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Faculty publication - Global Latinas: Latin America's emerging multinationals by
Lourdes Casanova, Lecturer, Strategy Department
In the past few years, emerging market companies have stormed on to the world
stage.
� According to the World Investment Report (2008), outward foreign direct
investment from emerging economies reached US$ 253 billion in 2007, the
highest level ever recorded, representing 14% of world outward flows.
� The number of multinationals from emerging economies in the Global
Fortune 500 has increased from 19 in 1990 to 76 in 2008, with ten of them
coming from Latin America.
This growing number of Latin American corporate giants, which are referred to as
'Global Latinas', is the subject and title of INSEAD Lecturer, Lourdes Casanova's
new book, in which she explains the reasons for their dramatic appearance and
explores the major potential that they represent.
Most of the research carried out so far on multinationals has focused on companies
from developed markets. Research on multinationals from emerging economies is
relatively new and mainly focused on Asia. Little research has been carried out on
the internationalisation strategies and challenges of Latin American multinationals.
'Global Latinas' aims to fill this void.
We asked Lourdes to tell us more about her book. Read on.
June 2009
Lourdes Casanova
Watch a short video interview with Lourdes about her book on INSEAD Knowledge. To buy a copy online
from the publisher, click here. To buy a copy from Footnote, click here.
About the author
Lourdes Casanova is a Lecturer at INSEAD and specialises in international business with a focus on Latin
American business. She has a Master's degree from the University of Southern California and a PhD from
the University of Barcelona. She has taught at INSEAD since 1989 and was a visiting professor at the
University of California at Berkeley from 1996 - 1999. She also manages INSEAD's relationships with
corporations in Latin America. She is a consultant to the Inter American Development Bank.
Lourdes has taught in and directed different executive education programmes at INSEAD for managers
from European and Latin American firms. Her research is on winning strategies for Latin America with a
special focus on 'natural markets'. Her recent research projects have investigated strategies of companies
from Asia, Europe, and the USA for entering Latin American markets and the responses of Latin American
firms to global competition and deregulated economies.