Wednesday, December 25, 2013

International Strategy: Creating Value in Global Markets

Gregory G. Dess
G. T. Lumpkin
Marilyn L. Taylor



The Global Economy: A Grief Overview
         Opportunities and risks when firms diversify abroad
         Trade across nations will exceed trade within nations
         Rise of market capitalism around the world
         Transfer of money from rich to poor countries
n  Equity
n  Bond investments
n  Commercial loans
         Opportunities and risks when firms diversify abroad
         Economies of East Asia have grown rapidly, but little progress in the rest of the world
         Poor education levels in many countries
         Failure to manage broader economic factors in some countries
n  Interest rates
n  Inflation
n  Unemployment
Factors Affecting a Nation’s Competitiveness
         Factor conditions
         Nation’s position in factors of production
n  Skilled labor
n  infrastructure
         Demand conditions
         Nature of home-market demand
n  Industry’s product
n  Industry’s service
         Related and supporting industries
         Presence or absence in the nation of internationally competitive
n  Supplier industries
n  Other related industries
         Firm strategy, structure, and rivalry
         Conditions in the nation governing how  companies are
n  Created
n  Organized
n  Managed
         Nature of domestic rivalry
Factor Conditions
         To achieve competitive advantage, factors of production must be created
         Industry specific
         Firm specific
         Pool of resources at a firm’s or country’s disposal is less important than the speed and efficiency with which the resources are deployed
Demand Conditions
         Demands that consumers place on an industry for goods and services
         Demanding consumers push firms to move ahead of companies from other nations
         Demanding consumers drive firms in a country to
n  Meet high standards
n  Upgrade existing products and services
n  Create innovative products and services
Related and Supporting Industries
         Related and supporting industries
         Enable firms to manage inputs more effectively
n  Strong supplier base adds efficiency to downstream activities
n  Competitive supplier base lets a firm obtain inputs using cost-effective, timely methods
         Allow joint efforts among firms
         Create the probability that new entrants will enter the market
Firm Strategy, Structure and Rivalry
         Rivalry is intense in nations with conditions of
         Strong consumer demand
         Strong supplier bases
         High new entrant potential from related industries
         Competitive rivalry increases the efficiency with which firms develop, market, and distribute products and services within the home country
         Competitive rivalry increases the efficiency with which firms
         Develop within the home country
         Market within the home country
         Distribute products and services within the home country
         Domestic rivalry provides a strong impetus for firms to
         Innovate
         Find new sources of competitive advantage
         Domestic rivalry forces firms to look beyond national borders for new markets
Population of Selected Nations
Country          July 2002 (estimated)
China               1,284,303,000
India                1045,845,000
United States  280,562,000
Japan               126,974,000
Germany         83,251,000
Potential Risks of International Expansion
         Currency risks
         Currency exchange fluctuations
         Appreciation of the U.S. dollar
         Management risks
         Culture
         Customs
         Language
         Income levels
         Customer preferences
         Distribution system
Two Opposing Pressures: Reducing Costs and Adapting to Local Markets
         Strategies that favor global products and brands
         Should standardize all of a firm’s products for all of their worldwide markets
         Should reduce a firm’s overall costs by spreading investments over a larger market
Two Opposing Pressures: Reducing Costs and Adapting to Local Markets
         Strategies that favor global products and brands
         Are based on three assumptions
         Customer needs and interests worldwide are becoming more homogeneous
         People (worldwide) prefer lower prices at high quality
         Economies of scale in production and marketing can be achieved through supplying global markets
Two Opposing Pressures: Reducing Costs and Adapting to Local Markets
         But those three assumptions may not always be true
         Product markets vary widely between nations (customer needs and interests?)
         In many product and service markets there appears to be a growing interest in multiple product features, quality and service (preference for low price?)
         Technology permits flexible production, cost of production may not be critical to product cost, and firm’s strategy should not be product-driven
International Strategy
         Pressure for both local adaptation and low costs are rather low
         Different activities in the value chain have different optimal locations
         Susceptible to higher levels of currency and political risks
Global Strategy
         Competitive strategy is centralized and controlled largely by corporate office
         Emphasizes economies of scale
         Advantages
         Larger production plants
         Efficient logistics and distribution networks
         Supports high levels of investment in R&D
         Standard level of quality throughout the world
         Competitive strategy is centralized and controlled largely by corporate office
         Emphasizes economies of scale
         Disadvantages
         Concentration on scale-sensitive resources and activities in one or few locations leads to higher transportation and tariff costs
         Activity is isolated from targeted markets
         The rest of the firm becomes dependent on that geographically isolated location
Multidomestic Strategy
         Emphasis is differentiating products and services to adapt to local markets
         Authority is more decentralized
         Risks include
         Increased cost structure
         Potential problems with local adaptations
         Finding optimal degree of local adaptation is difficult
Transnational Strategy
         Optimization of tradeoffs associated with efficiency, local adaptation, and learning
         Firm’s assets and capabilities are dispersed according to the most beneficial location for a specific activity
         Avoids the tendency to either
         Concentrate activities in a central location
         Disperse them across many locations to enhance adaptation
         Unique risks and challenges
         Choice of an “optimal” location cannot guarantee that the quality and cost of factor inputs will be optimal
         Knowledge transfer can be a key source of competitive advantage, but it does not take place automatically
Exporting
         Relatively inexpensive way to enter foreign market
         Minimal risk
         Successful distributors
         Carry product lines that complement the multinational’s products
         Behave as if they are business partners with the multinationals.
         Invest in training, information systems, and advertising and promotion
Licensing and Franchising
         Franchisor receives a royalty or fee
         Franchisee gets to use trademark, patent, trade secret or other valuable intellectual property
         Disadvantages
         Loss of control over its product
         Licensee may become  a competitor
         Threat to brand name and reputation of products
         Advantages
         Limited risk exposure
         Expanded revenue base
Strategic Alliances and Joint Ventures
         Partnerships that enable firms to share risks and potential revenues and profits
         Partners
         gain exposure to new knowledge and technologies
         Develop core competencies that can lead to competitive advantages
         Gain information on local markets conditions
         Partnerships that enable firms to share risks and potential revenues and profits
         Risks
         Needs to be clearly defined strategy supported by both partners
         Needs to be clear understanding of capabilities and resources that will be central to the partnership
         Must be trust between partners
Wholly Owned Subsidiaries
         Business owned by only one multinational company
         Acquire an existing company in the home country
         Develop a totally new operation (greenfield venture)
         Most expensive and risky of all global entry strategies
         Greatest control over all activities
 

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