Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2017
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

Emerging Markets and the Future of Business History

By: Gareth Austin, Carlos Dávila and Geoffrey Jones
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:52
ShareBar

Abstract

This working paper suggests that the business history of emerging markets should be seen as an alternative business history rather than merely adding new settings to explore established core debates. The discipline of business history evolved around the corporate strategies and structures of developed economies. The growing literature on the business history of emerging markets addresses contexts that are different from developed markets. These regions had long eras of foreign domination and extensive state intervention, faced institutional inefficiencies, and experienced extended turbulence. This working paper suggests that this context drove different business responses than in the developed world. Entrepreneurs counted more than managerial hierarchies, immigrants and diaspora were critical sources of entrepreneurship, illegal and informal forms of business was commonplace, diversified business groups rather than the M-form became the major form of large-scale business, corporate strategies to deal with turbulence were essential, and radical corporate social responsibility concepts were pursued by some firms. Today, emerging markets such as China, India, Brazil, South Korea, Mexico, and Indonesia are among the largest economies in the world. If business history is to remain relevant as a subject, it must transition as a discipline from being heavily focused on North America, Europe, and Japan to fully incorporating the historical experiences of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Keywords

Business History; Emerging Markets; Developing Countries and Economies

Citation

Austin, Gareth, Carlos Dávila, and Geoffrey Jones. "Emerging Markets and the Future of Business History." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 18-012, August 2017.
  • SSRN
  • Read Now

About The Author

Geoffrey G. Jones

General Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • January 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Vicky Tsai and Tatcha: Confronting Stereotypes

    By: Geoffrey Jones and Mona Rahmani
    • November 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Ken Durham and Unilever as a 'Multi-Local Multinational'

    By: Geoffrey Jones and Mona Rahmani
    • July 2022 (Revised October 2022)
    • Faculty Research

    Nestlé, Shared Value and KitKat Diplomacy

    By: Geoffrey G. Jones and Sabine Pitteloud
More from the Authors
  • Vicky Tsai and Tatcha: Confronting Stereotypes By: Geoffrey Jones and Mona Rahmani
  • Ken Durham and Unilever as a 'Multi-Local Multinational' By: Geoffrey Jones and Mona Rahmani
  • Nestlé, Shared Value and KitKat Diplomacy By: Geoffrey G. Jones and Sabine Pitteloud
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College