Sample questions for the final exam

1. Define institutions? Discuss the differences between FORMAL institutions and INFORMAL institutions? How does the institution-based view complement and differ from the industry-based and resource-based views?

2. Discuss the relative importance of resource-, industry-, and institution-based view of strategy on firm performance (e.g. profitability) in developed economies (e.g. Australia and USA) versus in emerging economies (e.g. Argentina, India, Brazil, China and Russia)

3. Apply the institution-based view of firm strategy to explain why networks are more important for conducting businesses in an emerging economy (e.g. India, China, Russia, or any Latin American country) than in a developed economy.

4. What is Blue Ocean Strategy? How is it different from the conventional competitive strategy (i.e. Porter's positioning strategy based on his five-force framework)?

5. Why is diversification such an important component of a firm's strategy? Apply the institution-based view of firm strategy to explain why diversification strategy, even the unrelated diversification strategy, is often better off than the focused strategy in developing/emerging economies (e.g., China, Chile, India, and Mexico) than in developed economies (e.g., Australia, Japan, UK, and USA) (the related HBR articles by Tarun Khanna).

6. What is the "AAA" framework for global strategy (Ghemawat, 2007)? Discuss and compare the factors/situations that drive Walmart in using greenfield, acquisition, and joint ventures in its early stage of internationalization.

7. What are the determinants of the potential for resources and capabilities to generate sustainable profits?  (VRIO framework, Chapter 5 in the textbook, or related HBR readings)

8. Black and Morrison (2010)'s Harvard Business Review article "A cautionary tale for emerging market giants" suggests that emerging market multinational enterprises (EM MNEs) bear a resemblance to Japanese companies in the 1990s. In this article, Black & Morrison identified several strengths and strategies that propelled the success of Japanese companies in the 1990s, but unfortunately turned into weaknesses when the firms ventured abroad.

Discuss if any other emerging market firms may share any similar strengths and/or strategies which may lead to their current success. Also discuss if these strengths and strategies may potentially turn into weaknesses or hindrance as they expand overseas. 

9. Australians have expressed mixed views about Chinese investment. The ninth annual Lowy Institute Poll 2013 showed that 57% Australians considered that the Australian Government is allowing too much investment from China. This public attitude has been largely unchanged since 2010. On the other hand, several recent reports suggest that Chinese investment in Australia is only about 3% among all the foreign investment by the end of year 2012, and Australia should embrace more Chinese investment. (Discussed in class)

What are the micro-level drivers for Chinese outbound investments in Australia's agriculture and agribusiness sectors? (Supplementary readings suggested in class).

10. Define platform strategy and distinguish it from the traditional pipeline business (several HBR articles, such as "Pipelines, platforms, and New Rules of Strategy", have been released on Canvas).