The greatly improved economic fundamentals of the major emerging economies over the last decade have propelled several emerging banks into the ranks of the world’s largest. Despite their importance in the global economy, the internationalization of emerging market banks remains an understudied phenomenon. This article examines factors that may influence the internationalization strategies of emerging market banks in the private banking sector, both when going abroad (take-off) and upon arrival in a host country (landing). The private banking sector is of significant interest given its importance in many leading financial centers around the world while undergoing major transformation due to the worldwide financial crisis, several recent scandals, and a fast-changing regulatory environment. We highlight the internationalization strategies of two banks from emerging countries, China and Brazil, and their experience in Switzerland’s traditional private banking sector. These two cases highlight factors that may influence successful internationalization such as prior industry experience, existing client base, entry strategy, ownership type, and the liability of foreignness. Our findings offer valuable implications for managers from other emerging economies by providing a better understanding of how emerging market banks expand internationally.
The ISO 14001 standard was extensively amended in 2015. The new version of the standard suggests a closer alignment of traditional environmental management systems with the footprinting approaches (Life Cycle Thinking) adopted by many corporations in recent years to assess the environmental performance of products and companies. As a result, a new link is also established with ecodesign practices. Context, risks and opportunities, performance and leadership are the four key new concepts enabling the bridge between management systems and company or product performances based on an enlarged life cycle perspective. Environmental aspects are now considered at corporate strategic level, opening the door for more integrated and structured ecodesign within companies. This document is intended as a guidance document to enable the understanding of the full consequences of integrating life cycle thinking within management systems and of how new opportunities arising from the integration may be seized. This guidance document intends to support companies and auditors in the adoption of the new standard and further promote ecodesign principles and applications.
