Distinguished Lecture Series – Nathaniel Boso

In many developing markets, a robust trade in counterfeit and pirated goods threatens the viability of legitimate business activities. Some of the sectors most affected are processed foods, appliances, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products.

About 10% of medical products in low- and middle-income countries are counterfeit, according to the World Health Organization. In Ghana, up to 30% of all medicines on the market are fake. And the Ghana Standards Authority has observed that over 70% of imported electrical cables were substandard and a major cause of fire outbreaks.

Widespread poverty in major urban communities is a contributing factor, as it erodes the negative stigma associated with consumption of illicit goods. Weak intellectual property protections and an inefficient law-enforcement system exacerbate the problem.

Despite government policies meant to encourage investments by multinational enterprises, the prevalence of counterfeit goods discourages legitimate businesses from expanding to these markets.

On September 15, Nathaniel Boso, professor of international marketing and strategy at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), will talk about what governments can do to alleviate this roadblock to investment.

“Now, they offer juicy incentives in the form of tax breaks, lower interest rates, friendly trade policies, deregulation and grants, loans and subsidies,” Boso says. “An alternative strategy is to encourage local subsidiaries of multinational enterprises to establish ties with the national government itself, local chieftains and religious institutions. Such ties are associated with growth in sales and profit.”

In his lecture, Boso will present findings from his studies of nearly 650 multinational subsidiaries operating in 23 sub-Saharan African countries.

The research shows these companies can gain advantages in the host African countries by mobilizing leaders from multiple political and cultural institutions. In fact, he found that the more dysfunctional the host country institutions become, the greater the impact these relationships have on the subsidiaries’ performance.

About the speaker:

Nathaniel Boso has won multiple international awards for his scholarship. Notably, in 2021, his article “(How) Does Africa Matter for International Business Scholarship?” won the Academy of International Business Insight Outstanding Article Award. In 2019, he was recognized for authoring the paper in the Journal of International Marketing that made the most significant contribution to the advancement of international marketing management that year.

His research focuses on the interface between international entrepreneurship, industrial marketing and supply chain strategy. It has been published in numerous high-impact journals such as Journal of Business Venturing, International Journal of Production Economics and Journal of International Business Studies.

In addition to being an award-winning scholar, Boso holds multiple academic titles and administrative appointments. Among these are the prestigious OR Tambo Africa Research Chair, dean of the KNUST School of Business and director of CARISCA. He also holds positions as Extraordinary Professor of International Business at the University of Pretoria in South Africa and visiting professor at Strathmore University in Kenya.