Publications

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March 2009 (Revised January 2025)
Background Note

A Strait of Uncertainty: Taiwan's Development in the Shadow of China

By: William C. Kirby, J. Megan Greene, Tracy Yuen Manty, Daniel Fu, Yuanzhuo Wang, Noah B. Truwit and Aqib Zakaria

Relations between the People’s Republic of China (PRC), on the Chinese Mainland, and the Republic of China (ROC), on Taiwan, had improved significantly since 2008. Taiwan investment in China had played a major role in China’s economic boom in recent decades. ... View Details

Keywords: History; Development Economics; Investment; Economic Growth; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Financial Crisis; China; Taiwan

June 2024 (Revised August 2024)
Case

Cementos Argos in the U.S.: Go Big or Go Home?

By: Jorge Tamayo, Ruth Costas, Pedro Levindo and Karina Souza

In April 2011, Colombian group Cementos Argos had to decide on whether to double down its business in the U.S., amidst the U.S. cement industry’s lowest performance in 30 years. Argos— Colombia’s leading cement producer and one of the “jewels” of Grupo GEA, the... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Organization; Business Subsidiaries; Talent and Talent Management; Cost vs Benefits; Financial Crisis; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Business Strategy; Construction Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Latin America; South America; North and Central America; United States; Colombia

Web

Topics - HBS Working Knowledge

Derivatives and Swaps (1) Credit (8) Crime and Corruption (43) Crisis Management (51) Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues (23) Culture (10) Currency Exchange Rate (3) Currency (12) Curriculum and Courses (2) Customer Focus and... View Details

April 2012
Article

Retail Doesn't Cross Borders: Here's Why and What to Do about It

By: Marcel Corstjens and Rajiv Lal

Most companies assume that the easiest way to grow is by investing overseas and that the developing world offers the best opportunities for boosting revenues and profits today. However, success abroad varies widely, and research shows that it's often tough to... View Details

Keywords: Operations; Growth and Development Strategy; Globalization; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Local Range; Retail Industry

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February 2015 (Revised April 2018)
Supplement

Dalian Wanda Group: The AMC Entertainment Acquisition (B)

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: AMC Entertainment; Wanda Group; 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; Expansion; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; China; United States

June 2016
Supplement

FANUC Corporation: Reassessing the Firm's Governance and Financial Policies Spreadsheet Supplement

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Akiko Kanno

In February 2015, Daniel Loeb (a US-based activist investor) announced his firm had a large investment in FANUC Corporation, a leading producer of industrial robots and software for machine tools. Loeb was demanding that the Japanese firm change its financial and... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Valuation; Investment Funds; Policy; Corporate Governance; Macroeconomics; Investment Activism; Change Management; Financial Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Japan; United States

13 Dec 2022
Research & Ideas

The Color of Private Equity: Quantifying the Bias Black Investors Face

that fund young businesses are owned by Black or Hispanic founders and partners, traditionally the most likely source of capital for minority business ventures, says Josh Lerner, the Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking at... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds; Financial Services

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

04 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

How To Do Business in Islamic Countries

Islamic finance and an emeritus professor of investment banking at Harvard Business School. Hayes, who continues to travel regularly to Islamic countries for research and consulting, offered advice to HBS students on January 23 as part of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Web

Globalization - Faculty & Research

Investment By: Juan Alcacer and Paul Ingram Global economic transactions such as foreign direct investment must extend over an institutional abyss between the jurisdiction, and therefore protection, of the... View Details

September 1993 (Revised June 1994)
Case

Hewlett-Packard: Singapore (A)

By: Dorothy A. Leonard

In the over 20 years since Hewlett-Packard (HP) set up a manufacturing site in Singapore to produce calculators, HP has invested managerial talent and resources in developing its licensor into a technology development partner. The case details the growth of high-volume... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Multinational Firms and Management; Market Entry and Exit; Competency and Skills; Research and Development; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Product Development; Computer Industry; Singapore

19 Mar 2007
Research & Ideas

Handicapping the Best Countries for Business

labor policies. As to foreign direct investment, any American business person contemplating an investment elsewhere must take into consideration all of the policies mentioned above, as well as for the foreign country into which the View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

May 2009 (Revised June 2009)
Case

Geographical Indications: I Say "Kalamata", the EU Says "Black Olive" (A)

By: Robert C. Pozen and Ani Krishni Satchcroft

In April 2005, Alexandra was the owner of an Australian farm that produced olives, including Kalamata table olives. Alexandra had invested in the expansion of her farm in anticipation of the evolution of her market from domestic trade in Australia to international... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Trademarks; Rights; Conflict and Resolution; Business Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; European Union; Australia

December 2006 (Revised March 2008)
Case

The European Union in the 21st Century

By: J. Gunnar Trumbull

Focuses on the challenges facing the European Union in 2006. Following the French and Dutch referendums in 2005, the fate of the European Constitution is in jeopardy. Ten new accession countries have just joined the EU, with Turkey in the beginning stages of the... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Government Administration; European Union

April 2012
Case

Bella Healthcare India

By: Dorothy Leonard and Sunru Yong

Bella Healthcare India was originally established in Bangalore as a low-cost manufacturing facility for a U.S.-based cardiology equipment developer. Under country manager Joseph Cherian it evolved considerably, developing its own research and development capabilities.... View Details

11 Mar 2024
News

In Harmony

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify More Skydeck episodes Hi, my name is Julia Hanna; I’m an associate editor at the HBS Alumni Bulletin. Last November I flew to Seoul, South Korea to interview Michael Kim (MBA 1990) of MBK Partners. Often referred to as one of... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; photograph by Jun Michael Park

October 2004 (Revised July 2013)
Case

Making China Beautiful: Shiseido and the China Market

By: Geoffrey G. Jones, Akiko Kanno and Masako Egawa

Describes the multinational growth of Shiseido, the world's fourth-largest cosmetics company, with a focus on its strategy in China since 1981. Explores the challenges facing firms in the globalization of a culturally specific industry such as cosmetics. The Japanese... View Details

Keywords: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Resource Allocation; Competition; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; China; Japan

2023
Working Paper

Trusting Talent: Cross-Country Differences in Hiring

By: Letian Zhang and Shinan Wang

This article argues that a society’s social trust influences employers’ hiring strategies. In selecting workers, employers could either focus on applicants’ potential and select on foundational skills (e.g., social skills, math skills) or focus on their readiness and... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Trust; Competency and Skills; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; European Union