Setting Up Shop for Verizon in Norway

Setting Up Shop for Verizon in Norway

Mode of Entry

The ideal market entry method that Verizon can use to enter Norway is strategic alliances. According to Almor (2018), strategic alliances are formal inter-organizational relationships formed by organizations to achieve shared objectives through collaboration instead of competition. Verizon should consider forming a joint venture with one of the telecommunications in Norway to create brand recognition and a good customer base. Joint ventures include agreements between two or more parties to create a single entity to complete a specific project. Every party in the joint venture has an equity share in the venture and shares expenses, revenue, and profits. One of the main advantages of joint ventures is shared expertise and knowledge. Each company in a joint venture has unique knowledge and expertise that can be shared to achieve shared goals. Sharing knowledge and expertise also creates a mutually beneficial relationship, increasing collaboration between the ventures.

Another advantage is increasing competitive advantage. Joint ventures allow companies to leverage each other’s strengths, such as brand awareness, thus increasing competitive advantage. In the case of Verizon, forming a joint venture with a company that has already established a large market share in Norway and has widespread brand awareness will help it increase its customer base and generate more profits. However, Verizon should be ready to deal with conflicts that may occur due to incompatibility between their objectives and those of the other company. According to Leahy & Naghavi (2010), one of the main disadvantages of joint ventures is conflicts arising from varying objectives. Campbell & Netzer (2009) argue that organizations in a joint venture conflict in most instances due to differences in attitude towards risk and acceptability of losses. The objectives of the partnering companies may also change over time based on the changes in the market environment. Another disadvantage revolves around issues in management structures that occur due to conflicts of interest (Campbell & Netzer, 2009). When a foreign company forms a joint venture with a company in the host country for a long time, the company may show favoritism when hiring locals, hence creating issues in the management structure. The foreign country may also opt to employ employees from the home country to hold top positions in the company.

Human Resources

Verizon will need to hire employees with knowledge of the business culture in Norway and an understanding of the country’s business environment. Top-level employees may be expatriates who have worked for the company for a while and understand how it operates. Lower-level employees may be locals who have the knowledge and skills required to complete the tasks assigned to them with minimum supervision. Granting employees minimum supervision will facilitate the creation and implementation of creative ideas that Verizon can use to enhance its performance in the country. The most appropriate staffing approach that Verizon should use is polycentric staffing. According to Eash (2018), the polycentric staffing approach includes assigning corporate positions to home-country nationals and management roles to host-country nationals. The polycentric approach would be ideal for Verizon because corporate positions require a good understanding of the company’s organizational culture, goals, mission, and vision and the appropriate organizational strategy that can be used to improve the organization’s performance.

Expatriates will be trained to familiarize themselves with the Norwegian business culture. The training will also include language classes in Norwegian because it is commonly used in business. Pay and compensation will be determined by the terms of the collective bargaining agreement used by employees working in the telecommunications sector in the country. Verizon will also adhere to union requirements on pay, compensation, and working conditions. According to Logue (2019), Norway has the highest percentage of unions globally. The unions dictate the relationship between the employee and employer. The main union concern that Verizon should be aware of is the likelihood of strike action if there is any breakdown in talks between the company and the unions.

Marketing

Verizon’s target market in Norway will be professionals between 25 and 39 years. Most professionals within this age group often use the internet to stay connected with other professionals in similar fields or complete professional tasks such as market research. The company’s segmentation will focus on demographic segmentation, including dividing the market into sub-categories based on social class, age, gender, income, and occupation. The company will use the premium pricing strategy. According to Hinterhuber (2019), premium pricing focuses on setting prices based on the quality of products and services. Verizon will emphasize the high quality of its services to increase customers’ willingness to pay to get the services.

Advertising will include both online and offline advertising. Online advertising will include the use of social media platforms, and offline advertising will focus on television and radio advertisements. The main cultural concern and barrier that Verizon may encounter in advertising is language issues. In Norway, the Norwegian language is considered the official language. Therefore, Verizon may have to advertise in English and Norwegian to reach local and foreign customers in the target market and create a competitive advantage. The main competitors that Verizon will be competing with are Telia, Telenor, Altibox, NextGenTel, and GlobalConnect.The competitors’ market share is shown in Figure 1 below.

Distribution

Verizon will use authorized dealers to distribute its services before it becomes familiar with the company’s geography and geographical regions with the most customers. The company will also give customers the option of registering and paying for wireless telecommunications services through its website. The company will also use a mix of home country and local suppliers to create a friendly relationship with local suppliers and help them learn from home country suppliers to ensure that their suppliers meet Verizon’s needs, including quality requirements. The company will have one production facility in Norway that will handle minor productions and repairs for customers in Norway. Experts working in the production facility will be outsourced from other telecommunication enterprises in the country to reduce production costs.

References

Almor, T. (2018). Towards a contingency view of market entry strategies: Contextual and strategic factors. Foreign Direct Investment and Strategic Alliances in Europe, 5-25. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315864983-2

Campbell, D., & Netzer, A. (2009). International joint ventures. Kluwer Law International B.V.

Eash, D. E. (2018). Polycentric staffing. The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management, 1298-1300. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-00772-8_768

Hinterhuber, A. (2019). Implementing pricing strategies. Pricing Strategy Implementation, 11-21. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429446849-2

Leahy, D., & Naghavi, A. (2010). Intellectual property rights and entry into a foreign market: FDI versus joint ventures. Review of International Economics, 18(4), 633-649. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9396.2010.00901.x

Logue, J. (2019). Trade unions in the Nordic countries. nordics.info | Aarhus University. https://nordics.info/show/artikel/trade-unions-in-the-nordic-region

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Setting Up Shop for Verizon in Norway:
Assume your organization is going forward with entering into the country you discussed in your country study. They are now in the process of determining the more specific details of setting up business in that country.

They have asked you to write a report on your recommendations as to how they should enter the country, staff the operation, the type of international strategy they should use, and the marketing and distribution strategy.
You are to use at least three additional sources to complete this assignment. PLEASE remember to cite all your sources; proper citation of your sources is a requirement for this course. This assignment is to be a minimum of 2 – 4 pages typed, font 12, double-spaced.
Please support all recommendations with sound reasoning and research.
Your report must cover but not be limited to the following areas:
• Mode of Entry
o Pick the most appropriate mode of entry
o Discuss the pros and cons
o Support your decision with research
• Human Resources
o Staffing Needs
 Management
 Lower-Level employees
o Staffing Approach
 Ethnocentric, Polycentric, or Geocentric
o Pay and Compensation
o Training and Development
o Union Concerns
• Marketing
o Target Market & Market Segmentation
o Pricing
o Advertising
 Cultural Concerns & Barriers
 How will you address them
o Competitor Marketing Analysis
• Distribution
o Distribution Strategy
o Suppliers
 Use local, home country or a mix?
o Production facilities (if needed)
o Will you use outsourcing