The document discusses regiocentric orientation, which is a transitional phase between polycentric and geocentric orientations for multinational companies. Under a regiocentric approach, a firm accepts a regional marketing policy covering groups of countries with comparable market characteristics and formulates operational strategies for entire regions rather than individual countries. The document provides examples of companies like Nike, Gillette, Toyota, HSBC, and Goodyear that use regiocentric approaches in how they organize their regional structures and operations.

1. REGIOCENTRIC
ORIENTATION

2. WHAT IS REGIOCENTRIC
ORIENTATION???
• Regiocentrism is a transitional phase between
polycentric and geocentric orientation.
• Firm accepts a regional marketing policy
covering a group of countries which have
comparable market characteristics.
• Operational strategies are formulated on the
basis of the entire region rather than individual
countries.
• The company views the similarities and
differences between regions.

3. REASONS FOR MAKING USE
OF A REGIOCENTRIC
• Facilitates theAPPROACH
interaction taking place between
local national executives transferred from
operations in the region to regional head office,
and executives transferred from the parent
company to the regional headquarters.
• Shows some level of sensitivity towards local
conditions in the host-country
• Can be utilized as a transitional step where the
multinational organization wishes to develop
from a purely ethnocentric or polycentric
approach to a geocentric approach

4. Nike Inc. , the world's largest athletic-shoe maker on
march 20, 2009 said, it is reorganizing its brand into six
geographies.
The new regions include:
North America
Western Europe
Eastern/Central Europe
Greater China
Japan and emerging markets

5. "Nike is saying that Western Europe customers are
different from Eastern Europe customers. And China
is also different from the rest of Asia. "
By the new structure, emerging markets include:
Korea
South East Asian countries
Australia
Brazil
India
China, Taiwan and Hong Kong are grouped
under the Greater China region.

6. NIKE’S SUBSIDARIES
• Grew from “single product, single market” to
”multiple brands, multiple markets”
• Subsidiaries:

7. Has four main divisions and subsidiaries:
The North Atlantic Group
The Diversified Group
The Stationary Products Group
The International Group.
The International Group makes and markets Gillette's
personal-care, shaving, and stationery products and
staffs operation throughout the world (excluding
North America and Western Europe)
9/1/13

8.  The International Group is made up of three
geographic groups:
Africa
Latin
America
Middle East
Asia
Pacific
Eastern
Europe
In international operations, Gillette relies on
managers from a particular geographic region to
handle things in and around that location. The
regiocentric approach also guides the manner in
which training is set up.

9. Toyota is a recognized brand, a reliable
automobile maker and has a huge brand
image, so Toyota is prepared for
internationalization and position itself as
“Mature”.
9/1/13

10. STRATEGY
Toyota uses the Adaptation approach: Some cars are similar from a
region to another and some others are not offered in certain regions.
Even with the 4 similar products, prices are different and more
adapted with the economic situation of the specific country.
To follow this idea : Toyota is implanted in all continents such as:
Asia (33 countries)
North America (4 countries)
Caribbean (21 countries)
Latin America (21 countries)
Europe (41 countries)
Africa (48 countries)
Oceania (16 countries)
9/1/13

11. Toyota is offering the same products in North
American continent, the same products to
countries within Europe or to countries within
Asia; as the economy of the countries included
in those regions may be similar.
Toyota uses the hybrid segmentation : i.e
Toyota agrees that different countries have
different standards, that consumers across the
world have different responses to product.
9/1/13

13. Toyota has great strategy that works; products are
adapted to local demand, but prices are more or less
adapted to each regions; with differences.
Toyota could improve its strategy by being more
adapted to the local demand and work deeply on
that to remain the leader brand and increase its sales
around the world.
9/1/13

14. HSBC is one of the largest banking and financial services
organizations in the world, with well-established Businesses
in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle
East and Africa.
They use a Regiocentric approach. Their motto is “The world’s
local bank”. It reflects in their HR policies.
They hire from local work force. More than 90 percentages of
their 580 employees are from Bangladesh.
9/1/13

15. HSBC provides
• Corporate Banking
• Payments and Cash
Management
• Trade Services
• Treasury
• Institutional Banking
• Custody
• Hexagon
• Clearing and Personal
Financial Services
• Investment Banking
and Services.
The business was restructured into four product lines:
Global Markets, Global Banking, Global Transaction
Banking, and Group Investment Businesses.

16. Goodyear international, the tire major, too
operates on regiocentric basis, where its regional
offices handle and coordinate some of the
activities
of Asian-Pacific countries, Europe forms another
region, while the other parts of the world are
divided into Latin America, Middle East and
Africa,
North America also serves as a separate region.

17. ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES
• Advantages are that the approach is adaptable to fit
the company and product strategies, when regional
expertise is needed there are natives of the region
that can be hired, and parent-company nationals
who have ready access to corporate sources of
information can be brought in if product knowledge
is crucial.
• A disadvantage is that managers from the region
may not understand the view of managers at
headquarters and also corporate headquarters may
not employ enough managers with international
experience, which could result in poor decisions.

18. Recruitment AND Selection OF
EMPLOYEES
REGIOCENTRIC
STAFFING POLICY
• Regional Strategic
Orientation
• Regional employees
selected for key
positions from HCNs
and TCNs
ISSUES:
• Problems of using
home or host country
nationals can be
avoided
• An executive adapting
to one language and
culture can adapt to
another more easily
• Potential cost savings