Globalization
Globalization
The globalization of business has long encouraged Harvard Business School (HBS) faculty to research international business practices and the effects of globalization. Seminal contributions - Christopher Bartlett on managing across borders, Michael Porter on competition in global industries, and Louis Wells on foreign investment in emerging markets - helped pave today’s global research path. Supported by eight Global Research Centers that facilitate our contact with global companies and the collection of international data, key investigations concentrate on the effectiveness of management practices in global organizations; cross-cultural learning and adaptation processes; the challenges of taking companies global; emerging-market companies with global potential; and international political economy and its impact on economic development.
Global Initiative
The Global Initiative builds on a legacy of global engagement by supporting faculty, students, and alumni in their work, and encouraging a global outlook in research, study, and practice.
GlobalResearch CentersRecent Publications
The Routledge Handbook of Infrastructure Finance
- 2025 |
- Book |
- Faculty Research
Turning Points in Inflation: A Structural Breaks Approach with Micro Data
- 2025 |
- Working Paper |
- Faculty Research
ICARE: Frontline Leadership at Michelin
- July 2025 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Under Menegaux’s leadership, Michelin had adopted a new purpose, defined an ambitious strategy, and implemented an innovative leadership approach—ICARE—which focused on genuinely investing in and empowering its frontline employees, especially in its 83 tire production plants around the world. Menegaux believed that the implementation of the ICARE leadership philosophy had been a key driver of the company’s strong performance during this period. He believed that an engaged and empowered workforce was essential to achieving excellence and sustaining continuous improvement. The approach required significant investments and remained a major undertaking still in progress.
The case profiles operators, business unit leaders, and executives to explore how the ICARE philosophy shaped factory culture, engagement and performance—and what challenges remained.
As Menegaux reflected on this transformation, a question remained: How could Michelin rigorously evaluate the return on its people investments and determine whether its leadership model was truly making a difference?
Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
- July 2025 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Economic Integration and the Transmission of Democracy
- July 2025 |
- Article |
- Review of Economic Studies
Commentary on 'Tracing the Early History of IB Teaching at Harvard Business School' by Teresa da Silva Lopes
- 2025 |
- Chapter |
- Faculty Research
Trade Within Multinational Boundaries
- 2025 |
- Working Paper |
- Faculty Research
Boutiqaat: Influencing Retail in MENA
- May 2025 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Daiichi Sankyo: Steering a Global Organization
- May 2025 (Revised August 2025) |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Lisa Su and AMD (A)
- April 2025 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Lisa Su and AMD (A) and Lisa Su and AMD (B) are not standalone case studies. They are designed to be taught together. Lisa Su and AMD (A) explores AMD’s successes and challenges prior to Lisa Su becoming CEO. Lisa Su and AMD (B) helps students understand the key elements of the transformation, and how Su is positioning the company for the future.