A lot of literature studied the ‘liability of smallness’ and the ‘liabilities of newness’ (Stinchcombe, 1965) especially for small and young firms. They suggest that entrepreneurial firms can minimize the costs and risks associated with foreign expansion over time (Lu & Beamish, 2001).
This means that firms might need to pass through a performance deterioration phase in the short run - especially if they were small in size and / or lacking financial and managerial capabilities - before they gain the needed experiential knowledge that would allow them to achieve high performance levels. Similarly, some scholars argue that although the early internationalization phase of companies may have a negative effect on their probability of survival, it may also increase their prospects for growth (Sapienza et al., 2006). Thus, most researches provide clear evidence that there is a positive relationship between internationalization and a firm's growth, especially in the long-term.
Absorptive capacity
A firm’s absorptive capacity is define as the firm’s set of organizational routines necessary to identify and use the knowledge generated in foreign markets (Cohen & Levinthal, 1990). A lot of researches identified the main components of a firm’s absorptive capacity; Lane and Koka (2006) found more than 900 academic papers which use the absorptive capacity construct. Kim (1998) defined two main elements that make up absorptive capacity: prior knowledge and intensity of efforts. The first element prior knowledge is the individual units of knowledge available within the organization. Accumulated prior knowledge increases the ability to make sense of and absorb new knowledge (Kim, 1998). The second element, the intensity of efforts is the amo...
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...h a 50:50 joint venture with Toyota, the prominent Japanease producer, the newly formed organization was called NUMMI.
GM’s objective from this business decision was to learn how Japanese manufacturers are able to manufacture smaller cars with better quality & competitive prices and thus enable GM to enter the Japanese market. For Toyota, this was an opportunity to penetrate the USA market and to gain experience from GM as a market leader.
The agreement was that Toyota will structure the production plant under supervision from sixteen GM’s managers which were tasked to learn, acquire & assimilate the knowledge from Toyota to the rest of GM’s management. The new NUMMI took 10 or 15 years before fulfilling the objectives behind its establishment. Some people after the launch of NUMMI stated the failure of the joint venture but finally it achieved its objective.
General Motors is one of the world's most dominant automakers from 1931. After 1980s economic recession the main goal for automobile companies was cost reduction. Customers became more price-sensitive. Also Japanese competitors came into market with the new effective system of production. So market was highly competitive and directed toward price reduction. The case states that in 1991 GM suffered $ 4.5 billion losses and most part of the costs of manufacturing was due to purchased components. GM NA hired Lopez in order to find the way from "extraordinary" situation and reduce costs.
Outsiders wondered how each company’s internal changes would affect their endless competitive battle in the industry. The case illustrates how global competitiveness depends on the organizational capability, the difficulty of overcoming deeply rooted administrative heritage, and the limitations of both classic multinational and global models.
The Company's future growth rates and success are in-part dependent on continued growth and success in international markets. As is...
The HRM strategy in Japanese companies is supported by the six pillars of Japanese employment practice lifetime employment, company welfare, quality consciousness, enterprise unions, consensus management and seniority-based reward systems. Toyota is at the heart of global manufacturing, a company that has grown over 70 years to become the world's third largest vehicle manufacturer. (Toyota worldwide 2006) Toyota is the seventh largest company in the world and the third largest manufacturer of automobiles, with production facilities in 26 nations around the world employing more than a quarter of a million people. The decision to manufacture in Europe was based on a corporate policy of building vehicles where the customers are and The United Kingdom was chosen for many reasons including its history of vehicle manufacture, the large domestic automobile market, its components supply base and its excellent links with the rest of Europe.
According to Toyota, they have undertaken a manufacturing revolution that has fundamentally changed established practices; all the way back to the product development and design. They have done this by integrating four areas: design, production engineering, procurement, and component supply. They have achieved higher quality at lower costs by creating standardized, multipurpose components. Also the reduction in cost has heightened the value and fortifies the competitiveness of product. To do this, Toyota has required intensive coordination with its suppliers. Another factor of their Integrated Low Cost is that Toyota steadily feeds cost improvements back into the product to raise their value along with the fact that four Toyota’s seven corporate auditors are outside corporate auditors.
(5) Liker, Jeffrey K. The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World's Greatest Manufacturer. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004. Print.
