In the past two years, Chinese consumers have opened their wallets and pocketbooks online. Online buying and selling, including group purchasing (through the Chinese equivalents of Groupon), is the second-fastest-growing activity, after microblogging.

With sluggish U.S. growth, international business expansion has become a vital strategic pillar for many companies. Yet, an international expansion strategy is fraught with uncertainties, risks and other obstacles. So is it worth it? That is, are companies that grow faster internationally rewarded by investors with better share price appreciation such that the risks are worth taking?

Fast food chain McDonald's has employed techniques including $500 staff incentives, 30-percent wind power requirements and lightweight tractor-trailers to help green up its operations, according to a report by the company.

A conversation with Jim Van Leenan, CEO and president of Flash Global Logistics.

When IBM announced it was selling its entire POS business to Toshiba TEC for $850m, it was arguably the most explicit sign yet that the retail POS hardware business is on its last legs. Not IBM's POS business, but retail POS activity in general.

Innovation in consumer packaged goods isn't a luxury in today's competitive market - it's a necessity. In an uncertain economic environment, most companies are struggling to achieve organic growth. "Driving both the top and bottom line has been elusive," says Girish Gulvady, director of integrated demand management and food service planning with Campbell Soup Co. "Innovation is filling that void."

Having information and processes trapped in operational silos is a continuing problem that keeps many businesses from performing as well as they should, says Paul Boris, vice president of collaborative manufacturing at SAP, in an interview with Greg Gorbach, vice president-collaborative manufacturing, ARC Advisory Group

At Hughes Communications, managing risk means developing proactive resiliency. Building a satellite requires coordination between both internal efforts - where engineers design the satellite, aligning the beam patterns with the geography that needs to be covered - and external partners, which provide parts from around the world.