International Strategy: Context, Concepts and Implications

PART THREE Managerial Implications

Multinational executives face tough choices every day in every aspect of their activities. Whether at four in the afternoon when a customer from a new geography asks for a reduced price to seal a deal, or at ten the next morning when a regional plant manager asks for approval to drop some local products, executives are always being tested in the implementation of their strategy. It is here that the rubber hits the road, and if international strategy is to be more than just a nice intellectual concept for senior executives, it has to directly influence such decisions.

The final part of the book, therefore, addresses the managerial implications of international strategy. It provides a toolbox and a set of analytic processes to guide executives as they make each tough strategic decision. While it will be found that the recommended actions are substantially impacted by the firm's international strategy, this part of the book looks through the lens of the individual decision and provides assistance when making those choices. The approaches outlined do not depend on having mastered the previous parts of the book (though it will surely be helpful if you have) as they are designed to function as independent aids to decision making.

All the controversial issues within multinationals can be subsumed under four headings: what product (broadly defined to include positioning, pricing, and processes) to offer around the world, and how much variation to ...