Globalisation
Globalisationrefers to the move towards international trading in a single global market-
place and the blurring of social and cultural differences between countries. Some
perceive it as ‘Westernisation’ or even ‘Americanisation’.
Quelch and Klein (1996) point out some of the consequences for organisations that
wish to compete in the global marketplace. They say a company must have:
a 24-hour order-taking and customer service response capability;
regulatory and customs-handling experience to ship internationally;
in-depth understanding of foreign marketing environments to assess the advantages of its
own products and services.
Language and cultural understanding may also present a problem and a small or
medium-sized company is unlikely to possess the resources to develop a multi-language
version of its site or employ staff with language skills. On the other hand, Quelch and
Klein (1996) note that the growth of the use of the Internet for business will accelerate
the trend of English becoming the lingua franca of commerce.
Hamill and Gregory (1997) highlight the strategic implications of e-commerce for
business-to-business exchanges conducted internationally. They note that there will be
increasing standardisation of prices across borders as businesses become more aware of
price differentials. Secondly, they predict that the importance of traditional intermedi-
aries such as agents and distributors will be reduced by Internet-enabled direct
marketing and sales.
Larger organisations typically already compete in the global marketplace, or have
the financial resources to achieve this. But what about the smaller organisation? MostECONOMIC FACTORSFigure 3.12Leaders and contenders in e-commerce
Source: Adapted from the Economist Intelligence Unit/Pyramid Research e-readiness ranking (www.eiu.com)Globalisation
The increase of
international trading
and shared social and
cultural values.