German Companies Being Successful in China - Dissertation Example

As Douglas et al. (1989) notice ‘recent years have witnessed a growing intensity of competition in virtually all areas of business, whether at home or abroad, in markets upstream for raw materials, components, supplies, capital, and technology as well as in markets downstream for consumer goods and services’. According to their view, ‘this has resulted in greater attention to analyzing competitive behavior and competitive strategies effective under different environmental conditions’.

They stated moreover that ‘in the industrial organization and business strategy literature, considerable interest has been centered on identifying generic business strategies or strategy types based on strategy components, such as the scope or domain of the business, resource deployment in marketing, production and R&D, asset management or parsimony, degree of vertical integration, etc.’. Their study led to the assumption that ‘the primary emphasis has been on examining the link between strategy, environment, and performance, to determine the appropriate investment strategy or direction for the business, i.e., invest, maintain or harvest’ (Douglas et al.

, 1989, 437-438). The development of modern markets has caused a differentiation in the operation of business activities. As Ulijn et al. (2000) notice ‘a global economy requires business organizations to cultivate their international holdings by respecting the national differences of their host countries and coordinating efforts for rapid innovation’. On the other hand, it is considered that ‘businesses in the 21st century face a wide array of complex opportunities including, but not limited to, expanding into global markets, developing internal and external innovative products and practices to remain competitive, and attracting and retaining the most talented workforce possible’.