Unter Internationalisierungsstrategien werden in der Regel internationale Markterschließungsstrategien (International marketing strategies) verstanden.
The spectrum of strategies used ranges from indirect export to your own production and sales company in the target market. A long-term goal for numerous companies is to become a so-called “global player”, that is, to be represented in the economically important markets of the world. These are primarily the triad markets of Europe, North America and Asia or Japan.
The market development strategies can be differentiated according to the management commitment and the level of investment in the foreign target market as follows:
Indirect export
Indirect export is like a domestic business for your own company. A German exporter based in Germany or a foreign importer takes care of the export processing.
Direct export
In the case of direct export, your own company supplies end customers or dealers abroad.
Licensing
When a license is granted, a foreign company is permitted, usually limited to the area of the target market, to take over the manufacture and sale of products protected by patents, designs and / or trademarks.
Franchising
In the case of franchising, your own company, as the franchisor, takes on the extensive conceptual design of the entire marketing concept for the target market. The franchisees pay a franchise fee for this and are responsible for the exact implementation of the concept.
cooperation
A cooperation has the advantage that local know-how can be used by partners in the target market without having to make high investments on site. The disadvantage is the risk of the cooperation being terminated by the foreign partner, which can lead to the sudden loss of an established market position.
Strategic alliance
Long-term and visionary partnerships are characteristics of strategic alliances, it is a win-win situation for all partners, i.e. a cooperation that is equally positive for all partners. This can have a positive effect on the strength of the contract. Examples are the strategic alliances in the aviation industry “Star Alliance” and “One World”.
joint venture
The joint venture is a joint venture. Your own company usually brings commercial and technical know-how and ideally looks for a partner company in the target market, which in particular uses its "local know-how", i.e. knowledge of the foreign target market, as well as the corresponding relationships with market partners and local resources in a legally independent company Company brings in. This concept is a mixture of a cooperation and ownership strategy.
Further internationalization strategies include minority shareholdings, mergers with companies and takeovers of companies abroad (mergers & acquisitions) as well as the establishment of branches, assembly and production companies and subsidiaries abroad through the establishment of new ones.
The networking of companies will become increasingly important in the future (virtual company, virtual network). For small and medium-sized companies this will become a key requirement for internationalization, because intelligent networks allow the size of competitors to be achieved through speed, flexibility and a customer-oriented combination of core competencies and the company size of competitors can be compensated for.
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