Emerging Markets and the Future of Business History

Gareth  Austin; Carlos  Dávila; Geoffrey  Jones

Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2017

Emerging Markets and the Future of Business History

by Gareth Austin, Carlos Dávila and Geoffrey Jones

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;

Language: English

Format: Print

52 pages

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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.

This case examines the role of Cisco led by John Chambers in facilitating web filtering in China. It begins by tracing the origins of Cisco as a pioneer of networking equipment. John Chambers, who had worked as a sales manager at IBM and Wang Laboratories, joined Cisco in 1991 and became CEO in 1995. The company expanded rapidly thereafter, acquiring many firms and growing globally, including in China, where it virtually created the internet. The case explores how the firm facilitated surveillance and monitoring of the internet under the Golden Shield project launched in 2000, and in 2004 served as a key participant in the CN2 upgrade which greatly enhanced official capability to filter content online. The case ends in 2007 with Chambers announcing further capital expenditure in China, but facing growing criticism by US Congress and others for Cisco's human rights record. At the same time, Cisco faced a powerful domestic competitor in China, Huawei, which had grown rapidly by investing in innovation even as Cisco pursued a share buy-back campaign after experiencing a sharp fall in its share price following the end of the Dot Com bubble. The case provides a vehicle for exploring the ethical and human rights responsibilities of corporations in the technology sector, as well as the impact of the internet on democracy.

The case examines the entrepreneurial career of Rupert Murdoch and the growth of News Corporation from a small Australian newspaper to a global media giant. It shows how he expanded geographically to Europe, the United States, and Asia and from newspapers to the film and television industries. The case identifies the personal role of Murdoch in this growth and the role of his family in its management. The case considers the political impact of News Corporation's newspapers and other media and their alleged role in shaping political opinion.

Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2018

Business, Governments and Political Risk in South Asia and Latin America since 1970

Geoffrey Jones and Rachael Comunale

This working paper provides a new perspective on how businesses have responded to political risk in South Asia and Latin America over the last half century. The existing business history literature on political risk is focused on the experiences of Western multinationals in the 20th century, especially in Nazi Germany and the post-colonial developing world. This working paper is instead focused on perceptions of political risk by domestic business leaders active in Latin America and South Asia since the 1970s. Employing data from the Creating Emerging Markets oral history database developed at the Harvard Business School, the working paper identifies five major sources of political risk: macroeconomic and policy turbulence, excessive bureaucracy, political instability, corruption, and violence. Employing NVivo coding, marked regional differences were identified. Macroeconomic and policy turbulence was the biggest perceived source of risk in Latin America. Excessive bureaucracy was the biggest source of perceived risk in South Asia. There were regional differences also in how leaders in different regions responded to the same risk. In both regions business leaders reported having to dedicate significant time to navigating government regulations, but interviewees in South Asia frequently reported attempting to steer clear from highly regulated industries, while many interviewees in Latin America discussed how they adapted to heavier government oversight by forming closer ties or working relationships with incumbent administrations.

Keywords: Business and Government Relations; Risk Management; Government and Politics; Business History; South Asia; Latin America;

Citation:

Jones, Geoffrey, and Rachael Comunale. "Business, Governments and Political Risk in South Asia and Latin America since 1970." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 18-102, May 2018. View Details

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