![\"Jerry](\"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/jerry-haar.jpg\" "\\"Jerry")
A year in Mexico was followed by an internship with an engineering company in Brazil, where he later returned as a Fulbright Scholar. He became fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. Haar pulls together these elements to help make sense of the world\u2019s emerging markets in a time of whip-fast technology changes that bend and break companies and sectors like so many trees in a Florida hurricane.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy area is international business and the international economy, and how it affects strategy, structure, and the operations of companies\u201d he said. \u201cWhere I\u2019m focused is in innovation.\u201d He and colleague Ricardo Ernst, professor at Georgetown University\u2019s McDonough School of Business, recently published a book titled \u201cInnovation in Emerging Markets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Haar has authored or contributed to over 17 books; he frequently writes for both the popular press, such as the Miami Herald<\/em>, The Hill, Politico<\/em> and for professional journals, and is a frequent speaker at conferences, along with teaching at FIU Business. He is also a\u00a0global fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., and a senior research associate at Georgetown University’s business school.<\/p>\n An old friend leads to Florida. <\/em><\/p>\n He earned his B.A. in international relations at American University, a master\u2019s in psychology at Johns Hopkins University, and a doctorate in political economy at Columbia University. He remained in the northeast, which included heading the Washington office for the Council of the Americas, until a chance encounter in Miami with then-FIU president Gregory Wolfe at a soiree.<\/p>\n Wolfe knew Haar from the time Haar was an adjunct professor of international economics at American University’s School of International Service, where Wolfe was dean at the time. He convinced Haar that the hub of Latin America business scholarship and consulting opportunities lay in South Florida. Haar worked for both FIU and the University of Miami before settling in once again at FIU, where students profit from his depth of experience.<\/p>\n A key question in his research: How can companies advance through competitive innovation? \u201cThe emergence of globalization, with technology having leveled the playing field, means you can develop software, write code, carry out multinational corporate support activities whether you are in Boston, Baltimore or Bangladesh,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n At the same time, social media is driving businesses to become more efficient, transparent and responsive, putting decision-making power back in the hands of the consumer.<\/p>\n Against that background, what countries are doing right, and where they are falling short comes into sharp relief. A culture of corruption will throw a shadow on entire industries, and even countries, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is more patent and commercialization coming out of Latin America, so the question is, what can governments and the private sector do individually and collectively to retain that talent?,\u201d Haar said. To promote innovation and its commercialization in emerging markets countries must support an ecosystem that includes access to capital, mentoring and changes in tax policy, as well as strong patent protection.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time a talented person leaves an emerging market, you need to find out why,\u201d he added. \u201cIf there is corruption, if the judicial system doesn’t work, then that is the reason and that is part of the culture.\u201d<\/p>\n