Publications

2015
Chapter

What Is Regional Strategy? Lessons from Business Strategy

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

Regional policy, especially in Europe, makes increasing reference to the notion of strategy, a conceptual tool developed in the area of business studies. This chapter reviews some key aspects of strategy as defined by the so-called "positioning school" and discusses... View Details

Keywords: Competitiveness; Regional Policy; Strategic Planning; Globalized Economies and Regions; Competition; Policy

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December 2011 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Brasil Foods

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

In mid-2011, the management of Brasil Foods, a leading Brazilian branded foods producer and protein exporter, is evaluating strategies for international and domestic growth. The team has just received approval from Brazil's antitrust authorities to complete the merger... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Brazil

2009
Chapter

Third World Multinationals: A Look Back

By: L. T. Wells Jr.

Keywords: Business History; Multinational Firms and Management; Africa; Asia; Latin America; Oceania; West Indies

February 2003
Case

Dubai Ports Authority (A)

The Dubai Ports Authority (DPA) wishes to digitize many of the documents it shares with its external partners, including shipping lines and agents, merchants, and the country's customs authority. DPA also wishes to automate the many document transmissions related to... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Information Technology; Cooperation; Globalized Markets and Industries; Shipping Industry; Dubai

September 1998 (Revised October 2001)
Case

SADAFCO

SADAFCO has long enjoyed a dominant position in the milk and ice cream markets in Saudi Arabia. In the mid-1990s, this dominance was under threat as Nestle, Unilever, and Mars all entered the ice cream market. The case outlines the Saudi Arabian ice cream wars. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Food; Multinational Firms and Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Saudi Arabia

January 1984 (Revised April 1987)
Case

Turning Around Alcan Europe (A): Patrick Rich's First Four Months as CEO-Europe

Faced with large losses in Alcan Aluminum (Europe), Patrick Rich takes the position of area general manager and slashes capital budgets, introduces new financial controls, and sets up mechanisms for increasing cooperation among the national subsidiaries. The focus is... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Manufacturing Industry; Europe

November 1978 (Revised January 1983)
Case

Vick International Division: Tom McGuire

Explores the ways in which International Division management uses formal management systems in carrying out its roles in the management processes of one division of a diversified drug company. View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Business Divisions; Management Systems; Pharmaceutical Industry

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17 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

Entrepreneurship in Asia and Foreign Direct Investment

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is often lauded for bringing economic growth and know-how to developing countries. The conventional wisdom is not necessarily wrong, but the real story is much more nuanced than is commonly believed, says HBS professor Yasheng Huang. As... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

2016
Working Paper

Mapping the Economic Grand Tour: Travel and International Emulation in Enlightenment Europe

By: Sophus A. Reinert

As the itinerant wizard (technically one of the Maiar, if not the Istari) Gandalf wrote to the then domestically-inclined hobbit Frodo Baggins in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, “Not all those who wander are lost.” Indeed, as the recent brouhaha over the... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Globalization