Ask any CEO what his or her best growth strategy is, and you'll hear plans for faraway places. Frustrated by slow-developing markets at home, business leaders are looking abroad for future growth. This can be a great way to go for many companies, as Fortune's Bethany pointed out last week. But while executives may feel it necessary to enter fast-growing emerging markets to satisfy investors, many mistakenly assume that U.S.-born business plans that work at home will succeed abroad. In fact, the overwhelming majority of companies entering emerging markets don't do their homework before opening shop in another country, says Alan, deputy dean for international and corporate relations.