Today’s era is of globalization and this globalization has boosted up international trade to a great extent. Every company, whether big or small, wants to spread its reach to global markets to ensure a large customer base. There are several methods of entering into a foreign market. A company which wants to enter the foreign market has to choose the mode of entry very wisely which can provide it the maximum output.
Modes of Entry
Exporting
Exporting refers to selling of goods or services produces in one country into another country. Exports are considered to be the basic most mode of entry into foreign market. It requires least investment and the risk associated is lowest.
A company might be a manufacturer exporter or a merchant exporter. A manufacturer exporter manufactures its own goods and exports it, whereas a merchant exporter procures goods from a manufacturer and exports it under its own name. Exports are a good source of foreign earnings of a country.
A merchant exporter can opt for exporting the goods itself or hire an agent for the same. In case the exporter exports the goods without any agent, it is termed as direct exports. The direct exports provide better control over the goods, market and feedback mechanism to the exporter. On the other hand if the exports are made through the channel of an agent, it is termed as indirect exports. Though it is preferred for first time exporters to go with indirect exporting, but direct exporting provides better returns in long term.
Licensing
Consider a company which holds a patent for a particular product. The company may sell or give on rent its license of production to an overseas company. The parent company which is located in home country gets a rent or royalty for the sales made by the overseas company in the foreign market. Licensing is an easy way of earning extra income without putting in high efforts. The license may be given to the foreign company either on rent for a specified period or on percentage royalty for total amount of sales. The major disadvantages of licensing include risk of reputation being spoiled by the licensee and lower income as compared to other modes of entry.
Franchising
Franchising is actually an advanced system of licensing. In this system, the owner of a company which is also termed as franchiser allows a company called franchisee to sell its products on the name of the parent company. The parent company earns royalty for the sales made. The franchisee has to use the business name and standards of the parent company for being a part of this system. In other words, the franchisee runs his business the same way as the franchiser does. The threat to this system is that the franchisee becomes a potential future competitor for the franchiser.
Joint Venture
Joint venturing is again a very important and commonly adopted method of entering into a foreign market. A joint venture reduces the risks of the participants considerably. Joint venture is highly beneficial for a company. Consider a company which wants to enter a foreign market but it has no understanding about the culture, environment and ethics of the citizens. Such a company will enter into a joint venture with another company which is already located in the target country. This way they can have a better understanding of the target market as they have association with the local players of that country.
Joint venture also allows the companies to merge their resources and perform at a large scale. Two small companies can take advantage of bulk production and selling. If the joint venture is between companies from developing and developed countries, the technological and managerial skill sharing between them becomes a highly important aspect. But when it comes to business expansion, the two companies might not have similar opinion and it becomes the reason of failure of most joint ventures across the globe.
Turnkey Projects
Turnkey projects are mostly observed in large investment projects. Let us consider for example a developing country which has very less technological expertise. Such countries outsource their public construction work like roads, dams, bridges, rail lines etc. to foreign companies which are technologically sound. When the project is finished, two possibilities exist. The company which accomplished the project may operate the project and earn through tickets, toll taxes etc. or hand over the entire project to the concerned government on full payment of the contract.
Strategic Alliances
Strategic alliances include cooperative agreements between two or more companies. These agreements are usually made for research and development work but may also cover managerial assistance. The strategic alliances thus mainly concentrate on developing new products instead of expanding the markets of existing products. Technological sharing is one of the most important benefit of strategic alliances.
Wholly Owned Subsidiaries
Wholly owned subsidiary is considered as the extreme mode of entry into foreign markets. A company establishes its own production plant in a foreign market and operates it there. This mode of entry requires huge amount of capital investment and the risk associated is also considerably high. As an advantage the wholly owned subsidiary provides a better control to the company on the overseas activity. The company has to follow the norms of both the home and host country’s government.
Companies which tend to establish a wholly owned subsidiary also opt for acquisitions in foreign market as an easier way. If a company in the host country has a well-established business, the company of the home country will prefer to acquire it instead of setting up a new business unit in the host country.