Turkey and Russia: Dangerous Liaisons

Rawi  Abdelal; Esel  Çekin; Eren  Kuzucu; Gamze  Yucaoglu

Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2017

Turkey and Russia: Dangerous Liaisons

by Rawi Abdelal, Esel Çekin, Eren Kuzucu and Gamze Yucaoglu

Abstract

The case opens in November 2015, after the Turkish military’s shooting down of a Russian military airplane over the Turkish-Syrian border. The incident threatened to undermine the countries’ political and economic ties, and starting from late 2015, the dialogue between Ankara and Moscow was suspended for several months. The case explores the initial steps toward rapprochement in June 2016. The central dilemma is this: whether in light of the existing uncertainties companies operating in both countries can resume their investments and commercial activities, or should decisions be put on hold? What is the best strategy during such turbulent times? Can companies bet that a reunion would last?

Keywords: Russia; Turkey; Business ＆ government relations; politics; energy policy; infrastructure; energy; Natural Gas; natural resources; nuclear power; international relations; strategy; Business and Government Relations; Energy; Strategy; International Relations; Russia; Turkey;

Language: English

Format: Print

24 pages

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Citation:

Abdelal, Rawi, Esel Çekin, Eren Kuzucu, and Gamze Yucaoglu. "Turkey and Russia: Dangerous Liaisons." Harvard Business School Case 717-035, January 2017.

The case opens with Alain Bejjani, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Holding, anticipating on the Group’s next phase in the multi-year transformation journey and reflecting on the initiatives he implemented to create the Group’s growth-oriented culture. Founded in 1995, MAF Group was a regional conglomerate, operating shopping malls, and retail and leisure establishments across 12 businesses in 15 markets in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The case describes the series of structural changes that Bejjani undertook since he became the CEO in 2015, how he transitioned the Holding company from a passive investor to a strategic architect model, and assumed ownership of the brand, culture, and talent across the entire organization for all its operating companies: MAF Properties, MAF Retail, and MAF Ventures. The case discusses the steps that the Group undertook – creation of the Leadership Institute, a new performance management system, investments in digital technology and analytics capabilities, and the launch of the School of Great Moments to instill a focus on customer experience. By November 2019, Bejjani recognized that the organization had evolved considerably in the past five years. He wondered about the next steps in scaling and ability to execute strategy. How much more could he push the organization to continue to change?

Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2019 (Revised June 2020)

Russia: A Drama In Three Acts

Rawi Abdelal, Rafael Di Tella, Galit Goldstein and Sogomon Tarontsi

The collapse of central authority in the Soviet Union in 1991 ushered in a period of revolutionary transformations for the states that emerged in its wake. The leaders of Russia, the USSR's successor, struggled to reestablish central authority while also seeking to avoid further disintegration, establish a democratic polity, and institute a market economy across the next several years. Russia would navigate further economic crisis and a swiftly evolving geopolitical order as it returned to the world stage. The case examines the different governance approaches adopted by Presidents Boris Yeltsin, Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin, and concludes with a discussion of Russia’s strategic challenges and opportunities in 2020. The case focuses on problems of state authority; fiscal capacity; institutionalization of political parties; relations between the federal center and provincial governments; relations between the state and big business; economic policy; international relations; and models of economic development.

Keywords: Business ＆ government relations; developing countries; government policy; policy change; Policy Making; Economic Systems; Economics; Globalization; Emerging Markets; Privatization; Non-Renewable Energy; Governance; Global Strategy; Corporate Governance; Policy; Business History; Lawfulness; Problems and Challenges; Business and Government Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Strategy; Change Management; Russia; Moscow;

Citation:

Abdelal, Rawi, Rafael Di Tella, Galit Goldstein, and Sogomon Tarontsi. "Russia: A Drama In Three Acts." Harvard Business School Case 720-020, November 2019. (Revised June 2020.) View Details

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The greatest challenge to the sustainability of our current era of globalization comes from within the United States. Most Americans have come to reject globalization. We must discern the lessons from the parts of the developed world where the backlash is also profound—France, for example—and where it has been more muted—such as Germany. In both the United States and France, gross Gini coefficients have increased sharply during the past thirty or so years. The French state has, however, delivered a net, after-tax, after-transfer distribution of income that is more equal than it was thirty years ago. And yet: France is still in the midst of an anti-systemic populist revolt. There is only one inescapable conclusion: It is not just about the money. Those who feel left behind in both countries feel that they have lost respect and dignity. We cannot redistribute our way out of the crisis of global capitalism. The German experience holds lessons. We must value and valorize the many ways in which people contribute. We must also pursue policies that create patterns of employment that confer dignity, meaning, and purpose. I argue for dignity as a tool of policy, beyond its normative desirability as a goal.

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Turkey and Russia: Dangerous Liaisons

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