Problem: What are the factors and reasons for Internationalization? show appreciation of the complexity of the International Environment.
also discuss the following:
- PEST Analysis
- Internal Environment, which should also include:
- Objectives
- Strategies
- Analysis : Why companies go international? e.g Inflation.
Whether companies are Proactive or Reactive
Details:
Here is some information that I found for you regarding internationalization:
Internationalization and localization are means of adapting products such as publications or software for non-native environments, especially other nations and cultures.
Internationalization is sometimes used interchangeably with globalization to refer to economic and cultural effects of an increasingly interconnected world.
While internationalization most commonly refers to the addition of a framework for multiple language support, especially in software, it sometimes refers to the process whereby something (a corporation, idea, highway, war, etc.) comes to affect multiple nations. This usage is rare; globalization is preferred. Because of globalization, many companies and products are found in multiple countries worldwide, giving rise to increasing localization requirements.
Localization may describe production of goods nearer to end users to reduce environmental and other external costs of globalization.
In software development, after a product has been internationalized, "localization" refers to the process of making it ready for a specific market.
So you can refer to a product as being "internationalized" if it has been developed to meet most of the needs of an international community, but not yet customized to a specific region. The customization to a specific region is called "localization".
Some info on Globalization:
Globalization is the term used to describe the changes in societies and the world economy that result from dramatically increased international trade and cultural exchange. It describes the increase of trade and investing due to the falling of barriers and the interdependence of countries. In specifically economic contexts, the term refers almost exclusively to the effects of trade, particularly trade liberalization or "free trade" (however, see "meanings" below). More broadly, the term refers to the overall integration, and resulting increase in interdependance, among global actors (be they political, economic, or otherwise).
From 1910 to 1950, a series of political and economic upheavals dramatically reduced the volume and importance of international trade. But these trends reversed starting with WWI and continuing through WWII, when the Bretton Woods institutions were created (i.e. the IMF and the World Bank). After World War II, international trade dramatically expanded, fostered by international economic institutions and rebuilding programs. From the 1970s, the effects of this trade became increasingly visible in terms of benefits and disruptive effects.
It is useful to distinguish economic, political, and cultural aspects of globalization, although all three aspects are closely intertwined. The other key aspect of globalization is changes in technology, particularly in transport and communications, which it is claimed are creating a global village.
Globalization has become identified with a number of trends, most of which may have developed since World War II. These include greater international movement of commodities, money, information, and people; and the development of technology, organizations, legal systems, and infrastructures to allow this movement. The actual existence of some of these trends is debated.
Economically:
Increase in international trade at a faster rate than the growth in the world economy
Increase in international flow of capital including foreign direct investment
Erosion of national sovereignty and national borders through international agreements leading to organizations like the WTO and OPEC
Development of global financial systems
Increase in the share of the world economy controlled by multinational corporations
Increased role of international organizations such as WTO, WIPO, IMF that deal with international transactions
Increase of economic practices like outsourcing, by multinational corporations
Why companies go international?
In the face of extreme competition, they do so in order to search for lower cost inputs in order to provide the lowest price to the consumer. For example, Nike chose to manufacture their shoes in SE Asia because the minimum wage was a fraction of what it was in North America.