David McHardy Reid

Balancing localization and globalization:exploring the impact of firm internationalization on a regional cluster

This paper explores the impact of firm internationalization on regional industrial clusters. The past decade has witnessed the popularization of two intertwined trends in geographic competitiveness: globalization and localization. While previous research has sought to understand and analyse how multinational enterprises pursue strategies to capture critical expertise and resources in dynamic regional environments, to date only limited efforts have sought to explore how internationalization affects ‘cluster’ relationships among locally founded, rapidly growing firms. Specifically, this paper explores whether the internationalization of local firms weakens the local relationships associated with industrial clusters. It reports the findings of research conducted on the internationalization of a cluster of companies in the photonics industry. Twenty-three senior executives were interviewed, face-to-face. Grounded theory methodology was applied to the data to create a new conceptual framework to explore how internationalization impacts the embedded social relationships of locally established firms. The findings suggest that, as firms internationalize, intimate local relationships become less significant. As local companies mature and their sales and markets expand, they develop new capabilities and operations. Firms pursuing strategies to develop capabilities outside their home region gain access to outside resources and, in turn, elect to reorient their level of intra- vs. inter-cluster interaction.

Causes and consequences of the lack of strategic foresight in the decisions of multinational enterprises to enter China

Abstract Strategic foresight, in the sense of ‘understanding the future’ [R.A. Slaughter. Futures studies as an intellectual and applied discipline. American Behavioral Scientist 42(3) (1998) 372–385; A.N. Whitehead. Modes of Thought. Free Press, New York, 1966], can play a significant role in the long term success, or failure, of business corporations. However, in understanding the development and management of strategic foresight within business enterprises, instances where lack of foresight was exhibited, can be equally instructive, especially when these business organizations are some of the world’s largest multinational corporations and they are faced with a situation they had met before: new market entry. By drawing on 42 in depth interviews, conducted by one of the authors with executives from Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) currently operating in China, this paper identifies the causes and consequences in the lack of foresight exhibited by many MNEs in their China-market entry strategies. In this way the foresight failure is distilled into two factors: Failure of understanding, and Failure of anticipation.

Consumer Behavior in China: An Exploratory Study of Two Cities

ABSTRACT Many multinational enterprises have not been successful in China. According to the literature, one of the reasons for their failure appears to be that planning has been centered on country-wide data, with little attention being paid to regional, social and cultural differences. This study shows the necessity of moving away from broad assumptions about China and the necessity of understanding Chinas regional and urban differences. There is much hearsay among expatriate managers in China and among others with respect to the supposed sophistication and mores of Shanghainese consumers. They are often described as being formal, fashion conscious and critical. To explore the assumptions that underpin this idea, and ideas like it, our research compared upscale consumers in Shanghai and Chengdu and the motivations and processes involved in making a purchase of a so called “shopping good.” We chose apparel as a proxy for a shopping good, on the grounds that it has high consumer involvement and recall. Our data reveal some important differences between the buying patterns in the two cities. They have pragmatic managerial implications for western multinational firms wanting to tap the top layer of the vast market of 1.3 billion Chinese people. Specifically, they demonstrate a need for adaptation of marketing strategies to reflect significant differences based on geographic location and the derivative differences in lifestyles.

An Emerging Photonic Industry: The Success Vulnerability Paradigm

This paper sets out to examine the internationalization processes of a sample of companies drawn from a cluster of photonics companies. Twenty CEOs were interviewed, face to face. Using content analysis combined with a grounded theory influenced approached the texts of these interviews were appraised. In this way the internationalization theory was critiqued and some insights developed into the international strategy process. Some salient findings emerged, some of strategic significance to the companies in the photonics cluster.

Traumatized Economies – and Marketing Paths to Recovery

Over the course of the past three decades we have witnessed a number of shocks that have profoundly traumatized a large number of economies and the consumers who often continue to struggle in them. Several trauma-producing events immediately come to mind: the demise of communism and ensuing “shock therapy”, war and genocide, tsunamis, earthquakes, global financial collapse, food shortage, festering religious and ethnic tensions, and the growing conflict between local traditions and burgeoning forces of globalization. One or more of these events has/have devastated many nations, traumatized economies, globally, regionally, nationally and locally, and have distressed billions of consumers.

New business creation and technology transfer at the Rochester cluster

The Rochester, NY regional photonics industry is in a period a technological and organizational change. Over the past seventy years the regional has enjoyed a reputation as one of the premium optics and imaging (photonics systems) centers of the world. In the past, the driving force behind this preeminence was a small number of larger diversified companies with strong technological competencies and internally oriented operations. Supporting these firms were dozens of small optics, components, and imaging suppliers who grew and declined with their primary customers. Todays competitive photonics industry is far different technologically and organizationally then what existed 20 to 40 years ago.