Publications

May 2003
Case

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

By: John A. Quelch

Didier Cherpitel, CEO of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), is implementing a new strategy that will fundamentally change the role of its International Secretariat. The organization is in the early stages of implementing a best... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Brands and Branding

25 Jun 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Why Do Countries Adopt International Financial Reporting Standards?

Keywords: by Karthik Ramanna & Ewa Sletten; Accounting

October 2005 (Revised February 2006)
Case

ICEX: Making a Market in Iceland

Examines the impact of increased performance on the international visibility and positioning of the Icelandic Stock Exchange. Allows consideration of various options for stock exchange growth that are created by Iceland's strong economic performance in recent years.... View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Stocks; Financial Markets; Globalization; Economy; Iceland

2023
Working Paper

The International Price of Remote Work

By: Agostina Brinatti, Alberto Cavallo, Javier Cravino and Andres Drenik

We study how the price of remote work is determined in a globalized labor market using data from a large web-based job platform, where workers from around the world compete for remote jobs. Despite the global nature of the platform, we find that remote wages are higher... View Details

Keywords: Remote Work; Exchange Rates; Purchasing Power Parity; Offshoring And Outsourcing; Macroeconomics; Developing Countries and Economies; Wages; Trade; Globalization; Marketplace Matching; Currency Exchange Rate; Service Industry; Web Services Industry; Technology Industry

2009
Working Paper

Why Do Countries Adopt International Financial Reporting Standards?

By: Karthik Ramanna and Ewa Sletten

In a sample of 102 non-European Union countries, we study variations in the decision to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). There is evidence that more powerful countries are less likely to adopt IFRS, consistent with more powerful countries being... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; International Accounting; Globalized Economies and Regions; Network Effects; Standards; Adoption

SSRN

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25 Oct 2010
HBS Case

Tesco’s Stumble into the US Market

Tesco PLC is the third-largest retailer in the world, just behind Wal-Mart and Carrefour. But that didn't make the UK-based chain immune from many costly mistakes as it entered the US market in 2006. For example, it opened some of its... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

August 1998 (Revised October 1998)
Case

Lark International Entertainment Ltd. (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Jennifer Suesse

Two HBS MBA's leave McKinsey and Morgan Stanley to become entrepreneurs in Hong Kong. Together they start up a cinema chain throughout Asia. This case describes the experiences of managing a team in their Wuhan, China cinema. Looks at the challenges of managing growth... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Problems and Challenges; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Emerging Markets; Leadership Style; Leadership; Groups and Teams; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Hong Kong; China; Asia

October 2014 (Revised May 2017)
Teaching Note

Pfizer and AstraZeneca: Marketing an Acquisition (A) & (B)

By: John A. Quelch

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Pharmaceutical Companies; Economic Impact Of Mergers; Mergers Impact On International Economies; Impact On Consumers Of Mergers; Customers; Economics; Marketing; Planning; Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Europe; North and Central America

November 2006 (Revised January 2007)
Case

Habitat for Humanity International in South Africa

By: Nicolas P. Retsinas, Arthur I Segel and Nelson Hioe

In March 2006, Larry English, Director of Program Design and Innovation for Habitat for Humanity International Africa and the Middle East, was reflecting on a large development project in Durbin that had stalled. Notwithstanding global attention led by former President... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Investment; Innovation Strategy; Emerging Markets; Social Entrepreneurship; Poverty; Property; Projects; South Africa; Middle East

1984
Chapter

Variations in Managerial Career Structures in High Technology Firms: The Impact of Organizational Characteristics on Internal Labor Market Patterns

By: R. M. Kanter

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Organizational Design; Technology Industry

26 May 2003
Research & Ideas

Corporate Transparency Improves For Foreign Firms in U.S. Markets

Are international firms that interact with U.S. capital, labor, and product markets more likely to be more transparent than companies without those interactions? In this e-mail interview, HBS Suraj... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

11 Feb 2008
Research & Ideas

Does Democracy Need a Marketing Manager?

Very little scholarship has been done around the subject of marketing and democracy. In fact, many believe that politics needs less marketing. Harvard Business School professor John A. Quelch and research associate Katherine E. Jocz see... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

February 2018 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Steinhoff International and the Stock Exchange

By: Siko Sikochi and Austin Lim

Nicky Newton-King, the Chief Executive Officer of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), was put in a difficult position. A scandal had broken out at Steinhoff, a JSE-listed company, under her watch and there were calls to suspend listing of the company securities from... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Financial Reporting; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Markets; Corporate Governance; Retail Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Distribution Industry; Africa; South Africa

September 1984
Case

Henkel Corp.: International Sealants Brand SISTA (A)

By: Robert J. Dolan

Corporate headquarters wishes to expand sales of a sealant product currently sold only in the West German market. Regional affiliates, operating on a profit center basis, are not enthusiastic about taking on the new product. The case describes the company's... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Globalization; Expansion; Profit; Conflict Management; Consumer Products Industry; Construction Industry; Europe; West Germany

March 2025
Case

Stagwell: AI and the Future of Marketing

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Radhika Kak

In early 2025, Mark Penn, Founder, CEO and Chairman of Stagwell, a global marketing company with a network of over 70+ agencies that served over 4000 blue-chip customers across 40 countries, was looking at ways that marketers should navigate the disruption emanating... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Innovation Strategy; Change Management; AI and Machine Learning; Digital Transformation; Technology Adoption; Marketing Strategy; Service Delivery; Creativity; Business Model; Advertising Industry; Technology Industry

29 Sep 2017
Working Paper Summaries

International Business and Emerging Markets: A Long-Run Perspective

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones

February 2001
Article

The Portfolio Flows of International Investors

By: K. A. Froot, P. O'Connell and M. Seasholes

Keywords: Asset Pricing; Equity Investment; Forecasting and Prediction; Behavioral Finance; Stocks; Investment Return; Market Transactions; Performance Expectations; Personal Characteristics; Financial Services Industry

16 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Researchers Contribute Globalization of Markets Papers

Twenty years has provided time to judge the success or failure of Theodore Levitt's predictions of a global economy populated by standardized products and marketing approaches. For the colloquium, a number of Harvard Business School and... View Details

Keywords: by Working Knowledge editors

July 15, 2013
Other Article

Pseudo-flexible Exchange-rate Regimes

By: Laura Alfaro and Fabio Kanczuk

According to the IMF, last decade saw a number of countries actively managing their exchange rates. Is this a good way for emerging economies to protect themselves from the large swings of international markets? This column presents a new "pseudo-flexible" exchange... View Details

Keywords: Flexibility; International Markets; Managing Exchange Rates; Currency Exchange Rate