INSEAD professor’s new book offers valuable insights for business success in one of Asia’s largest economies
Ever wondered why your people on the ground in China aren’t making greater progress? INSEAD Professor Jonathan Story’s new book, ‘China Uncovered: What You Need to Know to Do Business in China,’ (Pearson, 2010) teaches executives how to think clearly about the implications of doing business in China, and how they can maximise their success rate there.
‘China Uncovered’ is written in a clear and easy style to help managers frame the questions they have to ask on a daily basis about the many opportunities and challenges they confront in doing business across this huge country. Story has been studying China closely since the early 1980s, and has interviewed countless CEOs, managers and employees from companies large and small who have gone into China.
Albany International CEO, Joseph Morone, commented: ‘Jonathan Story’s book strikes a rare balance between scholarship and business. ‘China Uncovered’ grounds detailed, practical advice on how to do business in China in rich, historical and political analysis. This is a terrific book for anyone — practitioner and scholar alike — striving to reach beyond the usual clichés about doing business in the country to a deeper understanding of the forces at work in contemporary China.’
Story added, "While some businesses have failed, others have found the secret of operating successfully in China. That secret differs for every company and every location. But what is universal is an ability to learn and adapt, a clear understanding of how the China operation fits into the global organisation and, above all, an ability to execute."
Each chapter of the book outlines topics that can help executives and board members learn new strategies and uncover answers about doing business in China such as:
- Strategy: How to ensure your strategy reflects the pace of change, the unusual risks of operating in China and the business realities of this dynamic market
- Vision: Why you should think of your company learning its way to doing business in China as a ‘work in progress’
- Government: Why government relations must be a core part of your business and how to make your relationships with officials productive and beneficial
- Location: How to make the critical choice of location, taking several factors into account, from access to the attitudes of local authorities
- Culture: How to understand and act on the cultural differences in order to get the all-important ‘people issues’ right
- Cost and Delivery: Getting company priorities right on quality, delivery, cost control and knowledge transfer
- Sales: Developing capabilities to promote sales, enhance customer relations and solidify a platform for exports
- Brand: How to use your brand to keep ahead of competitors
- Policies: How to craft corporate policies to local conditions, using a method which can be applied all around the world.
Jonathan Story is Emeritus Professor of International Political Economy at INSEAD, and holds the Marusi Chair of Global Business at The Lally School of Management, Rensselaer Institute. Prior to joining INSEAD in 1974, he worked in Brussels and Washington, where he obtained his PhD from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
He is currently working on a new book entitled, ‘China in the World.’ His previous books include ‘China: The Race to Market’(FT/Pearsons, 2003), ‘The Frontiers of Fortune,’ (Pitman’s, 1999), which is about corporate strategy in the world economy; and ‘The Political Economy of Financial Integration in Europe: The Battle of the Systems,’(MIT Press, 1998) on monetary union and financial markets in the EU, and co-authored with Ingo Walter of NYU.
