Redefining Global Strategy: Crossing Borders in a World Where Differences Still Matter

by Pankaj Ghemawat

Why do so many global strategies fail—despite companies’ powerful brands and other border-crossing advantages? Seduced by market size, the illusion of a borderless, “flat” world, and the allure of similarities, firms launch one-size-fits-all strategies.

But cross-border differences are larger than we often assume, explains Pankaj Ghemawat in Redefining Global Strategy. Most economic activity—including direct investment, tourism, and communication—happens locally, not internationally.

In this “semiglobalized” world, one-size-fits-all strategies don’t stand a chance. Companies must instead reckon with cross-border differences. Ghemawat shows you how—by providing tools for:

· Assessing the cultural, administrative, geographic, and economic differences between countries at the industry level and deciding which ones merit attention.

· Tracking the implications of particular border-crossing moves for your company’s ability to create value.

· Creating superior performance with strategies optimized for adaptation (adjusting to differences), aggregation (overcoming differences), and arbitrage (exploiting differences), and for compound objectives.

In-depth examples reveal how companies such as Cemex, Toyota, Procter & Gamble, Tata Consultancy Services, IBM, and GE Healthcare have adroitly managed cross-border differences—as well as how other well-known companies have failed at this challenge.

Crucial for any business competing across borders, this book will transform the way you approach global strategy.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Finance

272 pages, Hardcover

First published August 27, 2007

Reviews

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was published in 2007. Pankaj Ghemawat provides insights into doing business across global borders and offers tips to help companies become global successfully.

He provides a multitude of examples from companies such as Pepsi, Coca-Cola, YUM Brands, Cemex, McDonalds, and many others.

The Introduction captured my attention immediately regarding an international Pepsi plant in an environment where a low-grade civil war was occurring and many of their employees were militants. They were required to check in their AK-47s before their shift and then retrieve them after they finished work. The Pepsi HR Director indicated, "Absolutely no AK-47s inside the building."

Having spent over 30 years in HR, I have seen many, many things but I've never seen an AK-47 check in and check out process.

Very wise, experienced insights throughout the book to help companies improve their chances of success in different countries.

[Dorotea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ghemawat advocates for a state of semiglobalization as opposed to the rhetoric of the globalization apocalypse and argues that cultural, administrative, geographic and economic distances still matter. Yet he also says that there’s value to be found in a expanding your business abroad due to adding volume, decreasing costs, differentiating or increasing willingness-to-pay, improving industry attractiveness or bargaining power, normalizing risk, generating knowledge and other capabilities; and that one should go about creating global value by adapting, aggregating (grouping countries based on similarities), arbitraging (exploiting differences).

[Mila Jaramillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un libro bastante académico y orientado a los datos. Es bastante curiosa y clara la idea principal del mismo y la forma en la que el autor argumenta que las empresas del mundo se encuentran en un estado de semiglobalización.
Las diferencias entre los distintos países son mayores de lo que se suele admitir, es por eso, que las estrategias de integración global deberían no suponer una excesiva estandarización, sino por el contrario, valorar y conceder una importancia vital a las diferencias.

[Yajur Mahendru · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in order to write an assignment towards my MBA. I found this book to be pretty nicely written with very easy examples to understand the CAGE Framework and AAA strategy for global expansion. However, I did not find much examples from the IT industry, particularly product based industries.

[Vicki NewMath · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not an MBA major, but parts of the book were interesting to read, the rest of it was a struggle. Mostly pro-India points for the United States to turn to and away from China.

[Marks54 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a trade/text book on Global strategy that I was reading as part of a broader writing project. It is by a senior faculty member at the Harvard Business School, who is also on the faculty at the top Spanish business school in Barcelona. The key point of the book is to develop ideas of an economics based strategy for global firms, with an emphasis on how being multinational or global makes a differences from the regular domestic strategies that firms pursue on largely economic grounds -- how does being global make a difference?

It is a very thoughtful book and has some really good examples that stem from the author's case writing and consulting experiences. I also like how Ghemewat fills in cultural and administrative issues to complement the economic and geographic issues that one would expect in such a book. He also does a good job tying together global strategies and how companies have to organize to pursue those strategies.

The downside of all these books is that they make the most sense in looking at how particular companies make and implement their strategies. So a reader, to get the most out of the book, should look up and read some of his cases at the HBS website. It is worth the trouble.

Overall, it will come across as too abstract for a general reader but is worth the investment of time for someone wanting to invest in it.

[Anandh Sundar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book today while thinking about some globalization examples I'd read recently. And it resounded very well. While like a true consultant the author cannot resist the temptation to create and explain catchy frameworks, the examples and analyses are stellar, and warrant a read despite the age of the book. The CAGE framework(Cultural Administrative Geographical Economic) for entry barriers is really insightful. Overall a must read I would say.

[Joshua Seale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is dense, but good book on global business strategy and globalization. It gives a nuanced perspective on why cultural differences matter in an increasingly globalized world. The book is well researched and well written. I find it particularly interesting working for an international non-profit that works in over 60 countries.

[Frank Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent counter-view to the mass-globalization craze in business. Ghemawat points out that there is not a "one-size-fits-all" approach to doing business globally -- and explains with lots of superb research and analysis how a company can best conduct cross-border business. Highly recommend it.

[Jose · Rating 4 out of 5]

good on the CAGE (cultural, administrative, geography and economic) and Adding analyses. may change the way you see co´s internationalization.

[Saumil Mehta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Must read for MBA grad !!

[Delhi Irc]

Location: PTI IRC
Accession No: DL027557

[Srđan Palomo Sánchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro interesante de estrategias empresariales en un mundo semiglobalizado, acompañado de toda una serie de ilustrativos ejemplos de éxitos y fracasos en su expansión internacional.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insightful. Ghemawat at his best

[Jeremy Bassinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good. Like his ideas on semi-globalisation and some of the frameworks. It is a good read