...Introduction “There is no commerce without community,” (Jennae as cited in Goodreads, n.d.). Indeed, commerce has pervaded the global stratosphere, linking countries in a communal bond of trade. Designated as trade blocs, these bonds are a type of intergovernmental agreement, usually associated with geographically aligned intergovernmental confederations, “where regional barriers to trade, (tariffs, and non-tariff barriers) are reduced or eliminated among the participating states” (Boundless, n.d.). As such trade blocs enable politico-economic ventures to flourish in the benefaction of its member nations. Albeit, trade blocs also represent diverse forms of economic integration, markedly, the preferential trade area, free trade area, custom union, common market, economic union and complete political integration (“What are trading blocs?”, n.d.). Customarily, the preferential trade area denotes the lowest level of commitment to reducing tariff barriers; typically member nations reduce trade barriers sans eliminating any amoung themselves (Finance Train, 2012). Whereas, the free trade area exists under the terms whereby trade barriers are removed on all member country imports, whilst independent tariff policies for non-member imports are retained (Finance Train, 2012). Comparatively, within the custom union, trade barriers are not only removed on all imports from member states, but a set of common policies are authorized in dealing with imports from non-member countries (Finance...
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...Studies in Business and Economics THE GLOCAL STRATEGY OF GLOBAL BRANDS DUMITRESCU Luigi Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania VINEREAN Simona Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania Abstract: A few years ago, globalization was the new paradigm in international business, however from a branding perspective it has lost its initial efficiency giving the fact that consumers do not seem to feel a connection anymore with the standardized products of global corporations, catered to them in mass marketing communication programs. With their centralized decision making, most companies simply stopped having a connection with the new global marketplace and neglected its emergence. Hence, the influence of local characteristics arose, and with that a new term that encapsulates the global and the local – glocal. “Glocalization” encourages companies to “think global, act local”, and they could do so by using the global brand, while localizing certain elements of that brand in order to suit a particular country. Keywords: global brands, globalization, glocal strategy, glocal marketing. 1. Introduction In 1983, Theodore Levitt published a provocative Harvard Business Review article entitled “The Globalization of Markets”, in which he stated that a new global market, based on uniform products and services, had emerged. He asserted that large scale companies have stopped emphasizing on the customization of their offers to providing globally standardized products that are advanced...
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...PART 1 GLOBAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT CHAPTER ONE Globalization Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, you should be able to 1. Describe the process of globalization and how it affects markets and production. 2. Identify the two forces causing globalization to increase. 3. Summarize the evidence for each main argument in the globalization debate. 4. Identify the types of companies that participate in international business. 5. Describe the global business environment and identify its four main elements. A LOOK AT THIS CHAPTER This chapter defines the scope of international business and introduces us to some of its most important topics. We begin by presenting globalization—describing its influence on markets and production and the forces behind its growth. Each main argument in the debate over globalization is also analyzed in detail. We then identify the key players in international business today. This chapter closes with a model that depicts international business as occurring within an integrated global business environment. A LOOK AHEAD Part 2, encompassing Chapters 2, 3, and 4, introduces us to different national business environments. Chapter 2 describes important cultural differences among nations. Chapter 3 examines different political and legal systems. And Chapter 4 presents the world’s various economic systems and issues surrounding economic development. 24 Emirates’ Global Impact DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—The...
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...GEO 210 – CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY – 40H “People & the Land: Introduction to Cultural Geography” TNCC – FALL 2012 Instructor: Larry Snider – Phone: (757) 850-4912 E-mail: sniderl@tncc.edu (school); Skimmerva@aol.com (home) Office Hours: 4:30-5:30 p.m. M (Rm 947 Templin Hall), 6-7 p.m. T (Rm 131A Diggs Hall), 5:00-5:30 p.m. W (Rm 947 Templin Hall) and by appointment INTRODUCTION COURSE DESCRIPTION: (from VCCS Master Course file): Focuses on the relationship between culture and geography. Presents a survey of modern demographics, landscape modification, material and non-material culture, language, race and ethnicity, religion, politics, and economic activities. Introduces the student to types and uses of maps. COURSE CONTENT: Cultural geography entails the study of spatial variations among cultural groups and the spatial functioning of society. The course provides an introduction to the manner in which humans have modified the world, emphasizing patterns of migration, livelihoods of man, and environments in which these modifications have taken place and continue to occur. It focuses on describing and analyzing the ways population, religion, language, ethnicity and race, political factors, economy, agriculture, industry, the urban setting, and other cultural phenomena vary or remain constant from one place to another. The framework of geographic location of significant countries, regions, and physical features is also addressed in order to provide the necessary...
