Expansion Strategies- Komut

AK LEATHER COMPANY

The Evaluation of Expansion Strategies in Global Markets

Case of AK leather company

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ContentsACKNOWLEDGEMENT..........................................................................................................................5

Abstract....................................................................................................................................................6

CHAPTER ONE..........................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................7

1.1 Dissertation Title...............................................................................................................................7

1.2 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................7

1.3 Background of This Research Study..................................................................................................8

1.4 Study Aims and Objectives..............................................................................................................11

1.5 AK Leather Company Overview.....................................................................................................12

1.6 Research Rationale..........................................................................................................................14

1.7 Research Structure...........................................................................................................................15

CHAPTER TWO.......................................................................................................................................17

LITERATURE REVIEW..........................................................................................................................17

2.1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................17

2.2 Aims and objectives of the chapter..................................................................................................17

2.3 Reasons for Expansion....................................................................................................................18

2.4 Selection of Ways for Entering the Overseas Market......................................................................19

2.5 Strategies of Market Expansion.......................................................................................................22

2.5.1 Market Diversification Strategy................................................................................................22

2.5.2 Market Concentration Strategy.................................................................................................23

2.5.3 Market Segmentation Strategy..................................................................................................25

2.6 Dimensions Influencing the Entry to the Foreign Market................................................................25

2.6.1 Company Factors......................................................................................................................26

2.6.2 Product Factors.........................................................................................................................29

2.6.3 Market Factors..........................................................................................................................31

2.7 Dimension of the Market Expansion...............................................................................................32

2.5 Need for Internationalization...........................................................................................................32

2.8 International Market Entry Modes...................................................................................................33

2.8.1 Exporting..................................................................................................................................34

2.8.2 Licensing..................................................................................................................................37

2.8.3 Franchising...............................................................................................................................39

2.8.4 Turnkey Projects.......................................................................................................................41

2.8.5 Completely Owned Subsidiaries...............................................................................................42

2.8.6 Joint Venture.............................................................................................................................44

2.8.7 Strategic Alliance......................................................................................................................46

2.9 Porter’s Five Forces Model..............................................................................................................49

2.9.1 Threat Due To New Market Entrants........................................................................................50

2.9.2 Threat of Substitutes.................................................................................................................50

2.9.3 Haggling Power of the Product Consumers..............................................................................51

2.9.4 Negotiating Power with the Suppliers.......................................................................................51

2.9.5 Extent of Market Competition..................................................................................................51

2.10 Marketing Process.........................................................................................................................52

3.11 Relationship Marketing.................................................................................................................53

2.11 Conclusion of Chapter...................................................................................................................54

3.1 Introduction to Chapter....................................................................................................................55

3.2 Aims and Objectives of the Chapter................................................................................................56

3.3 Approaches for Research.................................................................................................................56

3.3.1 Quantitative Research...............................................................................................................56

3.3.2 Qualitative Research.................................................................................................................57

3.4 Research Strategy............................................................................................................................58

3.5 Methods and Techniques.................................................................................................................59

3.5.1 Primary Data Collection...........................................................................................................59

3.5.2 Secondary Data Collection.......................................................................................................60

3.6 Research Design..............................................................................................................................60

3.6.1 Exploratory Research................................................................................................................61

3.6.2 Explanatory Research...............................................................................................................61

3.6.3 Descriptive Study......................................................................................................................61

3.7 Sampling Technique and the Sample Size.......................................................................................61

3.8 Research Ethics............................................................................................................................62

3.9 Data Analysis...................................................................................................................................63

3.10 Chapter Overview..........................................................................................................................63

CHAPTER FOUR.....................................................................................................................................64

DATA ANALYSIS...................................................................................................................................64

4.1 Chapter introduction........................................................................................................................64

4.2 Objectives of the chapter.................................................................................................................64

4.3 Characteristics of AK Leather Company Employees.......................................................................65

4.4 Strategies by Turkish Leather Companies.......................................................................................73

4.5 Strategies That Can Prove To Be Effective.....................................................................................74

4.6 Allocation of Resources for International Expansion.......................................................................75

4.7 Selected Strategy for International Expansion.................................................................................80

4.8 Validity of the Questionnaire...........................................................................................................81

4.9 Findings...........................................................................................................................................81

4.10 Opposing Ideas..............................................................................................................................82

4.11 Chapter Overview and Conclusion................................................................................................82

CHAPTER FIVE.......................................................................................................................................85

CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................................85

5.1 Introduction to chapter.....................................................................................................................85

5.2 Research Aims and Objectives........................................................................................................85

5.3 Aims and Objectives of the Chapter................................................................................................86

5.4 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................87

CHAPTER SIX.........................................................................................................................................90

RECOMMENDATIONS...........................................................................................................................90

6.1 Introduction of Chapter....................................................................................................................90

6.2 Aims of Chapter..............................................................................................................................90

6.3 Recommendations...........................................................................................................................90

6.4 Reflective Statement........................................................................................................................98

ANNEXURE...........................................................................................................................................107

Questionnaire.......................................................................................................................................108

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am great full to all those people who support me to accomplish

this dissertation on the topic of ‘the evaluation of the expansion

strategies in the global market with a case study of AK LEATHER

COMPANY’, Turkey. Special thanks to my instructors who teach

and guide me to do this research in an efficient manner. I am

paying here special thanks to the people who prop up me in

collecting the desirable content for this study and in gathering

information from the respondents of the AK leather company,

Turkey. Finally I am thanking to all those people who play any

part to fulfill this given task in effective manner.

AbstractInternational expansion of the businesses has been defined in

economic terms as the extension of the business network and

expansion of the business to more potential international

developed markets where the company can achieve the business

objectives and goals effectively. There has been an increase in

the need for the global expansion as the companies in order to

seek advantages like more profits, greater demands, advantages

regarding the resources and also the greater exposure of the

company towards broader customer service. The more boosting

factors that have made the companies to apply the expansion

strategy are the internationalization and the changes in the

technology that have changed the demands of the customers and

the preferences too to very great extent. There are various

different kinds of strategies applied by the companies in order to

expand their business activities in various different regions. The

mode of the entry is selected by viewing the resources of the

company possessed, the industrial and the specific country

factors and the interest of the company. From the survey

conducted by the researcher using interview as the research tool

for effective collection of the data from the employees of the AK

leather company, the researcher concluded that to diversify the

risk and also in order to minimise it, retail outlets is the best

strategy as the company do not have enough resources for

expanding the business with some strategy that demands higher

degree of the company resources and greater risk.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Dissertation Title This dissertation is conducted under the following title name:

“The Evaluation of Expansion Strategies in Global Markets with a Case Study of AK Leather

Company”

1.2 IntroductionThis chapter would address the main areas of concern for which this research work has been

conducted. This research study is the requirement of the MBA course work. The student would

complete this study to put the theory learnt by him into practice and would also learn many more

things through this case study of the AK Leather Company. This company is a business concern

that is involved in the business of leather goods.

This dissertation is more focused on the strategies of expansion that are used by the companies

when they find some other place potential enough for their business to have considerable amount

of profits and revenues, also to avail the opportunities that are available to the business in some

other places in which there are high demands for the leather products in the market, or the

company wants to increase the market share of their business by extending their business in

other countries. The other name that has been given to the international expansion of the

business concerns and is also widely used is the “internationalization”. This has been defined

in economic terms as the extension of the business network and expansion of the business to

more potential international developed markets where the company can achieve the business

objectives and goals effectively. There had been also various different theories presented by

different people each of them specifying and focusing on various different tasks for which the

companies find their ways to enter another market and also there had been various approaches

and strategies applied by the firms to have the much concentrated share of the market (Barlett

and Ghoshal, 2010). Every business concern enters the market with the specific goal of having

profits with various other aims and objectives of expanding the business network.

This topic got the interest of the researcher as due to the globalization, firms and the markets are

becoming closer and competitive enough to have maximum exposure to the target markets. The

firms becoming international business entity needs much effort and more sophisticated strategies

as this strategy have numerous benefits and also contain severe risks to the business (Buckley

and Casson, 2009). Therefore, the researcher has selected the case of the AK leather company

and would conduct the study on the evaluation of the expansion strategies that can proved to be

beneficial for the company in the short term as well as the short term.

1.3 Background of This Research StudyInternationalization seems to be the most attractive factor for the firms becoming international.

The reason for starting the operation in the international country is the maximum earning of the

firms. The internationalization of firms has been bringing such benefits to the business concerns

therefore they have searching for the best possible strategy that can suit the firms operations

(Buckley and Casson, 2009). Although there numerous benefits as well threats to the businesses

when they enter another market. Some of the business entities are that much stronger that

although they incur some loss but their reputation never gets affected by the success or failure of

the business in another market that seems to be potential for the company (Caves, 2010). The

expansion of the companies also depends upon the entrepreneurial capabilities of the firm. When

the entrepreneurs see their products and their brands as potential enough to compete in the

market with the products of the multinational companies, then they also find their way towards

the expansion of their activities.

Some think of internationalization as fatal to the companies that are performing their business

activities in the national country while some think of this as the increase in the revenue and

development of the nations as foreign direct investments from the international. There always

comes a time when the successful business setups whether large or small face the issue of the

expansion of the business internationally (Corden, 2009). The expansion of the business comes

with the opportunities and the threats too. The expansion of the business is the part of leading

the company to reach the vision. Growth of the companies brings various different types of

issues that the companies need to address that are the human resource management, financial

management and the managerial changes (Ghemawat, 2010).

The history of trading with the other countries or in the other countries has been a very old

concept that much of the potential companies in every part of the world face wherever the

entrepreneurs want to lead the company towards the achievement of the long term vision of the

company (Hanser, 2009). The economical, political and the social importance of the

international trade have been increasing day by day. The factors that have been urging the need

for the business expansion and the international trade are the globalized competition among the

firms operating in the market at international level, availing the opportunities, diversifying the

business network and leading the race of greater market share. The companies were not that

much interested in starting their business in other countries as the internationalization have been

a very risky strategy (Harzing, 2011). Some of the authors are of the opinion that the increase in

the international expansion of the business entities has been due to the advancement in the

technology, the free or elastic trade policies of the governments for the trade, the attractive

features for the foreign direct investments by the local governments and increase in the global

competition.

There has been an increase in the need for the global expansion as the companies in order to seek

advantages like more profits, greater demands, advantages regarding the resources and also the

greater exposure of the company towards broader customer service. The more boosting factors

that have made the companies to apply the expansion strategy are the internationalization and the

changes in the technology that have changed the demands of the customers and the preferences

too to very great extent (Ahmad and Kitchen, 2010). Now the companies have been following all

the necessary steps so that they can make their products profitable not only for the shorter term

but to increase the life cycle of the products in other countries where the products are more liked

by the customers. The customer’s demands have been always changing and they have been

expecting much better quality at reasonable prices than before and the companies that become

successful in doing so can grab large share of the target segment (Axinn, 2010).

The companies also cannot neglect the factor of internationalization as they have been forced by

the global competition to apply this strategy. The global competition has been decreasing the

number of those domestic companies that do not try for the diversification strategy as the

company can have the profits from another market if there is loss at some places. All the

companies want to achieve the certain growth and development from time to time otherwise the

company would not be able to sustain the position (Calof and Viviers, 2011). The impact of the

globalization can only be neglected if the companies can expand their operational activities to as

much extent as they have the available resources. The success to the companies is nowadays no

more difficult as it can achieved by diversifying the risk in one market by starting the business in

another market where the company can have a competitive advantage over its competitors

(Chang and Rosenzweig, 2009).

1.4 Study Aims and ObjectivesThe aims that will be achieved through this study are the following:

This assignment would help the researcher to understand the various strategies of

expansion that are applied by the companies.

How these strategies prove to be beneficial for the company.

The researcher would also check the feasibility of the AK Leather Company that whether

this company can enter the global business environment.

The objectives that would be achieved by conducting this case study of the AK Leather

Company regarding its expansion to enter the competitive environment are the following:

The researcher would come to know about the various expansion strategies.

The researcher would also analyze the market for leather goods in the local country as

well as in the other countries.

The corporate strategy of the AK Leather Company would also be analyzed so as to

know the vision of the company and whether the company has enough resources to

achieve the vision of the company.

The data would be collected from the respondents of the company that what strategy

could prove to be beneficial for the company.

The researcher would have more insight into the expansion strategies adopted by the

companies and would have more knowledge about the internationalization.

The researcher would have to deeply study the previously published data for complete

knowledge about the expansion strategies and in this way the strategies would be evaluated

through the collected data so that a better strategy could be suggested.

