Name: Build, Borrow, or Buy
Author: Laurence Capron, Will Mitchell

How should you grow your organization? It&#8217;s one of the most challenging questions an executive team faces—and the wrong answer can break your firm.The problem is most firms&#8217; growth strategies emphasize just one type of growth—some focus on organic growth, others on M&A. When these strategies falter, the common response is simply to try harder—but firms falling into this "implementation trap&#8221; usually end up losing out to a competitor whose approach is more inclusive.So where do you start? By asking the right questions, argue INSEAD&#8217;s Laurence Capron and coauthor Will Mitchell, of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and Duke University&#8217;s Fuqua School of Business. Drawing on decades of research and teaching, Capron and Mitchell find that a firm&#8217;s aptitude for determining the best resource pathways for growth has a defining impact on its success. They&#8217;ve come up with a helpful framework, reflecting practices of a variety of successful global organizations, to determine which path is best for yours.The resource pathways framework is built around three strategic questions:• BUILD: Are your existing internal resources relevant for developing the new resources that you have targeted for growth? • BORROW: Could you obtain the targeted resources via an effective relationship with a resource partner? • BUY: Do you need broad and deep relationships with your resource provider?Written for large multinationals and emerging firms alike, Build, Borrow, or Buy will help solve a perennial question and will guide you through change while priming your organization for optimal growth.

Solving the Growth Dilemma

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