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...Master TEW International Business cases - Van Hoof Q 186 uickprinter Koningstraat 13 2000 Antwerpen www.quickprinter.be 2.90 EUR International Business: Cases Case 1: Whirlpool Whirlpool’s Dramatic Turnaround through Internationalization Whirlpool exemplifies how internationalization can rejuvenate declining sales and optimize cost structures. Background Headquartered in Benton Harbor, Michigan, Whirlpool Corporation makes washers, dryers, refrigerators, dishwashers, freezers, and microwave ovens in 13 countries and sells them in 170 others, under brands names such as Whirlpool, Maytag, Magic Chef, Jenn Air, Amana, KitchenAid, Kenmore, Brastemp, and Bauknecht. In 2006, Whirlpool acquired competitor Maytag (horizontal integration) and its brands (Amana, Jenn Air, Magic Chef, and Maytag). Whirlpool generated over $19 billion in 2006 annual sales: 60 percent from North America, 25 percent from Europe, 15 percent from Latin America, and 2 percent from Asia. Operate with 60 manufacturing and technology centers worldwide and 80,000 employees. International Expansion Domestically: (1) The U.S. appliance market matured in the 1990s, and Whirlpool faced low profit margins, intense competition, and more demanding buyers, pressuring management to consider international markets. Internationally: (1) Trade barriers fell, consumer affluence grew, and capitalism flourished. (2) A “global” approach would yield economies of scale in manufacturing, assembly, appliance technology...
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...Globalization Note Series Pankaj Ghemawat and Sebastian Reiche National Cultural Differences and Multinational Business The eminent Dutch psychologist, management researcher, and culture expert Geert Hofstede, early in his career, interviewed unsuccessfully for an engineering job with an American company. Later, he wrote of typical cross-cultural misunderstandings that crop up when American managers interview Dutch recruits and vice versa: “American applicants, to Dutch eyes, oversell themselves. Their CVs are worded in superlatives…during the interview they try to behave assertively, promising things they are very unlikely to realize…Dutch applicants in American eyes undersell themselves. They write modest and usually short CVs, counting on the interviewer to find out by asking how good they really are…they are very careful not to be seen as braggarts and not to make promises they are not absolutely sure they can fulfill. American interviewers know how to interpret American CVs and interviews and they tend to discount the information provided. Dutch interviewers, accustomed to Dutch applicants, tend to upgrade the information. To an uninitiated American interviewer an uninitiated Dutch applicant comes across as a sucker. To an uninitiated Dutch interviewer an uninitiated American applicant comes across as a braggart.”1 Cultural differences, while difficult to observe and measure, are obviously very important. Failure to appreciate and account for them can lead to embarrassing...
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...Globalization Note Series Pankaj Ghemawat and Sebastian Reiche National Cultural Differences and Multinational Business The eminent Dutch psychologist, management researcher, and culture expert Geert Hofstede, early in his career, interviewed unsuccessfully for an engineering job with an American company. Later, he wrote of typical cross-cultural misunderstandings that crop up when American managers interview Dutch recruits and vice versa: “American applicants, to Dutch eyes, oversell themselves. Their CVs are worded in superlatives…during the interview they try to behave assertively, promising things they are very unlikely to realize…Dutch applicants in American eyes undersell themselves. They write modest and usually short CVs, counting on the interviewer to find out by asking how good they really are…they are very careful not to be seen as braggarts and not to make promises they are not absolutely sure they can fulfill. American interviewers know how to interpret American CVs and interviews and they tend to discount the information provided. Dutch interviewers, accustomed to Dutch applicants, tend to upgrade the information. To an uninitiated American interviewer an uninitiated Dutch applicant comes across as a sucker. To an uninitiated Dutch interviewer an uninitiated American applicant comes across as a braggart.”1 Cultural differences, while difficult to observe and measure, are obviously very important. Failure to appreciate and account for them can lead to embarrassing...
