Developing Strategies for International Business: The WRAP Process

192 Pages·2004·0.829 MB·English

by  J. Angus Gillon, Lynne Pearson (auth.)

Developing Strategies for International Business

Developing Strategies for
International Business
The WRAP Process
J. Angus Gillon and Lynne Pearson
© J. Angus Gillon and Lynne Pearson 2004
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2004 978-1-4039-3414-7
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First published 2004 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
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175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10010
Companies and representatives throughout the world
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the
Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of
Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan®is a registered trademark in
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a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries.
ISBN 978–1–349–51712-1 ISBN 978–0–230–50257-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230502574
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made
from fully managed and sustained forest sources.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gillon, J. Angus, 1941–
Developing strategies for international business : the WRAP
process / J. Angus Gillon and Lynne Pearson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Export marketing–Management. 2. International business
enterprises–Management. 3. Strategic planning.
I. Pearson, Lynne, 1965– II. Title.
HF1416.G545 2004
658.84–dc22 2004052093
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04
Contents
List of Figures viii
Foreword and Acknowledgments x
Chapter 1 International Business Rationale
Awareness counts 1
International thinking – negative and positives 3
The essential rationale 5
Exporting v. international business 7
Pulling it together: the international mindset 10
Chapter 2 Overview of the WRAP Process
What is WRAP? 14
How does WRAP work? 16
Step 1: Internal assessment 18
Step 2: Development of external information 19
Step 3: Analysis and prioritization 19
Step 4: Determining Strategic options 20
Evaluation and reassessment 21
Strategy development 22
Implementation, monitoring and management 23
Chapter 3 International Business Cultures
Cultural priorities 28
Key cultural characteristics of the marketplace 32
Language and communication 32
Regionalization 33
Religion and belief 34
Geography, infrastructure and climate 35
Legal and regulatory issues 36
Business ethics 39
Security and threat assessment 41
Chapter 4 Understanding International Customers
Identifying the real customer base 46
Drivers in customer market sectors 47
Tracking customer movements 51
Tracking population shifts 54
v
vi Contents
Chapter 5 Building a Foundation
Internal assessment 58
Available resources 59
Market perceptions 59
Corporate culture 60
Management resources 62
Operational resources 63
Financial resources 64
Current products 65
Competitive environment 66
Corporate background 67
External information: establishing the search 68
Creating strategic objectives 68
Parameters and criteria 71
Chapter 6 Information Development
The nature and value of information 80
Rationale behind information development 83
The information development process 84
The market model 86
Building the market model 88
Key comparators and contextual information 91
Key comparators 91
Contextual information 92
Data extrapolation 95
Chapter 7 Analysis and Strategic Prioritization
Recognizing the corporate subtext 101
Gaining focus: the prioritization process 104
Strategy audit 111
Chapter 8 Routes to Market
What is presence 115
Reaching the market 118
External barriers 119
Operational barriers 121
Supply chain 123
Routes to market: establishing presence 125
Indirect presence 125
Distributors and agents 128
Licensing 132
Piggy-backing 132
Contents vii
Direct presence 133
Joint ventures and acquisition 134
Direct marketing 135
Franchising 135
Non-domestic supply: production and outsourcing 135
Chapter 9 Building a Strategy
Strategic objectives 143
Resources and competencies 144
Priority targets 148
Business environment 151
Business opportunity 154
Developing options 155
Example of a developed strategy 158
What to do if it all goes wrong 161
Chapter 10 Strategy Implementation and Management
Components of implementation 165
Action plan and time-scale 165
Implementation Budgets 168
Project management or facilitation 169
Managing the strategy 171
Conclusions 174
Bibliography 177
Index 178
List of Figures
Figure 1.1 Seven Traits That Should Be Overcome Before
Attempting International Business 4
Figure 1.2 Eight Potential Benefits of International Business 5
Figure 1.3 Comparative Economies Expressed as Gross
Domestic Product, 2001 6
Figure 1.4 Ten Constraints on International Business 7
Figure 1.5 Brazil is Bigger Than Peru. Honest 9
Figure 1.6 Summary of Key Points 11
Figure 2.1 The Benefits of Learning, or How to Achieve
Success Quicker and Better 13
Figure 2.2 The WRAP Stairway 15
Figure 2.3 A Typical Un-WRAPped Stairway 16
Figure 2.4 The WRAP Process 17
Figure 2.5 Laboratory IT Systems 24
Figure 3.1 The End 30
Figure 3.2 Walk This Way 31
Figure 3.3 Three Imperatives of Cultural Awareness 32
Figure 3.4 The Colors of Charity 35
Figure 3.5 Climate Change 36
Figure 3.6 Physical Threats 42
Figure 3.7 Examples of Economic Risk 43
Figure 4.1 Examples of Customer Drivers 48
Figure 4.2 Driving the Customer 49
Figure 4.3 Examples of Customer Movement 52
Figure 5.1 Confusing the Issue 65
Figure 5.2 US Defense Market 70
Figure 5.3 Potential Parameters 72
Figure 5.4 Losing the Opportunity 74
Figure 6.1 Nine Types of Information 81
Figure 6.2 The Saga of the Broken Window 88
Figure 6.3 Example of Quantitative Comparators 91
Figure 6.4 Some Populations in Western Europe 93
Figure 6.5 Ranking Contextual Factors Across Territories 94
Figure 6.6 International Police 96
Figure 7.1 Elements in the Prioritization Process 99
Figure 7.2 Healthcare in Columbia 100
viii
List of Figures ix
Figure 7.3 Some Population Size in Western Europe 106
Figure 7.4 Selected GDP Per Capita, 2003 108
Figure 7.5 The Man from the West: A Reprise 109
Figure 7.6 Criteria Matches 110
Figure 7.7 Ten Recent Strategy-Killing Events 113
Figure 7.8 The South East Asia Bubble 114
Figure 8.1 The Supply Chain in Outline 124
Figure 8.2 The Italian Job 131
Figure 9.1 Chinese Walls 139
Figure 9.2 Facing up to International Business 146
Figure 9.3 Divergence in Strengths and Weaknesses 147
Figure 9.4 We Can’t Do Business With Them Because… 148
Figure 9.5 Reviewing Strategic Options 156
Figure 9.6 Forecast Platforms for Strategy Development 160
Figure 9.7 World Competitive Positioning – Starting and
Forecast 161
Figure 10.1 Outline Plan for Strategy Implementation 166
Figure 10.2 The Hacienda Built on Sand 168
Figure 10.3 Using the WRAP Process for Managing
Strategy 173
Figure 10.4 Five Golden Rules of Global Strategy 176