Lecture 4 - Foreign Market Entry Modes Flashcards
What are the proactive motivations for firms going abroad?
- profit advantage
- unique products
- technological advantage
- exclusive information (that they can turn into profit)
- tax benefit
- economies of scale
What are the reactive motivations for firms going abroad?
- Competitive pressures
- Overproduction: more than home market requires/needs
- Declining domestic sales
- Saturated domestic markets
- Excess capacity
- Proximity to customers (subsidiaries of agencies)
Define what a first-mover advantage is
Benefits that accrue to firms that enter the market first and that later entrants do not enjoy
Define what a late-mover advantage is
Benefits that accrue to firms that enter the market later and that early entrants do not enjoy
List some examples of first-mover advantages
Look at notes
List some examples of late-mover advantages
Look at notes
What is the non-equity mode of entering a market?
Entering foreign markets through exports and contractual agreements.
- Reflects relatively smaller commitments to overseas markets
What is the equity mode of entering a market?
Entering foreign markets through Joint Ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries (Foreign Direct Investment)
- Indicates a relatively larger, harder-to-reverse commitment
What are the two main types of non-equity entry modes?
- exporting
- contractual agreements
What are the two main types of equity entry modes?
- joint ventures
- wholly owned subsidiaries
Define what exporting is
Firms’ products are manufactured in the domestic market or a third country and then transferred either directly or indirectly to the host market
What is direct exporting?
Sells directly to foreign customer
UK Company A to South Africa Company B
What is indirect exporting?
UK Company A sells to UK Company B and then B sells to South Africa Company C
What is cooperative exporting?
Companies in the UK sell to foreign customer cooperatively
What are some of the advantages of exporting?
- Manufacturing is home based thus, it is less risky than being overseas-based
- Gives an opportunity to ‘learn’ about overseas markets before investing in bricks and mortar: work out whether there is demand for your goods and services before committing
- Reduces the risk of operating overseas
What are some of the disadvantages of exporting?
- Being at the ‘mercy’ of overseas agents i.e. loss of control and loss of reputation
- Susceptible to trade barriers
- Logistical difficulties: getting products from home to foreign markets (e.g. damaged on route)
- Not appropriate if other lower cost manufacturing -
locations exist - High transportation costs can make exporting uneconomical
What is licensing?
…the method of foreign operation whereby a firm in one country (licensor) agrees to permit/allow a company in another country (licensee) to use the manufacturing, processing, trademark, know-how or some other skill provided by the licensor.
- The licensor receives a royalty fee from the licensee (see the process in the next slide)
Outline the stages of the licensing process
1) licensor leases the rights to use intellectual property
2) licensee uses the intellectual property to create products
3) pays a royalty to licensor
4) earns new revenues with low investment
What some of the advantages of licensing?
- Good way to start in foreign operations and open the door to low risk manufacturing relationships
- Allows the firm to participate where there are barriers to investment
- Capital not tied up in foreign operations
- Options to buy into partner exist or provision to take royalties in stock: depend on institutions that are present in the foreign country
- No danger of nationalization/expropriation of assets
- Local manufacturer can secure government contracts
What are some of the disadvantages of licensing?
- Limited form of participation-to length of agreement, specific product, process or trademark
- Partner/licensee develops or diffuses know-how and so license is short (Pizza Hut in Thailand lost business to The Pizza Company)
- Licensee may not fully exploit the market leaving space for competitors’ entry (opposite also true)
- Licensee can potentially become a future competitor
- Lack of control over licensee operations
- Requires considerable fact finding, planning, investigation and interpretation
What is franchising?
Franchising is the practice of using another firm’s successful business model
- Players: franchisor and franchisee
What are some of the advantages of franchising?
- For the franchisor, the franchise is an alternative to building ‘chain stores’ to distribute goods
- The franchisee is said to have a greater incentive than a direct employee because he/she has a direct stake in the business
- Limited financial commitment
- Involves longer term commitment than licensing
What are some of the disadvantages of franchising?
- No manufacturing, so no location economies and experience curve
- Risk of worldwide reputation if something goes wrong
- Franchisee may end up being a competitor (In Thailand, Pizza Hut lost business to The Pizza Company)
What is a joint venture?
- An enterprise in which two or more investors share ownership and control over property rights and operation
- Any form of association which implies collaboration for more than a transitory period is a joint venture
- A joint venture may be brought about by a foreign firm showing an interest in a local company
- A local firm acquiring an interest in an existing foreign firm or
- By both the foreign and local companies jointly forming a new enterprise
- Joint ventures are a form of FDI
- can be two foreign companies forming a joint venture