Emerging Markets and Global Strategy

Lourdes Casanova, Cornell University, Ithaca

Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra, Northeastern University, Boston

Peter Gammeltoft, Copenhagen Business School

Mike Peng, University of Texas at Dallas

Ravi Ramamurti, Northeastern University, Boston

The course is intended for students within the social sciences, including business and management. It is designed to be accessible to students with different backgrounds, thesis themes, methodological approaches and disciplines and at different stages of their PhD project. A basic understanding of international economics, business and strategy is assumed.

One week before the commencement of the course, students submit a written paper (5 pages) on a research idea or ongoing research activity, related to the course themes. The paper will be shared with other participants. Students make a presentation on the basis of their paper and receive feedback on it. They further produce a written review of a fellow student’s paper to be submitted after the course.

Students are expected to read all the course readings prior to the course and to engage actively in discussions in lectures, exercises and activities. They are also expected to read all the student papers submitted to the course and be prepared to offer constructive critiques during paper presentations.

Emerging markets have become dynamic and influential players in the global economy. In addition to dynamism in their domestic economies, they are assuming increasing importance internationally in a range of roles as competitors, partners and rivals. At the same time, their roles are transforming in response to recent trends in national economic policies and restructuring of international production systems. The aim of this course is to offer advanced insights into ways in which emerging markets are increasing and transforming their outward participation in the global economy and importance for global challenges. It will familiarize doctoral students with significant foundational and contemporary themes and advances in the intersection between emerging market and global strategy research.

The course comprises of five lectures, discussing different dimensions of the outward integration of emerging markets and engaging with theories, methodologies and empirical trends central to emerging markets and strategies. The course will augment participants’ understanding of characteristics of emerging markets and their implications for global strategies and equip them better to address them in their research. The lectures will cover the following dimensions of outward orientation: global strategy and emerging markets; governments and internationalization; innovation in and from emerging economies; emerging market multinationals; and ESG, CSR and sustainability.

See ‘Lecture plan’ below.

The course includes workshops where students present their 5 page drafts, and they are discussed by faculty and fellow students. There will be around 30 minutes available per student for presentation and discussion. The draft paper can be an extract of an existing paper or written specifically for the course. It should focus on the design of a study rather than on any findings. It should address the conventional components in a research design (research problem, contribution, methodology, theoretical framework). Further, each student will produce a 1-2 page written review, according to guidelines provided, of another student’s paper to be submitted no later than a week after the course. All students are expected to partake in the oral discussion of student papers. This exercise will strengthen skills in both presentation of own work and constructive critique of the work of others.

The course consists of a combination of lectures, class discussions, exercises and student presentations. It is based on a high level of student involvement and interactivity in the presentation and discussion of the material.

The lectures serve to present state-of-the-art material on the lecture themes and engage students in discussions with the lecturer and fellow students. The purpose of the student presentations is to develop participants’ research activities or research ideas in a dialogue with faculty and students and facilitate exploration of common research interests among participants.

Monday: Global strategy and emerging markets

Mike Peng

In this lecture, we will define what is global strategy; outline the four fundamental questions in strategy; and highlight the importance of emerging markets in the ongoing debate between globalization and deglobalization. The emphasis will be on identifying important, timely, but previously under-researched research topics, such as coping with geopolitical impact like sanctions, supply chain reorganization, and management of diverse stakeholders. 

9:30-12:30: Lecture 1

13:30-16:00: Student presentations

Readings

• Peng, M. W. (2022). CH 1: Strategizing around the globe, in Global Strategy, 5th ed. Boston: Cengage.
• Peng, M. W. (2003). Institutional transitions and strategic choices. Academy of Management Review, 28(2), 275-296.
• Meyer, K. E., & Peng, M. W. (2016). Theoretical foundations of emerging economy business research. Journal of International Business Studies, 47(1), 3-22.

Tuesday: Governments and internationalization

Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra

In this lecture, we study a variety of influences of governments on internationalization, both indirect influences in the form of institutions as well as direct influences in the form of ownership. We start with an overview of institutions and global strategy, discussing how the political system characteristics drive country and entry mode selection, including the effect of the dark side of politics as corruption. We then analyze how political dynamics in the form of pro-markets reforms and skepticism of globalization alter firms’ global strategy. Finally, we study the direct influence of governments on global strategy through their ownership of state-owned firms and sovereign wealth funds.

