Publications

August 2007 (Revised September 2007)
Case

Gome: Bidding for China Paradise

Gome, China's largest electronics retailer, has the opportunity to acquire China Paradise, the number three player in the Chinese electronic retailer industry. This happened in the general context of a great market development and potential consolidation of the... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Trade; Market Entry and Exit; Performance; Opportunities; Competition; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Electronics Industry; Retail Industry; China

June 2011 (Revised August 2011)
Background Note

China and the Yuan-Dollar Exchange Rate

By: Aldo Musacchio

This note explains how the People's Bank of China (PBOC) manages (some say manipulate) the dollar-yuan exchange rate. It discusses briefly the process of sterilization in China and the possible costs for the PBOC. Therefore, the note summarizes some of the main... View Details

Keywords: Currency Exchange Rate; China

July 2015 (Revised October 2016)
Case

China Lodging Group (A)

By: Tatiana Sandino, Shelley Xin Li and Nancy Hua Dai

This case study explores the challenges of aligning middle management interests with company goals as a company navigates rapid growth in a dynamic industry. China Lodging Group, a Chinese hotel chain that opened about 2,000 hotels during its first decade in business,... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Business or Company Management; Growth Management; Balanced Scorecard; Accommodations Industry; China

June 2002 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Life, Death, and Property Rights: The Pharmaceutical Industry Faces AIDS in Africa

By: Debora L. Spar

In the final years of the 20th century, the world was hit by a plague of epidemic proportions--AIDS, a life-threatening disease that remained stubbornly immune to any cure or vaccine. In the developed nations of the West, AIDS was slowly brought under control through a... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Health Pandemics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Pharmaceutical Industry; Africa

12 Mar 2019
Blog Post

What I Learned in the Africa Rising Short Intensive Program

Kosaluchi (Luchi) Nwokeneche-Mmegwa (MBA '20) is from Lagos, Nigeria and graduated with a degree in Public Policy from Princeton University. Prior to HBS, Luchi worked in investment banking and private... View Details

March 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

China: To Float or Not To Float? (E)- ABB Investment in China

By: Laura Alfaro, Rafael M. Di Tella and Ingrid Vogel

In July 2005, China revalued its currency by 2.1% and adjusted its exchange rate regime toward a more market-based system. ABB, a global power and automation technologies company based out of Switzerland with operations in China, was among those companies confronted... View Details

Keywords: Currency Exchange Rate; Investment; Multinational Firms and Management; International Relations; Problems and Challenges; Value Creation; China; Switzerland

04 Apr 2016
Blog Post

Meet the Middle East & North Africa Club

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Club at HBS aims to strengthen the ties between MENA club members and increase awareness about the MENA region on campus. In addition, the club strives to connect MENA... View Details

May 2018 (Revised July 2018)
Supplement

EY China (B): An Emerging Giant

By: Ashish Nanda, Das Narayandas and Lisa Rohrer

The case outlines how regional managing partner (RMP) Albert Ng steered Ernst & Young (EY) China through a period of significant growth from 2009, when it was the smallest of the Big Four firms in China, to 2017, by when it had become the second largest firm. Partners... View Details

Keywords: Professional Services; International Management; Big Four; Strategy And Execution; Emerging Market; Strategy; Growth Management; Leadership; Global Range; Emerging Markets; Competitive Strategy; Accounting Industry; China

This article analyzes the closing gap between regulation and enforcement of environmental protection in China and explores its implications for doing business there. It identifies three major dimensions that characterize change in regulatory systems: priorities and... View Details

July 2008 (Revised January 2009)
Case

Londolozi: Towards a Sustainable Business Model and Ecological Integrity in Southern Africa

By: Rawi E. Abdelal and Thomas Koelble

The Londolozi game viewing reserve in South Africa became a defining icon of ecotourism during the 1990s and early 2000s-that is, a tourist business promoting ecological land management and, at the same time, local economic development. The reserve was in a region in... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Tourism Industry; South Africa

19 Oct 2021

MBA Tour: South Africa

Join Harvard Business School as we take part in the MBA Tour. The MBA Tour events will introduce you to admissions representatives, students, and alumni from a wide variety of schools. Our HBS team will be online and looking forward to... View Details

21 Apr 2022

HBS Perspectives from Africa

Please join us in this virtual event to meet Harvard Business School students from Africa and learn more about our MBA Program from their perspective. We look forward to seeing you there! View Details

January 2012 (Revised February 2012)
Case

Journey to the East: Natcore Technology in China

By: Regina M. Abrami, Matthew Shaffer and Weiqi Zhang

Keywords: Business and Government Relations; Joint Ventures; China

02 Dec 2013
News

Why China Loves the Internet

May 2009
Article

Learning From Economic Experiments in China and India

By: Tarun Khanna

Keywords: Economics; India; China

Find at Harvard

February 2002 (Revised February 2003)
Case

Remaking the Rainbow Nation: South Africa 2002

By: Rawi E. Abdelal, Debora L. Spar and Katherine E. Cousins

In April 1994, the world witnessed a political milestone in South Africa. After decades of repression and racial segregation, South Africa's black majority came to power at last, as the African National Congress (ANC), led by the celebrated Nelson Mandela, rode into... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Race; Political Elections; Economic Growth; Business and Government Relations; South Africa

June 2022 (Revised January 2023)
Case

South Africa – a 'Just Energy Transition'

By: Richard Vietor

South Africa, like most other countries, is in the process of reducing its carbon emissions to comply with COP26 and, hopefully, reach net zero emissions by 2050. However, because South Africa relies almost wholly on coal (93%) for electricity, and on coal for... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Economic Development; Climate Change; Coal Mining; Emission Reduction; Environmental Regulation; Environmental Sustainability; Environmental Law; Labor and Management Relations; Labor Unions; Natural Resources; Energy Policy; Energy Sources; South Africa

March 2022
Case

In Data We Trust: Be Mobile Africa and Furthering Financial Inclusion Across the African Continent

By: Lauren Cohen, Grace Headinger and Pierre Marchesseault

To Cédric Jeannot, leveraging technology to promote financial inclusion was personal. After no established financial institution would accept his technology platform to lower transaction costs for free, Jeannot launched FinTech company Be Mobile Africa in May 2020.... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Fintech; Emerging Market; Fundraising; Financial Inclusion; Strategy; Expansion; Management; Entrepreneurship; Personal Finance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; Africa; Togo; Nigeria; Ghana