Fighting climate change is a promising area for engagement between Western companies and China. However, geopolitical strains, the disruption of business relationships by the Covid pandemic, and domestic Chinese policies all make engagement complex. In this article the authors examine the complexities of the current climate-change opportunities in China and present practical strategies for businesses ready to enter the market. There is a twofold opportunity, they explain. First, China offers a vast market for Western-developed solutions. The Chinese government has set ambitious targets, aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. That goal creates significant opportunities for firms with cutting-edge technologies. Second, businesses have an opportunity to integrate China's own advances in climate-related technology. The authors go on to outline four strategies, all of which involve partnering in some way. They advise companies to make sustainability a global theme, to join or form coalitions to find safe spaces for technological development, to forge partnerships with local companies for market access, and to insource technology.

The case describes how Allbirds, a U.S. eco-startup that entered the booming footwear market in China, met with challenges in putting their global perspective into local practice. This teaching note is designed for a 90-minute teaching plan, where students could impersonate the protagonist in this case, Brandy Yu, managing director of Allbirds China, and follow her footprints with the new venture's market expansion in China since she joined in 2021. Allbirds was a San Francisco-based startup founded in 2015, which innovated the ways how shoes were made and sold. The company opened its first store in April 2019 at Shanghai, China, also the first in Asia. Brandy Yu in this case could inspire students through the decision-making processes in various challenging scenarios, such as where to find "China Charlie" and how to engage them, how to channel constrained resources into building product leadership and customer intimacy, whether they could "copy-paste" Allbirds' Go-to-Market strategy in China, and most essentially, how to maintain a sustainable balance between localization and internationalization in both marketing strategy and organizational management.

The case describes how Coffee Commune, a China-based social enterprise founded by a German entrepreneur named Eric Baden, had been trying to reach a balance between social impact and sustainable business. This teaching note is designed for a 45-to-60-minute teaching plan, where students could play the main protagonist, Eric Baden, and follow his journey with Coffee Commune since 2016. As a German citizen who had lived in China for more than two decades, Baden was passionate about helping the poor coffee farmers in mountainous Yunnan by improving and promoting their beans in China and abroad. Baden and his team, in this case, could lead the students through the decision-making processes in various challenging scenarios, such as why and how Coffee Commune needed its own unique value chain called "crop-to-cup", how to fit the value propositions into a sustainable business model, whether and how to attract outside investment for Coffee Commune's organic growth, and most essentially, how to maintain positive social impact while delivering viable financial goals to sustain this purpose.

The case describes the process of Intel promoting an intrapreneurship program in China. The intrapreneurship platform called Ideas2Realty (later rebranded as GrowthX) was founded in 2015. After five years' development, GrowthX was improved step by step by introducing established entrepreneurship methodologies (e.g., the Lean Startup framework), partnering with an innovation accelerator, and inviting external startups. By the end of 2020, GrowthX had explored more than 400 business ideas, bringing Intel millions of dollars in incremental revenue. Why do companies like Intel need intrapreneurship? What challenges did Intel China overcome during the process? Going forward, for project leader Kapil Kane, several challenges remained. For example, how to leverage internal teams and external startups? How to achieve better synergies between different innovation programs? How to convince managers and employees that the program is of high long-term value and ask for more resources to develop?

The case describes the process of entering the China market undertaken by InMobi, an Indian Internet Company that provides a mobile advertising platform and value-added services for brands. InMobi was intentionally developed as an international venture by its founders. After opening offices in South Africa, Europe, and North America, the board had a long discussion and eventually decided to enter the China market. The case describes how, under the leadership of Jessie Yang, InMobi China successfully adapted to the unique ecosystem of China's internet industry. In 2019 InMobi's China revenue exceeded $100 million for the first time, accounting for over one-quarter of its parent company's global revenue, and next only to the US market. The case ends by noting the expansion of the Beijing office by inviting InMobi technologists from India and also plans for spinning off InMobi China as an independent company. After achieving the aspiring milestone, Yang also faced the business growth challenges. How could she strengthen InMobi's first-mover advantage in the China mobile advertising market and maintain good relations with headquarters to gain autonomy and trust?

Partnering with startups is an important way by which large multinational corporations (MNCs) pursue open innovation. This article sheds light on distinctive startup partnering strategies across multiple locations. These vary in terms of institutional strength (advanced vs. emerging markets) and local reputation in a given sector (cluster vs. non-cluster). Different partnering strategies are appropriate for each location type: a template-based or purpose-built approach (in clusters vs. non-clusters, respectively), and a facilitative or directive approach (in advanced vs. emerging markets, respectively).

