The Quest for Global Dominance: Transforming Global Presence into Global Competitive Advantage

319 Pages·2008·1.1 MB·English

by  Anil K. Gupta

Gupta.ffirs 1/26/08 1:43 PM Page v
The Quest
for Global
Dominance
Transforming Global Presence into
Global Competitive Advantage
Second Edition
Anil K. Gupta
Vijay Govindarajan
Haiyan Wang
Foreword by Jeffrey E. Garten
Gupta.ftoc 1/26/08 1:44 PM Page viii
Gupta.ffirs 1/26/08 1:43 PM Page i
Praise for The Quest for Global Dominance
“The reality of thinking and being global in mindset should be a no-brainer
for all of us. But for those who believe that such is not the case, this book
puts to rest any romantic or unrealistic views that we can sit back and bask
in our prosperity. So it’s back to work on figuring out how to win globally,
not locally or nationally, that will get you in the Hall of Fame for Business
Leaders worldwide. You will find yourself referring often to The Quest for
Global Dominanceas you chart your course forward.”
—William F. Achtmeyer, chairman and managing partner,
the Parthenon Group
“The Quest for Global Dominanceis the best source of insight available for
executives who want their companies to win in the face of global competi-
tion. It provides sound framework, practical advice, and dozens of helpful
examples from companies around the world. For any company, from startup
ventures to world leaders, this book tells managers what they must do in
order to gain and keep a competitive advantage when rivals can come from
anywhere and competition in an industry transcends borders.”
—Philip Anderson, INSEAD Alumni Fund Chaired
Professor of Entrepreneurship, INSEAD
“A must-read for executives who expect to harness the accelerating trend of
globalization. The authors make a compelling case for an accelerating rate
of change based upon broad-based support for free trade, the increased eco-
nomic power of developing nations, and the pervasive impact of enabling
technology.”
—Alexander M. Cutler, chairman and chief executive officer,
Eaton Corporation
“This book is not only visionary, but also very practical in thinking about
globalization. It makes a compelling case for why globalization has to be
at the very forefront of your plan to be able to build a foundation for a last-
ing business.”
—Desh Deshpande, chairman, Sycamore Networks
“A terrific book that effectively melds theories with successful practices of
global companies and global strategy with the importance of organizational
mindset and culture. Through an exceptional number of relevant, current,
and real examples, the authors address the full range of issues, challenges, and
opportunities that companies and practitioners face. This is a very readable,
insightful, and compelling tool for building global competitive advantage.”
—Peter Dolan, former CEO, Bristol-Myers Squibb
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“A terrific set of ideas on building a winning global firm with fresh insights
into particularly crucial topics like global teams and launching born-global
businesses. This is important and must-reading for savvy executives and stu-
dents around the world.”
—Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, Ascherman Professor of Strategy, Stanford Uni-
versity, and codirector, Stanford Technology Ventures Program
“Rich with up-to-date examples, but also built on rigorous research, this book
is a must for executives who are intent on going global.”
—Donald C. Hambrick, Smeal Chaired Professor of Management,
Smeal College of Business, Penn State University
“This book provides fundamental inputs for managers who are leading mod-
ern global corporations within the new age. Above all, I am impressed with
the focus on building a global knowledge ecology within these modern cor-
porations. Globality truly becomes relevant and meaningful when seen in
the light of knowledge development, taking us from learning within smaller
individual ‘silos’ or ‘kingdoms’ to learning and knowledge accumulation in
a global context. Overall, this is a great book and a must for the modern
leader of the global firm.”
—Peter Lorange, president, IMD International, Lausanne, Switzerland
“In today’s ‘flat’ world, no company can remain immune to the forces of glob-
alization. The Quest for Global Dominanceexplains how companies can not
only face up to these forces but proactively exploit them. It emphasizes the
importance of cultivating a global mindset, describes how to design an opti-
mal global architecture, explains how to build a global knowledge machine
while avoiding many of the pathologies and pitfalls, and shows how to trans-
plant the corporate DNA across countries. The authors present their ideas
clearly and support them with contemporary case studies. The Quest for Global
Dominanceis a superb and timely book, full of fresh ideas, that deserves to be
widely read and that must be on the shelf of every practicing manager.”
—Costas Markides, Robert P. Bauman Professor of Strategic
Leadership and chairman, Strategic and International
Management Department, London Business School
“The velocity of change in the global arena has significantly accelerated. The
Quest for Global Dominance provides the strategic imperatives to succeed in
a global business.”
—John Menzer, vice chairman and chief administrative officer,
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
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“Globalization is undoubtedly a key imperative for business leaders the world
over. The authors bring rich experience, a keen eye for detail, and strong
conceptual abilities to their investigation of this phenomenon. The Quest
for Global Dominancenot only presents incisive and in-depth analysis but
also inspires real-world, implementable solutions to the challenges faced by
practitioners of management in today’s global village.”
—N. R. Narayana Murthy, chairman and chief mentor,
Infosys Technologies Limited
