Globalization

As an avenue of communication, and as a research and reference tool, the internet has had a huge impact on businesses in modern societies. At the same time there is concern that the negative impact of the Internet on businesses may outweigh the benefits. This essay argues that, because of the internet, businesses looking at Internationalization no longer need to carry out market research to find out about the consumer needs in potential markets, nor worry about developing an action plan to penetrate these markets. Davenport (2008) defines Internationalization as the designing of a firm’s products and services in such a way that they will meet the needs of consumers in various countries or can easily be adapted to do so. Consequently, this essay also argues with the perception that businesses should simply market their goods and services on the internet and potential consumers will decide what they want .These claims will be addressed with the support of current authoritative sources which will provide the framework for making such claims. Firstly, this essay will examine how the various trade theories and theory on foreign direct investment can be applied to factors affecting the export marketing mix. Subsequently, this essay examines the potential markets, and develops an internationalization strategy, in contrast to a business that simply markets its product and services on the web without getting information about potential customers.

Firstly, Hill (2011) states that trade barriers make it difficult for a firm to spread its productive activities, as they raise the cost of exporting products to a country. Consequently, this puts a business at a competitive disadvantage to local competitors in that country. Furthermore, Davenport (2008) states that the internet enables firms to avoid such conventional stages of Internationalization, as it remove all geographical constraints. Despite this, Cova & Salle (2008) asserts that because of the internet most firms...