Case 1:
Zipcar is a highly successful new company specializing in a brand new model for automobile rental services, which allows their customers long-term and flexible access to shared vehicles on a daily or hourly basis. Zipcar's innovative model allows those who sign up for their membership services to share cars with other members on a flexible basis, creating a cost effective alternative to car ownership. Since its founding in 2000, it has grown to become a major player in the U.S. automobile rental market and has expanded internationally to Canada, the U.K., Spain, and Austria and offers rental services to almost one million customers.
Before writing your paper, make sure to carefully review the concepts of target markets and market selection from de Kluyver (2012) as well as the discussion of advantages and disadvantages of different foreign entry mode decisions in Carpenter and Dunung (2012) and Rajagopal (2009). Once you have finished reviewing the basic concepts of this module, read the following two articles and do some of your own additional research on Zipcar:
Zipcar expands in Sacramento becoming 26th major metro market: Based on strong demand, Zipcar increases number of vehicles, will open office (Nov. 6, 2013) PR Newswire [Proquest]
Esswein, P. M. (July, 2011). Zipcar: Robin Chase. Kiplinger's Personal Finance, 65, 1 [Proquest]
Zipcar, Inc.; Zipcar acquires leading car sharing service in Austria. CarSharing.at. (July 25, 2012).Mergers & Acquisitions Week, 196. [Proquest]
Now suppose you have been hired by Zipcar to come up with an international strategic plan. Write a four to five page strategic plan for Zipcar that addresses the following issues:
1. What country or countries should Zipcar enter next beyond the five countries they already operate in? Explain your reasoning for this selection based on criteria from the background materials including de Kluyver (2012).
2. What mode of entry should Zipcar use to enter this country or countries that you chose? For example, should they use a joint venture, franchising, a greenfield strategy, etc.? Refer to the concepts from Carpenter and Dunung (2012) and Rajagopal (2009) in your answer.
Assignment Expectations
- Answer the assignment questions directly.
- Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don't go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing background materials.
- Make sure to use reliable and credible sources as your references. Articles published in established newspapers or business journals/magazines are preferred. If you find articles on the Internet, make sure they are from a credible source.
- Reference your sources of information with both a bibliography and in-text citations. See the Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 13 and 14 on in-text citations. Another resource is the "Writing Style Guide," which is found under "My Resources" in the TLC Portal.
Case 2:
For your final SLP, pretend that an American corporation hired you to write a report giving a recommendation on whether or not they should enter the country that you have been researching for your Modules 1-3 SLPs. You have already done a lot of research on many of the cultural, financial, legal, and political aspects of doing business in your country which you can use as part of your overall recommendation. However, you also need to consider other factors such as the potential size of the market that your country has to offer. No matter how strong a country's legal or political system, if your country has very few consumers that it will not be a wise decision to enter your country.
One resource to use for your report is Michigan State University's Market Potential Index (https://globaledge.msu.edu/mpi/2014). This index focuses mostly on various aspects of the size or growth of the consumer market in each country which should provide some valuable information to use in making your recommendation. But don't rely just on this index. Do some additional research on factors that you think make your country an attractive or unattractive market for an American company and use some of de Kluyver (2012) guidelines on country selection as part of your paper.
When you have finished your research, write a two to three page paper with the following information:
1. What are the positive aspects of your country that would make it an attractive market for an American corporation? Consider all of the main factors that you researched regarding your country for Modules 1-3 plus additional research for Module 4 on market potential.
2. What are the negative aspects of your country that would make it an unattractive market for an American corporation? Consider all of the main factors that you researched regarding your country for Modules 1-3 plus additional research for Module 4 on market potential.
3. Overall what is your recommendation for the American company that hired you to write this report? Do the positives outweigh the negatives? Or vice versa? Explain your reasoning.
SLP Assignment Expectations
- Answer the assignment questions directly.
- Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don't go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing background materials.
- Make sure to use reliable and credible sources as your references. Articles published in established newspapers or business journals/magazines are preferred. If you find articles on the Internet, make sure they are from a credible source.
- Reference your sources of information with both a bibliography and in-text citations. See the Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 13 and 14 on in-text citations. Another resource is the "Writing Style Guide," which is found under "My Resources" in the TLC Portal.