February 5, 2021

Going Global: Internationalization Strategies for Businesses

Juliet Hinga

Share it!

Today’s globalized world has made it easier to cross national borders and allowed for international business. Moreover, the global economy today is characterized by constant technological innovations that have given rise to rapid business growth. Internationalization provides the perfect opportunity to take your business to the next level.

As a business leader, a CEO will always be on the lookout for new opportunities for the growth of their businesses. The prospect of taking your business global, expanding your audience, and growing revenue is a tempting one for any CEO.  The big question is how do you strategically spread out your wings to the global business arena?

Going global is not an easy task, it requires strategy, planning, and a lot of resources. An international strategy by definition is a plan or strategy designed by an organization specifically for entering international markets. An international strategy requires analyzing the international market, studying resources, defining goals, understanding market dynamics, and develop offerings.

There are four main internationalization strategies that business leaders can adopt when taking their business global.

  • The Global Strategy. By adopting the global strategy when internationalizing a business, the organization treats the whole world as one market and leverages its economies of scale to boost reach and revenue. With this strategy, a company offers little variation since the products and services are homogenized to reduce costs while increasing reach. Under this strategy, the company will most likely have a central office or headquarters in the country of origin and at the same time establish operations in foreign markets. Even though the products are homogenized, small changes may need to be made to the products and services to suit the foreign markets.
  • The Export Strategy. The Export Strategy focuses on exporting products and services to foreign markets but with the production headquarters remaining in the company’s home country. By adopting this strategy, a business is able to avoid the extra costs that come with having staff and facilities in foreign countries. The downside with this strategy is the various challenges that may come up such as initiating sales offices, maintaining global logistics, and ensuring compliance with foreign trade regulations.
  • The Multi-Domestic Strategy. With this strategy, an organization invests in establishing a presence in the foreign market and specifically tailors its products to suit the new market. The company headquarters remain in the country of origin, but the company establishes local headquarters. With the multi-domestic strategy, the company also adapts its offerings and repositions its marketing strategies to fit the new market.
  • Transnational Strategy. The transnational business expansion strategy combines some elements of the global and multi-domestic strategies. The business still operates from its headquarters in the country of origin but can expand with full-scale operations in foreign markets. This model allows companies to sell their products and services in multiple countries across the globe with the difference being in the marketing of the products in the various countries. The biggest challenge with this strategy is identifying effective management tactics and large investment costs.

Today the global, interconnected world calls for executive leaders who are uniquely attuned to the economic currents and market shifts that could advance or undermine their firm’s long-term sustainability. There is a myriad of opportunities for your business to grow, both regionally and globally, it is up to you as the CEO to chart the way forward for your business.

Our Global CEO Africa Programme is designed for top business leaders and CEOs and aims to enhance their strategic vision and equip them with new tools to navigate disruptive trends that could impact their businesses. This Programme includes three residential modules in Nigeria, Kenya and the USA. It is delivered by Strathmore University Business School together with YALE school of management and Lagos Business School.

Learn more about the Global CEO Programme

Article by Juliet Hinga

Would you like to share an article? Write to us at sbscommunication@strathmore.edu

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!

Explore our Programme Calendar

Explore our
Academic and Executive Educations
Programmes Portfolio

Explore our SBS Customized Solutions
for Organizations

Go to Top