Constant Change
An interesting book discusses the Co-evolution Approach used to cope with pressure arising from the environment businesses operate in
Constant change. This apparent contradiction in terms describes the experience of many businesses today; they are subject to the sole circumstance that remains constant, change. Yet, it is in navigating changes to the constraints and scenarios businesses operate in that many discover possibilities to develop. Success comes to those who manage to ride the wave which, by definition, is in constant motion.
L’impresa coevolutiva. Le quattro sfide del management (The Business of Co-evolution. Four Challenges for Management) by Daniela Bandera is an excellent read for anyone wishing to understand the system today’s companies are operating in and how they need to respond. Ms Bandera is an organisational sociologist. In the late 1980s, she co-founded the Institute of Nomesis Marketing and Social Research, and she continues to serve as a researcher and strategic consultant for businesses and institutions. Her strong point is an ability to observe manufacturers not only from a theoretical point of view but also in practical terms. This enables her to explain how organisational structures can deal with the continual changes that destabilise them, pursuing objectives that are increasingly hard to meet.
She bases her guidance on the Co-evolution Approach, which stems from a theory that combines suggestions from various schools of organisational sociology, as well as from other sciences and disciplines. The core of the co-evolution system is the manufacturing organisation’s ability to both adapt to and influence the organisational environment, creating a context in which doing business becomes easier. This pathway is not simple for manufacturers or for their managers, who must face four challenges: constant change, a new relationship with the market, creation of a collective intelligence and the need for a different type of leadership. These challenges, along with other factors, have christened the acronym SMART, which stands for the key words in co-evolution organisation: Socially sensitive, Merit-based, Allowing empowerment, Reflexive and Transformative.
Daniela Bandera’s book – which first analyses the situation and then moves on to an in-depth discussion of the challenges – is certainly not the only one on the theme of business challenges, nor does it claim to provide a cure-all solution to the issues that managers must deal with. However, it is the right reference for anyone wishing to understand how to cope with a world defined by one constant factor: change.
L’impresa coevolutiva. Le quattro sfide del management
Daniela Bandera
Franco Angeli, 2019


An interesting book discusses the Co-evolution Approach used to cope with pressure arising from the environment businesses operate in
Constant change. This apparent contradiction in terms describes the experience of many businesses today; they are subject to the sole circumstance that remains constant, change. Yet, it is in navigating changes to the constraints and scenarios businesses operate in that many discover possibilities to develop. Success comes to those who manage to ride the wave which, by definition, is in constant motion.
L’impresa coevolutiva. Le quattro sfide del management (The Business of Co-evolution. Four Challenges for Management) by Daniela Bandera is an excellent read for anyone wishing to understand the system today’s companies are operating in and how they need to respond. Ms Bandera is an organisational sociologist. In the late 1980s, she co-founded the Institute of Nomesis Marketing and Social Research, and she continues to serve as a researcher and strategic consultant for businesses and institutions. Her strong point is an ability to observe manufacturers not only from a theoretical point of view but also in practical terms. This enables her to explain how organisational structures can deal with the continual changes that destabilise them, pursuing objectives that are increasingly hard to meet.
She bases her guidance on the Co-evolution Approach, which stems from a theory that combines suggestions from various schools of organisational sociology, as well as from other sciences and disciplines. The core of the co-evolution system is the manufacturing organisation’s ability to both adapt to and influence the organisational environment, creating a context in which doing business becomes easier. This pathway is not simple for manufacturers or for their managers, who must face four challenges: constant change, a new relationship with the market, creation of a collective intelligence and the need for a different type of leadership. These challenges, along with other factors, have christened the acronym SMART, which stands for the key words in co-evolution organisation: Socially sensitive, Merit-based, Allowing empowerment, Reflexive and Transformative.
Daniela Bandera’s book – which first analyses the situation and then moves on to an in-depth discussion of the challenges – is certainly not the only one on the theme of business challenges, nor does it claim to provide a cure-all solution to the issues that managers must deal with. However, it is the right reference for anyone wishing to understand how to cope with a world defined by one constant factor: change.
L’impresa coevolutiva. Le quattro sfide del management
Daniela Bandera
Franco Angeli, 2019