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Woodward Fellows launches new web based Resource Center for publishing research papers
For Immediate Release
Media Contacts: Woodward Partners
Singapore: Natalie Maxwell-Davis
Email: Natalie@woodward-partners.com
Phone: + 65 3106 2068 ext. 400 (Singapore), + 503-345-0764 ext. 400 (USA)

US: Kurt Messersmith
Email: Kurt@woodward-partners.com
Phone: + (206) 604.4081

Singapore - July 23, 2008
Woodward Fellows announced the launch of a new web based Resource Center at www.woodward-fellows.org. The Resource Center provides Woodward Fellows a widely accessible platform for publishing its regular research papers. Woodward Fellows is a research foundation based in the US that publishes regular articles on strategic management issues in Asia that are of critical importance to managers working in the region or considering business in the region. Founded by Woodward Partners in 2007, the organization has forged strong relationships with faculty at a number of universities in Singapore and in the US with the goal of exploring the application of academic research to the challenges management faces and contributing to the research field through its own research projects.

"The Resource Center will enable us to engage with a much broader readership for the content we seek to make available to the general public. We would like to see this material distributed as widely as possible, receive feedback from practitioners on their experiences, and engage in an ongoing dialogue with our readers. This feedback will provide important guidance to our internal research agenda and our partnerships with faculty," said Matt Mathias, who oversees Woodward Fellows activities in the US and manages the US office of Woodward Partners. Prior to joining Woodward Partners, Mr. Mathias served for two years as a faculty member of Dordt College in the US.

Prof. Nitin Pangarkar from NUS Business School welcomes the initiative. "Asia is becoming the key growth driver for many companies worldwide. It is crucial to have institutions such as Fellows which serve as a bridge between practitioners and academia, which capture lessons learnt from this highly complex market and share them for the benefit of the industry," said Prof. Pangarkar. "Also, academicians have another platform to share their insights from scholarly research with industry."

According to Ryoma Ishii, Director of the Tokyo office of Woodward Partners, "Japanese managers are eager for this type of content. Continuing education that is practical whether executive education courses or journals which are able to apply the latest research to the issues managers face is growing in popularity in Japan."

Woodward Fellows' current research efforts are focused on the extension of global value chains throughout Asia and on the role of business in alleviating poverty, which is often referred to as serving the base of the pyramid. Woodward Fellows recent publications are summarized below.

Effective Export Strategies: Key Success Factors
This paper outlines key factors should firms consider before expanding into foreign markets and how can firms benefit most from their experience and from the experiences of other firms. Woodward Fellows discussed these questions with Prof. Rob Solomon of the NYU Stern School of Business and author of Learning from Exporting: New Perspectives, New Insights(2007).

How to Integrate "Chindia" into a Cohesive Global Strategy
Authored by Prof. Nitin Pangarkar of the NUS Business School, an authority on China and India, this paper looks at the implications of the emergence of "Chindia," dispels common misconceptions about these fast growing economies, explores opportunities, and outlines five rules of thumb for effectively integrating "Chindia" into a global strategy.

Establishing Effective Collaboration and Governance in Asian Operations
The complexities of Asia present many companies with daunting challenges to effective collaboration and governance. Value Network Analysis (VNA) offers companies a way to gain clarity, pinpoint deficiencies, and realize maximize benefit from an extended network of people and organizations. VNA is gaining traction among researchers and practitioners from a wide range of fields. A brief VNA case study is also presented.

The Base of the Pyramid - Fortune or Mirage?
As value chains stretch across the globe, the impact of firms' investments on the poor are under increasing scrutiny. A great deal of hype surrounds new ideas about how to make money by selling to the base of the pyramid. However, Prof. Aneel Karnani of the Ross School at the University of Michigan critiques the idea that selling to the poor is an effective method of poverty alleviation.

Upcoming publications by Woodward Fellows include a paper on a new framework for structuring effective channel relationships. The framework, which is called GVA, is based on the work of Prof. Mrinal Ghosh at the University of Arizona. Another upcoming publication outlines a discussion on strategies for successful expansion into foreign markets with Prof. Myles Shaver at the University of Minnesota.

About Woodward Fellows

Launched by Woodward Partners in 2007, Woodward Fellows is a non-profit research foundation based in the United States. Woodward Fellows probes strategic management issues in Asia Pacific to better understand the challenges firms face in the region, explore the application of research to these challenges, and contribute to the research field through partnership with leading institutions. In doing so, Fellows seeks to build bridges between scholarship and practice. The Woodward Fellows Resource Center can be found at www.woodward-fellows.org.

About Woodward Partners

Woodward Partners is a management consulting firm that provides research, analysis, and advisory services across Asia to global and midmarket clients. By using a problem-oriented, multi-functional approach, Woodward is able to help companies succeed in Asia. Woodward's experience and flexibility allows us to assist a variety of clients in a variety of situations - we help companies with no experience in Asia, companies with limited experience in Asia, and companies who are already established in Asia but wish to achieve optimal growth. Our strong connections with scholars gives us access to cutting-edge expertise that many practitioners do not have. We use that expertise to develop solutions for the specific challenges that companies face. Woodward is a private company with offices in the US, Singapore, and Japan. For more information, please visit www.woodward-partners.com.