How much importance Emerging Markets wield in the global economic landscape today is beyond debate. The financial crisis of 2008-09 and the havoc it wreaked on the world turned out to be a test of endurance and credibility for the Emerging Markets.
With the decades-old revered financial institutions failing and the US economy floundering, emerging economies in Asia and other parts of the world were bound to feel the ripple effects. However, when the dust settled, emerging economies, in an almost counterintuitive fashion, had defied the odds and rebounded the highest even as the developed economies snailed to normalcy.
MSCI BRIC Index fund (consisting of stocks from Brazil, Russia, India and China) managed to gain 80% vis-Ã -vis a sombre 30% of MSCI World index (consisting of 1500 stocks from the developed markets). In the nutshell, what we witnessed in the stock markets was a reflection of the underlying growth stories that Emerging markets had been cultivating over the years. No wonder, corporations from all over the world are making a beeline to countries like India, China, Mexico, Brazil, etc., to claim their stakes in the respective growth stories.
‘Winning in Emerging Markets’ is a comprehensive guide-book. It equips individuals and corporations alike with a must-have framework as and when they contemplate on venturing into emerging markets. Written by two Harvard professors of Indian origin, Tarun Khanna and Krishna Palepu, ‘Winning in Emerging Markets’ comprises 3 segments: a) Thread-bare analyses of factors that make Emerging markets a difficult place to do business in, b) Challenges faced by MNCs while venturing into developing markets and c) Challenges faced by Emerging market companies at home and in overseas markets.
| “Understanding Institutional voids – and learning how to work with them in specific markets – is the key to success in emerging markets.” – Tarun Khanna & Krishna Palepu     |
Tarun Khanna and Krishna Palepu argue that the well-tested global market strategies don’t usually fly in the emerging markets. The near-absence of product, capital and labor market institutions in these markets create institutional voids.
The paucity of market research firms, auditing firms, software development accreditation agencies, financial data-gathering firms, etc. in emerging markets is a telling differentiator. It is also the factor that sets emerging economies back vis-Ã -vis their Western counterparts.
These institutions are often significant to the conduct of frictionless business operations in any economy. Basically, they help bring buyers and sellers closer by adding a tinge of credibility and information. The deficient supply of these informal institutions makes it difficult for the MNCs to correctly gauge the success potential of emerging markets.
In a stark contrast, the authors note that an entrepreneur stuck up in an institutional rigmarole in India or China would normally take 10-12 agonizing days before his business sees the daylight. In a developed market like Australia or Canada, his dream venture can get off the ground in 2 days time.
Taking the argument forward, they underline that many advanced markets-based firms are often ill-prepared for their foray into emerging markets. Paucity of intermediaries in emerging markets could be a bewildering experience for developed market-based firms which are so accustomed to the streamlined constructs. In the nutshell, unless these MNCs have a way to negotiate or plug the pervasive institutional voids, longevity and profit-making in emerging markets could be a distant proposition.
For anyone interested in investing in emerging markets, the authors have an exhaustive list of thorny questions. These questions help the MNCs spot the loopholes caused by the institutional lacunae of emerging economies.
Authors assert that failure to find an appropriate response to these voids often leaves MNCs serving only one segment of the market. The Global segment. The global segment is the one where the rules of developed markets apply. Low Price Elasticity for High-quality products and services. This shift comes at the expense of the lucrative emerging middle-class segment. Lack of commitment to resolving these issues pushes the MNCs into catering to only the minuscule fringe of the vast market.
Authors further note that it’s a fallacy to bracket all emerging markets into one homogeneous club. For example, both China and India are vying for the attention of the developed world and both offer distinct advantages. However, where China has a much better infrastructure to boast about, India has a far superior capital market to showcase.
To make their point-of-view teachable, authors throw in interesting case-studies of GM, L’oreal, Microsoft, etc. The case-studies of these MNCs make it amply clear that gaining success in developing markets is not easy, not by a long shot. When faced with no-go situations initially, these organizations took path-breaking decisions. For example, when it was snubbed by the Chinese Government in its early days, Microsoft instead of coming to grips with whatever little was available decided to become China’s partner-in-progress.
Microsoft invested heavily in the Chinese educational infrastructure. It ingratiated itself with the Chinese Government. Later, it turned out to be a pivotal cog in the development of Chinese software industry. In short, Microsoft hit the victory road in China by plugging institutional voids. It built an educational infrastructure, by controlling piracy and by providing impetus to the burgeoning domestic software industry.
Several firms from the emerging markets are now starting to expand into the developing markets. Quite aptly, the authors call such companies ‘Emerging Giants’. Much to one’s surprise, the authors conclude that the challenges faced by these Emerging giants in their own backyard are not any different from the ones faced by the transnational corporations in the developing economies. Yes, emerging giants do enjoy the competitive advantage of local knowledge, but MNCs with steep learning curves can soon catch up and make it a level playing field.
Conclusion
All in all, ‘Winning in Emerging Markets’ makes a great effort to bridge the information gap between perceptions and realities of emerging markets. The frameworks and tool-kits provided in each chapter can motivate the powers-that-be in MNCs to ask some tough questions of themselves before they prepare to launch into emerging markets.
On the negative side, the book somehow doesn’t lay as much emphasis as it should on what can arguably turn out to be the massive roadblocks in emerging markets like regulatory knots and special interest groups. Nonetheless, with all its positives and a few negatives, I found ‘Winning in Emerging Markets’ an informative and a knowledgeable read.