1.5 AK Leather Company OverviewAK Leather Company has been involved in the manufacturing business of the leather products.

There are varieties of different leather products manufactured by this company that has been of

standardized quality and have a very good reputation in the leather market. The company has

already been involved in the exports of leather goods to various different countries. The leather

goods manufactured by this company are the following:

Ladies Hand Bags

This company has been the most demanding leather products in various different

countries as this has been exporting the most appreciated and the reputable leather

products. This company sells the leather products to the brand names of another

company and this company also fulfils the demands raised by the higher rated stores.

Stylo and liberty are the main buyers of the Leather goods from the company. The

handbags are also very modern and up to date and the products manufactured by this

company are the preferred one. This product is mostly appreciated by the customers and

the company also changes the designs the material of the hand bags on timely basis.

Jackets

This product also bring great revenues for the AK Leather Company as the demands for

this product are much higher in various markets and the company has been focusing on

the new designs and the integration of the better quality standards. The company

manufactures jackets in bulk due to the demands in the local as well as in the

international market and the company has been also working hard to making this product

available to large number of markets. Most of the jackets manufactured by the AK

Leather Company are exported to US and Russia and the company greater focus is now

on the increase in the demand of this product in the European Markets. The exports to

US and Russia have touched the figure of nearly 2 million US dollars in the recent years.

This achievement has made the company think of increasing their exports or establishing

their own particular network through which they can achieve the company goals.

Belts and Wallets

There have been also high demands for the belts and the leather wallets manufactured by

this company but they have comparatively low demand as the hand bags and the jackets

but the products are sold in the local market and exported to numerous markets in various

different countries. The demand for these products is greater in the European markets.

The company does not manufacture this product for the local brands as the local brands

do not pay the company much for these products and the company incurs greater costs on

the manufacturing of these products. Therefore the selling of products to local brands is

not feasible for the company.

There are also varieties of various other small products manufactured by this company and the

company has been focusing on making those products also of export quality and also for the

various brands but it needs much more financial resources and greater expertise. These products

have very demands in the market and the market share of these is also not much greater. The unit

where the company conducts all the manufacturing activities is located in USAK, TURKEY.

After the success in the market by selling the leather goods to the local and international brands

and having the experience of the dealing with the consumer demands, the company has been

thinking of introducing its own brands in the local and in the international market. The company

has been evaluating various expansion strategies so that the most appropriate strategy could be

applied and the company can have the possible outcome from those strategies.

1.6 Research RationaleNowadays, the expansion of the businesses have become very important as they need to survive

in this competitive environment as there has been very severe impacts of the globalization on the

business entities. Companies have been finding ways for the expansion and identifying the

potential markets for their goods. The survival and the profitability always come with the

diversification either of the markets or the products or the business strategies (Contractor et al,

2009). The reason that have made the researcher chose this topic is that this study has more

attraction for the researcher as it would enable him to evaluate the business strategies that can

prove to be profitable for the company. The expansion of the companies in the global markets

have been increasing day by day as companies are finding ways for the successful business

turnovers to compete in the market also increase the market share of the company. The

researcher chose the AK Leather Company as a case study as this company has been into the

leather goods business for a long time and have achieved success in selling and exporting its

manufactured products to the various popular brands in the local as well as in the international

market. The information regarding the AK leather company would be gathered through the

various web sources and also from the respondents of the company that would be chosen for the

survey. There has been no research study conducted by any researcher on the AK leather

company, so the researcher had the opportunity to study the case in depth and would have

knowledge about the company, its business operations and conducting the successful research

studies.

International expansion has been considered as the risk averting strategy for the businesses as the

businesses find the various opportunities in the market so that the company can explore various

ways for reaching the most potential markets as this is becoming necessary for the company’s

success, its life, its market share and the turnover on the investments and the market reputation

(Davidson, 2010). The suitable strategy for the business expansion to a suitable target market

always proves to be profitable for the company but the companies always face issues in selecting

the most appropriate strategy for the expansion. The researcher would study the case of the AK

leather company and would suggest the most appropriate one for the company by putting the

knowledge of analysis into practice and also gaining the skills of studying the business

situations.

1.7 Research StructureStructure of the dissertation would let us know about the main chapters that would be covered in

this study. Following chapters would be included in this dissertation:

Chapter 1 would serve the purpose of introducing the dissertation purpose and the aims and the

objectives that would be achieved through this study. Also this chapter would present some

overview of the company and provide the research background too. The rationale of this

dissertation would also be included in this very first chapter.

Chapter 2 would provide the detailed overview of the previous researches and the explanation to

the expansion strategies. The researcher would evaluate all the expansion strategies that the

companies use for entering the global competitive environment.

Chapter 3 would serve the purpose of explaining the methods and the techniques that would be

followed by the researcher to make this study generate more effective results. This chapter

would also reveal the approach of the researcher to achieve the research aims.

Chapter 4 would present the results of the survey that had been conducted for collecting the data

from the respondents and also the results of the analysis of the data would be presented.

Chapter 5 is the last chapter of the dissertation that would explain what the researcher concluded

from the analysis of the data collected. The recommendations by the researcher regarding the

selection of the strategy for expansion of the business network to the global market would also

be mentioned. This chapter would also contain the reflective statement at the end that can open

the gates for the further researchers to add more to this issue of concern for the researcher and

the researcher would also explain the flaws in the study.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction This chapter would present extensive review of the literature that has been presented by various

researchers on the expansion strategies of the companies internationally. This chapter would

cover the discussion on the market strategies and then the factors that influence the choice of the

company for the strategy for international expansion. The data is said to be efficient when it is

not just built upon the collected data through survey but it can also provide insight into the micro

level and macro level data available. The companies in order to have competitive advantage and

to have maximum approach to their customers to take the advantage from the opportunities

available in the market want to establish their units and grow by this way (Barlett and Ghoshal,

2010). In this literature three topologies will be presented and they are already tested to know

companies want to grow and what are the benefits that are associated with the growth of the

organisations internationally. These topologies does not provide complete efficient analysis of

the data available for the expansion of the companies as they merits are limited to certain extents

and they cannot be applied to all the type of corporations and also entry to different kind of

markets need different approaches. The electric theory that has been presented by Dunning has

been tested on the basis of the macroeconomic data which has been only able to differentiate the

strategies of the company’s expansion inside the boundaries of the firm (Buckley and Casson,

2009).

2.2 Aims and objectives of the chapterThe aims and objectives that would be achieved through this chapter are

To have complete insight into the strategies of expansion to the international market.

To analyse the strategies with their impact on the performance of the company.

The researcher would continue the research after he becomes familiar with the strategies

of expansion.

The researcher would be able to have knowledge about how the companies select the

strategy.

2.3 Reasons for ExpansionThere are various different kinds of strategies applied by the companies in order to expand their

business activities in various different regions (Buckley and Casson, 2009)). The reasons behind

the expansion of the firm are the following:

The opportunities for the growth of the firms can be availed.

The problems in the domestic markets can be minimized by investing in some other

market.

To explore more opportunities of growth by starting business in the other regions or

countries.

To influence the competitive advantage in the domestic market.

Although the phenomenon of the international trade is very old but there had been very small

number of companies that had their business in different countries but now due to globalization

and the construction of the international markets for the purchase of the goods and services

(Caves, 2010). Recently, also the small and the medium sized corporations have been trying to

expand their business activities and the operations in various different locations. The global

forces have urged this competition to greater extent and the companies have been forced to adopt

such strategy otherwise they would be facing consequences due the emergence of the new

competitive companies. The impact of the emerging markets has been also very severe on the

business corporations; therefore the businesses have found this solution for the corporations to

save them from the adverse effects of the global competitions and also to build their reputation

in the market where ever they operate (Corden, 2009).

2.4 Selection of Ways for Entering the Overseas MarketThe firms according to their business situation and the business nature, they find the best suited

way for expanding their business network in other countries (Dunning, 2010). These ways are as

follows:

Organic Growth:

Figure 2.1 showing organic growth of the company

http://www.marketplanconsultants.com/

The company starts the business from the very beginning in the market which seems to

be potential to him for the growth of its business network. The company starts with the

recruitment of the operational staff and the sales staff, and then the company goes on

establishing business relationships with many small firms or subunits for the production

and manufacturing of the goods and also identifies the channels of distribution (Dunning,

2011).

Figure 2.2 shows model for organic growth

www.google-images.com

Same is the case with the service providing firms which establish commercial relations

with the customers and ensure them for providing the best services. This way for is

referred as the Greenfield investment.

Strategic Partnerships

Figure 2.3 showing strategic partnership as an entry tool

http://hrmadvice.com/

These ways are the most effective one as the company built relationships with those that

had been already doing their business in that environment. The company needs not to

start the business from the start but it needs to carefully study the other existing business

and then to invest with it as a partner. These strategies always come in the form of joint

ventures (Ghemawat, 2010).

Acquisitions

It is referred to as the corporate action of a firm for buying the other firm if not

completely but the maximum part of the firm is purchased by another to have the

competitive advantage and the business setup in another country (Ghoshal and Nohria,

2011).

Figure 2.4 showing acquisition as entry

http://www.p2c2group.com/

The business is not only expanded by the installing of the units of the same business in another

area but it can be expanded by the partnerships and also by the acquiring the most feasible

business companies in some another area.

2.5 Strategies of Market ExpansionThe two strategies that are available to the companies for the expansion of the business and

becoming international are the strategy of market diversification and the strategy of market

concentration. The strategy that is applicable to the limited business markets are the market

concentration strategy while the one that is applicable to more diverse and vast market area is the

strategy of market diversification as the focus of the company is on the larger number of markets

for performing their business activities and increase their share of the market (Hanser, 2009).

2.5.1 Market Diversification StrategyThis strategy for the international expansion is applied with the aim when the business wants to

have the maximum returns from the investments in another country and also they consider the

less utilization of the resources while making their products and goods available to the

customers and the potential markets (Harzing, 2011). The risks and the investments of the

company can be minimized and diversified and also the business become flexible to all the

market threats, these are the advantages associated with this strategy. This strategy is beneficial

in the sense that the company if incurring losses or minimum output from investments in one

country or region, then the company can have the compensation in the outputs and the returns if

it has invested in various other regions (Ahmad and Kitchen, 2010). The company can maintain

and stabilize the earnings on a regular basis by applying this strategy. The extent of the

competition seems to vary in less competitive countries and the profits earned in the market as

compared to those where the extent of competition is greater.

Figure 2.5 showing market diversification strategy

http://www.onsetmarketing.com/

The mode of entry that can be used by this expansion strategy seems to be the easiest one that

may be licensing and exporting. The company chooses among the target markets that are easily

available to it and the company can have access to them. The selection of the appropriate

channels of distribution and the licensees would prove to be more advantageous for the

company. Some companies enter the market with less pricing strategy or product modifications

so that the product could meet the demands of the market and make the product according to the

preferences of the customers. The companies starting their business setup in another country

wants to seek more profits and therefore charge higher prices for the products. There are beliefs

that diversification leads to the reduction of the markets as the markets that do not give the

companies considerable amount of profit, there the company thinks of winding up their business

activities (Anderson and Gatignon, 2009).

2.5.2 Market Concentration StrategyThis strategy is applied in those areas where the rate of growth is slower in the markets targeted

by the company. The benefits associated with this type of strategy are the specialization in the

related field, control to a greater extent and the economic benefits. This strategy is applied when

the business is looking for a longer term growth and to avail the market opportunity to a greater

extent (Axinn, 2010). A small firm with limited resources cannot follow this strategy but the

firm or company that have enough resources and can plan for long term operations in that area

and can have considerable amount of profit over a long period can go for this strategy. Market

penetration is the strategy applied by the company. Mode of entry in this strategy is the foreign

direct investment or the acquisition of the reputable firm already performing operations in that

area. The relationship for which the company applies various marketing strategies needs to be

carried out in appropriate manner so that the business can build the image of the products

(Bradley and Gannon, 2010).

Figure 2.6 showing market concentration strategies


The fore mentioned strategies come up with different results and the selection of the expansion

strategies. All the business concerns are limited by the resources; those that have access of

resources would go for the market concentration strategy to have the advantages from the

maximum share of the market while those who have limited resources would go for the strategy

of market diversification (Blomstermo et al, 2009). The diversification requires less marketing

efforts and less use of the resources while the concentration strategy comes with high budget

marketing and the greater allocation and use of the available resources.

