Deck 8: International Strategy

Question 1

Embracing the global marketplace is important to Starbucks because it commands less that one percent of the global coffee market suggesting that there is room for growth. (Chapter 8 Opening Case)

Answer 1

True

Question 2

After a firm decides to compete internationally, it must select its strategy and choose a mode of entry into international markets.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Multinational firms have many opportunities to learn from their experiences in international markets, but they must have a strong R&D system to absorb the knowledge.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

According to the Chapter 8 Strategic Focus, Starbucks implements the transnational strategy by using its core competencies to standardize its operations to gain global efficiences while decentralizing decision making responsibilities to local units.

Question 5

According to the Chapter 8 Strategic Focus, Starbucks' international strategy for success in China is a cost leadership business-level strategy coupled with a multidomestic corporate-level strategy.

Question 6

As nations industrialize, the demand for some products and services such as Starbucks (Chapter 8 Opening Case) becomes more similiar as a result of similar lifestyles in those nations.

Question 7

The three basic benefits of international strategies are 1) increased market size; 2) increased economies of scale and learning; and 3) development of competitive advantages through location.

Question 8

Coca Cola and PepsiCo are examples of firms that have found it unnecessary to aggressively pursue international strategies because of extensive growth opportunities available in the U.S. market.

Question 9

In some industries, technology drives globalization because the economies of scale necessary to reduce costs cannot be met by competing in domestic markets alone.

Question 10

Coca Cola and PepsiCo approach international growth differently. Coca Cola is the world's largest snack-food producer and relies on overseas sales to make up for slower sales volumes in North America. In contrast, PepsiCo which is less diversified, derives only 32% of it sales from North America, an indication of the importance of international markets to its performance.

Question 11

In place of relatively stable and predictable domestic markets, firms across the globe find that they are competing in relatively unstable and unpredictable global markets.

Question 12

Because there are still several industrial and consumer markets in which only domestic firms compete, many firms do not have to be able to compete internationally.

Question 13

Cultural differences affect location advantages in that business transactions are less difficult for a firm to complete when there is a strong match among the cultures with which the firm is involved.

Question 14

A major incentive for the use of international an strategy by French-based Carrefour Group is the potential for large demand for goods and services from emerging markets such as China and India.

Question 15

Location advantages are influenced by costs of production, access to natural resources and critical supplies, as well as the needs of customers, but not culture.

Question 16

The three corporate-level international strategies are cost leadership, differentiation, and focus.

Question 17

Rivals Airbus and Boeing have multiple manufacturing facilities and outsource activities partly for the purpose of developing economies of scale as a source of being able to create value for customers.

Question 18

As an indication of the importance of economies of scale, Ford Motor Company runs a single global business developing cars and trucks that can be built and sold through the world. By 2015, Ford intends for about 75% of the vehicles it sells to be variants of about 5 basic platforms.

Question 19

A reason that firms use international strategies is to secure needed resources, especially minerals and energy.

Question 20

One reason why firms pursue international opportunities is to extend the product's life cycle.

Question 21

The growing number of global competitors heightens the requirements to keep costs down and there is the desire for more specialized products to meet customer needs. These two pressures make transnational strategies increasingly necessary.

Question 22

Michael Porter's Determinants of National Advantage describe factors associated with the firm's domestic environment that contribute to its dominance in a particular global industry.

Question 23

A multidomestic strategy is an international strategy in which strategic and operating decisions are decentralized to the strategic business units in individual or regions.

Question 24

Italy has become the leader in the shoe industry because of related and supporting industries such as a well-established leather-processing industry which provides the leather needed to construct shoes and related products.

Question 25

Even if effectively implemented, the transnational strategy often produces lower performance than does the implementation of either the multidomestic or global strategies.

Question 26

Part of Japan's success in the video game industry is derived from two related and support industries: cartoons and animation, and electronics.

Question 27

When a firm initially pursues an international business-level strategy, the resources and capabilities established in the home country frequently allow the firm to pursue the strategy into markets located in other countries.

Question 28

A major advantage of multidomestic strategies is the ability to customize for the specific market, although this sacrifices economies of scale.

Question 29

A global strategy is an international strategy through which the firm offers standardized products across country markets, with competitive strategy being dictated by offices within the host markets served.

Question 30

A transnational strategy is an international strategy in which the firm seeks to achieve both global efficiency and local responsiveness.

Question 31

The firm using a global strategy seeks to develop economies of scale as it produces the same or virtually the same products for distribution to customers throughout the world who are assumed to have similar needs.

Question 32

Research suggests that the performance of the global strategy in enhanced if it deploys in areas where regional integration across countries is occurring.

Question 33

A firm based in a country with a national competitive advantage is not guaranteed success as it implements its chosen international business-level strategy. Instead the actual strategic choices managers make may be the most compelling reasons for success or failure.

Question 34

A company that chooses a truly global corporate-level strategy assumes that the liability of foreignness will be minimal.

Question 35

Both the size and the nature of a country's domestic demand for a particular industry's good or service are important in Porter's determinants of national advantage.

Question 36

The global strategy offers greater opportunities to take innovations developed at the corporate level in one market and apply them to other markets.

Question 37

A transnational strategy is difficult to use because of its conflicting goals.

Question 38

A multidomestic strategy is an international strategy in which a firm's home office determines the strategies business units are to use in each region.

Question 39

Having substantial supplies of critical basic natural resources is a necessary condition for a country to support businesses which can successfully compete in international markets.

Question 40

South Korea's success in international markets is primarily a result of its abundant natural resources.

