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 much better by expanding nationally than trying to go into an unknown market in the first instance”. He further stated “Companies should first build their products and knowledge of domestic markets”.

In the same article Robert Salomon, associate professor of management and organization at New York’s University’s Stern School of Business, offers: “Foreign markets present an extra layer of complexity, they differ culturally, economically, politically and from legal and regulatory perspectives”

Advising companies to exploring domestic growth before expanding globally seems sound and logical. To the point that one ventures to say that companies that are considering global expansion have exhausted the low hanging fruit in their domestic markets. It is those companies that will have to cope with the extra layer complexities Robert Salomon warns about.

Cultural differences, even though they may seem small, can easily cause friction. This counts as well for foreign companies entering the United States as US companies going overseas. US companies going overseas, are often aware that they are facing a culture gap, but don’t always know how to cope with it. Companies coming to the US most probably know as well, but they may be more cavalier about it: often they have entered other country markets before. And obviously, they’ve been exposed to US culture through music and movies, so what could really go wrong?

But, would it surprise you that most expats that come from Europe to the US have a hard time settling in their new adopted country. That most want to return after a couple of years?

Is your company seriously considering Global Growth? Get Expert Help.

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