Four Models of Competition and their Implications for Marketing Strategy

partners or with the firm's wholly owned sub 
sidiaries. Coordination of key activities performed 
in different countries is a key element in determin 
ing the success or failure of a global or international 
marketing strategy effort (Porter, 1986, pp 30-32). 
Coordination can: encourage the development and 
sharing of expertise among dispersed units, allow 
the firm to achieve a unified brand image and 
reputation, and permit the firm to respond to shift 
ing comparative advantages by moving activities 
easily from one unit to another (thereby enhancing 
the firm's leverage with local governments). In 
short, coordination itself can become a prime 
source of competitive advantage. 
• Marketing managers must constantly take efforts to 
overcome barriers to globalization erected by their 
own firms. Sometimes, barriers will be in the form 
of centralized policies and procedures that limit 
creativity or communication. Sometimes, barriers 
will be political, as when units in a firm compete 
with each other by withholding valuable informa 
tion. Sometimes, barriers will be in the form of 
prejudices and biases between units or between 
headquarters and units. Removal of these barriers 
by suitable means should be one of the highest 
priorities for marketing managers operating in a 
global environment. 
• The scope of marketing strategy expands when 
going from domestic to global orientation. Added 
target markets include politicians and agencies in 
national and local governments, mass media, and 
coalition partners (including subsidiaries). Market 
ing strategy still relies on product, price, distribu 
tion and promotion decisions, and investments. 
However, public relations and publicity often oc 
cupy a more prominent role than in domestic 
markets. 
• While international and global markets often tempt 
managers to adopt a country-tailored strategy 
aimed at diverse segments in countries viewed as 
disparate, strategic competitive advantage is more 
easily obtained by developing universal products 
aimed at universal segments found in homogene-
ous country groups (Takeuchi and Porter, 1986, pp 
142-143). Universal products, universal segments, 
and homogeneous country groups permit: (1) 
economies of scale in production, advertising, 
packaging, and servicing and (2) coordination ef-
ficiencies described in sixth section above. Univer-
sal products and packages need hot be identical; 
they can differ in style or features and still not harm 
scale economies or coordination. Similarly, univer-
sal segments need not be identical in all respects 
from market to market.
 
As summary, a globalization model of competition 
represents a current view. The model adds complexity 
to preceding models in terms of many variables pre-
viously not discussed: cultures, histories, business prac-
tices, currencies, market entry "red tape," distance, and 
time. Strategy is seldom simple in a globalization 
model.