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International business

Undergraduate/graduate/executive education.

China has become the world's largest producer of automobiles, surpassing the USA and Japan. The Chinese auto industry differs quite significantly from those countries though. While the industry exhibits a substantial degree of concentration in the USA and Japan in early 2011, it remained highly fragmented in China. The Chinese Central Government had announced a desire for consolidation, yet it remained unclear whether a significant shakeout would occur in the near term.

Like many Chinese automakers, Chang'an partnered with well-known global auto makers to develop, produce, and distribute its products. In the coming years, Chang'an hoped to develop more independence from its foreign partners, including the production and distribution of self-branded cars. However, the company grappled with how it could strive for independence while managing its existing joint ventures. Executives worried too about how to compete with foreign automakers who had achieved global economies of scale.

The case provides a rich description of the evolution of the Chinese auto industry, and it documents how the Chinese industry differs from other global markets. Readers can analyze the extent to which they believe scale economies provide foreign firms an advantage over smaller Chinese rivals, and they can evaluate the conventional wisdom regarding the industry's minimum efficient scale. The case also provides a detailed account of Chang'an's rise to prominence. The case concludes by offering an in-depth description of the firm's key rivals, and it presents the key questions being considered by Chang'an executives in 2011.

Enables students to examine how and why an industry's structure can differ substantially across geographic markets.

Enables students to examine whether the need to achieve economies of scale may cause substantial consolidation in the Chinese auto industry.

Provides an opportunity to evaluate the pros and cons of the joint venture strategies employed in China.

Provides an opportunity to examine how a relatively small firm can position itself against large multinationals in a high-growth emerging market.

Teaching notes.

Economics, business management

The case study is relevant for MBA, Master's and under graduate (economics, international and business economics) students.

Biocon is one of the top 20 companies from India in the Forbes list of “Best under a Billion” companies. It has emerged from being an enzyme-producing firm to a biotech powerhouse under the guidance of Ms Kiran M. Shaw. It is an innovative company with a varied scientific skill base and progressive manufacturing facilities for developing and commercializing biopharmaceuticals. This study attempts to explore the international foray of Biocon using the eclectic OLI framework. Entrepreneurship, need for integrated business model, innovation, quality control, etc. constituted the ownership (O) factors, important for Biocon to earn the more than compensating advantage in the overseas market. The locational factors were less important in case of Biocon as the global expansion was driven by a motive of either market seeking or cashing in on the cost advantage of its operations. The dominant mode of entry has been the joint ventures. The overseas patterns exhibited by Biocon can be captured fully by the O-L-I framework.

To understand the economic theory of OLI and the ownership, locational and internalisation advantages, link the OLI framework with the international foray of Biocon, Biocon's internationalization journey, major overseas deals signed and the economic rationale behind the deals.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or e-mail support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

The learning outcomes are as follows: students will identify the reasons for a firm to internationalize and its specific internationalization entry mode; students will distinguish how to follow the client and how physic distance strategies work; students will analyze a host country’s external environment using the PESTEL framework, and they will analyze the international strategies followed by a multinational enterprise using the integration-responsiveness framework as well.

The authors explore the case of DICOMA Corporation, a Costa Rican multinational enterprise with presence in five countries. Adrian Sanchez, who is Dicoma’s president, needs to craft an international strategy to increase the international sales in the foreign markets where the firm operates. The company may follow two paths. On the one hand, Dicoma can adopt the strategy of following its major clients to expand overseas, which will lead to the opening of operations in more countries, but making the foreign sales highly dependent on these types of partnerships. This has been so far the path pursued by Dicoma in its international expansion. On the other hand, Dicoma can opt to focus on increasing commitments in the existing international markets where it already has operations by capturing new clients in those locations but scarifying the potential business opportunities to enter into other countries in partnership with its major clients.

Post-graduate early stage business students enrolled in programs such as Master of Business Administration, Master of Management, Master of International Business, executive education programs, among others.

Teaching notes are available upon request for educators only. These teaching notes should be shared solely with the instructor and students should not have access to. Please contact your library to gain login or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSS 5: International Business.

Competitive strategy.

Post-Graduate (MBA/Doctoral) level courses.

This paper aims to examine the evolution of Himalaya Drug Company (hereinafter referred to as Himalaya), an Ayurveda-based pharmaceutical-wellness company. Over the eight decades of its history, Himalaya has built a reputation for Ayurveda-based formulations that conform to allopathic standards and are accepted globally. In the recent years, Himalaya dramatically strengthened its competitive position of “scientific Ayurvedic products” through its entry into fast-moving consumer goods (or consumer-packaged goods), categories of wellness products as well as over-the-counter (non-prescription) drugs. This case describes the focused differentiation strategy of Himalaya and sets out the challenges it faced/would face in sustaining its focused differentiation strategy, as it enters into highly penetrated categories such as toothpastes and soaps (that were traditionally dominated by broad differentiators and broad cost leaders).