9:30-12:30: Lecture 2

13:30-16:00: Student presentations

Readings

• Cuervo-Cazurra, A., Duran, P., Arregle, J.-L., van Essen, M. (2022). Host country politics and multinationals’ internationalization: a meta-analysis. Journal of Management Studies (forthcoming)
• Cuervo-Cazurra, A. (2016). Corruption in international business. Journal of World Business, 51, 35-49
• Cuervo-Cazurra, A. Doz, Y., and Gaur, A. (2020). Skepticism on globalization and global strategy. Global Strategy Journal, 10 (1), 1-20.

Wednesday: Innovation in and from emerging markets

Ravi Ramamurti

In this lecture, we will explore the nature of innovation in emerging markets, the roles played by local firms and MNCs in that process, and how and why innovations diffuse from one country to another. In particular, we will look at the case of “reverse innovation,” which is the counterintuitive flow of innovation from developing to developed countries (as opposed to the other way around). We will look at different instances of reverse innovation, in both products (e.g. medical devices) and services (e.g. healthcare or banking), and speculate on the future prospects for reverse innovation. A second goal of this session will be to explore the tensions that sometimes arise in research between rigor vs. relevance, and how to deal with that productively. In turn, that will raise the question of when and how to do good qualitative research, and the role of hypotheses-generation research versus hypotheses-testing research.

9:30-12:30: Lecture 4

13:30-16:00: Student presentations

Readings

• Govindarajan, V. and Ramamurti, R., (2011). Reverse innovation, emerging markets, and global strategy. Global Strategy Journal, 1(3‐4), 191-205.
• Govindarajan V. and Ramamurti, R. (2018). Reverse innovation in health care: How to make value-based delivery work. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.
• Siggelkow, N., (2007). Persuasion with case studies. Academy of Management Journal, 50(1), 20-24.

Thursday: Emerging market multinationals

Peter Gammeltoft

Recent challenges notwithstanding, multinational companies from emerging markets are becoming major players in the globalized world economy, presenting important challenges not only to scholarly research but also to government policies and business strategies. In this session, we will discuss contemporary trends in outward investment from emerging economies, how they relate to extant IB theories, and how they impact on home and host countries, developing as well as developed.

9:30-12:30: Lecture 5

13:30-16:00: Panel discussion with business representatives

Readings

• Gammeltoft, P., & Cuervo-Cazurra, A. (2021). Enriching internationalization process theory: insights from the study of emerging market multinationals. Journal of International Management, 27(3), 100884.
• Knoerich, J. (2017). How does outward foreign direct investment contribute to economic development in less advanced home countries?. Oxford Development Studies, 45(4), 443-459.
• Ramamurti, R. (2012). What is really different about emerging market multinationals?. Global Strategy Journal, 2(1), 41-47.

Friday: ESG, CSR and sustainability

Lourdes Casanova

Over the past ten years, ESG has assumed increasing importance. ESG sustains the momentum from corporate social responsibility (CSR), a construct that emerged about 70 years ago and marked the starting point for businesses taking ownership of their impact on society. Following a brief discussion of the historical context surrounding the emergence of ESG, this lecture will examine ESG’s growing influence in emerging markets and will dive into the ESG performance of emerging market firms. We will highlight the specificities of the emerging market environment and the need to ensure that emerging market firms are fully integrated in the ESG movement. Also, we will present the top ESG EMNC performers as well as a ranking of emerging markets which will include ESG variables.

9:30-12:30: Lecture 3

13:30-16:00: Student presentations

Readings

• Casanova, L., Miroux, A. (2021). ESG and Emerging Markets Multinationals, CH 2 in Emerging Markets Report 2021: Emerging Market Multinationals, building the future on ESG excellence. 5 November 2021, 25 to 56, https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/66953 DOI https://doi.org/10.7298/cvhn-dc87
• Casanova, L.; Miroux, A. (forthcoming). D-ESG ranking, CH 3 in Emerging Markets Report 2022. Reinventing Global Value Chains, 4 November 2022, https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/66953
• UNCTAD (2020). Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting, Thirty-seventh Session. 4–6 November 2020, United Nations, Geneva, TD/B/C. II/ISAR/93. https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/ciiisard93_en.pdf

 (Details of the course program are subject to change)

The course learning objectives are:

• Explain concepts, theories and methods that are central to emerging markets and global strategy
• Analyze the factors that affect emerging markets and global strategy
• Examine the strengths and weaknesses of applicable theories and models on the basis of contemporary developments and cases
• Operationalize concepts pertaining to emerging markets and global strategy, using relevant data sources and indicators
• Independently analyze issues pertaining to emerging markets and global strategy deriving from the theories, concepts as well as empirical evidence.

None

See ‘Lecture plan’ above.