Read “What Explains the Lack of Innovation at American Express? Is It Hubris, Inertia, or Lack of Capability?”
on pages 438-439 Answer the following questions in essay format (with 8 peer-reviewed sources as support).
- This case suggests that a lack of continuous innovation contributed to American Express’s (AmEx) poor
performance in 2014. Assuming this is true, what factors might prevent a firm the size and scope of AmEx from being able to innovate continuously? - Use material from Chapter 4 to identify the business-level strategy AmEx uses. What dimensions do you
believe AmEx should emphasize to use the strategy you identified successfully across time? - What actions do you believe AmEx should take to establish an entrepreneurial mind-set among employees throughout the company? 28 of 29 BUS 525 Hybrid Syllabus
- This Mini-Case includes descriptions of recent AmEx innovations. Do you anticipate that most of these
innovations resulted from autonomous strategic behavior or from induced strategic behavior? Why?
Sample Solution