2.5.3 Market Segmentation Strategy The strategy of segmentation is useful for the evaluation and knowing that which strategy would

be more advantageous and beneficial for the company whatever the future aim of the company

that can be a long term profitability and expansion or just diversification. The segmentation of

the market depends upon the market and the condition of the firm that how much customers and

segments of the market it can deal with (Calof and Viviers, 2011).

Figure 2.7 shows various market segments

http://magia3e.files.wordpress.com/

2.6 Dimensions Influencing the Entry to the Foreign MarketThere are various dimensions that need to be considered while entering the market of another

country. These dimensions would be explained and discussed below:

2.6.1 Company Factors Market Factors

The information regarding the market in which the company is going to enter is as

important as the success of the company. The environment in which the local businesses

are already operating can prove to be fatal for the company. The unfamiliarity with the

local market can create decision making and dealing problems. The misinformation or

the missing information both lead the company towards the losses. The knowledge of the

local market is important for planning the expansion in that area (Chang and

Rosenzweig, 2009).

Figure 2.8 shows how to know the market factors

http://www.ece.cmu.edu/

According to Chen, 2010, company that cannot have access to the bulk information can

apply the diversification strategy and those companies are not able to decide for the best

market that can be beneficial for the company in the long run. Also entrance through this

strategy to the market could make the company have considerable amount of knowledge

which can lead the company towards the concentration strategy.

Consciousness Towards Risk Management

Chen and Hennart, (2010) states that companies like to expand their business to another

country. Expanding the business to some other country faces various different kinds of

risks that can be cultural, political, environmental and social risks. The level of the

management that can bear and diverse the risk factors in the market decides what strategy

would suit the company. According to Chen and Mujtaba, 2011, environment that have

high risks are suggesting the company to use the diversification strategy while in case the

risk is less and the market is seen as full of opportunities, there the company can go for

the market concentration strategy.

Organisational Goals

The choice for entering the international market depends upon the goals and vision of the

company. if the company sees itself at a much higher and reputable place with greater

market share, the market strategy in that case would be the market concentration or if the

business has been of small level and it has no intentions of getting to a very place or the

resources do not support it to that extent, then the strategy applied would be the

diversification. The diversification allows the company to enter the market easily and

then develop the market for future development of the business while on the other hand,

the concentration strategy requires in depth search of the market for opportunities and the

factors of growth and also the string position in the market with some most popular

brands (Chu and Anderson, 2010).

Internal Barriers

According to Clark et al, 2011, the strategy for the expansion of the company is also

affected by the internal barriers. The availability of the resources and the size of the firm

restrict the company to enter the foreign market. When the resources limits the entry of

company in the market, but it has the potential to operate well in the international market,

then the company needs to first enter the market with the diversification strategy as this

pave the entry and also the company would raise funding for the company by being

taking the advantage of the opportunity right on time. The smaller companies have more

tendencies towards the diversification strategy (Contractor et al, 2009).

Figure 2.9 shows market barriers

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/

Export Stimuli

According to Davidson, 2010, the opportunity in the market at some other location acts

as a stimulus for the company to starts its operations there. The potential and the profit

generating capacity of the market would make the company choose the type of strategy

that is more appropriate. The reason behind the internationalization of the companies is

the availability of the profit generating opportunity and the opportunity for growth and

development of the company and its assets (Ekeledo and Sivakumar, 2011).

Figure 2.10 showing the export stimuli

http://www.tutor2u.net/

These act as the motivating agents for the companies becoming international. The

competition in the market is also driving the companies to become international. Also the

demand for the products in the local and the international market also force the company

to adopt the strategy of internationalization (Erramilli and Rao, 2010).

2.6.2 Product Factors Product Life Cycle

The products have certain life span which starts from the introduction and ends in the

decline. The life of the product also helps the company in choosing the strategy for

foreign investment (Higzi and Skitmore, 2009). The early stages of the product bear the

factor of risk to a greater extent. At this time, it is better for the company to have market

diversification strategy so that the company can have more coverage of the market and it

is obvious that certain customers would like to have the product. Others suggest that the

company needs to enter the market diversification strategy at later stages of the product

life cycle (Johanson and Vahlne, 2011).

Figure 2.11 shows product life cycle

http://people.hofstra.edu/

During the later stages, the demand for the product in the local market lowers down and

it is better for the company to adopt the diversification strategy for their product in later

stages. The strategy of market concentration is most probably best when the product is in

the maturity stage as the product is bringing considerable amount of revenues to the

company (Johanson and Vahlne, 2011).

Product Standardization

The quality of the product is one important component of the marketing mix strategy.

The product when meets the standards of quality, then it would be appreciated and

accepted by the customers all over the world and the company would have more

confidence for the strategy of market concentration (Kedia and Chhokar, 2011). There

are various complexities faced by the companies when the product is not meeting actual

standards of the quality. More often the companies adopt the diversification strategy to

know about the demand and preferences of the customers that can enable the company to

offer their customers in the local as well as in the international market (Kogut and Singh,

2011).

Production Process

The production processes if complex and needs a lot of investments then the strategy of

entry to the market would be the market concentration while if there are just fewer

changes to be made in the processes, then the applied strategy would be the

diversification (Kumar and Subramaniam, 2009).

Figure 2.12 showing production processes

http://www.processflowchart.net/

2.6.3 Market Factors Size Of The Target Market

Companies that are more likely operating in the large market segments and having

maximum share of the market are more likely to adopt the concentration strategy for

entering the foreign market while the companies that have been covering the less area of

the target market or covering the smaller segments of the market are more likely to have

the diversification strategy (Lu and Beamish, 2009).

2.7 Dimension of the Market ExpansionAccording to Lu and Hebert, 2010, there had been three identified dimension for choosing the

strategy for expansion of the business which are as follows:

1. international spread

2. international coordination

3. international penetration

International spread is referred to as the number of the countries in which the company has been

having its business operations. It can be any in number. According to Madhok 2010,

international coordination is referred to as the second dimension of the market expansion and it

states about the international activities of the company that are synchronized by the company in

another country. Madsen and Moeschberger (2009) states that the international penetration is the

last dimension of the market expansion which states the difference between the activities and the

rate of turnover from all those activities performed by the company in another country to the

activities and the business operations in the home country.

All these dimensions considered individually or as a whole provide a base for the management

to choose among the decisions for selecting the strategy for international expansion of the

business. The decisions of the management for the strategy are according to the internal

environment that constitute of the business resources and vision of the business and also on the

external factors that constitute of the opportunities and threats (Mawhinney, 2010).

2.5 Need for Internationalization The factors that influence the decision of the company in making the choice for becoming an

international are the organisational environment and the surrounding external environment.

According to Maznah et al, 2010, the reasons behind the expansion of the business on

international level is explained by viewing the rapid increase in the advancement of the

technology, the liberal policies of the government regarding the international trade, the

development of bodies that supports international trade and increase in the competition all

around the globe of the world. The facilities and the advantages that the companies can see at

other places urges the needs for internationalization of the business as the companies today due

to the increasing rate of the global competition has been trying to have the competitive edge over

their rivals and competitors. These facilities that the business concerns see can be the available

facilities for the production of the goods and provision of the services, investment and flow of

capital in certain area and the distribution networks constitute the global dimensions of the

internationalization (Mohammed, 2010). The internationalization of the organisations and their

expansion allow them and provide them with the opportunity to compete globally. Today the

managers are very much aware of these facts and they know the consequences of the global

competition on the business as well, therefore they try their best to get the firm to its desired

level of competition and they are able to manage the affairs and activities of the firm going to be

international (Nakos and Brouthers, 2010).

2.8 International Market Entry ModesThere are various modes of entry to the international market or various different strategies used

by the firms to expand the business. Foreign market is also full of risks and the companies finds

the way to save the business from the adverse affects as the company is expanding the business

for the sake of profit and competitive advantage. So the strategy for the expansion needs to be

choosing carefully and strategically (Pan and Tse, 2011). Every mode has its own pro and cons.

The modes along with their advantages and disadvantages are explained as following:

2.8.1 ExportingThe selling of the goods which are manufactured or produced in one country and sold in another

country refers to exporting. Exporting is of direct and indirect nature.

Figure 2.13 shows exporting as market entry strategy

http://www.exporting.in/

Direct Exporting

In this case, the exporting process is more under the control of the firm which includes

the research of the market, distribution channels in the other country and the collection of

the revenues. The demands of the goods bring potentially higher profits for the firm. It

also come up with the better relation with the markets in the nearby or with the countries

to whom the firm has been supplying goods. It needs higher degree of efficiency and the

firm has to utilize a lot of resources (Ragayah, 2011). This strategy for entering the

market needs higher appreciated products and the firm has to first establish the string

position in the home market. Direct exporting can be effective if the firm uses its own

sales representatives in the market of the other country. The firm can have full support in

the foreign market by having sales and marketing staff in another country that can act as

bridge between the firm and the customers of the foreign market. Root (2009) states that

the firms that have technologically advanced while in some cases, the retailers and the

distributors in the other country purchases the product from the firm where the products

are manufactured and then sale it in their markets which are called the importing

distributors. The company can have the knowledge about the feedback of the customers.

The sales are also greater in the direct marketing. The company can also protect its rights

easily. The disadvantages associated with this strategy are that it is expensive one as the

firm needs lots of resources and also it involves higher degrees of risk. The firm needs

lots of information for installation of the business network in the other country and also

the business takes a long time to establish (Rugman et al, 2009).

Indirect Exporting

In this strategy the firm is not directly involved in the exporting of the goods

manufactured. Despite of that, the firm identifies the intermediaries for the exporting and

all the process of exporting is controlled by the intermediaries (Samiee, 2011).

According to Shane S. 2011, the indirect exporting takes place through the export

companies of trading which identify and locate the partners for trading, management

companies for exporting that take only a kind of product and act on behalf of the seller

but do not take any kind of risk.

Spence (2010) states unpacked products are bought by the export merchants and then sell

the products in their country under their names sanctioned by those merchants to the

products. The advantage of using this channel is that they promote the product in their

location while the disadvantage of the export merchants is that their presence limits the

exporting business of the manufacturer to a greater extent as they have been selling the

same products under their brand name and price (Tallman and Shenkar, 2010).

According to the Treadgold 2009, confirming houses are another type of the indirect

exporting mode of entry to the foreign market. These intermediaries act as middle men,

they get the requirements of the products from their client and then they ask the

manufacturer about the product specification. When the company is able to satisfy the

client with the product as per the requirements of the client, then the confirming house

would become a proper channel for the manufacturer and the business could be

established (Tse et al, 2009). However the disadvantage associated with the confirming

house is that the manufacture is unaware of the situation what the client is going to do

with the product.

The nonconforming houses perform the same function as the confirming houses but the

difference between them is the mode of payment to the manufacturer. The client directly

pays for the product to the manufacturer.

According to the Turnbull 2011, the advantages that the business could have by entering

the international market by the indirect exporting is that the company can have access to

the foreign market in a speedy way, the concentration of the company is on the

production rather than any other strategy of gaining the access, the company with little

financial resources can easily adopt this strategy for entering the foreign market as this

requires a little or no financial investment because most of the expenses are covered by

the international partner, also the company bears a very little of having losses and they

could wind up their operation from the international country, the management of the

business pays attention to their products and their point of focus is not distracted and also

all the processes of exporting the goods are handled by the international partners

(Vanhonacker, 2011).

According to the Walewski and Gibson, 2009, the disadvantages that the firm could have

from the indirect selling of their products in the international market are the almost no

control over the process of exporting and its activities, the company bears great risk of

losing their product identity as it is sold under some other brand name, the company

could have no experience of operating in the international market, the company can lose

the opportunity if the international partner choose a wrong place or market for the

product to be sold and the success in the foreign market could get affected and also the

sales depends upon the interest of the international partner who is acting as the

intermediary (Weinstein, 2011).

From the above discussion, the most suitable strategy for entering the international market is the

direct exporting of the goods and services as most of the business activities would be controlled

the manufacturer himself and he would take keen interest in making the business successful. The

indirect mode proves to beneficial for those who tries to avoid the greater risk of failure in the

international but for achieving the goals of expansion globally, direct exporting is considered to

be a better strategy (Wood and Goolsby, 2011).

2.8.2 Licensing It is said to be the agreement between the manufacturer of the product and a foreign company

that the foreign company can manufacture the product for some specified period of time until the

agreement gets renewal for a specified market under the same brand name as of the real

manufacturer (Yi-Sheng et al, 2009).

