Book excerpt: The best way to select emerging markets to exploit is to evaluate their size or growth potential, right? Not according to Krishna Palepu and Tarun Khanna. In Winning in Emerging Markets, these leading scholars on the subject present a decidedly different framework for making this crucial choice. The authors argue that the primary exploitable characteristic of emerging markets is the lack of institutions (credit-card systems, intellectual-property adjudication, data research firms) that facilitate efficient business operations. While such "institutional voids" present challenges, they also provide major opportunities-for multinationals and local contenders. Palepu and Khanna provide a playbook for assessing emerging markets' potential and for crafting strategies for succeeding in those markets. They explain how to: · Spot institutional voids in developing economies, including in product, labor, and capital markets, as well as social and political systems · Identify opportunities to fill those voids; for example, by building or improving market institutions yourself · Exploit those opportunities through a rigorous five-phase process, including studying the market over time and acquiring new capabilities Packed with vivid examples and practical toolkits, Winning in Emerging Markets is a crucial resource for any company seeking to define and execute business strategy in developing economies.