Capillary Technologies, an Indian customer relationship management software as a service company, provided cloud-based omnichannel customer engagement and related services to retailers and brands. In a country well known for software service companies, based primarily on labour cost advantages, Capillary was founded as a business-to-business software company (i.e., an intellectual property company). After entering several Western markets, which was consistent with its lofty aspirations, Capillary decided to pursue Asian markets. The new venture relocated its headquarters from India to Singapore and made strong efforts to gain revenue in the Asia region—including the large, but intensely competitive, Chinese market. Capillary started by working with Western multinationals that were its customers in other markets. The company then began attracting local customers, as it established a Chinese technology team to cater to the unique technological ecosystems prevalent in China. Over a three-year period, Capillary achieved 200 per cent annual growth. With the opening of a new office in Guangzhou, Capillary then hoped to further deepen its presence in the Chinese market. What could the general manager do to help Capillary reach this goal within the next three years?

Capillary Technologies, an Indian customer relationship management software as a service company, provided cloud-based omnichannel customer engagement and related services to retailers and brands. In a country well known for software service companies, based primarily on labour cost advantages, Capillary was founded as a business-to-business software company (i.e., an intellectual property company). After entering several Western markets, which was consistent with its lofty aspirations, Capillary decided to pursue Asian markets. The new venture relocated its headquarters from India to Singapore and made strong efforts to gain revenue in the Asia region-including the large, but intensely competitive, Chinese market. Capillary started by working with Western multinationals that were its customers in other markets. The company then began attracting local customers, as it established a Chinese technology team to cater to the unique technological ecosystems prevalent in China. Over a three-year period, Capillary achieved 200 per cent annual growth. With the opening of a new office in Guangzhou, Capillary then hoped to further deepen its presence in the Chinese market. What could the general manager do to help Capillary reach this goal within the next three years?

Ace Company (Ace) was a Chinese start-up developing software for the Internet of Things (IoT). The company was founded in February 2015 by three colleagues for the initial purpose of providing an unprecedented universal IoT operating system, the absence of which was severely crippling developing development in IoT. By mid-2017, having proven the technical viability and market acceptability of its offering, the company was ready to scale up. However, the co-founders disagreed on the choice of growth strategy. One founder advocated extending Ace’s business to as many industrial scenarios and companies as possible, while the other founder was in favour of Ace focusing on and penetrating deeply into a few industries. The third founder was stuck in the middle and wanted to know which path they should choose.

Ace Company (Ace) was a Chinese start-up developing software for the Internet of Things (IoT). The company was founded in February 2015 by three colleagues for the initial purpose of providing an unprecedented universal IoT operating system, the absence of which was severely crippling developing development in IoT. By mid-2017, having proven the technical viability and market acceptability of its offering, the company was ready to scale up. However, the co-founders disagreed on the choice of growth strategy. One founder advocated extending Ace's business to as many industrial scenarios and companies as possible, while the other founder was in favour of Ace focusing on and penetrating deeply into a few industries. The third founder was stuck in the middle and wanted to know which path they should choose.

This case describes the process of Austrian chocolate producer Zotter Chocolate entering the Chinese market. There are several things that make this company stand out: it is a small, family-run entrepreneurial firm from Austria that makes a wide range of unconventional flavors of chocolate. It prides itself on being organic and fair trade, and has attracted many loyal customers and visitors to its "chocolate factory" in its headquarters in Bergl, Austria. After successfully entering the German market-an "obvious" target for a firm from Austria-the founder, Josef Zotter, and his family considered where to go next, in 2010. After comparing the U.S. and Chinese chocolate markets, Zotter Chocolate selected China as its first major non-European market. The case introduces how Zotter sought out a local partner in Shanghai and decided to enter the market with an "experience-based" offering in its first chocolate factory outside its home market, overseen by the founder's daughter Julia. Their innovations and learning process are also presented in the case. The case ends with Julia's key concerns about Zotter China's next step when she has to leave China for Zotter Chocolate's Austrian headquarters in August 2017.

By 2017, Beijing Testin Information Technology Co., Ltd. (Testin), had forged partnerships with multiple large multinational companies (e.g., Microsoft, IBM, ARM, Intel). Since it was founded in 2011, Testin had served over 800,000 application developers by conducting more than 150 million quality and security tests on over 2.5 million mobile applications. It had received several rounds of financing totaling over $80 million. Many Chinese Internet companies had tried to acquire Testin, and a well-known MNC asked Testin to sign an exclusive service contract. Wang and his partners resisted such offers and were determined that Testin should <br> maintain its neutrality. But as a five-year old enterprise, Testin’s big concern was how it could “stay hungry and stay foolish.”

