Changing the Rules of the Global Game

How do organizations effectively create the future and become pioneering rule changers? “The key is a combination of exploitation and exploration,” says Govindarajan. Companies must exploit the resources that already exist—including products, markets, and assets—but they must also explore new opportunities and take risks. Another cornerstone of success in global markets is leveraging technology to solve problems.

Drawing on the ideas presented in his recent book coauthored with Anil K. Gupta, The Quest for Global Dominance: Transforming Global Presence into Global Competitive Advantage (Jossey-Bass, 2001), Govindarajan identifies five “value-creation opportunities.” To successfully move from global presence to global competitive advantage and become a force in today’s global markets, companies must master all five.

Global Presence

1 Knowledge transfer advantage

2 Location advantage

3 Global scope advantage

4 Global scale advantage

5 Local adaptation advantage

Global Competetive Advantage

Vijay Govindarajan is the Earl C. Daum 1924 Professor of International Business and director of Tuck's William F. Achtmeyer Center for Global Leadership. He has been cited by BusinessWeek as a Top Ten Professor in Corporate Executive Education. He is the faculty director of the Tuck Global Leaders Program and faculty co-director of Global Leadership 2020 and the Smith-Tuck Global Leaders Program for Women. To register for any of these programs or receive more information, please contact our external relations team members at +1-603-646-2839 or tuck.exec.ed@dartmouth.edu or visit our website at www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/exec.