Stephen Tallman, Karin Fladmoe-Lindquist(2002)Internationalization, globalization, and capability-based strategy

The cost of globalization.



The contention of this article is that, firms should see "micro-level" and "macro-level", one market and whole market and exploit world market as leverage. This is same as Porter(1986), but author's emphasis is not the same point.

They say in last sentence "Ultimately, this decision needs to be based on the situation of the firm, not on generic industry recommendations or on standerdized solution to a complex set of issues". This is very suggestive that globalization is not always means same things.

Koc Holding(1997)Arcelik White Goods

What is grobalization for ?



Do you know "BEKO" ?
I didn't know that, famous firm for "white goods"(major kitchen appliances).

This article disclibes the history of development of Koc Holding, Turkey's largest industrial conglomerate. Beko is brand of Arcelik, one of the conglomerate's subsideriaries.

What is most interesting is Arcelik's aim of expansion of activity, or adaptation of grobalization. They don't want to maximize their profit, but secure their home market. So, for them, tapping foreign market is only resourse of strategy for maintaining the share in their home market, even if their business is developing more in other countries than their home!

This is very strange, but actually, very reasonable for coutinuating their activities healthly.

David B.Yoffie(2007)Cola Wars Continue:Coke and Pepsi in 2006

"Opponent is good frend"

This is one of Cases of HBS. This article represents "cola war" from the industry of soft drinks to grobalization. Industry of soft drinks is very special because advatising is much more important than production itself. So, suprisingly, Coke and Pepsi have been battling for more than one century in only one product,cola! This article shows the importance of marketing strategy and rivaly, and indicates evolution is caused by competition.

In Japan, such situation can be seen in green tea market, Ito-en, Kirin and Suntory. They produce new procucts―but they are kind of green tea―every season and this makes market more attractively for customers and even farmers that produce leaves of tea because of their branding.


I hope the war continues forever because I want to drink more delicious green tea and someday, such energy makes Japanese farmer more competitive with branding.

Levitt,Theodore(1983) The globalization of markets.Find More Like This

"The earth is flat"

This paper can be summerized that.

Levitt,Theodore says, finally, countries are integrarated into one market, because of human basic prefference that they seek more convenient and more reasonable commodidies. Therefore, companies should not adapt their activities as individual markets but push their advantages all markets similarlly.

If so, in the age of grobalization, I think economics is getting more and more important because this is the philosophy that all human beings are simmilar who only prefer more convenience and cheaper.

Michael E. Porter(1986)Changing Patterns of International Competition

Globalization from 1986.



This is the paper that I have read for the first time in my life in English.
It took more than 10 hours...But this process is very exciting for me.


This article explains the" globalization", and concludes that conpanies should constract their "value chain"(He calls this process "Configuration") and not only adapt that to markets but also harmonize them(He also calls this "Coordination").

What is most interesting for me is that, in the last part of the article, he introduces some example of Japanese company as "winner of globalization". At that time, from 1985 to 1990, Japan was enjoying their prosperity saying "Japan As No.1". However, this made "Bubble economy" and weaken Japanese economy at last. Moreover, now in 2008, "winner of globalization" is thought to be not Japan but USA.


I think "Globalization" means unstability that "today's winner is Tomorrow's loser", and even for Porter, it is difficult to predict for future in the globalization.

Only rice is cheaper !

Price of commodities in Stockholm is about twice as much as that in Tokyo.
However, there is a opposite example; rice.

In Stockholm, price of rice is about half that in Tokyo.
Considering about PPP, price of Japanese rice is around 4 times as much as that of Sweden. This is because Japan protects their rice market from international trade.

"Rice is soul of Japan!", Japanese farmers say sometimes.
This is partly true because historically, rice had been used as money in Japan, and now, preserving sceneries or communities in rural area.

Thinking about that, Japanese government has kept price of rice higher, and this deprived farmers from ingenuity or insentive for making money. In other words, soil was protected but soul was lost.

I do'nt think Japan should completely stop protection of rice, but I believe should change the policy now.

amazon.com is NOT grobal company.

Fallacy of composition ?


amazon.com is thought as typically sucessful company in web shopping.
However, it falls into "Fallacy of composition"...


Today I bought some textbook on online bookshop, not amazon.com but adlibris.com.
Why ? I'm now in Sweden and buying in amazon is more expensive than in adlibris even if amazon.co.uk, .de, .fr are located nearby Sweden. Moreover, they are not connected each other because I had to make "My account" again and again.

Actually, amazon in some countries are like different company with the same name.
This is best for individually, but not best for totally because they cannot use "economy of scale" such as a numerous collection of books, pubulicity or something.

M.E.Porter(1986) said "These vexing organizational probems mean that country subsidiaries often view each other more as competetors than collaborators"

I wish amazon's collaborated each other and I would be able to buy all books in the lowest price from all over the world.

Can Japan buy foreign fields ?

How can food-import-countries secure their food ?

As you know, Japan has large population in small country; people 12times more than that in sweden live in land smaller than sweden. Besides, land reform that was enforced in 1947 divided farmland much smaller. Moreover, wages in Japan has became very high because of rapidly developing after WWⅡ. Such factors has made Japan depended their food on other countries.

Now, because of increasing price of grain, Japan is worrying about their food self-sufficiency raito that is the lowest rank of OECD nations. But strangely, Japanese concern is only domestic matters such as changing eating habit or joining their small farmland for improving productivity.

This article introduced us the measures of other food-import-country, and show the solution that buying fields in foreign country to secure foods. That is very reasonable. I think Japanese should think such solution because it is too late when food crisis happens or other country keeps their land for foods.