Emerging markets

In many countries, diversified business groups substitute for the institutions that support effective markets in capital, labor, and goods and services. Their capacity for doing this must be strengthened through restructuring, not destroyed through dismantling.

Companies in developing countries are often so focused on chasing growth that they fail to invest in improving their innovation, operations, and brand...

A major shift is occurring in the nature of global competition, but it’s widely misunderstood. Emerging markets are no longer competing solely on price—by offering the lowest-cost manufacturing, for instance. Rather, they are increasingly competing with sophisticated skills in key sectors like health care, software, entertainment, consumer products, and manufacturing. They’re leveraging a fast-growing ability […]

Targeting the middle market can be lucrative—but companies won’t be able to deliver unless they start from scratch.

The U.S. may be the world’s leading innovator, but it won’t be for long if investors, regulators, and the legal establishment continue to penalize companies for risk taking, says Deborah Wince-Smith, president of the Council on Competitiveness. Recently, the council’s National Innovation Initiative, a leadership network of CEOs and university presidents, released a report in […]

There's still a lot of opportunity, despite the continent's slowing growth.

Julia Kirby, HBR editor-at-large, explains how our economic system got to this sad state--and where to look for hope.

Populism, migration, and conflict in the South China Sea.

The last decade has seen a dramatic growth in the communication sector in India. Until the 1980s, a telephone was considered a luxury. There was a waiting list of 20 million. Thanks to the liberalization in government policy and the entry of private players, the situation has changed beyond recognition. Few wish to have a […]

How openness to trade and participation in IMF programs influence the informal economy.

Bribery is pervasive in emerging markets, in part because of growth imperatives from headquarters, and companies can rack up millions in fines. CEB authors...

Because of growing commitments of their companies in developing countries, large numbers of American and European managers have entered negotiations with government officials in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Also, with emerging nationalism, these negotiations have become increasingly frustrating. Sometimes misunderstandings have been so great that they have led to a breakdown in negotiations that […]

Innovations from underdeveloped economies are launching brand-new industries. Investing in them is the key to creating wealth and fostering inclusive, sustainable development.

As Kodak has discovered, it’s now possible to establish Western-style corporations in China.

Mom-and-pop store owners are partners, not competitors.

Transnationals can give as well as take. They have in abundance precisely what developing nations need.

As waves of immigrants come to developed countries from developing ones, many policy makers tend to focus on the downsides, such as strains on social services, competition for employment, and racial tensions. Largely overlooked is a huge emerging market that is spanning national borders: purchases and investments that bounce money back to expats’ homelands. This […]

Demonetization was only the start.

The popular take on entrepreneurs in the developing world is that they are few in number and run only microbusinesses. But in a two-year study of entrepreneurship...

What multinationals need to know.