Figure 2.14 shows the licensing process

http://stevens.usc.edu/

According to Zafar et al, 2011, the rights of the licensee would be limited. The rights that are

given to the company in the host country are the technology, patents, managerial skills and

trademarks which allow the licensee to manufacture the product saving the efforts of the licensor

to install the unit and manufacture the product in another country. The earning of the company in

case of the licensing is the onetime fee charged for the license by the manufacturer (Ruigrok and

Wagner, 2010).

There is a transfer of the information and the knowledge to the licensee in a considerable amount

so that the licensee can manufacture the product without affecting the brand image built by the

licensor so far in the market (Sethi et al, 2009). The licensee would not abide by the rules and

regulations in the agreement. The licensor has the right to choose the most suitable company for

the agreement and it greatly depends upon the interference of the government of the host

country. The agreement is in accordance with the interests of both the licensee and the licensor

as their mutual cooperation would make the product and the international expansion process

successful (Stopford and Wells, 2010).

Tallman and Lindquist (2010) states that the advantages which leads the company for adopting

this strategy is the easy income charged for the technical expertise and the knowledge about the

services and the products provided to the target market, the manufacturer finds it difficult to

enter the country except following this strategy, there is no involvement of investment of large

capital for entering the foreign market and this is also a low risk strategy (Buckley and Casson,

2009), the future business activities by the manufacturer in that country becomes easier, despite

of restrictions for the foreign investors in the country the company can access the market easily,

political interference and the risk is minimized to greater extent as the licensee carry out all the

business operations and also large number of new companies show interest for getting the

license as this enables them to get the already build business (Caves, 2010).

According to the Corden, 2009, the reasons behind avoiding this strategy for international

expansion of the businesses are the less earnings as compared to the other strategies for entering

the foreign market, loss of control of the licensor over the product quality and the marketing

operations carried out by the licensee, the risk of losing the reputation built by the licensor when

the manufacturer do not have control on the operations of the licensee and the licensor can face

great competition in case the licensee starts selling the product in the market of the licensor

(Dunning, 2010).

2.8.3 FranchisingA type of business in which the other company either manufactures the product or perform the

business activities as of the parent company and provides specific services to the customers. It is

a semi owned business in which the franchisee also pays the fees but the product and the service

is provided under the name of the owner (Dunning, 2011). The owner in this case provides the

franchisee with the most equipment, the initiation materials and the expertise so that the

franchisee is able to conduct the business in more appropriate way. This strategy does not

involve any kind of intellectual information or the trade properties but there is only sharing of

the information so as to enable the franchisee to run the business operations smoothly

(Ghemawat, 2010).

Figure 2.15 showing the process of franchising

http://www.adbunited.com/

The advantages that the company can have by applying this strategy of international business are

the less bearing the political risk, making the expansion of the business immediate, low cost of

expanding the business and selection of the potential partner can build the business by attracting

the financial investors (Ghoshal and Nohria, 2011).

Hanser, (2009) states that this strategy also has some drawbacks as the business partners can

become the competitors of the business in the future, low demand of the franchisees can lead the

company to select the inappropriate partner for the business as the reputation and the image

would be ruined down and franchising needs larger investments of the capital when compared to

the licensing and the exporting mode of expanding the business in the international environment

(Harzing, 2011).

2.8.4 Turnkey Projects The projects in which the business is asked for the provision of a service or the production of a

specified product for the customer are the turnkey projects (Anderson and Gatignon, 2009). It is

more like the exporting as the company exports its product or service to the other country and

enters the market in this way. The companies that have technologically advanced products and

sophisticated ways of performing the tasks can have this strategy for entering the foreign country

for the sake of international expansion of the business (Axinn, 2010).

Figure 2.16 showing the turnkey project process

http://174.123.135.195/uploads05/57/S/IVFLabTurnkeyProjects105763849.jpg

This company has the advantage of manufacturing the product or service to the customer by

itself and the company would take immense care of the product for the successful expansion of

the business in another country as the other companies lack the expertise as like the real

manufacturer of the product or provider of the service (Bradley and Gannon, 2010).

The risk involved in this type of deal is with the sharing of the knowledge and the technology

with the clients and the foreign company can take over the plant or the rights and also through

this mode of entry to the international market can prove to be disadvantageous for the company

if the demand for the product or the service gets increased in the foreign country (Blomstermo et

al, 2009).

2.8.5 Completely Owned Subsidiaries The two distinctive types of the completely owned business are the acquisitions of the

companies and the Greenfield investments by the companies in the other country. This strategy

for owning the business located in some other country also proves to be either beneficial for the

company or comes with potential drawbacks that can affect the business resources (Calof and

Viviers, 2011). The decision regarding the best strategy for owning another business depends

upon the situations as explained earlier in the strategy of market diversification and the strategy

of market concentration.

The construction of a completely new business in another location is said to be the Greenfield

investment by the company that is much costly and a highly complicated and complex process

but in this case the firm has fully control over the overall operations and the activities of the firm

and this strategy can come up with the best possible returns from the target market (Chang and

Rosenzweig, 2009). This type of mostly preferred in the service industry where there is building

of close relationship with the customers and the staff with high expertise and skills are required

in this kind of strategy to give the company maximum benefits. This type of strategy is applied

in which those situations where there are no competitors of the company in that location and the

company can avail the opportunity and have the competitiveness (Chen, 2010).

This strategy comes with greater risk as compared to the previous ones as this strategy involves

greater involvement of the financial and other various company resources as it is completely a

new establishment of the business in a foreign country. There are great deal of information,

knowledge and expertise required for applying this strategy and sometimes the company might

use the services of the consultants or the business partners to know about the situation that

whether this investing expansion would be prove to be profitable for the company or not (Chen

and Hennart, 2010). This mode of entry to the international market is time consuming as the

company has to establish the business from the very beginning and all the operations would take

time to run smoothly and compete with the rivals in that area.

The other mode of the wholly owned business is the acquisition in which already existing

company is owned by the business. This strategy has been now in greater use by the companies

as this strategy allows the company the company to expand the business in another country in a

fastest possible way and also the largest (Chen and Mujtaba, 2011).

The application of this strategy is also increasing as this allows the companies to have the greater

market power and the market share. The companies either buy the competitor or a distributor or

a supplier. This strategy comes up with more market share, competitive advantage over the rivals

and to minimize the adverse affects of the market competition (Chu and Anderson, 2010).

This strategy of entering the international market bears less risk than the Greenfield investment

as the benefits associated with the acquisition are more and the green field investments are less

(Davidson, 2010).

The advantages of the acquisition strategy is due to the difficulty that the management faces

when combining two large firms as there are differences in the systems for control, culture of the

organisations and the relationships among the employees. According to Driscoll and Paliwoda

2010, both the companies has to face the complex issue of integration, also for the acquisition of

the firm, the company needs lots of financing which increases the chances of bankruptcy if they

are not able to perform well in the market and also the acquisition of the diversified companies

can also create lots of management problems for the companies as higher level of diversified

acquisition have negative impacts on the performance of the firms.

2.8.6 Joint Venture This strategy applied to gain access to the international market brings five benefits to the

company that has been trying to expand the business at the international level which is as

follows:

Risk and sharing of rewards

Sharing the technology

Entry to foreign market

Government regulations are conformed

Joint development of the best product

Figure 2.17 showing the joint venture

Ekeledo and Sivakumar, (2011) states the company can have political benefits by having access

to the distribution channels which are dependent upon the better relationships. This strategy

proves to be beneficial when:

Both the strategic goals of both the companies are converged and the competitive goals

are diverged.

Both the companies learn from the better working and the operating skills of one another

for the achievement of better aims to make this strategy beneficial for both the

companies.

The size, market share and the power of the partner to which the company is going to

join its business relations must be small when compared with the leader of the industry.

The issues that need to be considered as really important before following this strategy for

entering the market of another country are the control and pricing factor, transfer of the

technology, capabilities and resources of the local firm with whom the company is going to

combine, ownership and duration of the agreement and intentions of the agreement (Erramilli

and Rao, 2010).

According to the Higzi and Skitmore, 2009, the problems that the company faces when it is

going to join its operations with the other company for expanding the business network to

another country are the following:

Disagreement over the attraction of the new investors.

Proprietary information lacks the trust

Ambiguity over the performance

Termination of the agreement also creates problems

The difference in the culture creates problems for the management to make their

employees adjusted to the new rules and the regulations

The firms is lacking the support of the parent company

The pressures regarding the cooperation and the ability to compete also becomes dominant when

the companies’ use strategy for international expansion (Johanson and Vahlne, 2011). The other

pressures for cooperation and completion are as follows:

Both the firms want to acquire the maximum output for which they have combined their

resources and the operations but both of them are more interested in increasing their own

share and develop their resources.

Despite of becoming the single entity both the firms want to increase their own

competitiveness in the market.

The coordination among the operations and in every business activity is of immense

importance but both the companies are in the interest of having the senior management

control.

2.8.7 Strategic AllianceThese are referred to the cooperative agreements between the different business entities for the

sake of production of new products rather than focusing on and finding ways of distributing the

existing products. This strategy is mostly seen in the highly developed and industrialized nations

of the world and also these agreements are for short durations as the companies combine to bring

something new to the market (Johanson and Vahlne, 2011).

Figure 2.18 showing strategic alliance

http://www.tca.winoc.org/

This strategy is advantageous in the sense when the companies want to exchange the

technological resources. The advantages that the companies get nowadays in this era of extreme

global competition are mainly due the advances in the technology. For this purpose the

companies combine the resources with different firms for performing various operational

activities to sustain the position of bringing the innovative products to the market. The products

for which the companies use this strategy are the pharmaceuticals, electronic equipments,

telecommunication devices, chemicals having specialty and for the purpose of information

technology (Kedia and Chhokar, 2011).

The strategic alliances between the companies have become the most important tool for

competing in the global market where the corporations combine their human and other resources

for bringing something new to the market (Kogut and Singh, 2011).

Both the firms bear the equal risk and they try to minimize the risk to much possible extent as

they can and the cost of the activities are equally shared, therefore it is advantageous for the

smaller firms to share the resources and combine with some other firm to face the competition

and sustain the position in the market and also can have the benefit of the reduction of the cost

due to the economies of the scale. Also the firms that are facing the restrictions of the countries

for the acquisition or the merger, there strategic alliance proves to be the best strategy for

bringing the operational activities of the two firms together (Kumar and Subramaniam, 2009).

Like other modes of entry to the international market, this strategy also has some disadvantages.

The scope of the alliance is limited for both the firms and they face the immense competition

outside that scope of alliance. The strategy of alliance will be equally used by both the

companies to have competitive advantage over the competitors in the market and avert the risk

to their individual businesses as much as they can (Lu and Beamish, 2009). Unbalance is seen

between both the combined companies. The factors behind this unbalance are the following:

The exchange of the technology from one partner to another partner would give the

benefit to the other as this strategy is based on this very fact without knowing that the

former would get the desired benefit or not in exchange.

As the resources are combined, there might be the chance that the strongest partner could

finish off or affect the other company as the smaller resources acquired by it would also

be in the use of that stronger partner.

The sharing of knowledge and the expertise between the companies take place that they

already posses, there might be a chance that one firm that learnt the skills start using it

against the other partner that has aligned with it.

There might be the case of acquiring the firm by another as the knowledge and the skills

are shared between both of them.

The selection of the best entry mode for the companies is a challenging and very difficult task

for the managerial personnel as the future of the business and the results of the foreign

investments largely depends on this strategy. The mode of the entry is defined as the

arrangement of the organisational activities in some other place with high degree of conducting

the transactions of the business. The mode of the entry is selected by viewing the resources of

the company possessed, the industrial and the specific country factors and the interest of the

company (Lu and Hebert, 2010).

2.9 Porter’s Five Forces Model Michael E. Porter in 1979 presented a model, a framework for the analysis of the industry and

the development of a strategy for the business. This model if based on the five basic facts or

points that provides the business to look for the opportunity in the market and determine the

intensity of the competitiveness that a company could by entering a particular market or

targeting a particular market segment. The company or industry can get the profits by entering

that particular market. The combination of these five forces presented by the Micheal E. Porter

is known the Porter’s Five Forces Model. The main points of this model are that the unattractive

industry would bring the company less profits and no profits in case the market so very

unattractive. By combining all the five forces, the company could serve the customers in a better

way that would be profitable for the company and the customers would also have the products

according to their demands and the choices. The combination of these forces differs from market

to market and also the profitability too.

