Global account management (GAM) has been used by many international firms over the last 20 years to better coordinate sales and service. A set of key success factors has become widely recognized for this process, but a recent survey uncovered some new factors to consider when managing your global accounts. This month we review how GAM works at companies like Marriot, IBM, De LaRue and Citibank.

H. David Hennessey;

Professor, author and acclaimed entrepreneurial guru Jeffry Timmons has been working on entrepreneurship and teaching venture capitalism at Tsinghau University, one of China’s most influential universities. We spoke to him about his experience there to understand some important points, such as what entrepreneurial issues are important for China to learn and how teaching entrepreneurship is different in China. March 2007

Dr. Jeffry Timmons & Babson Staff;

Russia is now pushing headlong into gaining acceptance in the World Trade Organization. What might they learn from the experience of other nations such as China, that have also sought to integrate into the global economic system, and how might this change Russia‘s WTO approach and the international competitiveness of Russian firms? The lessons here are many and have important meaning for those who do business there or who compete with companies based there.

Prof. Srinivasa Rangan;

While the growth of China and India has gained headlines, we also see related networks of innovation and growth in many other less publicized regions of the world, such as Africa, Mid-Asia and Latin America. These regions are developing with a new economic logic that combines “first world” and “third world” elements simultaneously. They are connecting to the rest of the world and introducing innovative business models formed in cultures quite different from first-world only communities. The local trends are complex, but their global logic is clear and should be compelling for strategists in most first-world businesses. What is the strategic chain at work in this new business model? What effects are we seeing and what are the long-term implications for companies doing business globally? September 2006

Prof. Marty Anderson;

By Prof. Keith Rollag. With an explosive growth rate, expanding infrastructure and emerging consumer market it seems clear that China is on its way to becoming an economic powerhouse. But if you’re thinking about sourcing in China, or entering its domestic markets, or partnering with a Chinese company there are trends and inherent conditions that may slow China’s growth and complicate your plans. Read more about China’s future from Prof. Rollag’s observations during his recent visit. November 2005

Prof. Keith Rollag;

For years many have tried to break the Microsoft lock on the software market, including the US Government. Even larger forces may be at work now in the form of hundreds of millions of business and individual users in China and India who's need for more affordable solutions may sweep away the windows monopoly. Read here about the signs and meanings of these huge potential changes in the IT field.

Prof. Martin Anderson;

Trumpeted across the headlines we have all heard about how American business has been cutting costs and seeking other benefits by moving some of its business processes to locations in other countries. But as some companies like Ford and Dell have discovered, there are risks and costs to sending part of your business to an outsourced provider. Before taking action managers can learn from the success and failures of others by first looking at each component of their value chain to help them identify and evaluate the costs and risks of outsourcing.

by Professors W. Costello, K McKone-Sweet, A. Rao;

Russia is now pushing to gain acceptance in the World Trade Organization. What might they learn from the experience of other nations such as China who have gone down this path? How will this effect the competitiveness of Russian firms? What lessons does this present for those who do business there?

Prof. Srinivasa Rangan;