A great quote from an interview with Tarun Khanna and Krishna G. Palepu, authors of the new book Winning in Emerging Markets:
Multinationals based in developed countries as well as emerging market -based companies face a tension between ambition and humility. Multinationals want to exploit the tremendous opportunities in emerging markets, but they need to carefully evaluate the extent to which they have the local knowledge and capacity to fully exploit those opportunities. Segmenting these markets and carefully aligning ambitions and capabilities can help multinationals avoid costly mistakes. Multinationals need the humility not only to gauge their own capabilities in relation to the institutional context of emerging markets but also in terms of their position in emerging markets. As one multinational executive explained, “Most emerging markets are highly sensitive. They’re emerging because for years they’ve been colonized. That has left its own suspicions, distrust, et cetera of foreigners. It’s certainly true in China. It’s certainly true in India. It’s probably true in many other places. So people want the benefits of globalization and development, but they want to know that they’re not being exploited.”