BMAL 590 GLOBAL DIMENSIONS OF BUSINESS
MASTER CORE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
STRATEGY AND GLOBAL MANAGEMENT
REVIEW 2026
◉ Why do firms differ?
Answer: The largest influences are a reflection of the cultural
differences between Western and Japanese companies.
In Western firms, the competition among companies drives the
process. In other companies, like the Japanese, networks of
relationships have powerful effects.
◉ Where does most of our knowledge of firms come from?
Answer: Anglo-American capitalism
◉ keiretsu
Answer: Japanese firms extensively employ a network form of
supplier management, giving rise to the term keiretsu (inter-firm
network).
◉ guanxi
,Answer: The Chinese favor guanxi (interpersonal networks),
cultivated by managers, that may serve as informal substitutes for
formal institutional support. In other words, interpersonal
relationships among managers are translated into an inter-firm
strategy of relying on networks and alliances to grow the firm,
which, in the aggregate, contributes to the growth of the economy.
◉ How do firms behave?
Answer: Companies that embrace the industry-based view focus on
competitive forces within an industry that impact all firms.
According to this perspective, a firm's success in the Indian IT
industry depends on the unique attributes of the IT industry, its
knowledge-intensive nature, and non-location based boundaries.
◉ resource-based (capabilities)
Answer: Those firms that adhere to the resource-based
(capabilities) view focus on internal strengths and weaknesses, that
is, firm-specific resources and capabilities.
For example, successful Indian IT firms tend to have capabilities that
are valuable, unique, and hard for rivals to imitate or replicate.
◉ institution-based view
Answer: focus on government and societal forces.
,For example, the pro-market reforms in India have opened the door
for many Indian IT companies to win foreign contracts, while at the
same time, legislation by various states in the U.S. has banned Indian
IT firms from winning contracts.
◉ Triad markets
Answer: North America, Europe, and Japan
If a firm wants to become a true "global leader," it is necessary to
create a strong competitive position in each of the Triad markets
◉ BRIC
Answer: Brazil, Russia, India, and China are the four fast-growing
markets that represent important opportunities
◉ how do the three views lead to a strategy that ultimately must
address the firm's performance?
Answer: Industry-based competition, firm specific resources and
capabilities, and institutional conditions and transitions--> strategy-
-> performance
◉ What determines the scope of the firm?
, Answer: A firm's scope pertains to its growth as well as its
contraction, that is, the way it curtails and alters its business
practices through downsizing, downscoping, and withdrawals.
Obviously, though, the primary focus is on the growth of the firm
◉ conglomerate diversification
Answer: a strategy used to add new businesses that produce
unrelated products or are involved in unrelated markets and
activities
in the 1960s and 1970s was found to destroy value and was largely
discredited in the 1980s and 1990s - witness how many firms are
still trying to divest and downsize (or "right-size") in the West.
However, this strategy seems to be alive and well in many emerging
economies because of its relatively positive link with performance
that may be a function of the level of institutional
(under)development in these countries
◉ What determines the success and failure of firms around the
globe?
Answer: The focus on performance, more than anything else, defines
the field of strategic management and international business.
Businesses are not only interested in acquiring and leveraging
competitive advantage, but also in sustaining such advantages over
MASTER CORE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
STRATEGY AND GLOBAL MANAGEMENT
REVIEW 2026
◉ Why do firms differ?
Answer: The largest influences are a reflection of the cultural
differences between Western and Japanese companies.
In Western firms, the competition among companies drives the
process. In other companies, like the Japanese, networks of
relationships have powerful effects.
◉ Where does most of our knowledge of firms come from?
Answer: Anglo-American capitalism
◉ keiretsu
Answer: Japanese firms extensively employ a network form of
supplier management, giving rise to the term keiretsu (inter-firm
network).
◉ guanxi
,Answer: The Chinese favor guanxi (interpersonal networks),
cultivated by managers, that may serve as informal substitutes for
formal institutional support. In other words, interpersonal
relationships among managers are translated into an inter-firm
strategy of relying on networks and alliances to grow the firm,
which, in the aggregate, contributes to the growth of the economy.
◉ How do firms behave?
Answer: Companies that embrace the industry-based view focus on
competitive forces within an industry that impact all firms.
According to this perspective, a firm's success in the Indian IT
industry depends on the unique attributes of the IT industry, its
knowledge-intensive nature, and non-location based boundaries.
◉ resource-based (capabilities)
Answer: Those firms that adhere to the resource-based
(capabilities) view focus on internal strengths and weaknesses, that
is, firm-specific resources and capabilities.
For example, successful Indian IT firms tend to have capabilities that
are valuable, unique, and hard for rivals to imitate or replicate.
◉ institution-based view
Answer: focus on government and societal forces.
,For example, the pro-market reforms in India have opened the door
for many Indian IT companies to win foreign contracts, while at the
same time, legislation by various states in the U.S. has banned Indian
IT firms from winning contracts.
◉ Triad markets
Answer: North America, Europe, and Japan
If a firm wants to become a true "global leader," it is necessary to
create a strong competitive position in each of the Triad markets
◉ BRIC
Answer: Brazil, Russia, India, and China are the four fast-growing
markets that represent important opportunities
◉ how do the three views lead to a strategy that ultimately must
address the firm's performance?
Answer: Industry-based competition, firm specific resources and
capabilities, and institutional conditions and transitions--> strategy-
-> performance
◉ What determines the scope of the firm?
, Answer: A firm's scope pertains to its growth as well as its
contraction, that is, the way it curtails and alters its business
practices through downsizing, downscoping, and withdrawals.
Obviously, though, the primary focus is on the growth of the firm
◉ conglomerate diversification
Answer: a strategy used to add new businesses that produce
unrelated products or are involved in unrelated markets and
activities
in the 1960s and 1970s was found to destroy value and was largely
discredited in the 1980s and 1990s - witness how many firms are
still trying to divest and downsize (or "right-size") in the West.
However, this strategy seems to be alive and well in many emerging
economies because of its relatively positive link with performance
that may be a function of the level of institutional
(under)development in these countries
◉ What determines the success and failure of firms around the
globe?
Answer: The focus on performance, more than anything else, defines
the field of strategic management and international business.
Businesses are not only interested in acquiring and leveraging
competitive advantage, but also in sustaining such advantages over
