MBA Guide: Five fresh business books to give you the edge

These books will give fresh insight into the ins and outs of the business world in the 21st century

The Key: How Corporations Succeed by Solving the World’s Toughest Problems, Lynda Gratton (McGraw Hill, £15.99)

Big corporations should play a positive role by solving global challenges such as climate change. Can altruism be good for business? Yes, says London Business School’s Gratton.

Frugal Innovation: How to Do More with Less, Navi Radjou and Jaideep Prabhu (Economist Books, £10.39)

An engrossing masterclass from two business school academics in how companies can develop high-quality products with limited resources.

The Zero Marginal Cost Society, Jeremy Rifkin (Palgrave Macmillan, £12)

When newer technology mean goods and services cost nothing to provide, what happens to capitalism? A frightening – or perhaps optimistic – view of the future from the bestselling US social theorist.

The Curve: From Freeloaders into Superfans, Nicholas Lovell (Portfolio Penguin, £9.98)

Embrace the digital age and give away more for free, maintains Nicholas Lovell, a former investment banker turned entrepreneur, in The Curve.

Not Knowing, by Steven D’Souza and Diana Renner (Lid Publishing, £12.99)

You don’t need to know everything to be effective. Embrace the unknown, don’t duck it. Not knowing is a critical skill and certainty can make you blind, claims this book by two executive consultants.