Marketing strategy in the context of globalization in the automotive industry essay
Introduction
The emergence of globalization contributed to consistent changes in marketing strategies used by companies based in different countries of the world. In this regard, the development of the international market expansion strategy has become one of the most effective and successful strategies elaborated and implemented by many companies. Moreover, the implementation of this strategy has become an essential condition of global marketing success, whereas companies focused on domestic markets only turn out to be in a disadvantageous position compared to its multinational rivals because they are incapable to compete with large multinational corporations which have greater financial, human and material resources and which tend to take the dominant position in the global market. The growing openness of domestic economies makes them even more vulnerable to the impact of multinational corporations that leave little room for companies oriented on the domestic market to survive in the highly competitive business environment. In other words, the international market expansion is not just a matter of gaining new markets and a better competitive position but also a matter of survival for companies operating in different industries.
At this point, it is possible to refer to the case of the automotive industry and the marketing strategy used by GM, which has proved to be capable to survive or reviving after its downfall in 2008. GM, just like other leaders of the car manufacturing industry, such as Toyota, Volkswagen, and others, focuses on international market expansion as one of its key priorities. Moreover, today, the vision of GM includes international market expansion as the key element of its further business development. In the course of time, the international market expansion strategy of GM changed but the company views it as the way to survival and enhancement of its position in the tight competitive struggle. Therefore, the case of GM reveals the importance of the international market expansion driven by the process of globalization which encourages free trade and movement of goods, capital, and human resources and, thus, facilitates the global expansion and success of such companies as GM. The development of globalization encouraged companies like GM to go global and change their marketing strategies. GM has proved to be successful in its international market expansion strategy which helps the company to recover after its downfall in 2008 and opens new opportunities for GM to regain its position as the world’s largest car manufacturer as the company used to be in the mid-2000s.
Therefore, the research questions are:
How does globalization affect the marketing strategy of GM as one of the world’s car manufacturing leaders?
What marketing strategy does GM use in response to or under the impact of globalization and related socio-economic processes?
The research objectives are:
1) To identify the impact of globalization on GM
2) To identify GM responses to globalization
3) To determine the marketing strategy of GM in the context of globalization
4) To trace the change and evolution of the marketing strategy of GM from the 1990s to the present day in the context of globalization
5) To evaluate the marketing strategy of GM in the context of the development of the car manufacturing industry
The thesis statement:
GM has proved to be successful in its international market expansion strategy which helps the company to recover after its downfall in 2008 and opens new opportunities for GM to regain its position as the world’s largest car manufacturer as the company used to be in the mid-2000s.
Literature review
The theory used in the proposed research holds the premise that the development of GM is driven by the supply and demand changes in the global market that also influence customer behavior. The change in the demand and customer behavior triggers changes in policies conducted by GM. Hence, the supply and demand theory is the theory that explains current policies used by GM in international markets. The theoretical framework of the proposed study focuses on the use of descriptive research based on the survey of literature and secondary data concerning the researched problem. The current study involves the analysis of the secondary data and literature survey concerning the development of GM in global terms with the focus on the crisis period of 2008 and the aftermath along with the current development of the company. The study also involves the analysis of the international market expansion strategy, its pitfalls, and challenges along with benefits GM may obtain with an emphasis on Singapore as the target market for GM business development in Asia. The study involves the secondary data and literature survey to describe the effects of current policies as well as to forecast possible effects of GM entering and enhancing its position in Singapore with prospects of the enhancement of the position of the company in the Asian market at large. This business development of the company is analyzed in the context of the process of globalization which urges GM to expand its business operations. The past negative experience of GM in the pre-crisis and pre-bankruptcy years makes it clear that GM cannot use the same marketing strategy anymore. The current study intends to evaluate the effectiveness of the new strategy and find out effective ways to expand GM’s business internationally in such markets as Singapore with the help of focusing on the most successful and efficient brands and the most prospective markets, instead of the mere international market expansion at all costs to take the leading position in quantitative but not qualitative terms.
The process of globalization has a considerable impact on the development of the world economy as well as businesses. In this regard, the car manufacturing industry is particularly vulnerable to the impact of globalization because industry leaders have already gone internationally and competed in the global market. The largest car manufacturers like Toyota, GM, and others operate internationally and the international market is vitally important for them because their domestic market cannot provide them with stable and substantial growth.
Globalization involves the elimination of trade barriers and the emergence of free trade. Free trade, in its turn, stimulates the international business expansion of companies as they can operate worldwide and sell their goods and services internationally. At the same time, globalization is not just free trade. Instead, globalization involves the large-scale economic cooperation and integration of countries, when countries develop closer economic ties, eliminate fiscal barriers, and create conditions for the free movement of goods, capital, and human resources. In such a way, globalization eliminates barriers between countries and opens the way for the free trade and movement of goods, capital, and human resources. Such conditions are favorable for the development of international business. Companies operating in different industries take advantage of globalization and develop international business relations as well as expand their businesses globally.
In such a situation, car manufacturers benefit from globalization because they get an opportunity to export their products worldwide. Moreover, car manufacturers can move the production of their cars to any country in the world, if there are no fiscal and other barriers. This is why many leading car manufacturers, including GM, have launched assembling facilities in many developing countries and expanded their production facilities worldwide to get closer to target markets and, thus, make their production process more cost-efficient.
