Practice
Our twice-annual publication, Insights @ Center for Emerging Markets, synthesizes academic research on emerging markets to provide actionable recommendations for managers, policymakers, and global leaders.
CEM organizes four region-specific speaker series to disseminate cutting-edge research on India, China, and Africa to the business community. For several years, CEM organized annual symposia on timely topics related to emerging markets.
Cutting-edge ideas and advice for global leaders about emerging markets
Insights Issue #4 – December 2023
Read the fourth issue of Insights @ Center for Emerging Markets, bringing together researchers from across Northeastern University and the broader global academic community to explore the topic of sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in emerging markets. Understanding of these concepts enables managers and policymakers to make ethical decisions, safeguard long-term business success, and effectively handle the unique socio-environmental contexts of these key growth areas.
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Explore Our Latest Briefs
Greg Distelhorst and Anita McGahan of the University of Toronto conducted a comprehensive study of more than 4,000 companies across developing countries, investigating the impacts of wage theft, abusive disciplinary practices, and other exploitative behaviors on firm performance. They drew a comparison between “high road” employers, who treat employees with fairness and value their contributions, and “low road” employers, who exploit workers to minimize costs and enhance control. The study found that companies on the low road experienced more frequent issues with quality control, delivery timelines, and lower order values than their high road counterparts. Consequently, the researchers suggest that NGO efforts to eliminate inhumane employee treatment could actually help companies enhance their productivity and profitability.
In their analysis of 194 publicly listed, non-state-owned Chinese companies across 24 provinces, Banalieva and colleagues observed that rapid implementation of pro-market reforms was associated with increased internationalization. Conversely, quick reversals had a deleterious effect on international expansion. The presence of family involvement, however, made family-owned companies more resilient in the face of such reversals, enabling firms to sustain their international presence, despite regulatory headwinds.
Cheng Li and Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra investigated the relationship between misconduct by multinationals' foreign suppliers and subsidiaries and the multinationals' corporate social responsibility (CSR). They explain and find that multinationals whose foreign suppliers or subsidiaries experienced major environmental, social, and governance (ESG) breaches improved their CSR performance after the incident when compared to multinationals without such breaches. Additionally, these responses by multinationals to supplier and subsidiary misbehavior are more robust for multinationals from home countries with CSR mandates. Finally, they found that while major subsidiary misbehavior led to higher internal CSR performance, major supplier misbehavior resulted in higher external CSR performance. The findings provide valuable insights for managers of multinationals dealing with the challenges of managing misbehavior in far-flung suppliers and subsidiaries. They need not only to solve the particular misbehavior, but also implement multinational-wide initiatives to compensate for the breach in the social contract with stakeholders
Region-focused Series
Lectures and talks focused on key regions of the developing world
The India Lecture Series brings thought leaders to Northeastern University for free and public lectures on critical issues impacting the world's second most populous country. It is now endowed and known as the Vivek and Vandana Sharma India Lecture Series.
China is one of the world's most important and least understood economies. The China Lecture Series brings together academics and business practitioners to discuss China and its role in the world.
The China Insights Series brings business people, analysts, academics, and students together to hear D'Amore-McKim's world-class faculty provide practical insights into the present and future of China's economy.
The Africa Speaker Series explores business, social, and developmental issues in this diverse continent with the youngest and fastest-growing population. From time to time, events in this series are co-organized with Northeastern University's Africa Global Initiative.
A Primer for Indian Entrepreneurs: Reflections of Successful Founders and Investors
Hear from successful founders and investors in India's startup ecosystem as they share their insights into the country's startup landscape and discuss the challenges and opportunities facing hopeful entrepreneurs. This series is part of the Vivek and Vandana Sharma India Initiative.
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Past Symposia
Engaging symposia on timely topics relating to emerging markets for the business community
For many years, the Center for Emerging Markets organized annual symposia on timely topics relating to emerging markets, aimed principally at business executives and policymakers in the New England region. Speakers included CEOs and high-level executives of companies operating in, or from, emerging markets. They were made possible by gifts from David Nardone, our corporate partners, and an anonymous donor.
June 6, 2019 – After more than a year of rocky US-China trade relations, how are global firms changing or adapting their China strategy? These questions and more were answered by the CEOs and CXOs of companies such as Li & Fung (Hong Kong), Hasbro, PCCW-Media Group (Hong Kong), PerkinElmer, Enright, Scott & Associates, and others.
June 5, 2018 – The Center for Emerging Markets welcomed Jimmy Weng, DMSB'07, Peter Goodson, Syed Jafry, and other prominent guests at its 8th Annual Symposium to discuss how US companies can leverage Asia in their global strategies.
June 7, 2016 – The Center for Emerging Markets welcomed Nariman Behravesh, Stephen Hayes, and others at its 7th Annual Symposium to discuss effective strategies in the face of market volatility.
June 2, 2015 – The Center for Emerging Markets welcomed Jonathan Berman and other distinguished guests at its 6th Annual Symposium to discuss opportunities in non-BRIC emerging markets.
2013 – Emerging Markets: The New Realities
2012 – Winning in Emerging Markets
2011 – Managing Information and Risk in Emerging Markets
2010 – Emerging Markets: Opportunities and Challenges
2009 – Capitalization on Emerging Market Opportunities
