national operations than their global counterparts.
Better communications mean that companies and countries no longer exist in remote sites. Telephones, FAXes and computers mean that companies and employers around the world have access to information and employees in far-off locations. This has long-term ramifications for multinational and global companies.
To begin with, companies and countries can no longer operate as if the rest of the world did not exist. Countries which have pursued protectionist strategies in the past are moving away from these strategies to take a broader view of their environment. New trading blocs, based on regional, not national, interests have formed with the European Economic Community (EEC) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). There will be increased pressure on these trading blocs to produce results for the members as a whole, not merely for individual countries or companies.
Despite the difficulties, an increasing number of companies throughout the world are marketing on an international basis. There are two primary reasons why they do this: competition and markets. The competition facing companies domestically is increasingly from foreign firms. Americans, for example, purchase cars and electronics made in Japan, ham and golf carts from Poland and shoes from Brazil. Competition comes not only from recognized industrial nations, but also from developing nations and the former Soviet Union.
The other major reason that companies consider the international economy is the availability of markets. Market opportunity and growth is certainly present in foreign countries, although purchasing power can vary greatly. For many products and services, companies are turning to the diversification that international marketing brings. By marketing to a variety of nations, a company is not so severely affected by a downturn in any one country's economy. Introducing and marketing p...