Economy

A crucial factor in the development of any region is creating or increasing social energy. This energy is generated by people exchanging ideas, thoughts and emotions. Using the canton of Schaffhausen as an example, a GDI study shows how regions can benefit from a location in between the countryside and a major city.

In the third of the European Foodservice Summit's digital talks, David Bosshart spoke about the coronavirus crisis as positive shock therapy, about radical transformation and about the future of the food service industry. Watch the video here.

It is no secret that Amazon has been able to increase its profits and its claim to power during the Corona pandemic. But resistance has formed on the long-lost book front: Bookshop.org.

Sales via the online platform Alibaba already account for one-sixth of China's retail volume. They are doing everything right, says founder Jack Ma’s biographer Duncan Clark. In a video and at the GDI Retail Summit Duncan Clark presented the trends shaping e-commerce in China.

It sounds familiar to most of us: we make resolutions, and then fail due to simple obstacles. Why is that? Professor Wendy Wood will speak at the GDI about how we can utilise the power of habits.

What are the new challenges facing bosses in an age of working from home, and what does good leadership from home look like? International speakers provided answers at the 8th Academy of Behavioural Economics. The video recording is available online.

Downtown Paris is being protected with public money. Real estate company Semaest buys up space on behalf of the city of Paris and rents it out at at decent prices to retailers who fit into the neighbourhood. Emmanuelle Hoss presented her project at the GDI Retail Summit.

The "Belt and Road" initiative is about economic influence and power, contended Bruno Maçães at the GDI Retail Summit. According to the politician, it helped create the landscape for China's e-commerce industry.

In times of government spending on an unimaginable scale, a discussion of the ideas of "Modern Monetary Theory" is more topical than ever. One of its probably most famous advocates is the US-American professor Stephanie Kelton. 

What does Covid-19 imply for retail? How do you build a successful urban farming company? And how do department stores hold their ground? Answers were provided by innovators and retail giants at the GDI Retail Summit from 10 to 11 September 2020. A summary.