About the book - Preface

This book is about global firms and global management. Its objective is to help graduate
and undergraduate students, as well as company executives, to understand the main
issues that companies and their managers confront when they ‘go global’ or ‘manage
globally’, and to cope with them.

Since the first edition of this book in 2003, globalisation of the economy has increased
its momentum. Emerging countries have shown their willingness and capabilities to
participate to this evolution. At the same time global dangers under the form of epidemia, warming of the planet as well as terrorism and local conflicts have raised new types of challenges for firms participating to the enlarged economy. This second edition is still about about global firms and global management. Its objective reamins to help graduate and undergraduate students, as well as company executives, to understand the main issues that companies and their managers confront when they ‘go global’ or ‘manage globally’, and to cope with them. Information and a several cases have been updated, new examples added.

The book has been designed as a support for specialised courses on Strategic Management for Global Firms, equivalent to a series of course notes to be read in preparation for a class or afterwards. Students will normally be assigned a case study for each of the topics covered in the book. It can also be used as a reference guide for managers and executives.