Figure 2.19 showing porter’s five forces model

http://www.zanthus.com/

2.9.1 Threat Due To New Market EntrantsThe business could face the risk due to more entrants in the market where the company is going

to start its business. The more attractive places like the company could be seen as potential by

the other competitors. So there is always a risk that the company can face the problem of the

new competitors entering the same market as the one that has been already allocated by the AK

leather company for expansion of its business activities. The profit in that case would decrease to

minimum amount or nearly zero.

2.9.2 Threat of Substitutes The availability of more products with more similar characteristics make the customers

conscious about choosing a particular product that can fulfil the needs of the customers in a

much better way. The customers in this case would switch to the products of another company if

there is a difference in the prices of the products offered by the AK leather company or the

products are not meeting the standard of quality or the product has been charged high as

compared to the quality or the product lacks the particular design or the features. Therefore,

there is a need for careful investigation for entering the international market. Although this

company has experience and it has been selling its products to the various popular brands, even

then there is greater risk involved which need to be addresses with highly business competitive

and development strategy.

2.9.3 Haggling Power of the Product ConsumersThis is defined as the factors that put the company through various ways under market pressure

and the company has to work hard to get to the point of earning the profit. The company needs

to identify the customers that can serve the purpose of the company for starting the international

operations. The volume of the customers and the winding up of the company’s operation in that

particular place where there is less or nearly no demand also create critical situations for the

company to face. The company needs complete information about the customers where the

company is going to start the business.

2.9.4 Negotiating Power with the SuppliersThe company needs to start its own whole channels for distributing the leather goods or find the

potential and the reputable one that can perform the process of the distribution more effectively.

The company also needs to identify the best suppliers of the raw material that is needed by the

company for performing the business operations. Fixing of the price with all the suppliers or

integrating this function as the business part could also prove to be profitable for the company.

2.9.5 Extent of Market CompetitionThe company has been working in this industry for enough time that it is now able to identify

the competitors that are seriously fatal for the company. Therefore the company needs to have

competitiveness through various marketing and business development strategies like change

management or the innovative management to make the customers attracted towards the

products of the AK leather company. The more alarming the strategy of the company, more the

company would have competitive advantage over its competitors in the leather market.

2.10 Marketing ProcessThe process that is carried out by the company to fulfil the needs of the customers identified

refers to the marketing process. This process is conducted step wise which starts with the

analysis of the situation that is mostly done by the SWOT and PESTLE analysis. The next step

is to identify the best marketing strategy that is cost effective and proves to be profitable which

can be known by the market research and targeting, segmenting and brand positioning. The next

decision is related to the marketing mix that what features in the product can satisfy the customer

by offering it at a certain price with standard quality and also designing the channels for

distributing the products. The last step that is of immense importance is implementing the plan

and controlling the overall process for the delivery of a quality product to the customer. Another

concise model is presented in the figure below.

Figure 2.20 showing marketing process


3.11 Relationship MarketingAn effective model is presented in the figure below that can be used by the companies for

building relationship with the customers.

Figure 2.21 showing relationship through various media


There are various different ways companies approach their customers to have better relationship.

The long term relationship leads to the loyalty. Better understanding of the customers’

preferences and needs, programs for management and building of relationship can be developed

by the marketers. Interaction with the customer gives the marketers an opportunity for

motivating them. The web sources of the companies provide customers and opportunity to know

the products being offered in depth and wherever they click, the marketing intelligence systems

forward the information about what the customer is demanding.

2.11 Conclusion of ChapterThere has been extensive review of all the theories and the practises that the companies mostly

prefer while extending their business network. The company can select any of these strategies

for entering the global market. The most suitable that has been considered as low risky is the

market diversification and retailing or franchising. The company needs to analyse all the factors

that are necessary for entering a competitive business market so that the risk can be averted and

minimised and this depends on the choice of the strategy that seems to be feasible for the

company. This chapter would help the researcher to go through all the strategies of expansion

and would suggest the suitable one after the collection of primary data from employees of the

AK leather company.

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHOLDOGY

3.1 Introduction to ChapterResearch is said to be the process by which the factors are identified and re identified by the

development of the hypothesis, gathering and then analyzing the gathered data and drawing

conclusions. Research is said to be any contribution, further investigation or finding a solution

for the problem or exploring some new idea for the improvement. The research methods that

could be useful for the research completion would be discussed in this chapter in detail along

with the justification of each method and approach. The methodologies stream the path for the

successful collection of the data on the basis of which decision regarding the expansion strategy

would be taken that can fulfil the purpose for conducting the research study (Bradley, 2003).

This study has been conducted with the aim of evaluating the various expansion strategies for

entering the global market and the case of AK Leather Company would be the main focus of the

researcher. This study would find and evaluate which strategy would be considered as more

important and beneficial for the company for entering the global market for competition.

Nowadays companies are becoming more attractive towards expanding their business network

and want to avail the opportunity available in another market. The fierce competition in the

global market has forced the companies to find the better ways for their success and the

expansion of the business so that the business can become more flexible and comes in the global

market where the products of the company are exposed and available to more customers.

Various strategies have been discussed in the literature review and how these strategies can

affect the business has also been stated. Also the focus of this study has been on the various

expansion strategies and the evaluating what strategy could prove to be more promising for the

AK Leather to make the company have success in the international market.

3.2 Aims and Objectives of the Chapter This chapter would reveal the most relevant methods of research so that the researcher

would achieve the aims of the study.

The coherence among the research aims and objectives and the research methods applied

would be shown that how these methods would lead the researcher towards the results.

The methods, tools and techniques would also be explained and justification would be

given for the suitable strategy applied.

The researcher would gain knowledge on how to apply the research methodologies so as

to bring the solutions to the situations in an effective manner.

What methods can be used so that the researcher becomes able to suggest the strategy of

expansion for the AK leather company?

3.3 Approaches for ResearchThe approaches used make identify the path for the accomplishment of the research study.

Explaining the most appropriate one would make the researcher achieve the aims of the study.

The two most distinctive types of research approaches used in the research studies are the

following:

3.3.1 Quantitative ResearchCrowther, and Lancaster, (2008) states that the researcher in this study for the derivation of the

effective results, analyze the numerical data which is most probably obtained through the close

ended questionnaires used in the surveys. The effectiveness of the results and the collected data

depends upon the appropriate sample and the sample size. The feedbacks obtained from the

sample in this approach are applied to the whole population.

3.3.2 Qualitative ResearchAccording to Crowther, and Lancaster, 2008, the research study in which the derivation of the

results takes place through the analyses of the categorical data is known as the qualitative

research. The most commonly used tools for the collection of effective data for accomplishment

of research objectives are the interviews and reviews of the secondary data. There is no

involvement of the numerical data. In this case, the researcher deeply studies the main aspects of

the interest area to understand the situation well and analyze the effects of the main variables of

interest.

Deductive Approach

Chatman (2001) states that the theories in general are analyzed and the results are

concluded on the basis of those theories. The results are limited by the researcher for the

completion and the achievement of the particular task for which this study has been

conducted.

Inductive Approach

This approach is the contrary approach of the deductive in which the researcher develops

theory on the basis of particular facts and analyses of certain situations (Fidel, 2004).

Selection of the methods and their justification

The proposed methods that would help the researcher in the successful interpretation of the

research results would be both quantitative and qualitative methods of collecting the meaningful

data. In order to have the more effective data for knowing what strategy could be beneficial for

the company in case it starts its operations all over the world. The qualitative data would help the

researcher to know about the effective strategies that small and medium sized companies apply

when they have the intentions for entering the international market. The quantitative data would

be more beneficial for knowing what strategy would be more appropriate in case of AK Leather

Company to have success in the international business. The approach that seems to be more

relating to this study is the deductive approach in which the researcher would analyze all the

strategies and would propose the effective one for the AK Leather Company.

3.4 Research Strategy There are various different types of research strategies that are used by the researchers while

investigating some important issue or to find solution to a very important problem or to give the

world something very new and innovative in nature to them. According to Glazier and Jack

2002, the research strategy determines the course and the path that the research would follow to

investigate the main issues of the interest and concern for the researcher. These strategies bring

convenience and ease to the researcher so that the researcher can effectively achieve of the

study. The researcher always selects that type of the strategy that seems to be most suitable to

him for the accomplishment of the research aims and objectives. The strategy applied by the

researcher defines the plan on how the research study would be conducted effectively so that it

can generate the best possible results. Following are the strategies that are used by the

researchers according with the appropriateness of the research title and the objectives:

1. Experiments

2. Grounded theory

3. Cross sectional and the longitudinal research strategies

4. Survey

5. Case studies

6. Ethnography

7. Descriptive, explanatory and the exploratory researches

8. Action research

Justification and the Selection of the Research Strategy

There would be a combination of the research strategies used by the researcher in this study as

the researcher is more interested towards the generation of the effective and the acceptable

results that can serve various purposes. The strategies are the survey, exploratory research

design, and the case study. The researcher has been using the fore mentioned strategies

altogether as this study is a case study and the researcher also wants to explore the strategies that

are used by the companies for the expansion of the business network. The researcher would

suggest the best strategy for the AK Leather Company through the collection of the data from

the respondents that would be possible through the survey only.

3.5 Methods and TechniquesGrover et al (2005) states that the methods and techniques are meant for the collection of the

data that makes the research study reach its end results and the research becomes able to draw a

conclusion on the gathered data. If the researcher collects the appropriate data from the useful

sources, the study would come up with the beneficial results.

The extensively used methods of collecting the data are the following:

3.5.1 Primary Data CollectionCollection of the data regarding the research study and to achieve the objectives is the primary

data by using the research tools (Mellon and Constance, 2001). The researcher on the basis of

the secondary data and his personal observations generate certain aims and objectives and for

this purpose the data is collected from the respondents to synthesize the recipe for the proposed

study. The results and the conclusions are mostly based on the primary data.

The tools and the techniques that are used for the collection of the data from the respondents are

the interviews, questionnaires, surveys and observations. The advantages associated with the

primary data collection are the control over the collection of the information and the

development of data collection skills.

3.5.2 Secondary Data CollectionThe research data that is collected from the sources which contains the studies and the researches

done by the various researchers regarding the expansion strategies would be referred as the

secondary data. This data would enable the researcher to have in depth knowledge about the

strategies that various companies apply while establishing business in the foreign countries and

thinking of reaching more potential markets for having profits and position in the market. The

sources that would be consulted while the collection of the secondary of the data are the

magazines, research articles, libraries and web sources.

In this study both the primary and the secondary methods of collection for drawing the results

and knowing the exact strategy for the expansion of the AK leather company would be used that

would prove to be beneficial for the company and also the researcher would have insight into the

company policies and the profitability that would make him suggest the best possible strategy

for the expansion into the global business environment.

3.6 Research DesignThe research designs that are mostly used by the researchers in research studies are of three

types. Morgan et al, (2000) states that the strategies that are used by the researchers in

completing their studies some of them are related to the inductive approach while some of them

support the deductive approaches. The three research designs are as follows:

3.6.1 Exploratory Research In this design, the researcher is more concerned about the exploration of some issue or problem

in the proposed study and he researcher would study the case in more detail so that he researches

the more appropriate result and the researcher thinks of not having the complete or sufficient

information to suggest the solution for the study (Sutton and Brett, 2003).

3.6.2 Explanatory ResearchHere the researcher is more concerned with the explanation and more justification of the

research case where there is not enough or useful information given or the researcher is

interested in adding something new to the already existing data and the research studies (Sutton

and Brett, 2003).

3.6.3 Descriptive StudyThe descriptive study uses his experiences and various other aspects to explain the present case

in the research study. The present cases are more dependent on the skills and the experiences of

the researcher (Sutton and Brett, 2003).

Selection and Justification of the Research Design

In the proposed research study, the exploratory research design would be used as the researcher

is interested in finding and exploring the best possible strategy for the AK Leather Company so

that the company can start its operations in international market. The strategies would be

explored and the researcher would evaluate the beneficial for the company.

3.7 Sampling Technique and the Sample Size The sampling technique that would be used by the researcher in this study would be the non

probability purposive sampling. This type of sampling technique would enable the researcher to

gather the data from those respondents that could serve the purpose of this research study.

According to Westbrook and Lynn, 2002, this sampling technique is used when the researcher

have less number of the respondents and the researcher thinks that there would less available

experts in providing him the data regarding the expansion of the companies. In this case, the

sample selection is merely by the researcher and he selects those respondents that seem to be

most appropriate for this study. Therefore this sampling technique seems to be suitable for the

completion of the research study and the achievement of the research aims and objectives.

