Rebels with a Parent Company
Conventional international business strategy preaches the need for subsidiaries of multinationals to align themselves with the agenda set by headquarters. Early protagonists of this view posit that...
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Confronting China’s IP Counteroffensive
As foreign companies flocked to China over the past three decades, they faced significant intellectual property (IP) risks such as counterfeiting and the difficulty of enforcing IP rights. Now, they...
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Mapping Globalization
Following the U.S. election, not to mention the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom, there has been a lot of concern about the future of free trade. But while obstacles to international commerce come and...
View ArticleTweetledee Tweetledumb
The pen is mightier than the sword, at least according to Cardinal Richelieu. In the historical play by Edward Bulwer-Lytton—who is ironically also known for penning a novel using the weak opening...
View ArticleTrumping Trade
“You’re going to pay a very large border tax.” That’s what President-elect Trump said at his January 11th news conference (if it can be called that) about U.S. companies that manufacture abroad,...
View ArticleThe Rise of North American Brinksmanship
Three years ago, I wrote an IBJ Insight entitled “Championing North America’s Potential,” which celebrated economic cooperation between Canada, Mexico and the United States in light of the bold plans...
View ArticleEven NAFTA Tweaks Could Be Costly
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did about as well as could be expected during his first face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, at least from a business perspective. After a...
View ArticleDealing with Dictators
In response to recent events in Venezuela, where democracy has crumbled along with the economy, the U.S has moved to impose sanctions on nation’s increasingly oppressive President Nicolas Maduro and...
View ArticleAnalyzing Alibaba’s Magic
Can any innovations come from China? Many influential people don’t think so. As Forbes contributor Edward Tse noted last year, when Joe Biden was vice-president of the United States, he was comfortable...
View ArticleSNC-Lavalin and the Corruption of Public Discourse
Nobody loves a good government scandal more than journalists and opposition party members, except perhaps policy pundits, pollsters, and Internet trolls. And that, in a nutshell, is why the political...
View ArticleManaging the Hassle Factor in the Age of Disruption
In a recent note on the business implications of COVID-19, McKinsey & Company advised corporate leaders to forget about trying to conduct “business as usual” and focus instead on ensuring the...
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