International Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Business Strategy - Essay Example Under the stages approach, learning occurs first within the domestic market and then the business seeks opportunities in culturally-similar markets before ultimately expanding into a foreign market and developing the appropriate market entry strategy for this new foreign environment. Virgin Group, founded by Richard Branson, is an excellent example of a conglomerate that has utilised incremental foreign market entry strategies. The Virgin group first gained market experience in the United Kingdom, then selected entry into the United States, a location with similar culture to find market success utilising knowledge gleaned through UK business practices. Today, Virgin Group has built considerable marketing prowess and human capital advantages that allow the company to align strategy with foreign market characteristics. Common practices and metric within a variety of subsidiaries was gained through knowledge management and knowledge transfer that could, in the long-run, be applied to new and innovative business practices aligned with foreign culture and market characteristics. The Uppsala model is a rather common sense business model that strongly reinforces the necessity for knowledge management. Learning occurs through social, technological, organisational and marketing-based conceptions that build competencies, performance, and determine the appropriate market entry strategy required to meet foreign market demands in the pursuit of becoming a global corporation. Wal-Mart is a relevant example lending support to the Uppsala model, as this business determines a variety of unique market entry strategies, including joint ventures and acquisitions, in order to build knowledge about foreign culture preferences before ultimately determining an appropriate strategic policy aligned with foreign market characteristics. For instance, in Canada, consumers are â€Å"socially