International Business Management
You are tasked to study a detailed Country Analysis and Market Entry strategy for
expanding international business to one of the following countries: China, India,
Philippines, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Germany, France, or Italy. (Choice is
yours)
In brief, you will analyze the political, economic, legal and cultural environment of the
country; outline the challenges and opportunities of conducting business in that country
and provide relevant guidelines and recommendations for entering the market.
1. You will be examining the country from every possible perspective. Areas you will
consider include: Economic and business environment, political environment,
cultural analysis, market opportunity, and market entry strategy recommendations.
2. You shall prepare the project and make a final presentation in class (about 20
slides), on the key learnings for that country.
3. Project should be at least a 10-‐page report 12 pt., Times Roman, 1.5 line spacing.
4. Presentation should focus on the most relevant and interesting points from each
section. Creativity is encouraged in all presentations.
5. Use charts and graphs wherever possible, but explain them.
6. All your sources of information must be clearly cited in-text and referenced in a list
at the end.
7. Your bibliography must include at least 8 published/referenced sources.
8. This is a business presentation; be sure to use headings and subheads as outlined.
Your submission must follow the outline and sequence as below.
9. The report and presentation must be “professional” as if you are presenting to senior
management, not as a casual essay or submission.
Country Snapshot Project Outline:
1. Title Page with student details
2. Executive Summary
This should be a about a page summary assessment of:
– The country’s economic political situation and risks (if any)
– The country’s current economic situation, opportunities, challenges and risks
– Whether the country represents a good opportunity for your products. And, do you
recommend entering or not entering that market?
3. Body:
Political environment analysis:
a) Political system and structure
b) Stability of government
c) Future political risks, if any
d) Bribery and corruption risk/index
Economic and business environment analysis:
a) Demographics: Population, growth rate, distribution of population (age groups), rural
vs. urban, cities vs. villages
b) Per capita income levels, wealth distribution
c) Major exports and trading partners
d) Business environment: Government attitude to foreign investment and trends, ease
of doing business, trade regulations
e) Inflation levels, currency exchange rate; risks of devaluation versus the dollar
f) Education and literacy levels, availability of skilled labor, labor costs
g) Membership in regional economic and trading blocks
h) Legal system: Protection of intellectual property rights, enforcement of contracts
Cultural dimensions of doing business in the country:
This should be about a 1 to 2-‐page summary assessment of key guidelines for success
when doing business in that country – how some of the cultural habits and differences
are likely to impact doing business and the marketing and distribution of your product
in that country, as well as marketing challenges.
a) Major religions, ethnic makeup and languages
b) Major sports, recreation
c) Major differences in beliefs, values, customs and behaviors, role of family
d) Unique business customs, etiquette and practices one should be aware of when doing
business in that country (time and decision-‐making, meetings, negotiations, business
relationships, dress code, status, gift-‐giving, etc.)
e) Unique aspects of written, oral and non-‐verbal communications
f) Describe the country’s culture using Hofstede’s model of cultural dimensions (Power
distance – hierarchy, Individualism/collectivism, Masculine/feminine, Uncertainty
avoidance, Time)
Market Opportunity Analysis – For your product
Identify a product opportunity (You cannot pick an existing brand). Why does the
country represent a good market opportunity for your product? Rationale.
a) Market prospects
b) Current product usage habits
c) Competitive products on the market in that country
d) Retail distribution channels
e) Major advertising media used in the country
f) Total size of the market and market potential for your product
g) Target market and demographics for your product
Market Entry mode:
a) Suggest the most suitable market entry mode, e.g. exporting, licensing, franchising,
joint venture, wholly-‐owned subsidiary, etc. Explain rationale.
b) Provide at least 2 recent examples/case studies of market entry strategies of other
multinationals in that country that have succeeded or failed.
Conclusion:
a) Most interesting or fun facts about the country
b) Key challenges, risks, threats of doing business in the country
4. Bibliography/References:
This section will be a listing of all your research – your sources of information for the
project. This must include at least 10-15 diverse sources, including relevant research
using some of the business newspapers, magazines, and online databases.
5. Organization and Mechanics:
Paper should be well-‐organized, clear and easy to read, laid out effectively, using
headings, sub-‐heads and bullets. Paper should be well coordinated among team
members. Points deducted for grammatical and spelling errors.
Research Project Resources:
Fortune, BusinessWeek, and Forbes have many articles on companies featured in most
cases. These publications can all be found in Business Source Premier. See the “Finding
Specific Business Magazines or Journals” tab in your course’s LibGuide for steps on how
to find business journals or magazines in selected databases.
You can access industry reports in Mergent Online and Business Insights: Essentials,
and you can find industry financial & market reports in BizMiner as well.
Business Publications and Websites:
(a) Bloomberg Business Week – Full text accessible in Business Source Premier
(b) Bureau Economic Analysis – www.bea.gov
(c) Conference Board Review – www.tcbreview.com
(d) Fast Company – Full text accessible in Business Source Premier or ABI/Inform
Complete
(e) Forbes – full text accessible in Business Source Premier
(f) Fortune – full text accessible in Business Source Premier
(g) Inc. – full text accessible in Business Insights: Essentials
(h) Sales & Marketing – www.salesandmarketing.com
(i) Wall Street Journal – full text accessible in ABI/Inform Complete
(j) Organization chart wiki – http://www.cogmap.com/
(k) A useful site for information on organization culture –
http://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm
(l) Company analysis – http://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm
(m) Business culture guides –
http://www.executiveplanet.com/index.php?title=Main_Page
(n) Business etiquette – http://www.international-‐business-‐center.com
(o) Cultural insights – http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/country-‐
profiles.html
(p) GlobalEdge – http://globaledge.msu.edu