Global Oligopolies, the Wealth of Nations: the Cases of Cars and Professional IT Services.
Time: 14:00 – 15:00 (GMT), Thursday, 3rd March 2022
Speakers: Dr. Chris Carr, Professor of Corporate Strategy, University of Edinburgh Business School and Abhijit Banerjee, Fanduel
Abstract
This paper addresses a lacuna in classical economists’ models of the wealth of nations, relating to the increased impact of global oligopolies. Drawing upon Schumpeter and global data (for 30,000 corporations from all GICS sectors), a universal framework is developed. Global top four players take on average 40% of all profits across these sectors, increasing to some 60% in more concentrated sectors.
Illustrating the impact on wealth creation and policy implications, a new ‘double bubble’ analytical tool is then applied to the global car and IT Professional Services industries, focusing on the UK, the USA, Japan, India over recent decades.
Admirers of Adam Smith must complement their invaluable economic perspectives, by further considering global oligopolies and our more universal perspectives. Prior to big data, we never imagined analysing thousands (in fact now millions) of corporate giants; nor that we could map precise concentration levels and wealth outcomes by sector worldwide, as in Carr (2020) Global Oligopoly. A Key Idea for Business and Society, or as demonstrated here in cars and professional IT services. But we can. Wealth creation and appropriations precisely tabulated vastly exceed most nations’ GDPs. Policy makers correspondingly require broader global perspectives. We may not all be interested in global oligopolists, competitive and consolidation processes; but global wars are interested in us.
Cross-cultural leadership adaptations: Ex-patriate managers in India and Thailand
Time: 15:00 – 16:00 (GMT), Thursday, 3rd March 2022
Speakers: Dr. Chris Carr, Professor of Corporate Strategy, University of Edinburgh Business School and Purva Vaswani, Johnson Matthey
Abstract
Whilst much is known about cross-cultural leadership differences worldwide, less is known about MNCs country heads’ adaptations. An exception is Thailand, navigated by U.S., European and Asian MNCs, has been documented. But how far do Globe’s six specific leadership orientations impact here, not least post-pandemic? And how well do resultant Cultural Leadership Adaptation (CLA) theoretical models, stand up to scrutiny for MNCs facing distinctive cultural challenges in India? Comparative analysis focused on 20 CLA cases, involving executives from US, Germany, Denmark, Czech Republic, Belgium, France and one British Uganda Asian. In India, 57% of expatriates deployed less culturally adaptive “Determination Styles” as compared with just 8% in Thailand. Only 7%, as compared with 13% in Thailand, displayed more “do in Rome as the Romans do” cultural “Absorption” CLA approaches. Mid-way “Exploration” modes, anticipated from Nicholson’s Work Role Transitions model and endorsed by 79% of expatriates operating in Thailand, was deployed by only 36% of those in India. Indian experiences reflected certain Hofstede/Globe traits, but also subtler features reflecting caste and religion. MNC ex-patriates’ leadership styles in India further reflected their own personal regional backgrounds, likewise suggested by Globe, but followed more assertive CLA modes than observed in Thailand.
We hope this research seminar may prove interesting to those engaged in ex-patriate and cross-cultural leadership research within multinationals. The focus is on how say MNC country heads adapt to different cultures comparing the cases of Thailand, distinctly different for many, and India perhaps more beguilingly conducive in terms of language.
Speakers’ bios:
Professor Chris Carr is a professor of Corporate Strategy at the University of Edinburgh Business School (1999-present). His research over the last 40 years focuses on strategic approaches to globalisation, comparing 369 companies in 22 countries worldwide through extensive field research. Each company case focuses on one major strategic investment decision and investigates the approach taken to strategy in the context of globalisation; the precise financial methods deployed; and thirdly the decision-making-processes and differences arising internationally reflecting different institutional and cultural contexts. About half of these cases are in automotive; and half are in a more representative range of sectors. Geographically the research spans the advanced “Triad” of Europe, America and Japan/S.Korea; but in recent years there has been a greater emphasis on Emerging Countries, particularly China, India, Brazil, Russia, Singapore and Thailand. Recent research focuses on global concentration and global oligopolies and on cross-cultural leadership adaptations by MNC country heads in MNCs especially in Thailand, Hong Kong and India.
Previously Chris was Senior Lecturer in charge of strategy at Manchester Business School, following lectureships at Buckingham, Warwick and Bath universities. Teaching and research experience at overseas universities includes: Brazil (FIA, University of Sao Paulo and Imbec, Rio), Russia (Presidential Academy and universities including Moscow State, St. Petersburg, Urals and Tomsk), China (China Academy of Social Sciences, and Zeiiang, South West and Shenzen universities), India (IIMs Ahmadabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Delhi; Hyderabad Admin Staff College, Ranchi and Chenai), Thailand (Thammasat university), South Africa (Cape Town Business School), Germany as Professor in International Business at Witten-Herdecke University in Germany, France at HEC, Spain at the University of Carlos III, Bicoca, Italy and Bilgi in Turkey; and the USA as Visiting Scholar at Harvard Business School working with their Global Strategy Group.
Chris graduated in Engineering and Economics from Cambridge University, also completing their Institute for Manufacturing’s post-graduate “Advanced Course in Production Methods and Management”. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Chartered Management Accountant having worked for 10 years with British Aerospace and then GKN, two of Britain’s largest engineering companies. Following work on process and product developments, he worked international project management on turnkey projects in the U.S.A. (taking GKN drive chains global) and the Middle East.
He is author of Global Oligopoly. A Key Idea for Business and Society. Routledge (2020), two earlier books and some 40 articles in academic journals including Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management Studies, Business History, Management International Review, Long Range Planning, International Journal of Human Relations Management, Management Accounting Research, British Accounting Review, R&D Management, Technology Analysis and Strategic Management; International Journal of Production and Operations Management, International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management, European Management Journal, Sloan Management Reviewand Thunderbird International Review.
Abhijit Banerjee is Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Manager at Fanduel in Edinburgh, Scotland. His current role focuses on building organizational resilience in the event of major disruption and thus minimizing impact to the revenue. Prior to that he completed his MBA in strategy from University of Edinburgh. He has worked for multinational corporations where he was involved in strategic implementation of IT projects and operational excellence for various sectors in the USA, UK, and India.
Purva Vaswani is currently working as a Commercial Analyst for a global sustainable technology firm Johnson Matthey, where-in she supports the business needs of the sales team by analysing the market and helping with the strategy based on the data collected. She has graduated from University of Edinburgh in MSc in International Business & Emerging Markets. Previously, she also undertook various projects helping companies devise a strategy plan to enter into uncharted territories for them, such as China, Canada and the UK, among others.