December 6, 2016

Considering Global Growth? Get Expert Help

A Washington Post article written by UPS, Considering Global Growth? Try domestic expansion first, suggests that companies interested in growth dive deeper into domestic markets first. The article quotes Robert Eberhardt, assistant professor of management at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business, who said “The research is fairly clear that, generally speaking, companies do

December 2, 2016

International Business Negotiations, Impact of National Culture

In a global economy, making deals, creating value and resolving conflict often requires International Business Negotiations. Chances are, several people within your organization have contact with international partners, suppliers or customers. They regularly conduct International Business Negotiations and should be aware of the impact of National Cultures. After the signing the contract, negotiations do not end. Instead negotiations continue, as the

November 10, 2016

3 Tips for SME’s Contemplating Sustainable Export Growth

Between 5 and 10% of the UK’s SME’s engage in International business. In the US, only about 1% of SME’s participate in global trade. Consequently, there seems to exist a lot of untapped opportunity for Export Growth. Barriers to Exporting While experts agree that Export Growth can have important benefits for smaller business, there exist a wide variety of

November 1, 2016

Understanding National Culture: Essential to International Success

National Culture is the manifestation of THE learned behaviors and beliefs of a Nation’s people. Culture has external aspects which are relatively easily identified (language, dress, food, etc..) as well as hidden aspects. National Culture is often compared to an iceberg. You can see a small part, but the largest part is hidden under the

October 11, 2016

How to Develop an International Strategy?

What is Strategy? Before we delve into International Strategy Development, we should make sure we’re on the same page. There exist many different frameworks that can be used to understand strategy. Each of these frameworks suggest a different definition of Strategy, and no single definition pleases all. However, there seem to exist several areas of agreement as to the nature of strategy (see: Three

September 28, 2016

Differences in Corporate Culture: Can You Avoid M&A Failure?

  Most studies find that the majority of M&A activity does not create value for the companies involved, and that over 50% can be considered a failure, and clashing corporate culture is cited as a major contributing factor.   Over 50% of all M&A activity fails to meet goals. A KPMG study from 2008, shows that most

September 19, 2016

What is International Business Development?

To arrive at the definition of International Business Development, we have to understand what is understood by “Business Development”. If you search for the term, you will find several definitions, and you will find that different people define it in different ways. Similar to that group of blind experts talking about the elephant. Some think Business Development is the same as sales. Others think it