2. SWOT (from an international perspective)
Strengths and Weaknesses (internal)
Opportunities and Threats (external)
3. SWOT - Strengths*
Patent (granted in relevant locations)
Brand name (global or nationally relevant)
Reputation and goodwill (where needed)
Location advantage (where needed)
Cost advantage (where needed)
Access to natural resources (where needed)
Access to distribution Channels (where needed)
* domestic strength does not always translate into global or international strength (and vice versa)
4. SWOT - Weaknesses
- Weak intellectual property protection
- Lack of or a weak brand name
(consider regional implications of brand brand name)
- Lack of customer loyalty or poor reputation
- High cost structure (lack of outsourcing or streamlining)
- Lack of access to key input and distribution channels
5. SWOT - Opportunities
- Unmet needs
- Country of origin effect
- Synergies
- Political and economic changes
- Government favorable to your country
- New technology and infrastructure
- Incentives for FDI or other entry modes
- Removal of trade barriers
- Bi-lateral or multilateral trade agreements
6. SWOT - THREATS
- Liability of foreignness
- Country of origin effect
- Local content requirements
- Foreign ownership limitations
- Local competition and government subsidies
- Trade barriers (including “buy local” movements)
- Political changes
7. INTB TOOL BOX (INTERNAL ANALYSIS)
VRIO
Value: "Is the firm able to exploit an opportunity or neutralize an external
threat with the resource/capability?"
Rarity: "Is control of the resource/capability in the hands of a relative
few?"
Imitability: "Is it difficult to imitate, and will there be significant cost
disadvantage to a firm trying to obtain, develop, or duplicate the resource/
capability?"
Organization: "Is the firm organized, ready, and able to exploit the
resource/capability?"
8. INTB TOOL BOX (COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS)
PORTERS DIAMOND
Nation’s competitiveness in an industry depends on the industry’s capacity to innovate and
upgrade, which in turn depends on four main determinants (plus government and chance)
DIAMOND
Factor Conditions
Demand Conditions Related and Supporting Industries
Firm Strategy, Structure and Rivalry
9. INTB TOOL BOX (EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT)
PEST (Political, Economic, Sociocultural, and Technological)
Political Factors.
Political stability
Government policy (tax and business laws)
Ethics and corruption
Economic policy
Culture and religion
Trade relations (trade partners and association with trade and economic integration agreements (EU, NAFTA, ASEAN etc)
Economic Factors.
Interest rates.
Inflation
Unemployment
GDP growth ... other major economic indicators.
Sociocultural Factors.
Dominant religion?
Attitudes toward foreign products and services?
Language and cultural distance
Gender equality
Income per capita and income distribution
Technological Factors.
Quality and availability of technological infrastructure
Attitudes toward innovative products and services such as Internet banking, new generation mobile telephones, etc?
Distribution channels, transportation and technology (intranets, supply efficiency, poplar use of automation)
Communication with consumers e.g. banners, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), etc?
10. INTB TOOL BOX (MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT)
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): value of all goods and services produced within an
economy in a given period (quarter or a year). This includes production by foreign firms within the economy and
excludes production by foreign firms abroad.
Gross National Product (GNP): value of all goods and services produced by an economy in
a given period (quarter or a year). This includes GDP (minus foreign firms) and income from national firms
producing abroad.
Purchasing Power Parity (PPP): Currency value adjusted for the cost of living.
GINI: Measure of income distribution measured as a ratio on the Lorenz curve.
0 = income is equal (GNI per capita is accurate) 1 = one person holds all income.
HDI: Yardstick of human welfare (UN Human Development Report). Measures life expectancy/infant mortality,
adult literacy/education, and ability to meet basic needs (PPP).
