個案總覽

Hermann Gudmundsson, the CEO of Esso Iceland (provider of fuel and lubricants) was expected to begin merging Esso Iceland with Bilanaust, an Icelandic automotive spare parts retailer with the end result of a unified entity that would be dominant in its respective industries. The Icelandic economy was growing at favourable rates and Esso had enjoyed its position as the leading fuel provider in Iceland for the past 60 years with 40 per cent of the market. Gudmundsson and his partners bought Esso Iceland in 2006 from a private equity firm that had been focused on stripping Esso Iceland down to its core fuel business, using staff reductions as part of a cost-reduction program. Gudmundsson believed that Esso Iceland had untapped wealth that could only be enhanced by the cross-selling synergies formed as a result of a successful integration of over 500 accounts in the two companies. His overriding concern was to lead the combined organization to achieve these goals in the next two years without destroying shareholder value.

By October 2008, the merger of Esso Iceland and Bilanaust into the new company N1 was considered a success. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was on its way to doubling in three years, and cross-selling was gaining traction. But N1's plans were under threat of derailing due to a looming currency crisis. In October 2008, the Icelandic banking sector collapsed. Gudmundsson called upon his team to determine what internal and external changes needed to be made to remain viable and productive now that they were without access to commercial credit.

The arrival of a multinational corporation often looks like a death sentence to local companies in an emerging market. After all, how can they compete in the face of the vast financial and technological resources, the seasoned management, and the powerful brands of, say, a Compaq or a Johnson & Johnson? But local companies often have more options than they might think, say the authors. Those options vary, depending on the strength of globalization pressures in an industry and the nature of a company's competitive assets. In the worst case, when globalization pressures are strong and a company has no competitive assets that it can transfer to other countries, it needs to retreat to a locally oriented link within the value chain. But if globalization pressures are weak, the company may be able to defend its market share by leveraging the advantages it enjoys in its home market. Many companies in emerging markets have assets that can work well in other countries. Those that operate in industries where the pressures to globalize are weak may be able to extend their success to a limited number of other markets that are similar to their home base. And those operating in global markets may be able to contend head-on with multinational rivals. By better understanding the relationship between their company's assets and the industry they operate in, executives from emerging markets can gain a clearer picture of the options they really have when multinationals come to stay.