The outcomes are as follows: to exemplify the logic of focused differentiation, where a competitor commands a higher willingness to pay than its average competitors, by narrowing its target segments; to illustrate how the firm’s entire set of activities are tailored to meet the specific needs of a set of carefully chosen products, narrow customer segments, of defined geographic markets; to highlight how a combination of tradeoffs and fit helps protect the firm’s competitive position from its potential imitators; and to demonstrate the limits of a focused strategy, specifically relating to growth, and how a company such as Himalaya can overcome such limits.

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CSS 11: Strategy.

Studies the impact of tariffs, subsidies, and quotas on the U.S. steel market. Focuses on “winners” and “losers” from different policies. Applications to the events in the U.S. steel market in 2001 illustrate the impact of these policies.

This case allows students to critically analyse the business model of Zomato which is a multi-sided platform/in the foodtech industry. It helps students to critically analyse how firms enter into the global market to create value and maintain dominance over the local market (especially in a large market such as India). The case can also be used to introduce students to the business canvas model by analysing foodtech start-ups. The outcomes are as follows: to understand the Business Model Canvas as a tool to describe and analyse the foodtech business such as Zomato’s, based on its value proposition and the way it sells its services; to conduct a value chain analysis and analyse the business models adopted by foodtech companies; to understand how Zomato can aim at global value creation; and to design a clear growth strategy and evaluate Zomato’s options to internationalize or expand locally.

The year 2018 was an important year for Zomato as it geared up to chart new heights amidst the changing dynamics of the industry on one hand and a co-founder exiting the company on the other hand. Zomato was incepted in 2008 as a restaurant discovery platform offering users the ability to access restaurant menus and post online reviews. It provided a range of value-added services for both its restaurant partners and end customers. Its vertical integration enabled it to grow its revenues across its three lines of business, namely, dining out, delivery and sustainability. Zomato was an early internet start-up that expanded rapidly in the international markets. In the past ten years, the company both scaled and rolled back its operations with unique lessons learned in each market that paved its path for success both locally and globally. The domestic market was being dominated by a few large players sharing the market. Reports by market intelligence firms showed that Swiggy, the closest competitor was starting to dominate Zomato in India [1]. Deepinder, CEO, Zomato’s dilemma for adding value and increasing revenues by weighing options of whether the company should strengthen its presence in the domestic market, or, venture into foreign markets or serve both local and foreign markets.

This case is appropriate for postgraduate courses in Strategic Management or International Business.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 5: International Business.

Entrepreneurship, Strategic management, Management information systems.

Undergraduate and graduate capstone course in entrepreneurship, strategic management or management information systems courses.

This case study of a young technology firm, Codezin Technology Solutions, helps to analyze the challenges faced by such firms in emerging markets. Such markets are characterized by rapid turbulence in the market characteristics. The authors seek to analyze the role of disruptive regulatory changes, resulting in the growth of new startups, in affecting the growth and expansion of such young firms. Codezin was established in 2009 as a bootstrap company, to provide low-cost IT services to Indian small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs). Despite some initial success, it began to run into losses due to poor coordination and improper planning. After a period of struggle, the company stabilized its revenue from services business and expanded to mobile solutions, digital marketing, etc. But then the government of India announced the Startup India initiative at the beginning of 2016 to boost new ventures. Codezin did not qualify as per the government rules and thus failed to use the various incentives offered. Hence, it needs to determine a new strategy to compete with the onslaught of freshly funded startups but with a relative lack of market experience.

With the case discussion, the students will gain rich insights on technology businesses aimed at SMEs and the impact of changes in the regulatory regime in emerging markets like India. Further, they get to step into the shoes of the co-founders and choose between diversification vs new market development strategies, spurred by market disturbances and thinning competitive advantage.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

The case traces the genesis of NASSCOM and presents a decision situation faced by the new president who has to formulate a road map in the light of changed circumstances. NASSCOM has been an exemplary trade association. However, it faces challenges that can jeopardize the future if the industry. While the challenges do not have short term effect on the growing Indian IT-BPO industry, as the active industry ally NASSCOM's new leader has to ensure long term success of IT-BPO industry. The case can be best used to understand the IT industry dynamics through the eyes of an exemplary trade body and also understand how a trade association in emerging economies can play an important role to fill institutional voids.

Transforming a production-oriented firm into a marketing-oriented firm; aligning marketing strategy of local companies in globalizing emerging markets; creating sustainable competitive advantage.

Post graduate management courses in marketing management, strategic marketing, international marketing, business strategy.

This case is about how the leader in the Indian paper industry, Ballarpur Industries Ltd (BILT), is proactively transforming a production-oriented firm to a marketing-oriented firm to compete in the globalizing emerging market scenario, in the wake of economic liberalisation. It requires the participants to evaluate the impact of marketing initiatives made, and align BILT's marketing strategy to leverage it's strengths and help create sustainable competitive advantage.

To understand the need for local companies in emerging markets to proactively align marketing strategy to build competitive advantage in the globalizing industry.

Teaching notes.