The Competitive Advantage of Emerging Market Multinationals

Multinationals from Brazil, Russia, India and China, known as the BRIC countries, are a new and powerful force in global competition and are challenging the incumbency of much older global companies from the developed world. Emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) now account for a quarter of foreign investment in the world, are a prolific source of innovation and make almost one in three cross-border acquisitions globally. Despite this, traditional theories of international business do not provide a satisfactory explanation of their behaviour or performance. The authors of this book shine new light on the rise of the EMNEs and how they have built a competitive advantage through innovation, novel configurations of their international value chains and the acquisition of companies overseas. Any manager, policy maker or researcher who wishes to understand the emergence of this new breed of multinational will find this book an invaluable resource.

Peter J. Williamson is Professor of International Management at the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. He also consults on global strategy, M&A and Chinese business, and serves as non-executive director of several companies spanning financial services through to green energy.

Ravi Ramamurti is the CBA Distinguished Professor of International Business and Strategy and Director of the Center for Emerging Markets at Northeastern University, Boston. His previous publications include Emerging Multinationals in Emerging Markets (Cambridge University Press, 2009).

Afonso Fleury is a professor in the Production Engineering Department at the University of São Paulo. He is also a consultant to Brazilian public and private firms as well as subsidiaries of multinationals. His previous publications include Brazilian Multinationals (Cambridge University Press, 2011).

Maria Tereza Leme Fleury is Dean of the School of Business Administration at Fundacio Getulio Vargas in São Paulo. Her previous publications include Brazilian Multinationals (Cambridge University Press, 2011).