Nestle is one of the oldest of all multinational businesses. The company was founded in Switzerland in 1866 by Heinrich Nestle, who established Nestle to distribute “milk food,” a type of infant food he had invented that was made from powdered milk, baked food, and sugar. From its very early days, the company looked to other countries for growth opportunities, establishing its first foreign offices in London in 1868. In 1905, the company merged with the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk, thereby broadening the company’s product line to include both condensed milk and infant formulas. Forced by Switzer land’s small size to look outside’ its borders for growth opportunities, Nestle established condensed milk and infant food processing plants in the United States and Britain in the late 19th century and in Australia, South America, Africa, and Asia in the first three decades of the 20th century. In 1929, Nestle moved into the Continue reading
International Business Strategies
Case Study: Success Story of Pfizer Inc
Pfizer was founded in 1849 in Brooklyn, New York. It started as a company that focused primarily on human health services and products. Now it focuses on three major segments of the health care industry, namely Pharmaceutical Health, Consumer Health and Animal Health, or Veterinary Services. Pfizer has headquarters in New York. Initially it was a small company operating in the USA. Currently, it has more than 115000 employees in 180 countries. It has over 70 manufacturing facilities around the globe and invests $7.7 Billion in R&D annually! Furthermore, Pfizer’s R&D locations are spread out in five countries and Pfizer also has 18 therapeutic areas across the globe. A total of 15 medicines made by Pfizer are leaders in their respective segments. Lipitor, for example is the world’s largest selling medicine which is a cholesterol reduction medicine. Other names that are noteworthy are Listerine and Sudafed which can be found Continue reading
Modes of Entry into International Markets
A foreign market mode of entry is a channel which enables the enterprise’s product, human skills, management, technology or other resources, to enter into a foreign country. The choice of market entry mode is a vital strategic decision for firms intending to carry out business overseas. A number of definitions of different modes of entry exist. The major modes of international entry is classified as indirect export, direct export and alternatives to export. Most models of foreign market mode of entry is due to limited resources, therefore enterprises initially penetrate a foreign market through indirect export methods. Indirect paths to internationalization are those whereby small firms are involved in exporting, sourcing or distribution agreements with intermediary companies who manage, on their behalf, the transaction, sale or service with overseas companies. Export intermediaries play an important middleman role in international trade, linking individuals and organizations that would otherwise not have been Continue reading
Business Organizations in a Global Context
In the recent past, businesses have seen a change in the economic setting. The domestic market is no longer able to meet the demands of the globalized people. Businesses have developed to ensure it thrives in the age of globalization. This development has made many domestic businesses become a household name worldwide. Besides globalization, an improved communication technology has also been a key factor in the success of these globally operating organizations. This allows efficient communication and swift access to global markets. However, in order to operate globally, an organization faces many challenges which include HR issues, financial problems, cultural differences and legal issues. In order to succeed, a multinational firm is expected to comply with the host country’s laws, regulations, policies, customer preferences and business practices. Management of operations globally across different cultures and varying market requirements is both challenging and full of opportunities. In the wake of increasing Continue reading
Family Businesses: Growth Stages and Challenges Faced
Family business can be describe when business own by one or more families members directly or indirectly and have significant ownership and commitment toward the business well being. Family business can be consist of numerous combination of family members such as husband and wife, parents and child, extended family and also multiple generations such as grandfather, father and son. These family members also play roles as stakeholder, board members, working partners, adviser and employees for the company. Generally there are three different stages of family business had gone through in order for the business to growth from inception to maturity. Different skills are required in each stage and family issues might happen when the business moving from one stage to another stage. The first stage is called as start up stage where the business is still new and varies from 1st to 5th year after the company started to venture Continue reading
Multinational Corporations (MNCs) – An Overview
Multinational Corporations (MNCs) are businesses that extend outside of their own country, whether they are located throughout the world or only in a couple other countries, they are considered multinational. The value adding activities which are owned by these companies are used to produce tangible goods or intangible services or the combination of both. There are many reasons as to why firms become multinational and there are various strategies for a firm to become multinational. The immediate motives of the Firms can be to expand business, to seek new market, or for additional profits and revenues. It may also be to concentrate on the economics of scale that a larger international demand can bring. The motive behind market seeking activities is strong among firms who have some advantage related to technology or brand which gives them a competitive advantage over domestic rival. Another reason for firms to become multinationals is Continue reading