Jessica Armour
Prof. Jonah Romanitch
BUS 280
24 April 2018
“If you are pondering whether to go global, recognize the fact that you are “global”, in that you
very likely have global competitors. You are in a competitive global marketplace now” (Going Global)
It is important for companies to look at or expand to international markets for a few reasons.
Firstly, a company should always want to have a competitive advantage. Also, Expanding is important,
because of the more expansion, the more opportunity. As well as there could be outside technology the
company cannot provide internally and have to look elsewhere. There are many pros and cons of
expanding towards international areas that all companies study before taking the jump.
A company always wants to be one step ahead of their competition. This is known as a
competitive advantage if used correctly. A competitive advantage is assets or capabilities of a firm that
are difficult for competitors to imitate. They are typically derived from specific knowledge, competencies,
skills, or superior strategies. For example, KFC in the United States is known for its fast-food chicken
meals, at times accompanied by a man in a white suit. KFC has expanded their products internationally
for a competitive advantage. Hitting the China/ Japan target market, but not for its fast food. They have
expanded its marker in nail polish and sell KFC nail polish. KFC having a specific target market in that
area.
Some industries might go for the comparative advantage principle. It may be beneficial for two
countries to trade with each other as long as one is relatively more efficient at producing a product needed
by the other.
An action plan of a corporation might be to enter the international market as a follower. Some
only enter because their competition has entered the international market and wants to gain an advantage
over their opponent. If a company has a unique product or technological advantage not available to
international competitors then this advantage should result in major business success abroad. For
example, if you run a software company and add a French and German language version, you are
extending your total market by nearly 200 million (Going International).
Some corps believe the more expansion, the more opportunity, the more money. Expansion leads
to increase in sales and improves profit. Extending your customer base internationally can help you
finance new product development (Going International). This happens a lot with fortune 500 companies
when expanding abroad. More companies increase profit which lets them have more opportunity for
creating a higher quality product and or service.
Expansion internationally will help invest in new technology abroad as well as skills one has not
fully obtained. Industries should be finding workers that have a more skilled background. It should be
noted that if a company is to maximize learning from a lead market, it should probably participate with its
own subsidiary. Learning indirectly, via a local distributor or partner, is obviously less effective and will
