 13: THINK: NUDGE “We are all Homer Si
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Page 20 and 21: Do bailouts work? Comeback kid Keyn
Page 22 and 23: THINK: BAILOUTS ACT Keynes is back,
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Page 36 and 37: Facebook‘s Palo Alto headquarters
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Page 40 and 41: REPORT: VIRGIN Branding Venture Cap
Page 42 and 43: REPORT: VIRGIN “We want every Vir
Page 44 and 45: ACT: BRIEF companies badly, leaving
Page 46 and 47: RUBRIK HIER The real “World Bank
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Page 58 and 59: The man who took PSA Peugeot Citro
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Page 62 and 63: ACT: PEUGEOT “It has to translate
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