Time for Chinese firms to adapt to new markets

"Sometimes companies think: 'I'm the acquirer, I know how to do it.' But if you look at the very best acquirers, they are very thoughtful about, 'What will I learn from the company I'm acquiring?'

"To be true, most acquisitions don't create value. The earner is the acquiree, not the acquirer. The way you do integration is the determinant of how much value is really created," he said.

In Lesser's view, "sophisticated" companies differ from ordinary ones in that sophisticated companies understand the benefit of an acquisition is not just about the acquired company's product and market, but its talent and processing.

Being a real "multinational" means you can bring the successful experience in your home market to market A and B, and also being able to bring the experience in market A and B to the home market - this is the real integration.

"General Electric, for example, has gone through that process. Now they think of China and India as sources of innovation, and bring them to the rest of the world," Lesser said.

But that would also be the very challenge for most Chinese companies, Lesser said. Starting from a gigantic home market may be a blessing in disguise.

"If you start from a small market, for example, Switzerland, you have to learn very early on how to compete in different markets and how to operate the multinationals," he said.

"Chinese companies, like US companies decades ago, have the opportunity to be in a very big home market. But sometimes it makes them less quick to learn how to adapt to other markets," he said.

Asked about BCG's performance in China, Lesser said it had grown "rapidly" over the years, without offering specifics.

He said the firm is not just serving multinationals' China divisions, but also Chinese companies and government entities.

Before taking the new job in January, Lesser served as BCG's head of the company's New York office system since 2000. In 2009, he was named as BCG's regional chairman for the Americas.

He has been offering consultation for companies that seek to develop their foreign market. These clients include fields as diverse as healthcare, and the consumer and IT sectors.

Contact the writer at zhengyangpeng@chinadaily.com.cn