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...MANAGING CULTURAL INTEGRATION IN CROSS-BORDER MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS Daniel R. Denison, Bryan Adkins and Ashley M. Guidroz ABSTRACT Cross-border M&A has become one of the leading approaches for firms to gain access to global markets. Yet there has been little progress in the research literature exploring the role that culture may play in the success of these ventures. Poor culture-fit has often been cited as one reason why M&A has not produced the outcomes organizations hoped for (Cartwright & Schoenberg, 2006). Cross-border M&A has the added challenges of having to deal with both national and organizational culture differences. In this chapter we review the literature on cultural integration in cross-border M&A and provide a framework designed to help manage the integration process throughout the M&A lifecycle. This framework presents culture assessment and integration as a crucial component to reducing poor culture-fit as a barrier to M&A success. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have become a central part of most corporate growth strategies, and an increasing portion of that M&A activity now spans national borders. Indeed, beyond a certain scale, one might say that all M&A is now cross-border M&A. For example, even a merger Advances in Global Leadership, Volume 6, 95–115 Copyright r 2011 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1535-1203/doi:10.1108/S1535-1203(2011)0000006008 95 96 DANIEL R. DENISON ET AL. between two large...
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...MANAGING CULTURAL INTEGRATION IN CROSS-BORDER MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS Daniel R. Denison, Bryan Adkins and Ashley M. Guidroz ABSTRACT Cross-border M&A has become one of the leading approaches for firms to gain access to global markets. Yet there has been little progress in the research literature exploring the role that culture may play in the success of these ventures. Poor culture-fit has often been cited as one reason why M&A has not produced the outcomes organizations hoped for (Cartwright & Schoenberg, 2006). Cross-border M&A has the added challenges of having to deal with both national and organizational culture differences. In this chapter we review the literature on cultural integration in cross-border M&A and provide a framework designed to help manage the integration process throughout the M&A lifecycle. This framework presents culture assessment and integration as a crucial component to reducing poor culture-fit as a barrier to M&A success. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have become a central part of most corporate growth strategies, and an increasing portion of that M&A activity now spans national borders. Indeed, beyond a certain scale, one might say that all M&A is now cross-border M&A. For example, even a merger Advances in Global Leadership, Volume 6, 95–115 Copyright r 2011 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1535-1203/doi:10.1108/S1535-1203(2011)0000006008 95 96 DANIEL R. DENISON ET AL. between...
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...PART-1 1. Concept of globalization: Globalization means the coming together of different societies and economies via cross border flow of ideas, finances, capital, information, technologies, goods and services. The cross border assimilation can be social, economic, cultural, or political. But most of the people fear cultural and social assimilation as they believe this would have a negative impact on the existing culture of their society. Globalization therefore has mostly narrowed down to economic integration and this mainly happens through three channels; flow of finance, trade of goods and services and capital movement. Globalization is a term that includes a wide range of social and economic variations. It encompasses topics like the cultural changes, economics, finance trends, and global market expansion. There are positive and negative effects of globalization - it all comes as a package. Globalization helps in creating new markets and wealth, at the same time it is responsible for extensive suffering, disorder, and unrest. The great financial crisis that just happened is the biggest example of how negative globalization can turn. It clearly reveals the dangers of an unstable, deregulated, global economy. At the same time, this gave rise to important global initiatives, striving towards betterment. Globalization is a factor responsible for both repression and the social boom. What happens when there is a growing integration of economies across the globe? Majorly...
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...Working Time Around the World John Maynard Keynes once made the bold prediction that the three-hour work day would prevail for his grandchildren’s generation. Seventy years later, the question of working time is as pertinent as it was at the inception of the 40-hour week. Not until now, however, has there been a global comparative analysis of working time laws, policies and actual working hours. Despite a century-long optimism about reduced working hours and some progress in legal measures limiting working hours, this book demonstrates that differences in actual working hours between industrialized and developing countries remain considerable – without any clear sign of hours being reduced. This study aims to offer some suggestions about how this gap can begin to be closed. Lee, McCann and Messenger trace the theoretical background of the concept of working time before examining recent trends in working time laws in developing countries and countries in transition. The study then shifts its focus to developments in selected countries, considering both broad trends in working time at a national level and the structure and dynamics underlying these trends. The authors provide a remarkable set of policy suggestions that preserve health and safety, are ‘family-friendly’, promote gender equality, enhance productivity and facilitate workers’ choice and influence over their working hours. This book will be of great interest to policy-makers engaged with working conditions or health...
