Publications

May 2014
Article

Cynicism in Negotiation: When Communication Increases Buyers' Skepticism

By: Eyal Ert, Stephanie J. Creary and Max H. Bazerman

The economic literature on negotiation shows that strategic concerns can be a barrier to agreement, even when the buyer values the good more than the seller. Yet behavioral research demonstrates that human interaction can overcome these strategic concerns through... View Details

Keywords: Trust; Information Asymmetry; Perspective Taking; Reactive Devaluation

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March 2013
Case

Currency Wars

By: Laura Alfaro and Hilary White

In February 2013, the G-20 finance ministers met in Moscow, Russia to discuss the rising anxieties over a potential international currency war. It was speculated that certain countries were purposely devaluing their currencies in order to improve their competitiveness... View Details

Keywords: Currency; Competitiveness; Trade Policy; Devaluation; Exchange Rate; Monetary Policy; Quantitative Easing; Inflation Targeting; Capital Flows; Central Banking; Currency Exchange Rate; Competitive Strategy; Emerging Markets; Policy; Trade; Conflict and Resolution; Banking Industry; Public Administration Industry; Moscow

January 2004 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Farmington Industries, Inc.: Managing Currency Exposure Risk

By: David F. Hawkins and Jacob Cohen

The December 20, 1994 Mexican devaluation creates U.S. dollar losses for an unprepared U.S. corporation with multiple operations in Mexico. View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Globalized Firms and Management; International Accounting; Currency; United States; Mexico

January 1990 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Colgate-Palmolive in Mexico (Abridged)

Describes the Mexican subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive as it sets its strategy for coping with hyperinflation and the November 1987 devaluation of the peso. View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Financial Crisis; Consumer Products Industry; Mexico

August 2010 (Revised November 2010)
Supplement

Cosmeticos de Espana, S.A. (C)

By: David F. Hawkins

The third case in the Cosmeticos de Espana case series. What should management's accounting response be to a further devaluation of the Bolivar? View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Decision Choices and Conditions; Inflation and Deflation; Currency Exchange Rate; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Spain; Venezuela

May 2002
Background Note

Project Valuation in Emerging Markets

Reviews the issues managers face when attempting to value projects abroad. These include dealing with multiple currencies, adjusting for country and industry risk, and considering expropriation and devaluation risk. View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Emerging Markets; Projects

August 2010 (Revised February 2012)
Supplement

Cosmeticos de Espana, S.A. (B)

By: David F. Hawkins

Second case in the Cosmeticos de Espana case series. What should management's accounting response be to a devaluation of the Bolivar? View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Decision Choices and Conditions; Inflation and Deflation; Currency Exchange Rate; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Spain; Venezuela

Keywords: Shipping and Logistics

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 multinational companies have changed as well. What are the... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

December 1980 (Revised January 1994)
Case

International Foodstuffs

By: David E. Bell

Describes three fairly routine instances in which considerations of risk exposure in foreign exchange are necessary. The three are a delayed payment for a grain shipment, a foreign subsidiary facing devaluation of its domestic currency, and a foreign acquisition. The... View Details

Keywords: Currency Exchange Rate; Risk and Uncertainty; International Relations; Mergers and Acquisitions; Money; International Finance; Financial Services Industry

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15 Jun 2020
Blog Post

Black MBA Students Pen Letters to the HBS Community: Letter 1/5

with trauma for the benefit of their peer’s (hopeful) learning. This is the work we do every day. We confront and navigate the devaluation of Black life. In supportive spaces and in unsupportive ones. We deal with the privileging of white... View Details

December 1985 (Revised January 1989)
Case

Cummins Engine Co.: Black Friday

A new regional manager for Cummins Venezuela faces Black Friday, Venezuela's massive currency devaluation and a weak distribution system. The manager must find a way to collect $1.4 million in receivables due from distributors and reestablish a viable distribution... View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Multinational Firms and Management; Crisis Management; Venezuela

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September 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Supplement

SUN Brewing (A) (CW)

The Khemka family of India--founders, managers, and majority owners of Russia-based SUN Brewing--faces a difficult decision in 1998. Following the ruble's massive devaluation in August 1998, the stock price of SUN brewing, which is publicly listed on the Luxemburg... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Emerging Markets; Family Business; Financing and Loans; Capital Markets; Decision Choices and Conditions; Food and Beverage Industry; India; Russia

Article

You Can't Always Get What You Want: The Real Exchange Rate and Manufacturing Performance in a World of Global Value Chains

By: Laura Alfaro, Alejandro Cuñat, Harald Fadinger and Yanping Liu

Real exchange rate devaluations are typically seen as a viable development strategy, but the effectiveness of the approach may vary over time and across countries. This column explores this issue by focusing on the microeconomics of firm-level responses to exchange... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing Performance; Real Exchange Rate; Global Value Chains; Economics; Production; Performance

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March 2005 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Foreign Exchange Hedging Strategies at General Motors: Transactional and Translational Exposures

By: Mihir A. Desai and Mark Veblen

How should a multinational firm manage foreign exchange exposures? Examines transactional and translational exposures and alternative responses to these exposures by analyzing two specific hedging decisions by General Motors. Describes General Motors' corporate hedging... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Currency Exchange Rate; Expansion; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Financial Management; Investment Funds; Risk and Uncertainty; International Finance; Auto Industry

July 2009
Case

Arcor: Global Strategy and Local Turbulence (Abridged)

Argentine confectionery manufacturer, Arcor Group, seeks to implement an international strategy but in 2003, while recovering from the Argentine financial crisis, globalization plans are thwarted. Already Latin America's leading candy producer and an exporter to over... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Currency; Global Strategy; Expansion; Balance and Stability; Food and Beverage Industry; Latin America; Argentina

November 2003 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Arcor: Global Strategy and Local Turbulence

Argentine confectionery manufacturer, Arcor Group, seeks to implement an international strategy but in 2003, recovering from the Argentine financial crisis, thwarts globalization plans. Already Latin America's leading candy producer and an exporter to over 100... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Making; Global Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Argentina

April 1998 (Revised October 1998)
Background Note

Indonesia's Pharmaceutical Industry in 1998

By: Carin-Isabel Knoop and Anthony St. George

This case describes the Indonesian pharmaceutical market in 1997 and the impact on the market of the Indonesian rupiah's 75% devaluation since July 1997. Major foreign and domestic players are described. It raises the issue of how the Indonesian pharmaceutical market... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Pharmaceutical Industry; Indonesia