The rise of emerging market multinationals and the impact on marketing

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review and discuss the rise of emerging market multinationals (EMMs), with a special focus on its impact on marketing. Design/methodology/approach This paper is an invited opinion piece with implicit permission to “think aloud”. Findings Emerging market countries not only have millions of newly affluent consumers, but they are also the home of a new generation of multinational companies. The rise of EMMs challenges the extant thinking in strategy and marketing, and creates both threats and opportunities for western firms. With unique character and behaviour, EMMs are different from both developed countries multinationals and Japanese and Korean firms. It is imperative to study EMMs in order to win the new competition. Research limitations/implications The topic is currently under‐researched, but has the potential to enrich and further develop the marketing subject. Originality/value Hopefully, the paper draws more attention to the rise of EMMs and encourages more research on the topic.