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Governments around the world are increasingly intervening in the private sector through industrial policies designed to help domestic sectors reach goals that markets alone are unlikely to achieve. Companies in targeted sectors-such as automakers, energy companies, and semiconductor manufacturers-may experience dramatic changes in their operating environments. The policies could create new costs or deliver significant financial incentives to shift R&D or manufacturing investments. They might also incent firms to alter their supplier networks or change their trading partners. Managers who have grown up in markets without such interventions are now facing an unfamiliar environment. In this article, HBS professor Willy C. Shih outlines some of the policy approaches and offers a framework for responding to them. Business leaders need to understand the competing interests shaping the policies, engage and educate political leaders and their staffs, collaborate with upstream and downstream partners, and weigh the pros and cons of accepting government incentives.

The U.S.-China trade war and the supply and demand shocks brought on by the Covid-19 crisis are forcing manufacturers everywhere to reassess their supply chains. For the foreseeable future, they will face pressure to increase domestic production, grow employment in their home countries, reduce their dependence on risky sources, and rethink strategies of lean inventories and just-in-time replenishment, which can be crippling when material shortages arise. This article provides advice to make your supply chain more resilient without sacrificing competitiveness. Start by mapping the full extent of your supply network to identify both direct and indirect sources. Determine how quickly those that are most vital for you could either recover from a disruption or be replaced by an alternative. Address the vulnerabilities by diversifying your suppliers or stockpiling essential materials. Explore production-process improvements or new technologies-such as automation, continuous-flow manufacturing, and 3D printing-that could lower your costs or increase your flexibility when faced with a shock. And revisit your product strategies: Offering consumers more choices isn't always better.