A Synthesis of Our Findings

Our objective is to examine the dynamics of profitable growth in emerging markets. Collectively, our findings are as follows: First, growth and profitability can be viewed as interspersed in sequential stages. Firms might initially focus on profits or growth, and would purposefully seek a balance of optimal states in the future. Second, the dynamics, however, are tempered by significant changes in the external environment. Third, while emerging markets are generally viewed as fast growing, growth is not uniform, but granular. Not all local markets are the same, nor do they respond to foreign multinational products and services in the same way. Specific pockets of demand develop quicker from their nascent states than others. Understanding the dynamics of scale for different market segments is the critical strategy.