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...This page intentionally left blank Lut12575_fm_i-xxvi.indd Page i 2/10/11 2:28 PM user-f494 /203/MHBR222/Lut12575_disk1of1/0078112575/Lut12575_pagefiles International Management Culture, Strategy, and Behavior Eighth Edition Fred Luthans University of Nebraska–Lincoln Jonathan P. Doh Villanova University Lut12575_fm_i-xxvi.indd Page ii 2/11/11 2:35 PM user-f494 /203/MHBR222/Lut12575_disk1of1/0078112575/Lut12575_pagefiles INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT: CULTURE, STRATEGY, AND BEHAVIOR, EIGHTH EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Previous editions © 2009, 2006, and 2003. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States. This book is printed on recycled, acid-free paper containing 10% postconsumer waste. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 QDB/QDB 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN 978-0-07-811257-7 MHID 0-07-811257-5 Vice President & Editor-in-Chief: Brent Gordon Vice President, EDP/Central Publishing...
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...GLOBALIZATION Globalization is the increasing integration of different national economies into one global market economy. It alters competitiveness conditions with the arrival of new players on the global scene and causes traditional roles to be redefined. GLOBALIZATION AS A GLOBAL TREND What seems to be a novelty is, in fact, a series of changes related primarily to the gradual removal of trade barriers, financial market deregulation, the communication technology revolution, and the impact of a more informed society. The causes of the current globalization wave include: • Technical and scientific progress, especially developments in the telecommunications sector and the communications sector as a whole. • Widespread transport use on an international scale. • A strong increase in demand for goods and services, resulting from a wealthier population and greater life expectancy. THE DIMENSIONS OF GLOBALIZATION Globalization is far from being one-dimensional. Economically, the primary effects of globalization are seen in the reduction of protectionist policies, the liberalization of international economic transactions, and the expansion of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Technological advances contribute decisively to productivity improvement, economic growth, and international trade. From a political perspective, one of the consequences of globalization is the loss of the countries’ independence on certain issues in that international decisions are directly filtered...
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...forces of globalization have fundamentally changed the scope and activities of firms thereby altering the practice of finance within these firms. As a consequence of an increasing reliance on tightly-integrated foreign operations, a parallel world of finance has been opened within every multinational firm and this world has, heretofore, been overlooked. The course materials are designed to address the many aspects of financial decision making within global firms prompted by these changes that are not addressed in traditional materials. The paper provides an overview of the structure of the course and its seven modules with particular emphasis on the three modules that constitute the core of the course. The paper also describes an analytical framework that has been developed through the creation of the course materials to guide critical financial decisions on financing, investment, risk management and incentive management within a multinational firm. This framework emphasizes the need to reconcile conflicting forces in order for multinational firms to gain competitive advantage from their internal capital markets. The paper concludes with a discussion of the course's pedagogical approach and detailed descriptions of all the course materials, including 19 case studies, corresponding teaching notes, several module notes and supplementary materials. Mark Veblen, Kathleen Luchs and Claire Gilbert provided excellent research assistance in the process of writing these cases and the...
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...Netherlands c ¨ University of Liechtenstein, Furst-Franz-Josef-Strasse, LI-9490 Vaduz, Liechtenstein & Utrecht University, Janskerkhof 12, NL-3512 BL Utrecht, The Netherlands KEYWORDS Internationalization; SME; Trust; Cooperation; Entrepreneurship; Austria; Czech Republic; Slovenia Summary Self-commitment is the willingness of individuals to commit to cooperation with a partner without the safety net of controls or sanction mechanisms. This article shows the unique performance contribution of self-commitment in the context of cooperative internationalization of SMEs in several ways: First, we use a multiparadigmatic approach to cooperation theory to argue why self-commitment as a coordination mechanism is particularly relevant in the context of cooperative internationalization. Second, we develop a new operationalization of self-commitment which takes the context of international cooperations into account. Third, we show empirically that self-commitment is particularly important in international cooperations by applying a PLS analysis to a sample of 146 Austrian, Czech, and Slovenian cooperating SMEs. ª 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction Internationalization is an issue that – until recently – was in most cases only relevant for large companies (Wright et al., 2007). A major reason for...
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