Handelsbanken Case Study
Essay Preview: Handelsbanken Case Study
1 rating(s)
Report this essay
1. What entry modes into foreign markets has Handelsbanken applied throughout its history? [pic 1]2. Like all internationalised organisations, Handelsbanken is facing the global-local dilemma. Discuss how this dilemma is handled in practice. What is done globally and what is done locally? Drawing on Bartlett and Ghoshal’s framework, how would you describe Handelsbanken’s internationalisation strategy?Global Local DilemmaGLOBAL:- Government driverso Technical standards- Cost driverso Scale economies- Competitive driverso Interdependence between countriesLOCAL:- Adapt to customer needs and behavioural normsAccording to Ghemawat’s CAGE framework:- Cultural distanceo Different social norms- Administrative and political distanceo Absence of shared political or monetary association- Economic differenceso Different consumer incomeso Different costs and quality of natural, financial, and human resourceso Different information or knowledge GLOBAL VS LOCAL® Particular local strategy implemented by Jan Wallander who was against marketing strategies, not based enough on customer needs according to himGlobally vs locally3 levels:- Branches: core level- Regional head offices- Corporate headquarters in StockholmGlobally:Only two major aspects of business remain centralized at Handelsbankeno Corporate culture:§ Decentralization and cost-consciousness culture§ Internal training programs to reproduce the culture in every work situation
§ Managers internally recruited to ensure they fit to the corporate cultureo Credit process:§ Central management remains in control of larger loans to customers ® permit them to avoid a risky loan on the local level§ But top management not allowed to grant a loan that have been denied by the manager of the branchLocally:Local branch offices considered as the core business,Handelsbanken is a decentralized banko Local branch office§ To adapt offer to consumer needs§ Each consumer is allocated to a local branch§ Church tower principle: closest to the customer’s location§ Costs and revenues allocated to the local brancho Branch management§ Knowledge of the local market§ Independent decision about promotion of products§ Targets set according to the market, previous financial results, performance of comparable brancheso Today Handelsbanken is still known as the most decentralized and cost-consciousness bankBartlett & Ghoshal frameworkIn this case: Multi-domestic firm : Low integration/high responsiveness pressures