International Strategy Essay Questions Flashcards
what 5 dimensions might you apply in characterising the deepening commitment of an internationalilsing firm
- actively searches for opportunities rather than passively responding to proposals
- company handles it own foreign operations
- from production abroad to FDI abroad
- number of countries doing foreign business in
- dissimilarities between foreign and domestic culture
what are the 5 values to managers of the value chain perspective
- evaluate strengths and weaknesses
- interpret the determinants of a firm’s internal cost structure, the basis of its core competencies, and its relationships with customers
- link activites of the value chain
- assess feasability of international expansion and identify opportunties for strategic alliances and collaboration with distributors/suppliers who have complimenting strengths
- promotes overall evaulation and improvement
what are the 6 elements of the value chain that must be critically analysed when carrying out interrogration of the value chain
- assets
- resources
- acitivities
- capabilities
- relationships
- financial and operating data
what questions should be asked when evaluating the value chain
- do we leverage these to the maximum effect
- are they rare, valuable, difficult to immitate and lack substitutes
- do any of them restrain us
- what additional ones may we add to compliment existing ones
what is value chain configuration
the way in which managers arrange the activites of the value chain
what is value chain coordination
the way in which managers connect the activities of the value chain
what are the influences on configuration of the value chain
cost factors
political/economic factors
cluster effects
logistical practices
consumer needs
what are the influences on coordination of the value chain
i.e. spatial location
minimising operational difficulties
cultural differences
subsidiary networks
What does the IR grid plot
global integration against local responsiveness
what is global integration
standardisation of products and services across markets for minimal costs and maximum efficiency
what is local responsiveness
acknowledging differences in customer culture, attitude and economic conditions across locations and adjusting products and services to suit these
also due to host countries policies and legislation eg around product regulations, labour laws
what are the 4 strategies that match the four quadrants of the IR grid
- global strategy
- international strategy
- transnational strategy
- multidomestic strategy
what strategy correlates to high pressure for global integration and high pressure for local responsiveness
transnational
what strategy correlates to low pressure for global integration and low pressure for local responsiveness
international strategy
what strategy correlates to low pressure for global integration and high pressure for local responsiveness
multidomestic
characteristics of the international strategy
- limited local presence
- ethnocentric
- transfer of core competencies
characteristics of the multidomestic strategy
- local managers given a lot of authority and autonomy
- tailored goods and services
- polycentric
characteristics of the global
strategy
- standardisation
- economies of scale
- centralised decision making
characteristics of the transnational strategy
- respond to local conditions while striving for efficiency and learning
What are the main theories that attempt to explain internationalisation by firms
- Uppsala Internationalisation Models
- Innovation Related Internationalisation Models
- Dunning’s Eclectic Paradigm
- Transactions Cost Perspective
- Born Global Model
explain in one sentence U-Model of internationalisation
small incremental steps to enter new markets with increasingly greater psychic difference
explain in one sentence, I-Models of internationalisation
a learning approach to internationalisation where higher levels of stages represent more experience and involvement than lower
what is an issue with the U-Model
lack of experience is an obstacle
but knowledge can be gained in other ways than experience
what is an issue with the I-Model
hard to determine when firm begins each phase
e.g. difference in decision making in a big and a small company
BIG = lots of people involved, formal
SMALL = can be one person, less formal
overall critiques of the U and I Models
oversimplified
ignores other decision making factors such as relationships, regulatory environments and competition dynamics
knowledge seen as barrier
what is Dunning’s Eclectic Paradigm
OLI framework can help make decision to enter
what is the OLI framework
O = Ownership specific advantages
L = Location specific advantages
I = Internationalisation specific advantages
what are ownership specific advantages
do we have advantages over local players in the market that will allow u to overcome the liability of foreigness
what are location specific advantages
what advantages will the location offer us
e.g. transport costs, cluster effects
what are internationalisation specific advantages
which FEM, degree of resources committed and level of control
what is the transaction costs perspective
considers asset specifity, transaction costs etc
but ignores other factors such as culture
what is a born global firm
operates internationally from the early days of establishment
how does the born global model challenge the U and I models
doesnt see knowledge as a barrier
doesnt view the domestic market as an important learning space
