Tarun Khanna is the Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at the Harvard Business School, where he has studied and worked with companies and investors in emerging markets worldwide. He was named Harvard University .s Director of the South Asia Initiative in the fall of 2010. He currently teaches in Harvard's executive education programmes and is Faculty Chair for HBS activities in India. His book, Billions of Entrepreneurs: How China and India are Reshaping Their Futures and Yours, was published in February 2008.
It focuses on the drivers of entrepreneurship in China and India and builds on over a decade of work with companies, investors and non-profits in developing countries worldwide. His most recent co-authored book, Winning in Emerging Markets: A Roadmap for Strategy and Execution, was published by Harvard Business Press in March 2010. Notably, Khanna has authored a couple of the most persuasive cases from this neck of the woods, on Indian Railways and TeamLease , a manpower solutions company. CD hooks up with Khanna to get a lowdown on the growing case studies from India being taught at HBS. Excerpts:
Take us through the scope and nature of cases at Harvard. Have they changed over the years?
Harvard Business School produces some 400 new teaching material each year. One of the advantages of the case method (as opposed to a textbook) is that the material can be kept constantly up to date, reflecting what's going on and what's changing in the world of business. This is particularly important in a rapidly growing economy like India's. Our cases are based on real companies, real people, real developments and real situations.
How are these cases selected?
Cases are selected by professors to fill a specific need in their course syllabus. They then make contact with a particular organisation, which agrees to host them and be as transparent as possible about the issue or problem, success or failure under consideration. The overwhelming majority of HBS cases are field-based, not library-based, which means that the professor and his/her research associate will travel to the company and study it on-sight. This includes a series of interviews and a review of relevant materials. The process is facilitated by the School's group of research offices around the world, including one in Mumbai. These are not campuses, but offices whose staff have deep knowledge of the region, its companies and executives.
Can't similar cases in other geographies suffice?
Not to our way of thinking. There are certainly similarities between nations and lessons learned in one country can be applied to another. But at the same time, there are things that are unique about each nation and region and we want our students to understand that as well.
It focuses on the drivers of entrepreneurship in China and India and builds on over a decade of work with companies, investors and non-profits in developing countries worldwide. His most recent co-authored book, Winning in Emerging Markets: A Roadmap for Strategy and Execution, was published by Harvard Business Press in March 2010. Notably, Khanna has authored a couple of the most persuasive cases from this neck of the woods, on Indian Railways and TeamLease , a manpower solutions company. CD hooks up with Khanna to get a lowdown on the growing case studies from India being taught at HBS. Excerpts:
Take us through the scope and nature of cases at Harvard. Have they changed over the years?
Harvard Business School produces some 400 new teaching material each year. One of the advantages of the case method (as opposed to a textbook) is that the material can be kept constantly up to date, reflecting what's going on and what's changing in the world of business. This is particularly important in a rapidly growing economy like India's. Our cases are based on real companies, real people, real developments and real situations.
How are these cases selected?
Cases are selected by professors to fill a specific need in their course syllabus. They then make contact with a particular organisation, which agrees to host them and be as transparent as possible about the issue or problem, success or failure under consideration. The overwhelming majority of HBS cases are field-based, not library-based, which means that the professor and his/her research associate will travel to the company and study it on-sight. This includes a series of interviews and a review of relevant materials. The process is facilitated by the School's group of research offices around the world, including one in Mumbai. These are not campuses, but offices whose staff have deep knowledge of the region, its companies and executives.
Can't similar cases in other geographies suffice?
Not to our way of thinking. There are certainly similarities between nations and lessons learned in one country can be applied to another. But at the same time, there are things that are unique about each nation and region and we want our students to understand that as well.
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