The Determinants of Sustainable Competitive Advantage in International Research Paper

The Determinants of Sustainable Competitive Advantage in International Marketing - Research Paper Example Same way many other prominent companies failed to develop properly in international market because of their misinterpretations and wrong perceptions about the sustainable competitive strategies in international market. Knowledge management, cost leadership or differentiating, innovation or development of new products, timing of introduction of new products, customization of the product and technology, superior technology, ability to adapt with local cultures, commitment to demonstrates corporate social responsibility, geographic dispersion of activities etc are some areas in which international companies should focus more to sustain their competitive advantage in international market. This paper analyses various determinants of sustainable competitive advantage in International Marketing. A company that operates in a small number of countries or within in a restricted business sector may believe that its competitive advantage comes from low cost manufacturing, design capability and d istribution efficiency. However when exposed to global competition it may find that its own competitive advantages cannot be transported to new countries and discover, instead, that regional or global competitors have even greater competitive advantage in their own domestic markets as wells as in the target country market (Doole & Lowe, p.430). Knowledge management is one of the major determinants of competitive advantage in international market. As mentioned earlier, Parker Pen Company tried to sell its products in international market using same marketing strategies everywhere. Parker Pen was the market leader in the manufacturing of writing equipment once. But now same thing cannot be said about them because of the huge setbacks they received from international market during the initial period of globalization. â€Å"The idea of selling pens the same way everywhere did not sit well with many parker subsidiaries and distributors. Pens were indeed the same, but markets, were diffe rent† (Marketing across cultures, p.195). Parker thought that for the same product, same marketing strategy is enough everywhere. They failed to recognize the fact that the global market is different from domestic market and it needs customized marketing strategies for each market outside, United States. It should be noted that Tiger Woods could be a good brand Ambassador in American conditions whereas in Indian conditions, instead of Tiger Woods, Sachin Tendulkar or Shah Ruk Khan could be a better brand ambassador. In short, local knowledge is essential for international companies to formulate better business strategies for each global market in which they try to sell their products. â€Å"Traditional approaches to developing competitive advantage focus on developing a positional advantage relative to competition based either on cost leadership or differentiating the product /service offering† (Craig and Douglas). However, in international market, cost leadership or di fferentiation strategies alone may not help an organization much. For example, most of the Chinese products are believed to be the cheapest products available in the global market at present, compared to the products from competitors. China is focusing more on quantity rather than quality while producing goods. Cheaper price may help Chinese companies to sell their