“The Quest for Global Dominancepresents the impact which globalization is
having on countries, companies, and leaders in a fresh and superbly docu-
mented way. Above all, it raises the strategic implication of this in a fashion
that should allow leaders to consider how to leverage their global presence
and capability into a more successful leadership enterprise.”
—John E. Pepper, chairman of the board, the Walt Disney Company
“The authors of this book ‘get it.’ Based on the last 10 years, the next 20 will
see continuing change and convergence of markets (globalization) and rapid
evolution of business models (both globalization and virtualization). Man-
agers must deal with these trends to survive and master them to flourish. The
authors’ advice is sound and timely, and we would all do well to heed it.”
—Donald K. Peterson, former chairman and CEO, Avaya Inc.
“In a world of new opportunities and major challenges, The Quest for Global
Dominancecomes at the right time for those who not only want to stay in
the game but also have the will to become an important actor in the mas-
sive transformation to occur. Global dominance is a must for industries and
services, and this book explains why and what you should do to become a
global leader in a specific segment. It’s a fascinating book, easy to read, and
very useful to those willing to be global.”
—Didier Pineau-Valencienne, former president, Schneider S.A.
“Few topics continue to engage the attention of business leaders over cen-
turies as the subject of how to of ‘global domination.’ From the ancient silk
routes to the glory days of conflict between the Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese,
and British fleets to control the trade routes, the preoccupation has been one
of finding and holding on to the ‘choke points’ of the global system. The
context of competition for a disproportionate global influence has changed
over the centuries, but the basic managerial motive has not. Managers in
multinational firms today face a new variant of this age-old battle for global
domination. This book addresses the contemporary context within which
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this struggle is waged and the arsenal of tools that one has to master to win.
The authors provide a very interesting blend of existing knowledge and new
research to provide a new gestalt on globalization. By providing in one, very
readable book the intellectual trail of where we are from, where we are, and
where we are headed, the authors have captured for the busy executive an
invaluable intellectual companion. It will force many to rethink their busi-
ness strategies, personal managerial styles, and most importantly their capac-
ity to leverage the most elusive of all resources—knowledge and emotional
commitment of people around the world.”
—C. K. Prahalad, Paul and Ruth McCracken Distinguished University
Professor, the University of Michigan Business School
“The authors of this book are among the masters on the subject of global
strategy. In this book, they have succeeded in putting forth tight logic and
leading-edge thinking in a manner that is highly practical. If you were to
read only one book this year on how to assess and develop a global strategy
for your business, this would be it.”
—John A. Quelch, senior associate dean and Lincon Filene Professor,
Harvard Business School
“I found The Quest for Global Dominanceto be an outstanding guide to build-
ing global presence and effectiveness based on the real, often painful, experi-
ences of some best-practice companies and a few theoretical underpinnings.
It helped put words and a framework around some of the experiences and
learnings in my own international career. I often found myself nodding in
agreement and saying how I would have loved to have read this before my
first expat assignment. It goes well beyond merely stating the imperative—
it explains how to make the transition from international/multinational
models to true globalization. The book is particularly helpful in giving prac-
tical advice on managing the complex human dimensions of global busi-
nesses and global teams.”
—Peter F. Volanakis, president and chief operating officer, Corning Inc.
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The Quest
for Global
Dominance
Transforming Global Presence into
Global Competitive Advantage
Second Edition
Anil K. Gupta
Vijay Govindarajan
Haiyan Wang
Foreword by Jeffrey E. Garten
Gupta.ffirs 1/26/08 1:43 PM Page vi
Copyright © 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gupta, Anil K.
The quest for global dominance : transforming global presence into global competitive
advantage / Anil K. Gupta, Vijay Govindarajan, Haiyan Wang; foreword by Jeffrey E. Garten.—
2nd ed.
p. cm.
Rev. ed. of: The quest for global dominance / Vijay Govindarajan, Anil K. Gupta. c2001.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-470-19440-9 (cloth)
1. International business enterprises—Management. 2. Industrial management.
3. Organizational effectiveness 4. Comparative advantage (International trade)
5. Globalization—Economic aspects. 6. Competition, International. I. Govindarajan,
Vijay. II. Wang, Haiyan. III. Govindarajan, Vijay. The quest for global dominance. IV. Title.
HD62.4.G68 2008
658'.049—dc22
2008000872
Printed in the United States of America
SECONDEDITION
HB Printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Gupta.ftoc 1/26/08 1:44 PM Page vii
Contents
Foreword ix
Jeffrey E. Garten
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xix
1. Rising Up to the Global Challenge 1
2. Building Global Presence 25
3. Lessons from the Globalization of Wal-Mart 57
4. Exploiting Global Presence 79
5. Cultivating a Global Mindset 115
6. Building a Global Knowledge Machine 153
7. Dynamics of Global Business Teams 189
8. Globalizing the Young Venture 217
9. Leveraging China and India for Global Dominance 237
Notes 267
The Authors 279
Index 281
vii