—

—







‡ Mercantilism
± Mercantilism is a sixteenth-century
economic philosophy that maintains that a
country¶s wealth is measured by its
holdings of gold and silver. According to
mercantilists, a country¶s goal should be to
enlarge those holdings.


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‡ Absolute advantage
± Adam Smith argued that mercantilism robs
individuals of the ability to trade freely and to
benefit from voluntary exchanges. Smith
developed the theory of absolute advantage,
which suggests that a country should export those
goods and services for which it is more productive
than other countries and import those goods and
services for which other countries are more
productive than it is.


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‡ Comparative advantage
± David Ricardo, an early nineteenth-century
British economist, refined the theory of
absolute advantage by developing the
theory of comparative advantage. This
theory states that a country should produce
and export those goods and services for
which it is relatively more productive than
are other countries and import those goods
and services for which other countries are
relatively more productive than it is.

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‡ Relative factor endowments

± Eli Heckscher and Bertil Ohlin developed
the theory of relative factor endowments,
now often referred to as the Heckscher-
Ohlin theory. The theory states that a
country will have a comparative advantage
in producing products that intensively use
resources (factors of production) that it has
in abundance.

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‡ Firm-based theories have developed for

several reasons:
± The growing importance of MNCs in the postwar
international economy
± The inability of the country-based theories to
explain and predict the existence of growth of
intraindustry trade
± The failure of Leontief and other researchers to
empirically validate the country-based Heckscher-
Ohlin theory


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‡ As developed in the 1960s by Raymond

Vernon of the Harvard Business School,
international product life cycle theory
traces the roles of innovation, market
expansion, comparative advantage, and
strategic responses of global rivals in
international production, trade, and
investment decisions.

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‡ In Stage 1, the new product stage, a firm
develops and introduces an innovative
product in response to a perceived need in
the domestic market.
‡ In Stage 2, the maturing product stage,
demand for the product expands dramatically
as consumers recognize its value.
‡ In Stage 3, the standardized product stage,
the market for the product stabilizes.

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‡ According to the international product

life cycle theory, domestic production
begins in Stage 1, peaks in Stage 2,
and slumps in Stage 3. By Stage 3,
however, the innovating firm¶s country
becomes a net importer of the product.


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‡ Firms competing in the global marketplace

have numerous ways of obtaining a
sustainable competitive advantage.
± Owning intellectual property rights
± Investing in research and development
± Achieving economies of scale
± Exploiting the experience curve


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‡ A firm that owns an intellectual property

right²a trademark, brand name, patent, or
copyright²often gains advantages over its
competitors.
‡ Owning prestigious brand names enables
Ireland¶s Waterford Wedgewood Company
and France¶s Louis Vuitton to charge
premium prices for their upscale products.
And Coca Cola and PesiCo compete for
customers worldwide on the basis of their
trademarks and brand names.

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‡ Research and development (R&D) is a

major component of the total cost of
high-technology products. Because of
such large ³entry´ costs, other firms
often hesitate to compete against these
established firms. Thus, the firm that
acts first often gains a first-mover
advantage.

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Œ
‡ Economies of scale or scope offer firms
another opportunity to obtain a sustainable
competitive advantage in international
markets. Economies of scale occur when a
product¶s average costs decrease as the
number of units produced increases.
Economies of scope occur when a firm¶s
average costs decrease as the number of
different products it sells increases.


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‡ Another source of firm-specific
advantages in international trade is
exploitation of the experience curve. For
certain types of products, production
costs decline as the firm gains more
experience in manufacturing the
product. Experience curves may be so
significant that they govern global
competition within an industry.

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0



‡ Harvard Business School Professor Michael

Porter¶s theory of national competitive
advantage is the newest addition to
international trade theory.
‡ Porter believes that success in international
trade comes from the interaction of four
country- and firm-specific elements:
± Factor conditions
± Demand conditions
± Related and supporting industries
± Firm strategy, structure, and rivalry

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‡ Numerous factors may influence a firm¶s

decision to undertake FDI. These can
be classified as supply factors, demand
factors, and political factors.
‡ Supply factors
± Production costs
± Logistics
± Availability of natural resources
± Access to key technology

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‡ Demand factors
± Customer access
± Marketing advantages
± Exploitation of competitive advantages
± Customer mobility
‡ Political factors
± Avoidance of trade barriers
± Economic development incentives


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