Sample: Implementation of International Business Strategy, Conclusions
Conclusions And Recommendations
5.1 Conclusions
The above discussed case studies and the results of the survey corresponding to the arguments presented in literature review clarifies the importance of devising country-specific strategies as per the environment of the country so as attain a competitive edge in international environment. Indian business environment presents remarkable opportunities but needs special strategies and care while entering the country and also throughout the business operations are conducted in the country. There are some unique characteristics of the country. People are price cautious, there is an existence of huge diversity among people on the basis of religion, culture, lifestyles and standards of living. Further in India it is difficult to operate in an environment where strong government policies and processes, procedural bottlenecks and the legacy of cumbersome laws. In addition a large population, problems of poverty, illiteracy and health concerns poses some serious challenges for MNCs operating in the country. Furthermore India is characterized with a weak infrastructure with people having vast differences in tastes, nature and beliefs.
It has been revealed from the case study analysis that successful MNCs have positioned local management, relied on localization, leveraged India for value-added opportunities and viewed India as the focus area of business operations so as to achieve a competitive advantage while operating in Indian markets and being successful in a developing country. Further the knowledge about the local needs and preferences and the requirements as per the climate and environment of India is also essential for being successful in Indian business operations. The success of MNCs in India can be defined along two dimensions including capturing of domestic market opportunities and leveraging the resource base of India for deriving additional value for the organization.
There are three major pillars ensuring the success of business operations in India. First pillar is commitment at the global level where India should be the key focus area, long term targets should be formulated, processes to accelerate integration should be created, localization should be accelerated and rules of global metrics should be changed. Second pillar is the empowerment of local management where long term regarding people and HR practices and stakeholder relationships needs to be build, Country management's role of value adding should be defined, credibility of local team should be established and Indian opportunities should be leveraged beyond product market. Third pillar relates to localization of product market business models where all the parts of value chain must be localized for obtaining the Indian cost and capability benefits and business models specific to Indian environment should be formulated that relates to product, value and pricing. Knowledge of customers results in spotting the opportunities to bundle even the ancillary services and products in which the manufacturer may have the expertise. Exploitation of local knowledge helps MNCs in strengthening the home-products into niche segments overseas as this also helps in avoiding the entrance of high-cost game that the overseas organizations cannot win. The replacement or rearrangement of the parts of value chain helps in efficient operations and management of MNC in the Indian markets.
The case studies further revealed that MNCs that are well established and emerging local players bring different strengths and vulnerabilities to their markets. MNCs work in the direction of coordination the actions and relieving tensions between the centre and country organizations. They also try to become more responsive to local customers for which new management structures are introduced at the same time not losing their global know-how. Higher costs and slow movement are the biggest short term vulnerabilities of such MNCs. These challenges can be met only through long term planning and building for long term in India.
Thus it can be concluded that MNCs are required to focus on some specific areas so as to be successful while operating in Indian business markets. These considerations relates to value chain, management, local teams, country specific goods and services, marketing efforts, etc. Of course we cannot provide a magic solution to the problem of managing international enterprises in Indian environment. Some kind of challenges related with coordination and conflict among products, people, customers and regional lines of organization. However there can be some key areas which if focused and taken care will ensure avoidance of much of the challenges and meeting several others.
