Anda di halaman 1dari 2

Case Study 2

Toyotas Globalization Strategies


Suggested case discussion questions Q1 Identify what dri ers ha e been influential in Toyotas !ursuit of globalization

Toyotas journey to become a global automotive firm has had a number of key drivers. The leadership of first Sakichi and Kiichiro Toyada in the early days, and then Fujio Cho in the later years have been crucial in Toyota developing the ambition to succeed on a global basis. f the !drivers of globali"ation discussed in chapter three, some have played a more important role others. Cultural homogeni"ation has played some part as populations in emerging economies, in particular, aspire to car o#nership. Countries like China, $ndia and %ra"il are seen as huge potential markets for Toyota as an increasing middle class seek car o#nership to affirm their status. &conomies of scale and scope #as a significant driver as Toyota utili"ed scale economies by opening manufacturing plants in lo#'cost countries, and e(ploited scope economies by sharing significant parts across product lines and #ith other manufacturers in joint ventures. Technological developments had some effect, but Toyota took the decision to centrali"e these activities in its global operations in its third globali"ation program. )eregulation and the lo#ering of trade barriers gets little mention in the case study, but #as influential in that ho# China opened up its markets to outsiders, in turn, shaped ho# Toyota moved into that market through the setting up of alliances and joint ventures. Strong international competitors appear a key driver. Kiichiro Toyada seemed strongly influenced by #hat he #itnessed at Ford and the desire to compete at that level became embedded #ithin the fabric of Toyota. $ts latest e(plicit aim is to overtake *+ as the biggest global firm in the automobile market. Q2 "#!lain how Toyota reconciled the need for a global strategy with regional and country s!ecific ada!tations The bulk of the case discusses and e(plains this aspect and there are many e(amples of ho# Toyotas !global locali"ation strategy became manifest. $n each of the three globali"ation programs from ,--. to /0,0, locali"ation of production became more and more of an issue. Through the approach of locating manufacturing facilities in or close to markets, Toyota #as able to become more adaptive to local needs and fle(ible in its approach to products. Changes #ere made to the 1e(us product in the 2S that enabled it to serve that market more effectively, #hile a ne# small car 34aris5 #as developed specifically for the &uropean market. Toyota restructured its profit structure into three profit bases6 7apan, 8orth 9merica and &urope in a move to regionali"e its core activities. $ts &uropean head:uarters #as given more autonomy, #hich allo#ed it to strengthen its sales net#ork and e(pand local manufacturing capacity, cutting costs and increasing production volumes. The potential do#nside of locali"ation, fragmentation and a loss of global identity, appear to have been avoided by Toyota. $ts e(ecutives make a point of visiting its local manufacturing plants #hen they are able to and a large marketing outlay helps to maintain relations #ith the corporate !parent. Q$ Toyotas !ursuit of globalization a!!ears hea ily de!endent on the %a!anese and &orth '(erican (ar)ets* Gi en this+ can Toyotas a!!roach be considered truly global+ and what are the ris)s associated with such a strategy,

&(hibit ;$ sho#s that, although Toyota has overseas sales in seven regions, by far the most significant sales occur in 8orth 9merica, ,,-<0.= 3,000s5 vehicles, for /00/, #hile total overseas sales #ere >,=>=.> 3,000s5. )omestic sales in 7apan for /00/ #ere ,,?=0.. 3,000s5. So, domestic and 8orth 9merican sales account for >?/,.> 3,000s5 out of .,.,=.= 3,000s5 total sales. 9s both of these markets, but particularly 7apan, are mature, if not saturated, the opportunity to increase sales in these regions appears lo#. The best that Toyota can perhaps hope for is to maintain current levels and hope that it can take some sales from its direct competitors. %eing :uite heavily reliant on t#o markets can mean Toyota is vulnerable to do#nturns in their economies. The slo#do#n in the 7apanese economy in the early ,--0s had proved a stimulus for it at that time to e(pand its globali"ation activities. @o#ever, it appears that its objective of ,.A #orld#ide market share by /0,0 assumes that sales in its t#o main markets #ill remain constant. 9 do#nturn in sales in either of these #ould adversely its ambitions. &(hibit $; outlines Toyotas #orld#ide operations, identifying its presence in /? different countries. Such broad coverage of activities in eight different geographic regions seems to :ualify Toyota as a global company.

Anda mungkin juga menyukai