Publications

April 2001 (Revised September 2001)
Case

Merloni Elettrodomestici: Building for a New Century

By: Joseph L. Bower

In 2001 a young new CEO has to develop a strategy to move his company beyond the hyper-competitive conditions of Western Europe. A major acquisition in Russia and a new Web-based service business provide interesting new directions. This case traces the development of... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Multinational Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure; Business Strategy; Web; Russia

1976
Chapter

More or Less Poverty? The Economic Effects of the MNE at Home and in the LDC's

By: L. T. Wells Jr.

Keywords: Poverty; Developing Countries and Economies; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Economies and Regions

October 1994 (Revised January 1995)
Case

Rhone-Poulenc (A) and (B) Condensed

Rhone-Poulenc, France's largest chemical firm, has achieved a major position in the United States as the result of an ambitious series of acquisitions. As it expanded in the United States from 1986 to 1990, Rhone-Poulenc management sought to take a "hands-off" approach... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Structure; Chemical Industry; France; United States

Find at Harvard

September 1993
Case

Rhone-Poulenc (B)

Rhone-Poulenc, France's largest chemical firm, has achieved a major position in the United States as the result of an ambitious series of acquisitions. As it expanded in the United States from 1986 to 1990, Rhone-Poulenc management sought to take a "hands-off" approach... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Structure; Chemical Industry; France; United States

May 2018
Case

Inditex: 2018

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2018, Inditex, based in Spain, was the largest specialist fashion retailer in the world, generating sales of $31.5 billion in 2017 from a portfolio of eight retail brands selling through a total of 7,475 stores located in 96 countries and from websites in 49... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Succession; IPO; Competition; Initial Public Offering; Multinational Firms and Management; Management Succession; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry

11 Mar 2014
First Look

First Look: March 11

greater competence. August 2013 Business History Review Charting Dynamic Trajectories: Multinational Firms in India By: Choudhury, Prithwiraj, and Tarun Khanna Abstract—In this article, we provide a synthesizing framework that we call the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Profile

John Schupbach

or disregarded. Yet everyone's voice is respected." After completing his MBA, John will return to Mayo to finish his medical degree and complete his residency. "Eventually, I'd like to divide my time, spending about a quarter of it in clinical practice, and... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare/Biotech

Web

Managing International Trade and Investment - Course Catalog

advantage. We will consider how various organizations of labor markets, financial markets, and regulatory regimes, for example, create opportunities and barriers for multinational firms. Second, we will focus on the more informal domestic... View Details

01 Dec 2018
News

Research Is the Foundation

fundamental means by which people interact in any organization.” Her research—published in her award-winning 2017 book, The Language of Global Success: How a Common Tongue Transforms Multinational Organizations (Princeton University... View Details

01 Dec 1996
News

On Eve of Transition, Alumni Conference Set for Hong Kong

featuring Asian business leaders. Westerners entering the Asian marketplace also need to know something about business relationships based on what the Chinese call guanxi, or "connection." The role of guanxi will be discussed in a session with panelists from major... View Details

Keywords: Elaine Gottlieb

01 Oct 1997
News

William K.L. Fung

earned a Ph.D. in economics at Harvard in 1971, Fung has built Li & Fung into a multinational trading and retailing company with 36 offices in 20 countries and an annual turnover of more than $1.6 billion. In Hong Kong, where Li & Fung... View Details

Keywords: Alejandro Reyes

01 Oct 1998
News

Playing to Win

No less intense was the off-field rivalry between the world's leading athletic equipment companies. With their dueling events, giveaways, and advertising - and through the on-field heroics of the teams and stars they equip - the companies' ongoing View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons

01 Jun 2014
News

FIELD 2 in Accra

between developed and emerging economies. "The skills we learn at HBS—how to analyze problems, propose solutions, and execute—are tremendously valuable in places like Ghana," asserts Leach, who will bring an awareness of the role View Details

Keywords: FIELD program; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Information

23 Jun 2016
Op-Ed

Brexit: Should Britain Stay or Go?

Harvard Business School faculty offer their views: Isidor Straus Professor of Business History Geoff Jones, who researches the evolution, impact, and responsibility of global business and has authored numerous books on these topics, including View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey G. Jones & Dante Roscini

December 2014 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Social Business at Novartis: Arogya Parivar

By: Michael E. Porter, Mark R. Kramer and David Lane

Late in 2013, Novartis CEO Joseph Jimenez was considering whether or how to deepen the company's investment in Arogya Parivar, its profitable program that sold Novartis medicines in rural India while expanding access to medicine and health information to millions of... View Details

Keywords: Shared Value; India; Kenya; Vietnam; Novartis; Arogya Parivar; Social Business; Multinational Firms and Management; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Pharmaceutical Industry; Viet Nam; Kenya; India

July 2007 (Revised September 2009)
Case

CEMEX's Foundations for Sustainability

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Pamela Yatsko and Ryan Raffaelli

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Competitive Strategy; Change Management; Emerging Markets; Construction Industry; Mexico; Egypt; United States

March 2002 (Revised October 2005)
Case

Wal-Mart in 2002

By: David B. Yoffie and Yusi Wang

In its first quarter of 2002, Wal-Mart became the largest company on the globe (by sales) and expanded into Japan. Was the giant retailer unstoppable? This case explores Wal-Mart's top issues in fueling top- and bottom-line growth: diversification into groceries, new... View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Expansion; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Strategy; Global Strategy; Retail Industry; Japan; United States