Authors Amplified Series: Jagdish Sheth’s ‘The Global Rule of Three’

Global Atlanta’s Authors Amplified series highlighting Georgia voices continues with a virtual interview with Dr. Jagdish N. Sheth, Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Business at Emory University Goizueta Business School, and author of the recently released book, The Global Rule of Three.

About the Book:

In our increasingly digital, mobile, and global world, the existing theories of business and economics have lost much of their appeal with the phenomenal rise of Chindia, the reality of Brexit, the turmoil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the seismic shifting of the global center of gravity from west to east. In the area of innovation, the traditional thinking that a developed country, often the US, will come up with the next major innovation, launch at home first, and then take it to other markets does not ring true anymore. Similarly, the world where conglomerates go bargain-hunting for acquisitions in emerging markets has been turned upside-down.

This book reveals and illustrates the Global Rule of Three phenomenon, which stipulates that in competitive markets only three companies (which the authors call “generalists”) can dominate the market. All other players in the market are specialists. Further, whereas the financial performance of generalists improves as market share increases, specialist companies see a decrease in financial performance as their market share increases, as the latter are margin-driven companies. This theory powerfully captures the evolution of global markets and what executives must do to succeed. It is based on empirical analyses of hundreds of markets and industries in the US and globally. Competitive markets evolve in a predictable fashion across industries and geographies, where every industry goes through a similar lifecycle from beginning to end (or revitalization). From local to regional to national markets, the last stop in the evolution of markets is going global. The pattern is so consistent that it represents a distinct and natural market structure at every level. The authors offer strategies that generalists and specialist should follow to stay competitive as well as twelve expansion strategies for global companies from emerging markets.

This book chronicles this global evolution and provides impactful managerial implications for executives and students of marketing and corporate strategy alike. We’ll also glean insight from Dr. Sheth on what the tenuous ties among what he calls “The New Triad Power” — the U.S., India and China — which are facing turbulent period in their relations. 

Speaker Bio:

Jagdish N. Sheth, Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Business, Goizueta Business School, Emory University. He is globally known for his scholarly contributions to consumer behavior, relationship marketing, competitive strategy, and geopolitical analysis. Over 50 years of experience in teaching and research at the University of Southern California, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Columbia University, MIT, and Emory.

Dr. Sheth is a recipient of the 2020 Padma Bhushan Award for literature and education, one of the highest civilian awards given by the Government of India. He is a Fellow of the Academy of International Business (AIB); the Association of Consumer Research (ACR); the American Psychological Association (APA); and the American Marketing Association (AMA). He is a Distinguished Fellow of the Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) and the International Engineering Consortium. He is the recipient of all four top awards given by the American Marketing Association (AMA). Professor Sheth has been an advisor to numerous corporations all over the world. He has authored or co-authored more than three hundred papers and numerous books.

Dr. Sheth is the Founder of the Center for Telecommunications Management (CTM) at the University of Southern California (USC), Founder and Chairman of India, China, and America (ICA) Institute which analyzes the trilateral relationship and its impact on geopolitics, security, trade, and investment, and the Founder and Chairman of the Academy of Indian Marketing (AIM) which supports research and scholarship among Indian scholars in marketing and management. He and his wife, Madhu Sheth, have established the Sheth Family Foundation to support several charities in India and in the United States and the Madhuri and Jagdish Sheth Foundation to support scholars and scholarship in the field of marketing. The Sheth Foundation supports the AMA-Sheth Foundation Doctoral Consortium, hosted annually by different universities. Finally, Professor Sheth is the Founder and Chairman of the Academy of Indian Marketing (AIM) which supports research and scholarship among Indian scholars in marketing and management.

About the Series

Georgia’s deep pool of international expertise is sometimes hidden in the ivory towers of academia or overshadowed by looming national figures. Sought-after thought leaders sometimes shine globally while being ignored in their own backyard.

With Authors Amplified, a monthly series of book talks open to subscribers and the public, Global Atlanta showcases authoritative local voices in foreign affairs and international business while highlighting the state’s intellectual contributions to important global conversations.

The Authors Amplified series is presented by the Atlanta Global Studies Center (AGSC), a partnership of Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University, funded in part by a US Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center grant, with a mission to empower the metro region’s global agenda.