Question 41

The greenfield venture option is useful when control of proprietary technology is important in an international expansion.

Question 42

Four types of distances are associated with the liability of foreignness: cultural, administrative, geographic, and economic.

Question 43

International associations such as the European Union, the Organization of American States, and the North American Free Trade Association encourage regionalization of competition rather than globalization.

Question 44

Exporting and licensing are the most appropriate ways for smaller firms to first enter international markets.

Question 45

Walmart's most common entry modes into international markets are acquisitions and joint ventures (Chapter 8 Strategic Focus).

Question 46

By choosing a region where markets are more similar, the firm may be able to better understand those markets and cater to their needs, but also achieve economies through sharing of resources.

Question 47

In order to preserve its competitive advantage in low-cost operations, Walmart uses only new wholly-owned subsidiaries (greenfields) to enter international markets (Chapter 8 Strategic Focus).

Question 48

When the country risk is high, firms prefer to enter with a greenfield investment rather than a joint venture.

Question 49

The "regionalization" environmental trend means that firms can focus on a region (customization) but also have some standardization or sharing within the region.

Question 50

The "liability of foreignness" will have a greater negative impact on a firm using a multidomestic strategy than on a firm using a global strategy.

Question 51

The high cost of transportation, expense of tariffs, and loss of control are three disadvantages of exporting.

Question 52

While there are multiple means of entering new international markets, firms should use one method consistently with all of its various products and across its different markets in order to reduce administrative complexity.

Question 53

Strategic alliances tend to increase the risk associated with international expansion for the U.S. partner because of the greater dependence on the foreign firm.

Question 54

Because of the lack of protection of intellectual property in some foreign countries, licensing arrangements are one of the best ways for a firm to protect its technology from being appropriated by potential competitors.

Question 55

Evidence suggests that, in general, using an international cost leadership strategy when exporting to developed countries has the most positive effect on firm performance while using an international differentation strategy with larger scale when exporting to emerging economies leads to the greatest amounts of success.

Question 56

Research suggests that wholly-owned subsidiaries and expatriate staff are inappropriate for service industries because those industries require close contact with customers, high levels of professional skills, specialized know-how, and customization.

Question 57

Although licensing is the least costly method to enter a foreign market, its disadvantages include high costs of transportation and low control over the marketing and distribution of goods.

Question 58

The "liability of foreignness" means that many firms need to focus more on local adaptation or risk problems such as the Walt Disney Company faced opening its theme park in France.

Question 59

Establishing a wholly-owned subsidiary provides the quickest access to a new market.

Question 60

Walmart depends on its distribution, warehousing, logistics, and data management core competencies developed in domestic markets when entering international markets (Chapter 8 Strategic Focus).

Question 61

International strategy refers to a(an)

A) action plan pursued by American companies to compete against foreign companies operating in the United States.
B) strategy through which the firm sells products in markets outside the firm's domestic market.
C) political and economic action plan developed by businesses and governments to cope with global competition.
D) strategy American firms use to dominate international markets.

Question 62

Some of the costs incurred by firms pursuing international diversification may derive from higher coordination expenses, trade barriers, and lack of familiarity with local cultures.

Question 63

A increase in the value of the U.S. dollar is an example of an economic risk in that it can reduce the value of U.S. multinational firms' international assets and earnings in other countries.

Question 64

Export, licensing, and the strategic alliance entry modes are all appropriate for early market development.

Question 65

A U.S. manufacturer of pigments for household paint that exports about 40 percent of its production to European markets will find its sales will be harmed by a weak dollar.

Question 66

Although leaders in Russia have tried to reassure potential investors about their property rights, political risks in the form of weak laws and commonplace government corruption make firms leery of investing in Russia.

Question 67

The Haier Group concluded that its diversification strategy should be confined to countries in Asia where it had strengths in understanding cultures and institutions (Chapter 8 Strategic Focus).

Question 68

The Haier Group would be an example of a company pursuing international diversification since it has expanded into multiple markets and regions rather than just a few (Chapter 8 Strategic Focus).

Question 69

Fluctuation in the value of different currencies is a major economic risk associated with international diversification.

Question 70

Research has shown that, as international diversification increases, firms' returns decrease initially but then increase quickly as firms learn to manage international expansion.

Question 71

The amount of diversification in a firm's international operations that can be managed varies from company to company and is affected by manager's abilities to deal with ambiguity and complexity.

Question 72

The Chapter 8 Opening Case indicates that main basic benefit that Starbucks derives from its international strategies is

A) economies of scale and learning
B) location advantages
C) increased market size
D) extending the product life cycle

Question 73

Export, licensing, and the strategic alliance entry modes are also appropriate when firms want to establish a strong presence in an international market.

Question 74

International diversification can help to reduce a firm's overall risk through the stabilization of returns.

Question 75

The Haier Group is an example of a firm using the multidomestic international corporate-level strategy as a means to build its global brand name (Chapter 8 Strategic Focus).

Question 76

International diversification is a strategy through which a firm expands the sale of its goods and services across borders of global regions and countries into a potentially large number of geographic locations of markets. Instead of entering one or a few markets, international diversification means that the firm enters multiple markets.

Question 77

Acquisitions, greenfield ventures, and sometimes joint ventures are appropriate when firms want to establish a strong presence in an international market.

Question 78

The chief risks in the international environment are political and cultural.

Question 79

Which international corporate-level strategy strategy does Starbucks use? (Chapter 8 Opening Case)

A) global
B) multidomestic
C) licensing
D) transnational

Question 80

Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. of Japan is an example of a firm that seeks to become one of the top 10 food and beverage companies via international diversification.