This case depicts about the success stories of the collaboration in the automobile industry by the Japanese and US firm though they were obviously competitors. One significant success story emerging from the alliance involves Ford probe and Mazda MX-6. There were swapping of resources and capabilities between the two firms. Mazda designers design the basic platform, engine and drive train for the cars. Mazda then design the outside of the MX-6 and Ford does same for the probe. Finally both cars are assembled at a factory owned by the two firms. Ford escort was another successful offspring of the alliance where again the Mazda engineers designed the car and Ford made it. But the alliance was not without spots. Mazda Navaho one of the offspring of the alliance which was basically build upon the on of the Ford popular product Ford explorer and build by the Ford makers. Ford made an opposite step by denying to provide the Japanese partners Navaho production to continue production of its own product line. The partner Mazda in addition fell into financial distress and Ford got the effective management control of Mazda and took some bold steps which eventually went against the collaboration.
Investing or venturing into the international market involves critical analysis of the internal and external environment in which the company operates. Usually, a company will decide to venture internationally due to a saturated market or fierce competition in the current country of operation. The demand for a company’s products may have diminished as a result of an economic crisis thus the company will target a foreign market to sustain its sales. In other words, the firms expand internationally to seek new customers for its products. For example, the current Euro zone crisis led to low demand in Europe and many companies extended their businesses to emerging markets where demand was high. A company may also venture in the international market to enhance the cost-effectiveness of its operations especially for manufacturing companies that will benefit from low costs of production in developing world. Global expansion is a long term project as it involves demanding logistics to be successful. Thorough research must be undertaken to ensure that the expansion will create value for share...
Toyota’s new structure introduced in 2003 reduced the number of directors, and introduced senior managing directors, who link management with on-site operations. This has led to prompt decision making that also reflects the opinions of on-site personnel.
Our economic development will forever be defined as our ability to succeed internationally. PwC forecasts India’s real annual GDP growth until 2050 at 8.9 percent, Vietnam’s at 8.8 percent, and China’s at 5.9 percent. The list of fast-growing emerging markets goes on and on. The U.S. forecast is a meager 2.4 percent, comparable with most Western economies. The domestic companies that are likely to see incremental growth in the coming decades are those that are not only doing business internationally, but that are developing the strategic skill set to master doing business across cultures. Cross-cultural core competence is at the crux of today’s sustainable competitive advantage. For example, political environment will tell us, as to how and why political leaders control, whether and how of international business. Legal environment, both national and international will tell us about many kinds of laws by which business firms must work. The cultural environment will tell us about attitudes, beliefs and opinions important to business people. Economic environment will tell us about the economic system being followed by the host country, which may or may not be different from home country. It will also explain the variables such as level of development, human resources, Gross Domestic Per Capita and consumption patterns that determine a firm’s ability to do business. Geography will tell us about location, quantity, and quality of the world’s resources.
Toyota Motor Corporation is one of the largest automakers in the world. At its annual conference in Tokyo on May 8, 2008, the company announced that activities through March 2008 generated a sales figure of $252.7 billion, a new record for the company. However, the company is lowering expectations for the coming year due to a stronger yen, a slowing American economy, and the rising cost of raw materials (Rowley, 2008). If Toyota is to continue increasing its revenue, it must examine its business practice and determine on a course of action to maximize its profit.
Introduction: Toyota Motor Corporation is a very successful automobile manufacturer that is recognized globally. They have continued to obtain and retain a competitive advantage over their counterparts, despite recalls over many years. Regardless of recalls, Toyota has been quick to rectify their shortcomings and continue to lead the automotive industry with their innovative measures. In this essay, I will discuss key internal factors for Toyota. Within those factors will include Toyota’s core competencies, which are what they do really well in comparison to their competition, three of their strength’s, which will include their posture within the automobile market and their heavy focus on research and development, and two of their weaknesses.
The nonmanufacturing companies can learn and apply from Toyota’s philosophy and practices as listed below:
Oesterie, M. J., Richta, H. N., & Fisch, J. H. (2012). The influence of ownership structure on internationalization. International Business Review, 22(1), 187-201.
According to WHO, 2017 capacity building is the development and strengthening of human and institutional resources. It is however a process that goes beyond only the public sector, whereas Janicke.M & Weidner. H, n.d, defines it as the society’s ability to identify and solve environmental problems. Furthermore Capacity building is the ability for a community and companies to grow and develop and nurture new skills. It is the ability to utilise the possibility for further growth, this allows for society to progress even further and be able to tackle any challenges along the way. The main participants for capacity building are the government, local members of the community, and NGO’s (Cadri, 2017). There are however certain obstacles