International Expansion: Navigating the Competitive Global Marketplace - Research Paper

Introduction

The international business environment is very competitive and often organizations need to develop the right skills and abilities to tackle this treacherous global marketplace. Since the business environment is very dynamic, today's marketplace requires organizations to strategically plan for global expansion. The international business environment is uncertain, volatile, and complex (Bourn, 2018). As a result, companies such as Walmart and Kellogg missed their international expansion initiatives due to the lack of skills and abilities to overcome the challenges newcomers face in global business (Quackenbos, Ettenson, Roth & Auh, 2016). Therefore, to navigate the globalized business landscape, organizations need to develop "soft skills" to remain competitive. Essentially, technical knowledge like accounting or analysis is fundamental. Nevertheless, skills that influence adaptive thinking, and foster collaboration is essential markers of success in global business.

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Doing business domestically is different from operating internationally in many countries. In the domestic business environment, organizations have an understanding of culture, consumer behavior, competitors, and political, economic and legal factors. Organizations are also aware of the market trends and all the internal and external factors that determine the success or failure of a business. On the other hand, diversifying operations internationally requires extensive market research to understand culture, political, legal, and environmental factors that affect business (Quackenbos et al., 2016). Dealing with diverse cultures and different legal environment can affect an organization's success in the global market. The language barrier is also another challenge that affects global business operations. Apart from that, consumer behavior differs across the globe to different social and cultural practices. As a result, these barriers to international business entry require massive revenue investment in market research and development to ensure organizations prepare for international operations. In simple language, doing business locally is quite simple than venturing in the global marketplace. As a result, there are key skills that organizations should equip their employees to ensure success in international business (Bourn, 2018).

Organizations need to develop cross-cultural communication abilities to effectively compete globally. Global business implies working with diverse people from different cultures and backgrounds (Thomas & Lazarova, 2013). Therefore, understanding how to communicate across cultures effectively is an indispensable skill. Employees need to understand cultural differences and how workplaces interpret certain messages to avoid conflicts and misunderstandings. Expanding in countries or regions where there is a language barrier requires organizations to collaborate with locals and actively listen to ensure the flawless flow of information. Good communication skills are crucial for business. With this note, effective communication is vital because organizations should learn how to communicate with diverse people from different cultures. In essence, organizations should consider cultural etiquette to avoid using content deemed offensive by the hosting culture (Quackenbos et al., 2016). Furthermore, culture defines all society's practices such as doing business, marketing, advertising, and sales negotiations. Researching beforehand and developing the essential communications skills implies ease of market entry and future success in the international business (Thomas & Lazarova, 2013).

Collaboration is also a fundamental aspect of successfully competing in international business. Working together with team members from diverse cultures is beneficial to an organization. It exposes an organization to new perspectives of tackling business challenges. Similarly, collaboration promotes communication across cultures as well as networking with global leaders, professionals, and clients (Bourn, 2018). In the business world, collaboration entails humility, trusting others in leadership and sharing credit for success. By fostering teamwork across the global platform, an organization gains confidence in tackling problems while receiving immediate feedback. Closely linked to collaboration is the ability to network. Networking is significant in international business because it opens windows business opportunities in global markets. Without networking abilities, organizations miss out on obtaining more knowledge and selling their ideas overseas. Organizations should equip their employees with networking skills which require tact, effective listening, and diplomacy to build strong relationships with foreign professionals and clients (Bourn, 2018).

Another skill necessary for venturing into international business is the interpersonal influence. Organizations should train and equip their employees in interpersonal influence by developing the right mindset for doing business. The ability to influence people is important for business success (Thomas & Lazarova, 2013). For example, while trying to convince a customer to buy an organization's product or convincing investors to venture into a particular business idea revolves around the influencing capabilities of an individual. Successful business leaders develop professional relationships that foster their influencing abilities. Interpersonal influence is the ability to remain assertive by encouraging others to get on board with particular ideas and making them understand the offer on hand (Thomas & Lazarova, 2013). Therefore, while pitching for new business opportunities overseas, interpersonal influence plays a big role in motivating diverse teams and negotiating business deals. Moreover, interpersonal influence requires employees to be adaptive thinkers by being critical in their judgments. The dynamic nature of international business requires adaptive thinking skills and swift response to organizational or company situations. Adaptive thinking promotes thoughtful actions that influence peers and clients abroad (Bourn, 2018).

Mental toughness and resilience are critical for the success in international business. Practically, working with diverse cultures and across time zones involves mandates employees to work for long hours. Organizations should equip their employees with resilience skills that go hand in hand with emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence helps employees to be fruitful members of an organization who are in control of their emotions and are self-aware (Thomas & Lazarova, 2013). Resilience and emotional intelligence benefit an organization in the sense that employees calmly react to challenging business situations and are flexible to adapt to change. Resistance to change is a critical human resource management challenge that limits organizational success. Therefore, when employees have self-awareness and resilience skills, they work together effectively and maintain high motivation to meet the goals and objectives of an organization (Thomas & Lazarova, 2013). In global business, organizations should maintain focus and communicate their international strategies to remain competitive in the global arena.

Conclusion

In conclusion, international business can be interesting as well as challenging depending on how an organization executes its strategies for global operations. International business is quite distinct from domestic operations. Before venturing abroad, organizations should learn about different cultural practices, laws, regulations, marketing strategies and consumer behavior. Nevertheless, there are key skills that organizations should equip their employees with before venturing internationally. Effective communication skills, collaboration, networking, resilience, and emotional intelligence are fundamental success factors for doing business globally. They are the soft skills that complement the hard skills implying critical success factors in global operations.

References

Bourn, D. (2018). Global Skills for Global Graduates and Business. Understanding Global Skills for 21st Century Professions, 135-162. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-97655-6_7

Thomas, D. C., & Lazarova, M. B. (2013). Essentials of International Human Resource Management: Managing People Globally. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Quackenbos, D., Ettenson, R., Roth, M. S., & Auh, S. (2016, April 11). Does Your Company Have What It Takes to Go Global? Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2016/04/does-your-company-have-what-it-takes-to-go-global