Publications

October 2002 (Revised March 2009)
Background Note

Foreign Direct Investment

By: Laura Alfaro and Esteban Clavell

Briefly reviews motivations and trends behind foreign direct investment and multinational corporations as well as the policy debate that surrounds them. View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Foreign Direct Investment; Multinational Firms and Management; Policy; Business and Government Relations

August 2007 (Revised December 2007)
Case

Microsoft in China and India, 1993-2007

By: Tarun Khanna and Prithwiraj Choudhury

Relates to Microsoft's expansion in China and India in the period 1993-2007 and the strategic issues faced by multinationals in emerging markets. View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Multinational Firms and Management; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Emerging Markets; Information Technology Industry; China; India

24 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

IPR: Protecting Your Technology Transfers

The competitiveness of many multinational companies depends on their ability to transfer intellectual property and other intangible assets to their worldwide production processes. These sources of competitive advantage can be anything... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

30 Nov 2018
What Do You Think?

What’s the Best Administrative Approach to Climate Change?

Summing Up: Should a 'Montreal Protocol' for Administering Global Warming Be Pursued? Climate change and how to manage it is a daunting subject. Nevertheless, several readers of this month’s column were willing to venture a model or two for administering a system... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Energy

2019
Chapter

International Business and Emerging Markets in Historical Perspective

By: Geoffrey Jones

This chapter examines international business in emerging markets over the long run. It shows how the strategies of Western multinationals evolved over time. In the first era of globalization in the 19th century, Western firms sought access to resources, and they faced... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Business History; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalization

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December 2015
Article

Entrepreneurial Imagination and a Demand and Supply-side Perspective on the MNE and Cross-border Organization

By: Geoffrey Jones and Christos Pitelis

This article explores the role of entrepreneurial imagination on the international expansion of multinational enterprises. The focus is on supply- and demand-side factors that help explicate cross-border expansion. The article explores how appropriability-informed and... View Details

Keywords: Imagination; Globalization; History; Entrepreneurship; Multinational Firms and Management; Africa; Asia; Europe; North and Central America

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June 2007 (Revised September 2021)
Case

Thomas J. Watson, IBM and Nazi Germany

By: Geoffrey Jones, Grace Ballor and Adrian Brown

Considers the strategy of U.S.-owned IBM, then a manufacturer of punch cards, in Nazi Germany before 1937. Opens with IBM CEO Thomas J. Watson meeting Adolf Hitler in his capacity as President of the International Chamber of Commerce. IBM had acquired a German company... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Values and Beliefs; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Investment; Business and Government Relations; Germany; United States

03 Apr 2006
Research & Ideas

The Competitive Advantage of Global Finance

In the process, he shows how organizations can best equip themselves to take advantage of potential sources of competitive advantage that arise in the global setting. In International Finance: A Casebook, Desai provides case studies on how large View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services

March 2007 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Grupo Bimbo

By: Jordan I. Siegel

In 2007 Grupo Bimbo, a leading global player in the baking industry, expands into China while at the same time undertaking initiatives to make its U.S. and South American operations more profitable. Allows students to analyze the company's entire global strategy.... View Details

Keywords: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business and Government Relations; Food and Beverage Industry; China; Mexico; United States; South America

25 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

MNCs in Asia: Investing in the Future

The unparalleled size of Asia's markets has always caught the eye of multinational corporations. More recently, as government policies and cultural attitudes in the region continue to evolve, the strategies of View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

June 2015
Case

Ethiopia: An Emerging Market Opportunity?

By: John A. Quelch and Sunru Yong

This case centers on the potential and challenges of entering an emerging market. It provides a brief overview of the Ethiopian market, market reforms and policies, and the business environment faced by foreign companies. Three multinational businesses, CareCo, ShoeCo,... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Emerging Markets; Foreign Direct Investment; Ethiopia

November 2004 (Revised January 2007)
Case

Ice-Fili (Abridged)

By: John R. Wells, Pai-Ling Yin and Michael G. Rukstad

Designed as an overview of all aspects of the strategy process: industry analysis, positioning, dynamics and sustainability, and scope issues of corporate strategy, including vertical integration, horizontal diversification, and location issues. Ice-Fili is the largest... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Geographic Location; Competition; Vertical Integration; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Russia

October 1987
Case

Philips Group--1987, The

By: Francis Aguilar and Michael Y. Yoshino

Discusses how Philips, a major Dutch-based multinational company, attempts to bring about a fundamental change in its strategy, organization, and culture in response to a rapidly changing market and competitive environment. View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Markets; Change Management; Netherlands

2002
Case

Hindustan Lever

By: Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble

Hindustan Lever, Ltg (HLL), the Indian subsidiary of Unilever PLC, is one of the most respected multinationals operating in India and one of the first multinationals to recognize that the poor in developing countries represent an untapped growth opportunity. They... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; India

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November 1984 (Revised October 1989)
Case

Dow Corning Corp.: Business Conduct and Global Values (A)

Describes the development and ongoing operation of the Business Conduct Committee of Dow Corning Corp. as an example of managing corporate values in a multinational enterprise. View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Values and Beliefs; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

June 1992 (Revised January 1994)
Case

Coopers & Lybrand in Hungary (A)

Multinational professional services firm Coopers & Lybrand has decided to enter the Hungarian market and weighs its strategic options in light of the environment in which it will operate and its resources. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Market Entry and Exit; Service Industry; Hungary