Publications

February 2008 (Revised May 2011)
Case

The Travails of Rubber: Goodyear or Badyear?

By: Tom Nicholas and Andrew Ferguson

Explores the reason why Charles Goodyear, inventor of rubber vulcanization, was unable to profit from his discovery despite securing international property rights over his invention through a patent in 1844. Considers the utility of patents as an incentive for... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Entrepreneurship; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Innovation and Invention; Patents; Motivation and Incentives; Commercialization

December 2014 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Dalian Wanda Group: The AMC Entertainment Acquisition (A)

By: Willy Shih

When Dalian Wanda Group of China announced its plan to acquire the AMC Entertainment theatrical exhibition chain in the United States, many people in the U.S. were mystified. Unlike China where theatrical exhibition was experiencing rapid growth, the U.S. market was... View Details

Keywords: Dalian Wanda Group; AMC Entertainment; Wang Jianlin; Theater Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Foreign Direct Investment; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; China; United States

August 2015 (Revised May 2016)
Technical Note

Leading Global Teams: Managing SPLIT to Bridge Social Distance

By: Tsedal Neeley

Keywords: Global Leadership; Global Collaboration; Social Distance; Global Teams; Leadership; Groups and Teams; Organizations; Diversity; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues

September 2020 (Revised January 2021)
Case

Catalys Pacific

By: Joshua Lev Krieger

In 2019, BT Slingsby founds Catalys Pacific, the first biotech “venture creation” fund in Tokyo. After convincing some of the biggest Japanese pharmaceutical firms to invest, BT hopes the fund can make a big splash and transform biotechnology innovation in Japan. After... View Details

Keywords: Pharmaceutical Companies; Biotech; Health Care; Entrepreneur; Innovation; International Business; Entrepreneurial Finance; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Innovation Strategy; Venture Capital; Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Tokyo

September 1996 (Revised June 1998)
Case

InterSoft of Argentina (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Stacy Palestrant

Focuses on InterSoft of Argentina, a growing software company in Argentina. In 1993, InterSoft acquires a Russian software company and Emilo Lopez, the vice president and director of InterSoft's Systems Software Lab, must manage a creative, cross-cultural, "virtual"... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Business Growth and Maturation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Management Teams; Groups and Teams; Partners and Partnerships; Information Technology Industry; Argentina; Russia

January 2011
Case

Founder-CEO Succession at Acer

By: Noam T. Wasserman, Michael Shih-ta Chen and Keith Chi-ho Wong

Stan Shih, founder-CEO of Acer, Inc., had proactively chosen and transitioned the "perfect" successor as CEO, but was now faced with major problems. Over the last two years, his heir apparent, Leonard Liu, had made the changes he had been hired to make, including... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Management Style; Management Succession; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Conflict Management

November 2002 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Central America: Strategy for Economic Integration

By: Michael E. Porter and Niels Ketelhohn

Describes the economic integration efforts of the Central American countries in the late 1990s. View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Economic Growth; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Cooperation; Integration; Central America

May 2001 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Infosys Technologies

By: Ashish Nanda and Thomas J. DeLong

Creating and sustaining a third-world-based technology company to compete globally (i.e. in the first-world) poses many challenges. Such challenges are examined through the genesis and progression of Infosys Technologies Ltd. Key decisions made by Chairman N.R.... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Management Practices and Processes; Business Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Planning; Technological Innovation; Emerging Markets; Information Technology Industry

September 2020 (Revised January 2021)
Case

Comviva: Exploring New Frontiers (A)

By: Dante Roscini and Mahima Rao-Kachroo

Comviva, a mobile solutions provider active in India and 94 other countries, has had a rich history and been successful across many emerging and complex markets: Latin America, South-East Asia, Africa. What are the lessons learnt from expansion, cultural fits, and... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Acquisition; Emerging Markets; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Telecommunications Industry; India; South Asia

2003
Chapter

Managing Across Borders: New Organizational Responses

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Sumantra Ghoshal

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Organizational Change and Adaptation

Article

Was the Wealth of Nations Determined in 1000 B.C.?

By: Diego A. Comin, Bill Easterly and Erick Gong

We assemble a dataset on technology adoption in 1000 B.C., 0 A.D., and 1500 A.D. for the predecessors to today's nation states. We find that this very old history of technology adoption is surprisingly significant for today's national development outcomes. Our strong... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Growth and Development; Adoption; Business Strategy; Cost; Cost Management; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Culture; Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

Read Now

27 Feb 2007
First Look

First Look: February 27, 2007

dearly for the intangible aspects of the product, which the firm works very hard to keep integrated with the physical product. Deals with a range of issues confronting creative economy companies, such as how to produce products with very... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 1997
Case

Enron Development Corp.: The Dabhol Power Project in Maharashtra, India (B) (Abridged)

By: Louis T. Wells Jr.

A new administration takes power in a state in India and cancels a power project agreed upon by the previous state government and a U.S.-based energy company. The project cancellation is based on allegations of irregularities, exorbitant costs, and political pressures. View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Fairness; Cost; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Policy; Government and Politics; Contracts; Market Entry and Exit; Negotiation Process; Conflict Management; Energy Industry

10 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

How to Look at Globalization Now

the extra costs (not directly borne by the global producer) and risks of cross-border operation continue to be very significant. As a result, the net price premia, adjusted for risk, available to producers... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

March 2021
Supplement

Snapp: Scaling Under Sanctions in Iran (B)

By: Meg Rithmire and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in November 2020 as Eyad Alkassar and Mahmoud Fouz, co-founders of Iran’s first and leading ride-hailing platform, Snapp, eagerly await the results of the U.S. presidential elections.
The case takes us through the challenging times between... View Details

Keywords: Sanctions; Change Management; Disruption; Volatility; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Government and Politics; International Relations; National Security; Crisis Management; Risk Management; Health Pandemics; Transportation Industry; Middle East; Iran

January 2000 (Revised April 2000)
Case

StarMedia: Launching a Latin American Revolution

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Jon K Rust

By the fall of 1999, StarMedia had sprinted to a sizable lead in the race to acquire Latin American Internet users. Its pan-regional, horizontal portal was the first to target Spanish- and Portuguese-language speakers on the Internet, registering 1.2 billion page views... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; History; Risk Management; Business Cycles; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Infrastructure; Media; Emerging Markets; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Web; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry

October 2001 (Revised January 2002)
Case

Siemens AG: Global Development Strategy (B)

By: Stefan H. Thomke and Ashok Nimgade

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Research and Development; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Product Development; Telecommunications Industry; Germany; Bangalore

December 2007
Article

China + India: The Power of Two

By: Tarun Khanna

China and India are burying the hatchet after four-plus decades of hostility. A few companies from both nations have been quick to gain competitive advantages by viewing the two as symbiotic. If Western corporations fail to do the same, they will lose their competitive... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Economic Growth; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Competitive Strategy; Cooperation; China; India

Find at Harvard

February 2006 (Revised May 2006)
Case

JA Worldwide: Managing Change in a Multi-governed Environment

By: Michael Chu and Barbara Zepp Larson

Post-merger, the head of Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide must now oversee operations in 98 countries serving 6.6 million students, with over 7,600 local chapter board directors. President and CEO David Chernow's own board has increased to 111 members. Two separate... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Change Management; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Governance; Business or Company Management; Service Operations; Organizational Structure; Nonprofit Organizations; Balance and Stability