General Management

- July 29, 2021
- Article
How to Build a Life: What Immigrants Know About Happiness

By: Arthur C. Brooks
- July 29, 2021
- Article
How to Build a Life: What Immigrants Know About Happiness

By: Arthur C. Brooks
- July 28, 2021
- Editorial
Critical Jobs Are Going Unfilled. 5 Things Workers Want from Employers Now

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter
- July 28, 2021
- Editorial
Critical Jobs Are Going Unfilled. 5 Things Workers Want from Employers Now

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter
- 2021
- Chapter
Multinationals' Need for State Protection: The Creation of the Swiss Investment Risk Guarantee in the 1960s

By: Sabine Pitteloud

This chapter focuses on the role of Industrie-Holding, the Federation of Swiss Industrial Multinational Companies, in the introduction of an investment risk guarantee during the 1960s. The chapter therefore contributes to a) the growing body of literature on how multinationals have addressed political risks from a historical perspective and b) the literature dealing with the role of entrepreneurs and their organizations in influencing politics and building new institutions. Drawing on a wide variety of historical sources, it reveals how a small group of Swiss multinational enterprises (MNEs) pushed for the assistance of the Swiss Federal states despite their usual strong aversion for state interventionism. Their motivations were twofold: First, MNEs wanted to secure their new investments in developing countries against political risks such as nationalization. The introduction of a state guarantee was especially important for Swiss MNEs since the United States and Germany had already introduced similar insurance schemes to support their national firms. The managing directors of Swiss MNEs were very aware of the advantage of being the first mover in emerging markets and were afraid of being at a disadvantage compared to their U.S. and German competitors. A second issue was the growing pressure from international organizations and civil society to increase Swiss development assistance. Swiss MNEs sought, therefore, to present the creation of the investment risk guarantee as a way of fostering economic development in poor countries. The introduction of such an insurance scheme could prevent a significant increase in public spending on development assistance and show the goodwill and the effectiveness of the private sector in tackling the issue of underdevelopment. The chapter also highlights how Swiss multinationals had to find allies within the rest of the business community to push for the creation of this new insurance scheme. Establishing consensus on the matter was not an easy task since many business leaders saw the introduction of a state guarantee as a dangerous precedent of state interventionism, which could ultimately lead to increases in taxation. Therefore, MNEs and the Swiss business community needed to solve their dilemma and form a united front in order to gain enough political leverage to prompt the introduction of the Swiss investment risk guarantee.
- 2021
- Chapter
Multinationals' Need for State Protection: The Creation of the Swiss Investment Risk Guarantee in the 1960s

By: Sabine Pitteloud

This chapter focuses on the role of Industrie-Holding, the Federation of Swiss Industrial Multinational Companies, in the introduction of an investment risk guarantee during the 1960s. The chapter therefore contributes to a) the growing body of literature on how multinationals have addressed political risks from a historical perspective and b) the...

About the Unit

The General Management Unit is concerned with the leadership and management of the enterprise as a whole. This concern encompasses:

the personal values and qualities of effective general managers and enterprise leaders;
the philosophies, values, and strategies that inform successful enterprises; and
the relation of enterprise to the broader community and other external constituencies.

The Unit's work is conceived and carried out principally in four interest groups, each of which has its own leadership, research agenda, and teaching programs:

Management Policy and Process
Management Information Systems
Society and Enterprise
Leadership, Values, and Corporate Responsibility

Recent Publications

How to Build a Life: What Immigrants Know About Happiness

By: Arthur C. Brooks

July 29, 2021 |
Article |
The Atlantic

Citation

Read Now

Critical Jobs Are Going Unfilled. 5 Things Workers Want from Employers Now

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

July 28, 2021 |
Editorial |
CNN.com

Keywords: Labor; Flexibility; Choice; Opportunities; Belonging; Values

Citation

Read Now

The Carlyle Group: Carving Out Atotech

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

July 2021 |
Teaching Note |
Faculty Research

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 321-153. On January 31, 2017, The Carlyle Group ("Carlyle") closed its $3.2 billion acquisition of Atotech, an international Specialty Chemicals and Equipment company. In Carlyle's Washington, DC headquarters, the US-based deal team—Martin Sumner, Greg Nikodem, Tanaka Maswoswe (HBS '10), and Luke Mehmeti (HBS '20)—breathed a sigh of relief as they reflected on the prior six months, shepherding the opportunity through a competitive bidding process and numerous international regulatory approvals to a signed and completed transaction. Getting the deal over the finish line had required a monumental, cross-border effort, with close collaboration among the US team, European buyout colleagues Friedel Drees and Willi Westenberger, and Asian buyout colleagues Herman Chang and Yi Yu. They all knew, however, that the real work lay ahead: executing on the transformation plan developed during the many months of diligence.