CK Prahalad

CK Prahalad

CK Prahalad ( Coimbatore Krishnarao Prahalad ; born August 8, 1941 in Coimbatore , India , † April 16, 2010 in San Diego , USA ) was an Indian-American economist . Most recently, he was Professor of Corporate Strategy at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor , USA, as well as a globally recognized management consultant and author.

His academic focus was on the development of new management methods , corporate strategy and the role of corporate management in multinational companies . Most recently he dealt with emerging countries and innovative business models to eradicate global poverty , among other things within the framework of the concept of the “ Base of the Pyramid ” (also “ Bottom of the Pyramid ”), which he co-created with Stuart Hart .

He was the founder of the "Supporters Dilemma" paradigm.

Life

CK Prahalad grew up among eight siblings as the son of a Sanskrit scholar and judge in what was then Madras (now Chennai ). At the age of 19 he was hired by the local Union Carbide factory and worked there for the next four years. During this time he also met his future wife Gayatri, whom he married five years later and with whom he has two children.

Following his time at Union-Carbide, he studied for five years at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA). Together with his wife, he then went to Harvard University , where he successfully completed his doctorate in the field of multinational management within two and a half years . He then briefly taught at the IIMA, but returned to the United States for a position as an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan.

Prahalad is best known for his work in the field of corporate strategy, specifically developing the concept of core competency in collaboration with his former student Gary Hamel . In the late 1990s, Prahalad focused his research activities on the eradication of poverty through the creation of profitable work for the people who are at the foot of the pyramid (English: bottom of the pyramid ) live, innovative, using technologies and methods.

Prahalad has been widely recognized as one of the most important researchers in the field of management. The American magazine Business Week described him as a brilliant teacher [...] and probably the most influential thinker in the field of business strategy . In 2009 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan , the third highest civil order in India.

Prahalad died on April 16, 2010 in San Diego after a short illness of a respiratory disease.

Works

• with Gary Hamel: The Core Competence of the Corporation , Harvard Business Review, May – June, 1990.
• with Gary Hamel : Competing for the Future , 1994, Harvard Business School Press ISBN 0-87584-416-2 (German edition: Wettlauf um die Zukunft , 2nd edition 1997, Überreuther Wirtschaft, ISBN 3-8323-0318-9 ) .
• Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits , Wharton School Publishing 2004, ISBN 0-13-186319-3 (German edition: The wealth of the third world. How we can defeat poverty with profits , Finanzbuch, 2006, ISBN 3-89879-146-7 ).

Web links

• Homepage at the University of Michigan (English)
• CK Prahalad & L. Hart: The Fortune of the Bottom of the Pyramid

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Stefan Stern (2010) Obituary: CK Prahalad ; in the Financial Times on April 19, 2010.
2. ↑ The Indian Institutes of Management Alumni USA: Dr. CK Prahalad ( Memento of the original from July 25, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed May 28, 2010 
3. ↑ Padma Awards announced , January 25, 2009
4. ^ Haufe-Lexware GmbH & Co. KG: Economic thought leader CK Prahalad is dead , accessed on May 28, 2010
5. ^ The Washington Post: CK Prahalad, expert on corporate strategy, dies at 68 , accessed May 28, 2010
6. ^ ManagerSeminare Verlags GmbH: Management thought leader CK Prahalad has died , accessed on May 28, 2010