ABSTRACT
IBM’s global strategy has evolved in three different stages. Its first stage was consistent with the nineteenth-century “international model,” with firms based in their home country and selling goods through overseas sales offices. Then stage two followed in the form of the classic multinational firm in which the parent company creates a small replica of its headquarters in different countries around the world. Now as the company views important emerging markets such as China and Brazil, which are critical to its continued growth, IBM is redesigning its strategy to a globally integrated transnational model, moving people and jobs anywhere in the world, based on the optimal conditions of labor skills, competitive labor cost, and overall business environment. While the attraction to these emerging markets was originally for cheap labor, now IBM looks at foreign markets as opportunities for obtaining high skills and high value. Winning the “war for talent” is a pressing issue for IBM and other MNCs as there are extremely high turnover rates in emerging markets. IBM believes that its global presence gives it an edge in recruitment and retention over local competitors.
