The world is rapidly shrinking

The world is rapidly shrinking with the advent of faster communication, transportation, and financial flows. Products developed in one country—Gucci purses, Mont Blanc pens, McDonald’s hamburgers, Japanese sushi, Chanel suits, German BMWs—are finding enthusiastic acceptance in other countries[1]. Thomas Middelhoff of Germany’s Bertelsmann AG, which purchased U.S. publisher Random House, put it this way: “There are no German and American companies. There are only successful and unsuccessful companies[2].” Companies that choose to supply globally need to be aware of the particular opportunities and threats that globalization presents to them. International corporation include popular names like: Citicorp, Coca Cola, IBM and Exxon receive more than 50% of their annual profit from oversees operations. Andrew S. Grove, chairman of Intel Corporation, “You have no choice but to operate in a world shaped by globalization and the information revolution. There are two options: Adapt or Die”. Globalization of the world economy is a market condition that demands bold offensive strategies to protect positions previously won. In other words, companies should adapt the globalization or it will not be able to compete in the era. Since 1969, the number of multinational corporations in the world’s 14 richest countries has more than tripled, from 7,000 to 24,000. In fact, these companies today control one-third of all private-sector assets and enjoy worldwide sales of $6 trillion. International trade now accounts for a quarter of U.S. GDP, up from 11 percent in 1970[3].Many companies have conducted international marketing for decades such us Nestlé, Hallmark, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble’s and many others but do the result of their international marketing activities are the same? The answer is no. The assumption of one approach works everywhere fails to consider differences that exist between countries and cultures.

[1] Kotler, Marketing Management, The Eleventh Edition p383, Prentice Hall Publications
[2] Joseph B White, “There Are No German or U.S. Companies, Only Successful Once.” The Wall Street Journal ( May 7, 1998), A1
[3] John Alden,” What in the World Drives UPS?” International Business (April 1998):6-71.