ABSTRACT
Introduction ........................................................................................................ 2 Concepts Related to International Operations............................................... 4
Globalization .................................................................................................. 4 Internationalization ....................................................................................... 5 Sales versus Domestic/International Production ..................................... 5 Employment Generated at the Headquarters and Abroad ..................... 7
Drivers of the Globalization of Operations .................................................... 8 New Technologies ....................................................................................... 10 Trade Regulations ........................................................................................ 12 Culture .......................................................................................................... 13 Economical Factors ..................................................................................... 14
Main Reasons for Starting Up the Internationalization Process ............... 16 SMEs Internationalization .............................................................................. 19 Perspectives and Trends with Regard to the Internationalization of Business ......................................................................................................... 21
Change in the Geographical Point of Gravity for Business Hotspots: From Triad Power to BRIC Power .......................................... 24 Change in the Business Functions That Are Being Off-Shored: From Production and Sales to Innovation and R&D ............................. 25 Change in Governance Modes and Timing of Foreign Market Entry: From Internationalization as an MNE-Only Game to the Rise of Born Globals .................................................................................... 26
• Book content and purpose • Concepts related to international operations • Drivers of the globalization of operations • Main reasons for starting up an internationalization process • SMEs internationalization • Future perspectives and trends
The phenomenon of globalization has skyrocketed in the last decades due to the opening of borders in Eastern Europe and the sudden emergence of other countries in the global trade economy. To be sure, growth in the European Union is one of the driving forces, but the main drivers have been the opening of borders in Asia-China being the prime example-to the global market economy and the relocating of production sites in order to enter into new trading blocks, such as NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement).
