ABSTRACT
Globalization trends demand an evaluation of the skills portfolio that organizations require in order to participate effectively in their changing markets. Porter41 suggests that coordination among increasingly complex networks of activities dispersed worldwide is becoming a prime source of competitive advantage: global strategies frequently involve coordination with coalition partners as well as among a firm’s own subsidiaries. The benefits associated with globalization of industries are not tied to countries’ policies and practice. Rather, they are associated with how the activities in the industry value chain are performed by the firm’s worldwide systems. These systems involve partnerships31 with independent entities that involve information and management process interchange across legal organization boundaries, as well as across national boundaries.
