The world is still round, says Pankaj Ghemawat. Globalization is a real and powerful force, but the sameness of business around the planet is often overstated, argues Ghemawat, a professor of global strategy at IESE Business School in Barcelona and professor of business administration at Harvard Business School.
His new book, Redefining Global Strategy: Crossing Borders in a World Where Differences Still Matter (Harvard Business School Press, September 2007), measures the differences and similarities between countries, and considers ways businesses can profit by acting on both. In this excerpt, Ghemawat lays out his thesis and its impact on Google.
Next page: Addressing Differences