Publications

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25 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

MNCs in Asia: Investing in the Future

The unparalleled size of Asia's markets has always caught the eye of multinational corporations. More recently, as government policies and cultural attitudes in the region continue to evolve, the strategies of View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

05 Jul 2006
First Look

First Look: July 5, 2006

American multinational firms respond to politically risky environments by adjusting their capital structures abroad and at home. Foreign subsidiaries located in politically risky countries have significantly more debt than do other... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2007
Chapter

Microeconomic Determinants of Location Competitiveness for MNEs

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

The concept of microeconomic competitiveness based on the frameworks developed by Michael Porter since 1990 are popular with policy makers interested in improving the attractiveness and economic performance of their countries and regions. This concept also has many... View Details

Keywords: Microeconomics; Geographic Location; Multinational Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Competition

March 2010
Article

Does Foreign Direct Investment Promote Growth? Exploring the Role of Financial Markets on Linkages

By: Laura Alfaro, Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan, Areendam Chanda and Selin Sayek

Do multinational companies generate positive externalities for the host country? The evidence so far is mixed varying from beneficial to detrimental effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) on growth, with many studies that find no effect. In order to provide an... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Multinational Firms and Management; Financial Markets; Value; Stock Shares; Development Economics

December 2019 (Revised June 2025)
Case

Mãe Terra and Unilever (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Ruth Costas and Priscilla Zogbi

The case concerns the sale of Mãe Terra, one of Brazil's leading brands for packaged organic foods, to the consumer goods giant Unilever in 2017. Working with Unilever management, Mãe Terra’s CEO Alexandre Borges must determine whether and how to keep Mãe Terra's B... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Brand Management; Sustainability; Mergers and Acquisitions; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Environmental Sustainability; Organizational Culture; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Brazil; Latin America

July 2020 (Revised March 2021)
Case

Board Diversity at Amazon (A)

By: Aiyesha Dey and Anu Atluru

The case revolves around the decisions that the board of directors of ecommerce giant Amazon would need to make in response to the controversial letter that activist shareholder CtW investment group sent to Amazon’s shareholders, urging them to vote in favor of a... View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Boards; Governing and Advisory Boards; Diversity; Gender; Race; United States

January 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Generation Investment Management

By: Vikram S. Gandhi, Michael Norris and David Allen

In September 2021, the sustainable investment firm Generation Investment Management (Generation) considered whether to add Schneider Electric to the focus list of companies in which it was prepared to invest. Dedicated to promoting a sustainable world through its... View Details

Keywords: Sustainable Investing; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Governance; Private Equity; Public Equity; Financial Markets; Investment Return; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Institutional Investing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom; England; London

January 2010 (Revised February 2010)
Case

IFP, Indonesia

By: Roy D. Shapiro

IFP, Ltd. is a Europe-based multinational mining and minerals company contemplating an investment to produce forest products in Indonesia. The primary case decisions are 1) how to assess political and operating risk, 2) how to integrate economic and political risk... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Investment; Geographic Location; Risk Management; Supply Chain Management; Business and Government Relations; Forest Products Industry; Indonesia

September 2005 (Revised November 2006)
Case

AmorePacific: From Local to Global Beauty

By: Pankaj Ghemawat, Carin-Isabel Knoop and David Kiron

Suh Kyung-Bae, the President and CEO of AmorePacific, a South Korean cosmetics company, was an ardent globalizer. In its home market, AmorePacific had held off major multinational players such as L'Oreal and Estee Lauder and had engaged them in markets around the... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Local Range; Global Range; Global Strategy; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; South Korea

23 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 23

of multinationals from developed countries in developing countries. The central argument is that strategies were shaped by the trade-off between opportunity and risk. Three broad environmental factors determined the trade-off. The first... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 1992 (Revised March 1995)
Case

Kevin Simpson

By: Linda A. Hill

Follows Kevin Simpson, a second-year Harvard Business School 1990 student, through his job search to his final decision between two very attractive but different job offers: a job as an international marketing manager at Eli Lilly and Co., a leading multinational... View Details

Keywords: Job Offer; Race; Job Search; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decision Making

Teaching Interest

Globalization and Emerging Markets

Globalization and Emerging Markets is designed for students who will be investing, managing a business or nonprofit, or working for a government in an emerging market. The unit of analysis of the course ranges from countries to multinational and domestic companies... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Market; Globalization; BRICS; N11; Resource Allocation; Pakistan; Angola; Dubai; South Korea; South Africa; Turkey; Liberia; China; Brazil; Nigeria

September 2024
Case

Board Director Dilemmas: The Tradeoffs of Board Selection

By: David G. Fubini, Suraj Srinivasan and Patrick Sanguineti

After retiring from a long and successful career in financial auditing, Linda McGill looked forward to the prospect of joining a board. She felt the time was right to leverage the breadth of her experience while fulfilling one of her long-term goals. Though somewhat of... View Details

Keywords: Board Decisions; Corporate Boards; Board Networks; Cost vs Benefits; Governing and Advisory Boards; Retirement

March 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Foreign Exchange Hedging Strategies at General Motors

By: Mihir A. Desai and Mark Veblen

How should a multinational firm manage foreign exchange exposures? Examines transactional, translational, and competitive exposures. Describes General Motors' corporate hedging policies, its risk management structure, and how accounting rules impact hedging decisions.... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Currency Exchange Rate; Investment; Financial Markets; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Argentina; Japan; Canada; United States

21 Feb 2007
Op-Ed

What a U.N. Partnership with Big Business Could Accomplish

for a local business to flourish, it must invariably be connected to world markets, credit, and technology. That's why multinational corporations must play a critical role. The goal of poverty reduction will not be reached unless the... View Details

Keywords: by George C. Lodge & Craig Wilson

June 2022
Case

The SAH Group: The Time is Right

By: Juan Alcacer and Alpana Thapar

In January 2021, Jalila Mezni, cofounder and CEO of the SAH Group, was preparing to present the company’s future growth plans to its board of directors. The Tunisian company was a leading producer and distributor of personal care and packaged hygiene products. In 2019,... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Expansion; Business Divisions; Product Positioning; Brands and Branding; Competition; Presentations; Consumer Products Industry; Tunisia; Kenya

30 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 30

U.S. Multinational Firm Activity Authors:C. Fritz Foley and William R. Kerr Abstract This paper studies the impact that immigrant innovators have on the global activities of U.S. firms by analyzing detailed data on patent applications and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 1993 (Revised April 1995)
Case

Singapore

By: Forest L. Reinhardt and Edward Prewitt

Since winning independence in 1965, Singapore achieved some of the world's highest rates of economic growth. A large part of GDP and employment came from direct investment by multinational companies in low-cost assembly work, but in the 1990s Singapore's rising wage... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Decision Choices and Conditions; Development Economics; Economic Growth; Foreign Direct Investment; Multinational Firms and Management; Employment; Wages; Singapore