EMB
EDITOR'S NOTE
The New LANGUAGE
OF BUSINESS
WELCOME TO THE AUTHORITATIVE REVIEW
FOR EMERGING MARKET SUCCESS.
A
re emerging markets a thing of the past? Is the
term now insufficient and outdated? Some ask
these questions from a philosophical point of
view, some with near-term economics in mind
and others, just out of logical thinking—after all, ‘emerging’,
eventually emerges. In all cases, I understand their reasoning.
The problem is, they are the wrong questions.
Rather than mooting the label, let’s focus on what really
matters: opportunity. I see the world split into two: the
corporatized world, and the rest—the broad swathes of the
planet that brim with potential and that business leaders are
hungry to understand. The emerging markets that, for us,
encompass dev eloping, frontier and everything in between.
These vast geographical areas that span Africa, Asia, the
Middle East, and Latin America, are the growth markets of the
future. Attractive demographics, abundant natural resources,
growing connectivity, and increasingly friendly business
climates count as just a few of the factors that are bolstering
home-grown emerging market firms and drawing some of the
world’s biggest companies to their borders.
and rapidly growing companies, for whom the world’s vibrant
markets truly matter.
The genesis of EMB came the day I walked into one of my
client’s offices. “I love reading this every month” he declared
while waving in the air a well-respected Western business
publication. “But it doesn’t have a darn thing to do with my
reality.” From that moment, it was clear that we had to create
a resource to tackle the issues no one else was tackling, for
parts of the world that all too often fly under the business
literature radar.
It is unsurprising that emerging market needs regularly go
unnoticed when we look at the messages that are being sent
out—almost all of them advanced economy-centric. This is
something I frequently experience first-hand. Recently, I was
about to give a keynote address to several hundred emerging
market executives, when the event host made reference to
the Fourth Industrial Revolution. On hearing these words, I
extemporaneously modified my opening comment: “There’s
only one problem with that phrase for most emerging
markets,” I said as I took to the stage, “We still haven’t had
our first industrial revolution.”
But while ambition abounds, so too does challenge. According
to the Boston Consulting Group, 78% of top executives surveyed
in a poll of 150 multinationals stated that they expect their
companies to gain share in the emerging markets, yet no
companies said their capabilities on the ground were sufficient.
And the struggle for growth plagues local firms too. The fact
is, whatever a company’s shape, size or origins, success in
developing economies is often hard fought.
The emerging markets need relevant insights, tools, models
and examples rather than mismatched imported thinking.
This is what EMB is all about. With content expertly crafted
by world-class business executives, thought leaders and
industry professionals, EMB initiates new dialogue with the
power to ascend emerging markets' business management
to a new level.
Recognizing and in many ways inspired by this reality, we
have been spurred to fill the many gaps that exist in the
understanding, dialogue and thinking over these important
economies. The result is Emerging Markets Business (EMB): the
invaluable tool for the decision-makers at dynamic, innovative
Now, as Emerging Markets Business makes its debut, I want to
personally thank each of the contributors who believed in our
vision from the outset and stepped in to offer the expertise that
the business community needs. Thank you on behalf of every
one of our readers!
Dr. Tommy Weir, Editor-in-Chief
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