By 2017, Beijing Testin Information Technology Co., Ltd. (Testin), had forged partnerships with multiple large multinational companies (e.g., Microsoft, IBM, ARM, Intel). Since it was founded in 2011, Testin had served over 800,000 application developers by conducting more than 150 million quality and security tests on over 2.5 million mobile applications. It had received several rounds of financing totaling over $80 million. Many Chinese Internet companies had tried to acquire Testin, and a well-known MNC asked Testin to sign an exclusive service contract. Wang and his partners resisted such offers and were determined that Testin should maintain its neutrality. But as a five-year old enterprise, Testin's big concern was how it could "stay hungry and stay foolish."

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review Article. For large global companies, forging effective partnerships with high-potential startups is easier said than done. The very traits that make such startups potentially complementary as partners also make it difficult for large companies to engage with them in the first place. Multinational corporations often struggle even to identify promising potential startup partners; startups, for their part, find it difficult to identify and reach the relevant decision makers within the often-confusing hierarchies of gigantic multinational companies. The challenge, for both sides, is all the more vexing in emerging markets. Furthermore, most academic studies of the challenges that large companies and entrepreneurial ventures face in partnering - and the solutions the studies suggest - focus on mature markets, such as the United States and Europe. Far less is known about how multinational corporations should engage with startups in emerging markets such as China and India. To understand how multinational companies have partnered successfully with startups in emerging markets, the authors undertook a study in three major emerging market economies: India, China, and South Africa. Their research uncovered four key factors, and they suggest a strategy for addressing each factor. The first key factor, the authors say, is the immaturity of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Specifically, most emerging markets are afflicted by constraints and "voids" in their institutions. The authors recommend that multinational companies address this factor through programs that compensate for the immaturity of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and they provide examples such as an IBM Corp. program that provides training, mentoring, and events for startups in China.

An Indian-based software product start-up has succeeded in forging a valuable relationship with Microsoft, which has been vital to its international success. When the Microsoft relationship manager assigned to the company leaves Microsoft unexpectedly, the company’s chief executive officer needs to make some critical decisions regarding how to manage its relationship with Microsoft.

An Indian-based software product start-up has succeeded in forging a valuable relationship with Microsoft, which has been vital to its international success. When the Microsoft relationship manager assigned to the company leaves Microsoft unexpectedly, the company's chief executive officer needs to make some critical decisions regarding how to manage its relationship with Microsoft.

For small firms, partnering with a multinational corporation (MNC) provides great opportunities and great challenges. Conventional partnering approaches are unlikely to succeed, and firms must use less orthodox strategies. In particular, start-ups can employ three strategies for success: forming, consolidating, and extending MNC relationships. 1) Forming MNC relationships entails fathoming the larger company, targeting the right individuals, and not reaching out blindly. Early experiences with an MNC can have profound effects on the relationship forged. 2) Consolidating MNC relationships involves ensuring a strategic fit and increasing the odds of the relationship leveraging the best of the start-up and the MNC. It requires focus and goal orientation and, frequently, mid-course changes in direction, including dropping the relationship. 3) Extending MNC relationships entails recognizing the potential for conflict and balancing cooperation and competition. It requires shrewdness, and the recognition that aligning closely with an MNC may lead over time to overlapping goals and offerings.<br><br>In illustrating these strategies, this article offers various examples, such as the success of Mango Technologies in engaging with Qualcomm. Qualcomm was actually the third MNC that Mango reached out to, and the relationship was successful because Mango devoted itself to the technology front while Qualcomm negotiated bureaucracy. In another example, Lixter leveraged BizSpark One, an MNC partnering initiative run out of Microsoft’s Silicon Valley campus. Here, a small firm took advantage of Microsoft’s partnering initiative through being proactive and getting noticed early on.

A number of small enterprises are affected-often in dramatic ways-by the increasing presence of MNCs in their home markets. Small enterprise often find themselves facing a very difficult set of choices as they consider whether and how they should engage with the MNCs. This article critically evaluates the strategies smaller enterprises are adopting in a globalizing world. The most effective strategy for globalization is through partnerships with local MNC subsidiaries-in their own backyard-which can then be leveraged to generate opportunities on a global scale. This analysis particularly emphasizes the need for small enterprises to use to their advantage the points of difference (i.e., asymmetry) between them and the MNCs with whom they partner.