The sample size that is selected for this study by the researcher is the 30 from whom the primary

data would be collected and the researcher on the basis of the data collected from that sample

would present the results. The respondents from whom the data will be collected for this study

would be 30 and these respondents would be from the different departments belonging to

different age groups between 30 and 50 years of the AK leather company. The departments from

which the respondents would belong would be finance department, human resources department

and the operational department and some of the respondents would be from the top level

management of the company.

3.8 Research Ethics The code of conducting research studies would be followed properly and the researcher would

have complete interest in the beneficial and more precise results. The data would be collected

from the respondents that would serve to make this study complete effectively. Also the

respondents would have the choice of responding to the questions or not. The time for asking

questions would be according to the proper schedule and the time provided by the researcher.

The data would serve the academic purpose only and the replies would be kept secret. The

researcher would also conduct the whole study by himself and would not copy the content from

any source directly.

3.9 Data AnalysisData would be collected from the respondents by conducting structured interviews and preparing

questionnaires for recording the answers. Primary data would be collected from the employees

of the AK leather company. The collected data would be then analysed by using different tools

of the data analysis and the researcher would also draw the results on the basis of that data

analysis. Researchers select and apply the analysis tools that can check the research instrument

and also the data for research conclusion and the achievement of the research aims and

objectives. The validity and the reliability of the research instrument would be checked through

SPSS software. The qualitative data would be analysed by the researcher himself and he would

draw the results after successfully conducting the survey.

3.10 Chapter OverviewThe researcher would chose both the qualitative and the quantitative methods of research and

some of the data would quantifiable while some of it would be used by the researcher to make

his own justifications and conclusions. The underlying approach in this study is the deductive

approach and the researcher of this study is exploratory in nature. The primary data would be

collected from the staff of the AK leather company while the secondary data would contain the

data extracted from the secondary sources like journals, web contents, magazines, articles and

the newspapers. The researcher would also follow the research code of conduct. The researcher

has tried to make the study more interesting and useful for him and also for the further

researchers by using the most effective techniques and the procedures of making studies

accomplish the research purpose.

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS

4.1 Chapter introductionData analysis chapter represents the findings of the researcher by the use of the research

instrument that was questionnaire in this study consisted of both qualitative and quantitative

questions. The research behind using both open and close ended questions was that the

researcher was interested in knowing the various different strategies used by the companies and

the questions can lead the researcher towards the best possible strategy for the AK Leather

Company so that the company can think for the expansion of the business network to the foreign

country and can avail the opportunity to earn maximum profits. The figures, tables and the

graphs will be used to present the collected data from the respondents beneficial for obtaining

the effective data. The aims and objectives will also be stated before stating obtained results

from the survey data. The data was collected from the employees of the AK leather company

who have been performing various activities in the company in various different departments

like production, marketing, designing, finance and human resource department. Senior level

management also took part in this survey.

4.2 Objectives of the chapter The basic objective that the researcher wants to achieve through this study is to have knowledge

about the current strategies of international expansion. The researcher then evaluates all the

strategies that what strategies are most beneficial for the companies and what the pros and cons

associated with the strategies of the international expansion. The check whether the research

instrument can provide the researcher help to suggest the best strategy for expanding its business

activities to the global market where it can face various competitive rivalry to compete with and

make strategies for the survival. The data obtained would also be presented and the researcher

would make conclusions in the next chapter dependent on this data analysis. The respondents

will be questioned so that the researcher might become aware of the strategy that the company

might be thinking of applying while extending its operation in the international market.

4.3 Characteristics of AK Leather Company Employees The employees from whom the researcher collected the data for the sake of deciding which

strategy could prove to be very suitable for the company were 30 in number that belonged to

different departments of the AK leather company. The researcher selected those respondents

which were readily available and the researcher thought them to be of great help in suggesting

the best strategy of company expansion to international market. The questionnaire comprised of

both qualitative and quantitative questions that would lead the researcher towards the generation

of the more accurate suggestions.

The total respondents were 30; the data regarding the division of the respondents of different age

groups is shown in the table and the figure below:

Table 4.1 showing respondents belonging to different age groups

Age of the Respondents

Frequency PercentValid

PercentCumulative

PercentValid 30-35 3 10 10 10

36-40 9 30 30 4041-45 12 40 40 8046-50 6 20 20 100Total 30 100 100

The respondents having different ages have different views and ideas of the company’s

performance and they thought of various different views that can improve the company thinking

about the expansion in the international market. The researcher has divided the ages of the

respondents into various groups though in order to have better understanding about the strategies

being answered by them. The age groups were the 30-35, 36-40, 41-45, 46-50 and the

respondents lying in these groups are the 3, 9, 12 and 6 respondents respectively. According to

the researcher, the selection of such respondents with the above mentioned age groups would

lead the researcher to more specific results.

Graph 4.1 presenting the data regarding respondents’ age

10%

30%

40%

20%

4.1 Age of the Respondents30-35 36-40 41-45 46-50

The respondents were also split by the researcher according their levels of management as

approaches of the employees that are performing their operational activities within an

organisation also differ in their views. Below are the table and the graph that would illustrate the

data regarding the levels to which the respondents belonged.

Table 4.2 showing the employment level

Employment LevelFrequenc

y PercentValid

PercentCumulative

PercentValid Top Level Management 9 30 30 30

Middle Management Level 12 40 40 70Lower Management Level 9 30 30 100Total 30 100 100

Graph 4.2 presents the data regarding respondents’ employment level

30%

40%

30%

4.2 Employment Leveltop level management middle management level Lower management Level

The table and the figure above shows that the respondents of this survey belonged to three

different levels of the management, the number of respondents 9, 12 and 9 belonged to the three

levels are the top management, middle level of management and the lower level of the

company’s management respectively.

The respondents from whom the questions were asked by the researcher were working in the AK

leather company with different durations of their job. The options given by the researcher were 1

year, 2-3, 4-5 and more than 5 years and the respondents falling in those categories were 6, 12, 9

and 3 respectively. The employees working with more time in the company would have better

idea about the company operations and would be aware of the situation that would prove to be

beneficial for the company for expanding its business network.

Table 4.3 showing the tenure of the employment

Employment TenureFrequenc

y PercentValid

PercentCumulative

PercentValid 1 Year 6 20 20 20

2-3 Years 12 40 40 604-5 Years 9 30 30 90More Than 5 Years 3 10 10 100Total 30 100 100

Graph 4.3 showing the tenure of the employment

20%

40%

30%

10%

4.3 employment tenure1 year 2-3 years 4-5 years more than 5 years

The table and the figure below present the data regarding the international business of the

company. The respondents were asked about whether the company is involved in the

international business or not. 80 % respondents gave the positive response that the company has

been doing business internationally while 20 % of them responded that the company has been

doing business in domestic market. The researcher has been trying to ask the respondents more

in depth questions so that the researcher can have better idea about what the employees of the

company have been thinking about extension of the leather business.

Table 4.4 showing that whether the company has been doing business in the international

market

International Trade


PercentCumulative

PercentValid Yes 24 80 80 80

No 6 20 20 100Total 30 100 100

Graph 4.4 presents the company has been doing business in the international market

80%

20%

4.4 international tradeyes no

According to the data, 21 respondents replied that the company is involved in selling finished

goods to the other brands in the international market, 6 out of 30 respondents said that the mode

of business of AK leather company in the international market is exporting while only 3

respondents replied in favour of the direct selling of the leather goods in the international

market. The strategy of selling products to other international brands seems to be more in use by

the company. The data is shown in the table and chart below.

Table 4.5 showing the modes of business of AK Leather Company in global market

Mode of international business


PercentCumulative

PercentValid Exporting 6 20 20 20 direct selling 3 10 10 30

selling goods to other brands 21 70 70 100

Total 30 100 100

Graph 4.5 presents the modes of business of AK Leather Company in global market

20%

10%

70%

4.5 mode of international businessexporting direct sellingselling goods to other brands

The source of income of the AK leather company is more from the business in the international

market that is by selling products to international brands, although the company has been doing

business in the domestic as well and both have been the sources from where the company has

been generating revenues. The respondents that favoured the international market, domestic

market and both the markets were 9, 6 and 15 respectively. The data regarding the source of

income of the AK leather company has been shown in the table and the chart below.

Table 4.6 showing the source of income of the AK leather

Income Source

Frequenc

y PercentValid

PercentCumulative

PercentValid International Business 9 30 30 30 Local Market 6 20 20 50 Both Of The Above 15 50 50 100 Total 30 100 100

Graph 4.6 presents the source of income of the AK leather

30%

20%

50%

4.6 source of incomeinternational business local market both of the above

All the goods that are manufactured by the AK leather company are sold in the domestic market

but the data shows that there is great demand for shoes in the domestic market as compared to

the jackets, leather bags and wallets. More respondents favoured the sale of the shoes in the

domestic market according to the questionnaire.

Table 4.7 showing the products of AK Leather Company sold in the domestic market

Local Market Products


PercentCumulative

PercentValid Shoes 18 60 60 60 Leather Bags & Wallets 6 20 20 80 Jackets 6 20 20 100 Total 30 100 100

Chart 4.7 showing the products of AK Leather Company sold in the domestic market

60%20%

20%

4.7 local market productsshoes leather bags & wallets jackets

While in case of international market, AK leather has been having greater demands for jackets as

compared to shoes and leather bags and wallets according to the responses of the company

employees which are 12, 9 and 9 respectively.

Table 4.8 showing products of AK leather sold in the international market

International Market Products

Frequenc

y PercentValid

PercentCumulative

PercentValid Shoes 9 30 30 30 Leather Bags & Wallets 9 30 30 60 Jackets 12 40 40 100 Total 30 100 100

Chart 4.8 presents products of AK leather sold in the international market

30%

30%

40%

4.8 interntaional market productsshoes leather bags & wallets jackets

80% of the survey respondents said that the company has been selling the finished leather goods

by the name of the AK leather both in the local and the international market while only 20% of

them came up with the view that AK leather has been selling its goods by its own name. The

data is presented by the table and the chart below.

4.4 Strategies by Turkish Leather Companies According to the responses, strategies that are more often applied by the Turkish leather

companies for expanding their business network and entering the competitive environment is the

exporting and retail outlets. Numerous companies have been doing a very good business by

opening retail outlets as this strategy does not cost the leather companies much and the

companies can also sell their products with the brand name of the company as well. The retail

outlets also enable the marketing and top level management about the demand of the specific

area customers and the company representatives are exposed to much broader view of the target

market and the potential of that market in generating the revenues for the companies. The

exporting strategy is also a low risk strategy in which the importing company makes all the

investment and carries out all the operations related to the sale and supply of the leather goods to

the final consumers of the products. There have been various other strategies that are applied by

the companies but the strategy for expansion to global market depends on the size and the

availability of the resources to the company as well. The company having sufficient resources

can also go for the acquisition, a turkey project or joint venture. But as far as the resources and

the calculation of the risk, AK Leather Company is not in the position to bear such risk and to go

for these strategies.

4.5 Strategies That Can Prove To Be EffectiveThe company is already involved in the exporting business and have idea about the market and

the preferences of the markets to the areas to which the company have been providing goods for

a long time. Also the company is aware of the demands of the brands to which the company has

been selling its finished leather goods and this has also provided the company with sufficient

information regarding the worth and the demand of their products particularly. Some companies

start their business in the international market by franchising. The franchising is also a better and

low risk strategy that is applied by most of the leather companies in the turkey for international

expansion.

Some of the respondents were of the view that the installation of the new business is costly and

needs lot of funds but this would also increase the profitability and the competitiveness of the

company in the market. Where there is greater risk, the return on that investment is also greater

and the company if applies the tactics of proper management and utilise the information

regarding the target market would bring numerous profits to the company.

As a whole more respondents were in the favour of the entry to the market at small level and

they were supporting the strategy of market diversification strategy like franchising and

retailing. This strategy for the international expansion is beneficial for the company in order to

have the maximum returns from the investments in another country and also this strategy needs

less utilization of the resources while making their products and goods available to the

customers and the potential markets. The risks and the investments of the company are also

diversified over various business units and types and also the business become flexible to all the

market threats, these are the advantages associated with this strategy. This strategy is beneficial

in the sense that the company if incurring losses or minimum output from investments in one

country or region, then the company can have the compensation in the outputs and the returns if

it has invested in various other regions. The company can maintain and stabilize the earnings on

a regular basis by applying this strategy. The extent of the competition seems to vary in less

competitive countries and the profits earned in the market as compared to those where the extent

of competition is greater.

