International Strategy: Context, Concepts and Implications

by David J. Collis

THE COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO MANAGING AND LEADING COMPANIES THAT COMPETE INTERNATIONALLY Drawing on the course material developed at the Harvard Business School and Yale School of Management by David Collis, International Strategy provides theoretical insight and pragmatic tools that address the decisions facing senior managers in multinational corporations. International Strategy explores the critical differences between domestic and international the heterogeneity of markets in which companies are involved; the volatility of economic conditions that firms face; and the increased scale of activities fostered by global participation. The text examines how these phenomena create tensions and tradeoffs for executives concerning which product to offer around the world, which countries to compete in, where to locate various activities, and how to organize the firm worldwide.  Making those choices in an integrated fashion, it is explained, requires pursuit of a coherent strategy that builds an international advantage. Filled with illustrative examples from a wide range of international companies, International Strategy, offers an accessible guide to help managers navigate the myriad decisions they must make in order to create value from their foreign operations and outperform competitors in an increasingly integrated world.

396 pages, Paperback

First published March 19, 2013

Reviews

[Jeffrey Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Because the back cover proclaims that it is the "comprehensive guide to managing and leading companies that compete internationally" and that it is "drawing on the course material developed at the Harvard Business School and Yale School of Management" I really thought this would be a great book. Unfortunately, it fails miserably in that department.

Yes, there is a lot of content. The sidebar stories and graphs are the redeeming qualities of this book, and reading the text, it is clearly shown that the author knows the material. The problem lies in the presentation of the material. It is not well written. The author interrupts his thoughts and leaves us hanging numerous times throughout each chapter. The sections are not coherent and it reads like a giant run-on sentence fragment.

That is a huge detriment to a book that has tons of potential. It's organization is dirt poor. I had to re-read several sections to see if I understood the author's intent, and still couldn't grasp what he was trying to get across because he interrupted himself several times per section. I am sorry to have to say that my understanding of global strategy has not been terribly advanced after reading this book. I will have to find another, better organized, book in order to learn the concepts that this one tried to get across.

If you are looking at a book on your own, skip this one. If you are assigned this as a textbook for a college course, good luck. This book has so much missed opportunity unfortunately.