Executive Interviews: Interview with Ravi Ramamurti on Bottom of the Pyramid
November 2008 - By Dr. Nagendra V Chowdary

Dr. Ravi Ramamurti
CBA Distinguished Professor of International Business & Strategy,
and Director of the Center for Emerging Markets at Northeastern University.

what some people call 'temporary advantage, that is, competitive advantages that last a few years until the environment changes or copycats match or exceed those advantages. In this context, a firmthat aspires for long term success must be able to produce a continual stream of temporary advantages, which is another way of saying that firms must be capable of continuous improvement and constant innovation.

Therefore, one of the CEOs top prioritiesmust be to ensure that his or her organization is innovative. This is not a new message. For at least ten years now, management experts have been harping on the need for innovation. What is relatively new is the realization that innovation has to take place in a more dynamic and competitive context than before.

First, innovation must be seen as a collaborative effort rather than as a solo effort by the firm in question. As I discuss inmore detail later, thismay require the firm to build some new capabilities for innovation management. One key external partner in facilitating innovation is the customer. Look at how many new ideas are being co created by firms and their customers. In many cases, the customer is directly involved in customizing a product to suit his or her needs, as with Google or online travel booking.

Second, innovation must be approached with a global mindset. Firms cannot afford to take the narrow view of competitors or partners. It is not only the traditional rivals in ones industry or firms down the street that will be your competitors, but any firm in any part of the world. Remember the bornglobal firms in far corners of the globe who may be pursuing the same opportunity that you have identified. Similarly, your potential partners in pursuing a new opportunity could be in any part of the world. Anything less than a globally optimized supply chain may not suffice to survive competition in the commercialization phase. This will be as true for Indian firms as it is for American or European firms. In this context,

• What do you think would be the critical success factors for global firms in the new business order and what should be key result areas for the executives in the new economic and business order?
  The critical success factors will be flexibility, continuous innovation, and the capacity to take a global perspective.

• One of the often cited capabilities that companies should develop is managing multicultural teams. How do individuals develop their capability to adapt effectively across different cultures? Why do some individuals possess superior capacity to deal with the challenges of working in different cultures? How do individuals reach full productive potential working in culturally diverse work environments in their home countries and overseas? How do organizations build capability for effective work assignments in locations around the world? How do organizations optimize individual and collective performance when they harness the cultural diversity of their people across the world?
  At the individual level, a person's ability to work effectively across cultures is partly inborn and partly shaped by life experiences. There isn't much one can do about inborn traits, but there is much that one can do to create life experiences that promote cultural sensitivity. The latter includes such things as socializing with people from different rather than similar backgrounds, learning a foreign language, traveling abroad, or doing stints in a foreign country. With globalization, the world has come to India, and therefore, even a person who doesnt leave the country can get a lot of crosscultural exposure think of the employees working in call centers or as part of multi country research or project teams. One advantage of working in call centers that should not be overlooked is that it gives thousands of young Indians exposure to people from another country. This will serve them well when they move on to other jobs.

  At the company level, training programs, job rotation, international travel, and diligent career planning can create a cadre of people who are good at managing across cultures. Of course, this will cost money, because international travel and assignments are expensive, but it will also provide the company in question a competitive advantage.

• The current business lexicon consists of competitive advantage/ edge, strategic positioning, core competencies, value chain, value nets, value creation and value migration, shareholder activism, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, blue ocean strategy, etc. What do you think would be, rather should be, the new business lexicon?
  Management buzz words and fads come and go. It is not helpful to add more jargon to what already exists. Much of the time, new buzz words are merely old ideas recycled as new mantras. It will always be important to listen to customers, to innovate continually, to know how to partner with suppliers, customers, and sometimes competitors; and to have a global vision of opportunities and challenges.

1. Bottom of the Pyramid Case Study
2. ICMR Case Collection
3. Case Study Volumes