4.6 Allocation of Resources for International ExpansionThe resources that are needed by every business concern are the financial resources, human

resources and the materials and equipments that are used in the production processes of the

company. The companies having abundant resources and utilize the resources in bulk to having

competitiveness in the market and to attract and grab more area and market share. Also the

resources available to the company can enable it to diversify the risk and achieve sustainable

position in the market. More respondents are of the view that the AK leather company have the

human resources that have proved to be effective enough for the company. The financial

resources are also sufficient according to the strategy suggested by the majority of the employees

that participated in the survey interview and filled the questionnaire. According to their view and

opinions, the company can manage all the other resources if the company is having enough

financial resources for the arrangement of all other resources necessary for starting the business

operations and also the human resources with specialized skills and expertise could implement

the company strategies in more effective manner. There is also need for the better management

of information systems that are needed by the company for the knowledge about the customers

and the market situation for the better management of the company operations and the strategic

plans. More responses were regarding the allocation of the financial and human resources and

some of them were supporting the idea of the information systems.

Below table and the chart explains and presents that whether the company have the resources

that it can enter the international market and expose its product range to broader area of the

market. As the company have been involved in the exporting business, therefore it already has

the resources that have enabled the company to make their product available to the more

segments of the international market. Majority of the respondents came up with the answer that

the company have resources for internationalization of the operations of the AK leather company

while there were few of them that were opposite to the international expansion of the business

network of the AK leather company. Those were in favour of the global expansion of company

operation were 18 in number while 12 respondents said that the company need not to expand the

business to international market as the company do not have enough resources.

Table 4.10 shows that the company have resources for international expansion

Resources For International Expansion


PercentCumulative

PercentValid Yes 18 60 60 60 No 12 40 40 100 Total 30 100 100

Chart 4.10 shows that the company have resources for international expansion

60%

40%

4.10 does the company have re-sources for international expansion

yes no

The products in the international market are not sold that much easily as there are many other

competitors in the market and the company has to give exactly what the customers can like.

According to the employees’ responses, the products of the AK leather company have the

potential to compete in the international market. 18 respondents were in the favour while the

remaining 12 % said that the company products are not of that much export quality.

Table 4.11 shows the responses regarding potential in the products of AK Leather

Company

Potential In The Products Of AK Leather

Frequenc

y PercentValid

PercentCumulative

PercentValid Yes 18 60 60 60

No 12 40 40 100 Total 30 100 100

Chart 4.11 shows the responses regarding potential in the products of AK Leather

Company

60%

40%

4.11 does the products of AK leather has the potential to survive in global

market?yes no

The respondents of the AK leather company said that their products are more sold to the

companies and the middlemen as they have been involved in the exporting business and a little

of them are sold to the customers.

Table 4.12 shows the buyers of the AK leather company products

Actual Buyers Of The AK

Leather Products


PercentCumulative

PercentValid Customers 6 20 20 20

Company 12 40 40 60 Middlemen 12 40 40 100 Total 30 100 100

Chart 4.12 shows the buyers of the AK leather company products

20%

40%

40%

4.12 buyers of the productscustomers company middlemen

The companies have different choices to select from the strategies for expanding the businesses

globally; there are many factors that affect the choice of the company. Factors that affect the

choice of the most are the market factors. Other factors affect too but according to the

respondents, the AK leather company choice would be more affected by the market factors.

Table 4.13 shows influencing the choice of the strategy for expansion

Factors That Influence The Choice Of Expansion

Strategy


PercentCumulative

PercentValid Company Factors 6 20 20 20

Market Factors 12 40 40 60 Product Factors 9 30 30 90 Marketing Factors 3 10 10 100 Total 30 100 100

Chart 4.13 shows influencing the choice of the strategy for expansion

20%

40%

30%

10%

4.13 factors that influence the choice of the compnay for international

expansioncompany factors market factors product factors marketing factors

4.7 Selected Strategy for International ExpansionThe strategy that has been selected for the international expansion by most of the respondents is

the strategy for retail business. All of the respondents were of the view that the company do not

have enough resources to enter in the international market with extreme utilization of the

resources and with better marketing strategies. Therefore the company was suggested to open the

retail outlets of the AK leather company in some main areas of the other market and focus on the

needs and the preferences of the customers. The response of the customers would drive the

company towards more successful strategies for international expansion.

4.8 Validity of the QuestionnaireN %

Cases Valid 30 100.0 Excluded(a) 0 .0

Total 30 100.0

Table 4.14 showing case processing summary

The validity of the questionnaire has been shown by the figures in the table above which proves

that the instrument was valid enough to bring the more accurate results for the researcher to

conclude and prove the be effective for data collection. The results are showing that the

questionnaire is valid enough to obtain the valid data. The study can be further conducted with

the help of this instrument. The data is then transformed into more generalized form for

convenience and easy handling efficiently.

4.9 FindingsThe findings from the survey revealed that the respondents who were the employees of the AK

Leather Company belonged to different ages and they were had different perceptions about the

expansion of the company. The company had been doing most the business although in the

international market but the products are sold through third party that is an importer or brand of

a company. The company has already been operating in the international market but not directly.

According to the respondents, there has been a difference in the strategies applied by the

companies as all the companies cannot apply the same strategy. The researcher found that the

strategies are influenced by the product, market, and company factors and the companies need a

great deal of information and analysis of all the factors. The advantages and the disadvantages

that have been associated with all the strategies are due to the wrong decisions taken by the

management as appropriate use of the information. There is greater demand for the products of

the company in the international market as compared to the local market and the company has

experience in operating in the international, so it can handle the tasks but the company wants to

apply such strategy that bears no very minimal risk and most of the employees were in the

favour of the retail outlets.

4.10 Opposing Ideas The data that has been gathered from the employees is showing that the company needs to enter

the international market with low risk strategy and also with minimum utilization of the

company resources. But this is not the case as there is always greater risk involved when the

company enters another market in another country. The company has been doing business at a

small level in various markets of the company and has been selling products to various brands.

However if the company starts its own business in another country with its own name, it would

prove to be beneficial as the company is aware of what it has been selling and what is the

demand and the expectations of the customers. Greater risk always comes up with greater

benefits and the products. The success and the failure of the strategy depends upon the plan the

strategy being applied by the company. Also there is a great deal of analysis of the factors that

can influence the strategy of the company as a little mistake in the selection of the strategy and

the implementation of the plan can make the opportunity wasted and the company would also

incur resource losses.

4.11 Chapter Overview and ConclusionThis chapter included the data that has been obtained from the respondents and the research

findings of the survey. The interview responses have also been presented by percentages of the

answers that how many supported the answers and how many respondents were against. The

answers to the qualitative questions were briefly explained as a summary of the replies and were

also explained as supporting and non supporting respondents. The respondents were also asked

about the status of the company and its reputation and the resources available with the company

so that the researcher can reach the accurate decision. The strategy which was supported by most

of the respondents was starting retail stores in various different resources for the international

exposure and expansion of the business to avail the opportunities in the market.

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION

5.1 Introduction to chapter This chapter would present the conclusion obtained from this study by the researcher. The

conclusion would show that how much the researcher has been successful in reaching the desired

results and how much aims and objectives the researcher have achieved through this study. All

the work that has been done in this study would also be summarized and the researcher would

interpret the conclusion from the obtained results through SPSS, observations and the research

instrument that was the interview with the employees of the AK leather company in which the

researcher used a structured questionnaire for his convenience and obtaining the data in a better

way. The aim of the study was to evaluate the strategies of international expansion applied by

the business concerns and then to formulate and suggest the strategy for the company so that the

company can have successful entry into the international market. The methodologies that have

been applied by the researcher would also be highlighted in this very section of the dissertation.

The researcher would also explain the interpretation of the knowledge that has been obtained

through this topic and the dissertation according to the organisational point of view. The

complied and the assessed data that has been collected through the research instrument would

also be presented in this chapter in a summarized form.

5.2 Research Aims and Objectives1. Knowledge about the various strategies of expansion that are used by the companies for

entering the international market and also extending the network of the business.

2. To know how these strategies are applied by the business concerns.

3. To have idea about the factors need to be concerned when deciding for the strategy that

would be appropriate for the business.

4. To analyse how the factors affect the strategy chosen by the company.

5. To know what could be the impact of the strategy on the company.

6. To analyse the position of the company for expansion to the international market.

7. To know whether the strategies for expansion proves to be profitable or vulnerable for

the companies.

8. To view all the strategies as a case for the AK leather company.

9. The researcher would come to know about the various expansion strategies.

10. The researcher would also analyze the market for leather goods in the local country as

well as in the other countries.

11. The corporate strategy of the AK Leather Company would also be analyzed so as to

know the vision of the company and whether the company has enough resources to

achieve the vision of the company.

12. The data would be collected from the respondents of the company that what strategy

could prove to be beneficial for the company.

13. The researcher would have more insight into the expansion strategies adopted by the

companies and would have more knowledge about the internationalization.

5.3 Aims and Objectives of the Chapter The conclusion of the all the study would be presented in this chapter.

The chapter would also show what different strategies companies apply when they enter

another foreign market.

In a summarised way, the results of the collected data would also be presented.

To interpret what is the financial position of the company and what expansion has been

chosen and what are the reasons that the proposed strategy would bring more revenues

for the company.

5.4 Conclusion Due to the globalization, firms and the markets are becoming closer and competitive enough to

have maximum exposure to the target markets. The firms becoming international business entity

needs much effort and more sophisticated strategies as this strategy have numerous benefits and

also contain severe risks to the business. The factors that have been urging the need for the

business expansion and the international trade are the globalized competition among the firms

operating in the market at international level, availing the opportunities, diversifying the

business network and leading the race of greater market share. The companies were not that

much interested in starting their business in other countries as the internationalization have been

a very risky strategy.

There are various different kinds of strategies applied by the companies in order to expand their

business activities in various different regions. The reasons behind the expansion of the firm are

to avail the opportunities for company growth, the problems in the domestic markets can be

minimized by investing in some other market, To explore more opportunities of growth by

starting business in the other regions or countries and to influence the competitive advantage in

the domestic market.

International expansion has been considered as the risk averting strategy for the businesses as the

businesses find the various opportunities in the market so that the company can explore various

ways for reaching the most potential markets as this is becoming necessary for the company’s

success, its life, its market share and the turnover on the investments and the market reputation.

There are varieties of expansion strategies that are being applied by the companies operating at

different levels. Some are the multinationals having large business networks, some of the

company’s domestic huge businesses while some of those are the small or medium type of the

organisation. The internationalization of firms has been bringing such benefits to the business

concerns therefore they have searching for the best possible strategy that can suit the firms

operations. Although there numerous benefits as well threats to the businesses when they enter

another market. Some of the business entities are that much stronger that although they incur

some loss but their reputation never gets affected by the success or failure of the business in

another market that seems to be potential for the company.

Different strategies have been analyzed that are applied by the business concerns when they

enter the market in another country. Those are the diversification, market concentration,

acquisition, joint venture, merger, franchising, turnkey projects, strategic alliance, completely

owned subsidiaries, exporting, licensing and the selection of one of these strategies is dependent

on various factors like the market factors, company factors and the product factors, export

stimuli and the internal and external barriers of trade with the international countries and also the

involvement of the regulatory authorities and the government policies. All these strategies bring

some benefits and harmful effects too on the company earning, profitability and the reputation.

Therefore, it needs careful study of the all the factors that have been mentioned earlier for the

selection of the strategy for entry to the international market.

It has been concluded through the research strategies applied by the researcher that the most

appropriate and suitable strategy for the AK leather company is to go for the retail outlets in the

most advantageous locations. All the dimensions for the entering the international market

considered individually or as a whole provide a base for the management to choose among the

decisions for selecting the strategy for international expansion of the business. The decisions of

the management for the strategy are according to the internal environment that constitute of the

business resources and vision of the business and also on the external factors that constitute of

the opportunities and threats. The selection of the best entry mode for the companies is a

challenging and very difficult task for the managerial personnel as the future of the business and

the results of the foreign investments largely depends on this strategy. The mode of the entry is

defined as the arrangement of the organisational activities in some other place with high degree

of conducting the transactions of the business. The mode of the entry is selected by viewing the

resources of the company possessed, the industrial and the specific country factors and the

interest of the company.

CHAPTER SIX

RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1 Introduction of ChapterThe researcher in this chapter would present some recommendations that would act as

suggestions based on the research findings through the secondary and the primary collected data

from various research sources and the employees of the AK leather company through the

structured interviews. The recommendations would also reflect the knowledge of the researcher

that has been gained by conducting this study on the evaluation of the expansion strategies.

