Operating in Emerging Markets: A Guide to Management and Strategy in the New International Economy

1. What Are Emerging Markets?

Emerging, Developing, Catching Up

The term “emerging markets” is at the very least confusing. It indicates markets that are growing, which, thanks to their positive economic performance, may “emerge” and become richer. In the gloom of the current economic downturn, this is how businessmen in Europe, the U.S., and Japan see most other markets. Hundreds of hours of contact and discussion with managers of leading multinational companies have shown us that the term “emerging markets” does not have a hard and fast definition. It is commonly used to refer to economies that are outside North America, Japan, and Western Europe, without necessarily implying that they are growing (which, in many cases, they are). One could ...