International business has grown up in the west and today's theories about how a multinational company should function are based on examples of American and European enterprises. But companies created in emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil don't tend to follow the same patterns.
“As long as these other countries were not important, that was fine,” said Ravi Ramamurti, Distinguished Professor of International Business and Strategy at Northeastern University. “But they are now the engines of the global economy, so we need to pay attention to them.”
To delve deeper into the topic, Ramamurti and Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra, an associate professor of international business and strategy, organized the third conference on emerging market multinational enterprises, or EMNEs. Northeastern's Center for Emerging Markets hosted the conference, which took place on Saturday in Dodge Hall and drew approximately 70 academics and 15 leading speakers from around the world.