These recommendations would prove helpful for the company to gain more insight into the

factors that can affect the expansion strategy of the company.

6.2 Aims of Chapter The provision of the recommendations those are logical and applicable.

The company can be assisted in terms of its choice of company expansion strategy.

To assist company how the company can avail the growth opportunities made available

by the globalisation and the internationalisation.

To let the company know what competitive advantages it can gain over the rivals in the

market by entering the international market with this strategy.

6.3 RecommendationsThe AK leather company has been aiming towards the international expansion of the company

so that the company can have built and extend the business network. Following are the

recommendations by the researcher for the AK leather company regarding the choice and the

success of the business in the international market. It is not easy for a company to enter a most

challenging environment of the business world of UK that most of the world business markets

are located there. There the company needs a best location in the UK where it can sell its

products having less fear of the market competitors and also better response from the customers.

Although London is the most expensive market where all the companies and products are

brought here and the customers have the most satisfying products with standardised quality. The

location that can beneficial for the company is the market of London where the company can

expose its products to a large number of products, also the advantage that the company would

have would be by selling the quality products at relatively lower price than the others. Nowadays

the customers have become very much conscious as they have approach to more markets and

products due to the globalisation and the companies in order to gain competitive advantage and

to gain customer attraction try various strategies. Through the analysis of the various expansion

strategies and the primary data collected from the survey participants, it has been concluded that

the retail stores would be a better strategy for the company but the problem now lies with how

the strategy can be applied and the company can achieve the goals for which they have been

expanding its business network. Also the company needs to start the business the outlets in

various locations in the London where it can target people from every class and the company

would see the response. The company has been also in favour of the diversification strategy so

that the risk faced by the company for lower customer attraction or the competitors can be

minimised of diversified by the starting the business not only in the potential market of the

London but also in some other locations. In the very beginning of entering the market of UK and

London, for maximum exposure, low risk, greater customer attraction, better customer

relationship, there are few recommendations for the company which would make the company

achieve the desired goal of expanding its business to the international market of UK and to have

better results by applying following these recommendations by the researcher:

1. To have better knowledge about the market where the company has been starting

business so that the needs of the customers can be fulfilled in a much better way as

customer satisfaction is the very first priority of all the business concerns. The entire

business operations are dependent on the market factors in which the customers play the

most important role. There is a need for influencing the attitudes of the customers

towards the purchase decisions of the products by the customers. The needs of the

customer cumulatively become as the demand of the market. None of the business

concerns can start any business without knowing what the customer wants and is there

any opportunity available in the market. Businesses become aware about the

opportunities by knowledge about the market. The market factors are related to the

segmentation of the market and the targeting of the specific market customers and their

preferences. Expanding the business to some other country faces various different kinds

of risks that can be cultural, political, environmental and social risks. The level of the

management that can bear and diverse the risk factors in the market decides what strategy

would suit the company. The elements of risk can only be avoided when the company

follow all the rules for the intelligent business decisions and business solutions. The

market factors of the UK and specifically influenced by the latest trends in the market. If

the company becomes aware of the latest needs of the UK market, then it would become

possible for the company to quote the needs of the customers and what factors the

company should focus on so that the company profitability or the reputation might not

get affected. There is also a need for the better knowledge about the market factors that

would let the company have advantage from the better management of the company

resources that includes the financial and the human resources. The company needs to

focus on the environmental factors as very reputable companies have been criticised by

the competitors and the rivals for violating the environmental policies. The

manufacturing of the leather goods need a lot of consideration as it has a very bad smell.

The company need to create and provide such an image that reflects the intentions of the

customers by attracting them towards their products. For this purpose, the social factors

also play an important role and the company built a position of supporting the charities

with considerable amount of funding. The market and the customers in the UK market

are more influenced by the social factors; therefore there is a greater need for the careful

promotional strategies.

2. To integrate better systems for gaining information about the market like the business

intelligence systems that can accurately interpret the information about the market to the

decision makers. The companies are trying to integrate the business intelligence systems

that can better manage the available or the gathered information regarding the market and

the customers. The decisions that are taken by the management of an organisation are

greatly influenced by the information that is available to it. This has also become

challenging for the business concerns to manage the information effectively. The

companies have been focusing on the growth of their business intelligence systems as

they have become necessary for the businesses. There are various tools developed for this

purpose and still the companies are searching for complex, efficient and sophisticated

systems of using the business information. The facilities and the advantages that the

companies can see at other places urges the needs for internationalization of the business

as the companies today due to the increasing rate of the global competition has been

trying to have the competitive edge over their rivals and competitors. These facilities that

the business concerns see can be the available facilities for the production of the goods

and provision of the services, investment and flow of capital in certain area and the

distribution networks constitute the global dimensions of the internationalization. The

internationalization of the organisations and their expansion allow them and provide

them with the opportunity to compete globally. It would be better for the company to

allow the customers to search and shop for the products of the company online which

would store a lot of data for the company so that the company can manufacture the

products of the customers according to their needs and preferences. It is not possible for

the company to start and better fulfil the customer demands without appropriate systems

for knowing the customer preferences. Also these systems would provide the company to

built a better relationship with the customers by processing their applications on time and

these systems would enable the company to keep the record of the stock with the

company available and that has been sold to the customers. The company is aware of the

international marketing strategies and the demands of the customers but it has been

tracked through the other companies by whom the company has been selling its leather

products in the international market. Now the company needs more careful knowledge

and the systems so that the company can have the advantage by building relationship

with the customers. This function needs more involvement of the marketing executives

who can better let the company identify the choices of the customers and would also

shape such strategy of marketing that would identify that the products if compromised on

the specific factors would make the company achieve the goals of the international

expansion.

3. To analyze the business internal and external factors that can influence the strategy being

chosen by the company for international expansion through the business analytics. The

evaluation of the internal and external environments of the company is done by the

various different types of analysis too that is swot analysis, pestle analysis and the market

analysis. These analyses tell the company that what factors are necessary for the

company to take the advantage that are available in the market or might exist in the

future. The company can also predict the future performance and the stability of the

company on the basis of these analyses. The business could face the risk due to more

entrants in the market where the company is going to start its business. The more

attractive places like the company could be seen as potential by the other competitors. So

there is always a risk that the company can face the problem of the new competitors

entering the same market as the one that has been already allocated by the AK leather

company for expansion of its business activities. All the dimensions for the entering the

international market considered individually or as a whole provide a base for the

management to choose among the decisions for selecting the strategy for international

expansion of the business. The decisions of the management for the strategy are

according to the internal environment that constitute of the business resources and vision

of the business and also on the external factors that constitute of the opportunities and

threats. The selection of the best entry mode for the companies is a challenging and very

difficult task for the managerial personnel as the future of the business and the results of

the foreign investments largely depends on this strategy. The study of the internal factors

reveal that the company has the strength of fulfilling the demands of the international

market as the company has been having trade relations with the importers and the

exporters and also the company has been selling products to the well known brands. The

weakness of the company is the availability of little financial resources for the

implementation of the business strategy with greater potential. The analysis of the

external environment reveals that the company has been intending to enter market where

there are numerous opportunities as well greater risks.

4. The company needs sophisticated and upgraded systems for communication so that the

information about various operational activities can be shared and transferred easily.

Financial management, management of the human resources, management of the

marketing activities, management of the business operational activities and proper

auditing and accounting of the business transactions are the functions performed by the

organisations. The selection of the best entry mode for the companies is a challenging

and very difficult task for the managerial personnel as the future of the business and the

results of the foreign investments largely depends on this strategy. The mode of the entry

is defined as the arrangement of the organisational activities in some other place with

high degree of conducting the transactions of the business. The mode of the entry is

selected by viewing the resources of the company possessed, the industrial and the

specific country factors and the interest of the company. Businesses can be provided with

support through the information systems and the cross functional activities performed by

every department. The company also needs to identify the best suppliers of the raw

material that is needed by the company for performing the business operations. Fixing of

the price with all the suppliers or integrating this function as the business part could also

prove to be profitable for the company. The information among the various business

departments and the locations can be shared for the effective and efficient use so that

careful decisions regarding any business concern can be taken by the management. These

systems are used for the sharing of the information across the organisational boundaries.

5. The transportation of the material to the UK market would be better to supply by ship

and the vehicle both as this would make the supply chain of the company more effective

and managed properly. The company would only need to supply the leather goods for the

retail outlets that have been started by the company in various different locations of the

UK specially London. There is a great demand for all the leather products that are

manufactured by the AK leather but the sale of the company largely depends upon the

designs of the products. The sustainability in the market could only be possible when the

company has the potential to manage the demands of the market and its timely supply.

The company would also contact other companies for the provision of the upgraded

intelligence systems that would help the company to have more control over the

operations.

The market for leather in London is although the best market considered in the UK with large

number of customers and the business rivals but there is a need for integrating the best strategies

apart from the strategy applied for expansion which include the marketing strategy, financial

lending and borrowing strategy, strategy for managing the company supplies and strategy for

managing the workforce. It would be better for the company to have a specialised team which

can better manage the activities of the company in the international market. This team must be

assigned with all the tasks related to the expansion of the business network of the company and

the better understanding of the market trends and the other market factors that could affect the

strategy of the company. The selection of the trained professional for this team would make the

company achieve the objectives in a distinct way and the management of the company needs to

take immense care in selecting those professionals.

6.4 Reflective Statement I have gained knowledge about the research work that how research work can be conducted and

what are the things that really to be taken care of while conducting an effective and efficient

research work. Due to the limitations and the research constraints, most of the times the

researcher is not able to cover all the aspects in a study as there are many things that are

interrelated and interconnected to one another but I have tried my best to make this study

achieve the desired aims and objectives for which it was conducted. I gained knowledge about

dealing with the issues that the researcher faces while research work. I learned why the

businesses expand their operations to the international market despite of higher level of risk. I

have also learned how the companies can select the strategies that are suitable for it and how

these strategies can be applied and what are the reasons that are forcing the companies to enter

the globalised competitive environment and how the adverse affects of those business risks can

be neglected or even minimised to a greater extent.

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Webs

http://www.marketplanconsultants.com/


http://hrmadvice.com/

http://www.p2c2group.com/

http://www.onsetmarketing.com/

http://magia3e.files.wordpress.com/

http://www.ece.cmu.edu/

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/

http://www.tutor2u.net/

http://people.hofstra.edu/

http://www.processflowchart.net/

http://www.exporting.in/

http://stevens.usc.edu/

http://www.adbunited.com/

http://174.123.135.195/uploads05/57/S/IVFLabTurnkeyProjects105763849.jpg

http://www.tca.winoc.org/

http://www.zanthus.com/

ANNEXURE

QuestionnaireThis research study is based on the evaluating the strategies of expansion and finding the

relevant for the company so that the company can expand its business operations to grab more

share of the market. Your sincere assistance & support will be helpful in accomplishing this

research. All information and data provided by you will be confidential and will be used only for

the academic purpose.

Name: _____________________________________

Department: ________________________________

Please select from the following options.

1. Age group {a. 30-35 b. 36-40 c. 41-45 d. 46-50}

2. Management level

a. Top management b. Middle level management c. Operational level

3. You long you have been employee of this organization:

a. 1 year

b. 2-3years

c. 4-5years

d. more than 5 years

4. Is your company selling leather goods in the international market?

a. Yes

b. No

5. How your company has been doing business in the international market?

a. Exporting

b. Direct selling

c. Selling products to other brands

6. What is the main source of income for the company?

a. International business

b. Local market

c. Both local and international market

7. What products are sold by your company in the local market?

a. Shoes

b. Leather bags and wallets

c. Jackets

8. What products of your company are more sold in the international market?

a. Shoes

b. Leather bags and wallets

c. Jackets

9. Are you selling your products in the local and international market by the name of

your company?

a. Yes

b. No

10. What are the strategies applied by the leather companies of turkey in expanding their

business activities to the international market?

11. What do you think what strategy can prove to be the best for your company if it has

intentions for entering the international market?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

12. What are the requirements that a company must fulfil while entering the

international market?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

13. Do you think that you have all the necessary resources for entering the international

market?

a. Yes

b. No

14. Does your products have the potential to get launched, marketed, attract customers

and sold in the international market?

a. Yes

b. No

15. Who are the actual buyers of your products?

a. Customers

b. Companies

c. Middlemen

16. What factors have more impact on the choice of the company for the international

expansion

a. Company factors

b. Market factors

c. Product factors

d. Marketing factors

17. Why have u chosen this strategy for expansion to the international market?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Thanks for your co-operation

Expansion Strategies- Komut

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