Publications

March 2004 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Journey to Sakhalin: Royal Dutch/Shell in Russia (A)

By: Rawi E. Abdelal

Operations of Royal Dutch/Shell in Russia included a strategic alliance with Gazprom, the country's natural gas monopoly, the development of the Salym oil fields in Siberia, and a small retail refilling network in St. Petersburg. Focuses on the Sakhalin II project.... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Energy Generation; Foreign Direct Investment; Lawfulness; Agreements and Arrangements; Alliances; Business and Government Relations; Energy Industry; Russia

May 2008
Article

Why Doesn't Capital Flow from Rich to Poor Countries? An Empirical Investigation

By: Laura Alfaro, Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan and Vadym Volosovych

We examine the empirical role of different explanations for the lack of capital flows from rich to poor countries—the "Lucas Paradox." The theoretical explanations include cross country differences in fundamentals affecting productivity and capital market... View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Wealth and Poverty; Development Economics; Income; Capital Markets; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Australia; Peru

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20 Feb 2009
Working Paper Summaries

When Does Domestic Saving Matter for Economic Growth?

Keywords: by Philippe Aghion, Diego Comin, Peter Howitt & Isabel Tecu

11 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Branding Sells Cereal, Handbags, and Vacations. Can It Sell a Country?

Santa Clara County into Silicon Valley. “Countries are beginning to realize—Israel being one of them—that they need to engage in public diplomacy, not just a foreign diplomacy, and in place branding, not just political advocacy, ” says... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Tourism

October 2015 (Revised September 2016)
Case

Whirlpool Corp.: Structuring the Deal to Acquire Hefei Rongshida Sanyo Electric Company

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Nancy Hua Dai

Ian Lee, Whirlpool's VP for North Asia, had been negotiating a possible acquisition with Jackie Jin, the chairman of a leading Chinese appliance manufacturer named Hefei Rongshida Sanyo Electric Company (Hefei Sanyo), for almost six months when suddenly Hefei Sanyo's... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Regulation; Cross-border Investment; Brand Names; State-owned Enterprise (SOE); Appliances; White Goods; Consumer Durables; Negotiation; Valuation; Mergers and Acquisitions; State Ownership; Foreign Direct Investment; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; China

February 2025
Supplement

Align Partners and SM Entertainment: Korean Shareholder Activism Meets K-Pop (B)

By: Charles CY Wang and Billy Chan

For years, institutional investors had experienced very limited success in influencing the management of listed companies through shareholder activist campaigns in Korea. The common practice of circular ownership and public resentment toward foreign shareholder... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Public Equity; Stocks; Investment Activism; Music Entertainment; Corporate Governance; Success; Business and Shareholder Relations; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; South Korea

What’s the fastest route to economic development? Welcome foreign direct investment (FDI), says China, and most policy experts agree. But a comparison with long-time laggard India suggests that FDI is not the only path to prosperity. Indeed, India’s homegrown... View Details

January 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Doing Business in Cairo: Navigating a Path to Economic Resilience

By: A. Zelleke and Ahmed Dahawy

Egypt has long been a pivotal force in the Middle East and North Africa. Located at a crossroads of global trade routes, the country was a strategic partner for numerous regional and global powers. However, a substantial currency devaluation in 2016 brought many... View Details

Keywords: Business; Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Inflation and Deflation; Macroeconomics; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Economies and Regions; International Relations; Emerging Markets; Risk and Uncertainty; Culture; Economy; Country; Currency; Investment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Egypt

2000
Book

Merchants to Multinationals

By: Geoffrey Jones

This book examines the evolution of multinational trading companies from the eighteenth century to the present day. During the Industrial Revolution, British merchants established overseas branches which became major trade intermediaries, and later engaged in foreign... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Trade; Foreign Direct Investment; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Governance; Growth and Development; Human Resources; Information Management; Relationships; Corporate Strategy; Africa; Asia; Latin America

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2009
Working Paper

When Does Domestic Saving Matter for Economic Growth?

By: Philippe Aghion, Diego A. Comin, Peter Howitt and Isabel Tecu

Can a country grow faster by saving more? We address this question both theoretically and empirically. In our theoretical model, growth results from innovations that allow local sectors to catch up with frontier technology. In poor countries, catching up requires the... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Growth; Entrepreneurship; Foreign Direct Investment; Saving; Technological Innovation; Mathematical Methods

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October 2003 (Revised December 2020)
Case

Globalizing Consumer Durables: Singer Sewing Machine before 1914

By: Geoffrey Jones and David Kiron

Examines the global strategy of Singer, one of the world's first multinationals, before 1914. Singer, a U.S. pioneer of the modern sewing machine, established its first foreign factory in Scotland in 1867. Investments followed in manufacturing and marketing in other... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Multinational Firms and Management; Global Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Globalization

22 May 2022
News

Laura Huang On Turning Adversity Into Advantage

December 1998 (Revised March 1999)
Case

Guangdong Nowada Group, The

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Anthony St. George

In late 1998, 38-year-old He Boquan, CEO of the Guangdong Nowada Group, a health beverage producer, needs to decide how to fund his company's growth and ambition to become China's number one domestic health beverage producer by 2002. A consultants study revealed that... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Capital; Foreign Direct Investment; Growth and Development; Leadership Style; Management Skills; Negotiation Offer; Competitive Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; China

May 2014
Case

Sasol: U.S. Growth Program

By: Richard H. K. Vietor

Sasol, the world's largest producer of synthetic oil from coal and gas, has announced plans to build a huge Catalytic cracker and gas-to-liquids plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana. This $21 billion venture will be the single largest foreign direct investment in US... View Details

Keywords: Oil ＆ Gas; Risk; Risk And Uncertainty; Petroleum; Synthesis; Diesel; Foreign Direct Investment; Chemicals; Strategy; Energy Industry; United States

Dante Roscini holds the Professor of Management Practice Chair endowed by the MBA Class of 1952 at Harvard Business School. He joined the faculty in 2008 after a two-decades-long career in finance. He currently teaches the course Business, Government, and the... View Details

February 2025 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Align Partners and SM Entertainment: Korean Shareholder Activism Meets K-Pop (A)

By: Charles C.Y. Wang and Billy Chan

For years, institutional investors had experienced very limited success in influencing the management of listed companies through shareholder activist campaigns in Korea. The common practice of circular ownership and public resentment toward foreign shareholder... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Public Equity; Stocks; Investment Activism; Music Entertainment; Corporate Governance; Success; Business and Shareholder Relations; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; South Korea