Field Study Seminar: Managing and Investing in Emerging Markets

Course Number 6124

Professor Tarun Khanna
Fall, Field Study Seminar earning 3 non-classroom credits
5 sessions plus final project
Enrollment: Limited to 25 students

This field study seminar is aimed at students interested in pursuing a career related to emerging markets, whether as managers, consultants, entrepreneurs, or investors. The course will introduce a conceptual framework to analyze emerging markets and, through a combination of high-intensity case discussion and occasional lectures, teach students to apply the framework to the strategic challenges facing indigenous entrepreneurs struggling to overcome constraints to build world-class businesses, multinationals from developed countries tapping into emerging markets for growth, and domestic and foreign investors seeking to profit from investment opportunities in emerging markets. The course builds on more than a decade of research in emerging markets and draws on foundational material from first-year Strategy, BGIE, and Finance.

Educational Objectives

The seminar will provide a platform to discuss, debate, and research the following set of issues related to doing business in emerging markets:

  1. What is unique about the business context of emerging markets? What framework should one use to identify unique opportunities and challenges in operating in emerging markets? What is the impact of globalization on these markets?
  2. How should multinational corporations from developed markets approach and exploit opportunities created by the globalization of emerging markets? What are lessons from companies operating in these markets? How should businesses in the advanced world deal with challenges from emerging market multinationals?
  3. How does one build world-class companies in emerging markets? What are lessons from companies that are attempting to do so?
  4. What are the opportunities for portfolio investors, venture capitalists, and private equity investors in emerging markets? What are the lessons from current investment experiences? How do venture-backed entrepreneurs exploit emerging markets to gain competitive advantage?

Course Content and Organization

The seminar will meet on four Tuesday afternoons from 3:00-6:00 pm in September and early October and a fifth Tuesday afternoon later in the semester, when students will present progress reports on their final projects. Readings for the seminar will consist of both cases and chapters of a forthcoming book on emerging markets co-authored by Professor Khanna. Class sessions will consist of a combination of case discussion and lectures.

Course Requirements

The seminar will be in the format of five three-hour sessions. The course grade will be split equally between class participation and a final project. Students can use the final project to apply the course frameworks to the strategy of a multinational, domestic company, or investor based or operating in an emerging market. The project might also relate to peripheral topics of interest related to emerging markets-such as social responsibility of multinationals in emerging markets, the role that governments play in shaping the institutional context for business, or avenues for investing in emerging markets-that we will not be able to cover in depth in the seminar.