Book Review of Winning in Emerging Markets by Krishna G. Palepu
Winning in Emerging Markets by Krishna G. Palepu
Most books thus far on emerging markets are either investing-oriented (Mobius, Pereiro), or country – or market-specific (Farrell, Lindahl), or descriptive (Friedman, van Agtmael). No book has definitively targeted the corporate strategists who need a practical framework and assessment tools for analyzing emerging markets, identifying new business opportunities, and planning strategy and execution. This book does just that. Rather than defining emerging markets by particular size or growth qualifications, Palepu and Khanna argue that the primary exploitable characteristic of these markets is their lack of developed infrastructures and institutions that might enable efficient business operations. Credit card systems, intellectual property adjudication, and data research firms are all market intermediaries taken for granted in advanced economies, for example, and operating without them poses specific challenges – as well as major opportunities. Building upon of the authors’ series of popular HBR articles on the topic, the book gives managers a systematic framework for assessing the institutional context of any emerging market so that they can spot institutional voids, position themselves in the market, and finally build execution strategies that factor in an informed prognosis of that market’s future.
The best way to select emerging markets to exploit is to evaluate their size or growth potential, right? Not according to Krishna Palepu and Tarun Khanna. In Winning in Emerging Markets, these leading scholars on the subject present a decidedly different framework for making this crucial choice.
The authors argue that the primary exploitable characteristic of emerging markets is the lack of institutions (credit-card systems, intellectual-property adjudication, data research firms) that facilitate efficient business operations. While such “institutional voids” present challenges, they also provide major opportunities-for multinationals and local contenders.
Palepu and Khanna provide a playbook for assessing emerging markets’ potential and for crafting strategies for succeeding in those markets. They explain how to:
· Spot institutional voids in developing economies, including in product, labor, and capital markets, as well as social and political systems
· Identify opportunities to fill those voids; for example, by building or improving market institutions yourself
· Exploit those opportunities through a rigorous five-phase process, including studying the market over time and acquiring new capabilities
Packed with vivid examples and practical toolkits, Winning in Emerging Markets is a crucial resource for any company seeking to define and execute business strategy in developing economies.
About the Author
Krishna G. Palepu is the Ross Graham Walker Professor of Business Administration and Senior Associate Dean for International Development, at the Harvard Business School. Palepu’s current research and teaching activities focus on strategy and governance. Palepu has published numerous academic and practitioner-oriented articles and case studies on these issues. In the area of strategy, his recent focus has been on the globalization of emerging markets, particularly India and China, and the resulting opportunities and challenges for western investors and multinationals, and for local companies with global aspirations. Tarun Khanna studies and works with multinational and indigenous companies and investors in emerging markets worldwide. His current research focuses on understanding the drivers of entrepreneurship worldwide. As part of the Emerging Giants project, he seeks to understand how to build world-class companies from emerging markets worldwide. His recent book, Billions of Entrepreneurs: How China and India Are Reshaping Their Futures?and Yours, zeros in on China and India, and identifies best practices for local entrepreneurs and multinationals operating in each of these two countries.
Related posts:
- Book review of Analytics at Work by Thomas H. Davenport, Jeanne G. Harris and Robert Morison
- Book Review of Gandhi CEO 14 Principles To Guide & Inspire Modern Leaders:Alan Axelrod
- Book Review of Rethinking the MBA by Srikant M. Datar , David A. Garvin and Patrick Cullen
- Book review of The Snowball: Warren Buffet and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder
- Book Review of Mother Pious Lady by Santosh Desai