International market entry (IME) presents various challenges that companies must overcome to overpower rivals and attract clients. A common aspect that can characterize thriving businesses is having a competitive advantage (CA), which global organizations obtain through acts of innovation that consider both domestic and foreign demands (“Essay 9”, no date). Companies succeed in IME by achieving a CA, which is associated with sustainability, value chain-related activities, and the global supply chain.
An organization’s triumph in IME depends on its CA and sustainability. While a firm can obtain a CA through innovation, the enterprise must strive for ongoing improvement to maintain the CA (“Essay 9”, no date). A sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) can make it difficult for rivals to imitate the company’s products, thus facilitating continuous firm growth (Mafimisebi, Obembe, and Aluko, 2020). However, in pursuit of a SCA, businesses may encounter such managerial dilemmas as how to balance existing innovation competencies while not returning to activities that had worked in the past (Mafimisebi, Obembe, and Aluko, 2020). For instance, Nike has become a world-leading sportswear market player by always seeking visionary designs, like creating flyknit technology that has eliminated traditional complicated footwear construction (Fung, Choi, and Liu, 2019). The importance of sustainability to an organization is associated with maintaining a long-term CA, which requires managers to resolve dilemmas of overseeing the company’s innovations.
An influential aspect of succeeding in IME is estimating a firm’s upstream and downstream operations related to the value chain (VC). By participating in global VC, organizations that are entering the international market can interact with a variety of advanced actors (Lechner et al., 2020). Upstream activities (UAs) are represented by the procedure of manipulating raw materials, research, and design, whereas downstream activities (DAs) encompass processes that are closer to the client, like marketing and distribution (Lechner et al., 2020). To better understand the importance of UAs and DAs, it may be useful to evaluate Nike’s experiences in global VC. Within the international sportswear market, Nike was the first company that started outsourcing its UAs, while other corporations performed all operations themselves (Lechner et al., 2020). Nowadays, Nike partners with multiple manufacturers that are responsible for the brand’s production (Fung, Choi, and Liu, 2019). Accordingly, value chain-related UAs and DAs of a firm represent how it manages its internal and external operations.
Another significant element that businesses need to consider to succeed in IME is participation in the global supply chain (GSC). The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the GSC and hindered the functioning of numerous businesses across the world (Srinivasan, Hamdani, and Ma, 2021). In particular, organizations have encountered logistics delays and decreased advertisement expenditure (Santoki and Parekh, 2020). Nevertheless, some enterprises managed to triumph in the face of troubles within the GSC. For example, Nike’s GSC and marketing activities can be evaluated as successful compared to its competitors since the corporation has overcome GSC-related problems by utilizing leagile supply chain strategy (Srinivasan, Hamdani, and Ma, 2021). Nike has advertised its products by encouraging people to stay home and now relies on digital technology to promote customized items directly to the end consumers (Santoki and Parekh, 2020; Srinivasan, Hamdani, and Ma, 2021). Consequently, operations within the GSC depend on such international events as pandemics, so organizations entering the global market must consider how to adapt to potential changes.
To conclude, companies can succeed in IME by obtaining a sustainable competitive advantage, properly allocating their value chain-related upstream and downstream activities, and being prepared for shifts in the GSC. The example of Nike, a leading player in the worldwide sportswear market, demonstrates that businesses must strive for ongoing innovation, have reliable business partners, and be adaptive to changes. To succeed in IME, firms must consider various factors in their internal and external operations.
Reference List
‘Essay 9: market selection, entry methods & cultural considerations, and international resource management’ (no date) [Lecture Notes].
Fung, Y. N., Choi, T. M., and Liu, R. (2019) ‘Sustainable planning strategies in supply chain systems: proposal and applications with a real case study in fashion’, Production Planning & Control, 31(11-12), pp. 883-902. Web.
Lechner, C. et al. (2020) ‘Supplier evolution in global value chains and the new brand game from an attention‐based view’, Global Strategy Journal, 10(3), pp. 520-555. Web.
Mafimisebi, O. P., Obembe, D., and Aluko, O. (2020) ‘Organization and product design pairings: a review of product innovation capabilities, conceptualization, and future directions’, Strategic Change, 29(1), pp. 13-24. Web.
Santoki, A. and Parekh, M. (2020) ‘Marketing strategies during COVID-19’, Journal of Critical Reviews, 7(14), pp. 2309-2315.
Srinivasan, M., Hamdani, M., and Ma, S. (2021) ‘Four supply chain management systems: from supply chain strategies to human resource management’, Business Horizons, 64(2), pp. 249-260. Web.