Economic Impacts of Anti-Americanism
27 on American Business
The five main impacts of anti-Americanism on American economic interests are:
Increased emphasis on security: American businesses have increased their security costs due to the anti-Americanistic attacks.
Boycotts of American products: boycotts of American goods have negative impact on sales as well as prevent global expansion caused by the growth of corporations in the era of globalization.
Erosion of the power of American brands: anti-Americanism promotes distrust in American business and causes global customers to turn away from American products.
Strengthened foreign opposition to American policies on international trade: strong public demonstrations of anti-Americanism may strengthen postures of foreign governments during negotiations concerning international trade.
Obstructed access to the best and brightest: decrease in the applications of foreign students to American programs; student visas are harder to get.
The business network
as one result of globalization
The network approach to theorizing about the foreign activities of multinational companies (MNEs) owes its origin to a group of Swedish and Japanese scholars. The basic proposition of these scholars is that in order to survive, organizations require resources that can be obtained only by interacting with other organizations that own or control these resources. A network relationship implies that there is some overlap in the transactions of firms within the network according to Dunning (1993).
Relationships and networks are of great importance in the process of internationalization. It is important to combine the theoretical approach and the business setting to increase our understanding of how firms become internationally and develop their operations, and how we can deduce simplifications of internationalisation mechanism. How does a firm in the business network internationalize? From this viewpoint the businesses have the competitive environment which is created by partnership and business networks among small, medium sized and great companies. The process, in connection with the tendency, is
to create the strategic alliances, fusions & mergers, international joint ventures, etc. Business networks are built around some market opportunity or they are formed together with other business actors.
Based on the information above, Ebin (1998) explains that the era of multinational corporations, extending its hegemony throughout the world, has given way to the era of joint ventures and strategic alliances. It is no longer possible or wise for even the largest corporations to expand internationally by the sole strategy of planting wholly – owned subsidiaries around the globe. Cross-border cooperation between companies is, of course, not a new idea. International Joint Ventures (IJVs) have a long history and have assumed several well-defined forms. A preliminary distinction can be made between those alliances that involve the creation of a separate entity through which the business of the controlling parties will be transacted, and those that are organized as purely contractual arrangements between ventures. The term strategic alliance broadly refers to a wide assortment of arrangements for intercorporate cooperation, including the types of joint ventures described above. It may consist of contractual agreements for technology licensing or cross – licensing, distribution, research and development, and favored supplier and cooperative marketing programs. The terms of the strategic alliances are driven by the objectives and needs of the participants. From the viewpoint of the net´s division in the EU countries, mainly in Germany, France and in the selected Scandinavian countries, we can use the following classification of business networks i.e. multiple alliances, alliance portfolio and alliance web.
We can find further identification of alliances in the literature i.e.: multilateral alliances, coalitions, constellation, consortia, team nets, webs, and business network.
The decision to create an international joint ventures or strategic alliance arises out of the recognition that the strengths of one party can complement the weaknesses of the other. When a foreign manufacturer seeks to introduce its products into a local market, the alliance offers benefits including the use of an existing distribution system, guidance in adapting the goods to local customer demands, and a broader product line for the local distributor. When the participants intend to develop and exploit technology created by one of them, or complementary technologies created
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by each, the benefits of an alliance include access to financing and manufacturing
capacity for the smaller partner, faster development time through joint research, and flexibility in meeting changing market demands. Both, strategic alliances and joint ventures are especially attractive to high – technology firms and their customers and suppliers. The opportunity to obtain necessary capital and manufacturing capacity draws firms that have few assets other than their intellectual property.
The concept of a network emphasizes that organizations are reservoirs of human capabilities in dynamic circumstances. Within the network environment, decisions are made and activities occur through an interactive association of the people involved. The organization has a structure which defines the entity. It is defined according to the dynamic relational networks among many subsystems. An optimal network includes dynamic relationships throughout a company´s value
chain, and these may be effected not only through the company´s own systems or subsidiaries but also through strategic alliances that bring together coordinators and downstream marketing activities. With many different goods or services positioned in many international markets, the optimal network defines a singular line of vertical coordination. In that sense, central management directs strategies, controls major resource allocations, and defines company – wide objectives. Regional and local managers retain responsibility for their differentiated networks.
In effect, the network structure is defined by reciprocal relationships and shared 29
responsibilities for contributing to the company´s major strategic goals. Joining
business network can mean a distinctive element for companies that develop a rapid internationalization process. By Elo (2005), the way of international operations and activities are carried out in issue for each firm in today´s business society, not just for exporters, importers or multinational firms. Imports and exports have become everyday business for many firms that have not really invested in international strategy building, still they have become a part of an international business network explains Törnroos (2002). Embeddedness within a business environment and within business networks, as well as different forms of cooperation have a great impact on the development of internationally – oriented companies. The impact of embeddedness and interconnectedness reduces the autonomy of a firm and creates problems of different nature for the firms. He defined that the nets of actors (such as joint ventures and strategic alliances) share a kind of cohesive, collective element that binds them together.
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