The international market expansion allowed car manufacturers like GM to reach the target customer group faster and gain a competitive advantage compared to rivals, which were less aggressive in international markets (Mohrman, 2014). The process of globalization accelerated the international market expansion and made such a marketing strategy essential for leading car manufacturers because they could hardly survive if they remained focused on their local market.
At this point, it is possible to refer to the case of British Vauxhall and Opel which are subsidiaries of GM. Larger car manufacturers either merged with or acquire smaller ones to enhance their competitive position in the market. GM owns these brands but localizes them to meet the expectations and habits of local customers. For example, Vauxhall is a recognizable brand in the UK but unfamiliar in the US or Asia. This is why GM uses Vauxhall to reach British customers, while Opel, which offers the same car models but under a different label, is more popular in Germany and Europe, where GM sells its cars under the Opel brand. The same models in the US are sold under the brand Saturn. Such multibranding makes products of the company closer to their target customers and helps them to purchase familiar products rather than unfamiliar ones. For example, if GM decided to introduce Opel in the UK, then the company would invest in branding and promotion of Opel, while Vauxhall is already a well-known and recognized brand in the UK. Similarly, if GM decided to introduce the Vauxhall brand instead of Open in Europe, then the company would spend even more financial resources and efforts to promote Vauxhall in Europe which is almost unfamiliar in Europe.
In this regard, many researchers (Farell, et al., 2006) argue that GM was one of the leaders in the globalization of the automotive industry in the world. The company used to be the largest car manufacturer in the world in the pre-economic recession period in the 2000s. GM has reached such success, to a significant extent, due to its very aggressive international market expansion. In the pre-crisis period, GM focused on fast expansion prioritizing quantitative expansion rather than qualitative one. What is meant here is the fact that the main goal of GM was to gain a possibly larger number of markets and to take its market share in global terms. On the other hand, the development of the international market raised the problem of stiffening competition and increasing the costs of such growth. GM invested substantial funds into the global market expansion to become the largest car manufacturer in the world.
At the same time, some researchers (McCracken, et al., 2009) argue that the tremendous, aggressive, and very fast growth of GM at the international level has created considerable problems and become one of the major reasons for its downfall when the company confronted the disastrous impact of the economic recession in the US and financial crisis in the world in 2008. To put it more precisely, GM’s international market expansion could have been too costly for the company and exhausting for its financial resources. As a result, when the crisis has come, GM turned out to be unable to afford the devastating downturn in the domestic market and compensate for losses by the growth of international markets, many of which also contracted in 2008. The company has invested substantial resources into its international market expansion and, when the crisis has struck, the company turned out to be financially constrained and unable to keep growing and even pay off its liabilities since GM has raised stakes too high to gain global leadership.
On the other hand, the economic recession of 2008 and the followed-up bailout urged GM to change its marketing strategy in the changing business environment and situation in the global market. The company has never refused the strategy of international market expansion but since 2008, the company’s international market expansion became more selective and careful because the company focused on the potential of target markets and expected returns on investments. In such a way, the economic recession and the global financial crisis of 2008 made GM re-evaluate and change its international market expansion strategy but they have never urged the company to refuse its international business and overseas outlets.
In this respect, the case of GM is particularly noteworthy because its growth in the US is very slow, while the economic recession of 2008 has resulted in the bailout of the company. Therefore, the international market expansion was almost the only way for the company to grow and accelerate its business development due to the expansion in fast-growing markets which were and still are emerging markets, such as China, India, and others.
Today, the company is growing and international markets play the main part in the growth of GM and the expansion of its market share. GM grows due to emerging markets mainly, where the company experiences the most substantial growth (Gomory, 2012). At the moment, the company tends to multibranding which means that the company creates multiple brands in different countries of the world to reach a specific customer group (Pfanner, 2008). The main idea of a global marketing strategy of GM is the creation of a brand for every place (Pfanner, 2008).
Furthermore, GM has elaborated a marketing plan that focuses on further global market expansion and helps the company to enhance its competitive position. This new marketing plan includes several key steps. First, the company focuses on innovations and the introduction of new products and technologies which can make its cars more attractive to customers worldwide (GM, 2016).
Shortly after the economic recession of 2008, GM has made the development and production of fuel-efficient cars one of its main priorities. In this regard, the company developed its collaboration with such companies as Fiat to make its cars more fuel-efficient. Fiat had experience in manufacturing small fuel-efficient cars and GM attempted to use this experience in European as well as other markets, including the domestic, and American markets. During the time of the economic recession and the global financial crisis, this move was quite effective.
The wider use of electric cars becomes one of the priorities for GM and this is another strategic development in the marketing of the company and its products. The development of electric cars by GM, like Chevy Spark, is particularly perspective in light of the growing environmental concerns of customers and their economic concerns. Electric cars are very efficient and attractive for customers, especially in well-developed countries because they are environment-friendly and cost-efficient compared to conventional cars using fossil fuels.
In this regard, one of the main directions in the development of technological innovations by GM is the development of new technologies that can and do make its cars fuel-efficient. In the past, the company paid little attention to fuel efficiency but skyrocketing fuel prices in the mid-2000s discouraged customers to buy fuel-inefficient vehicles from GM when the crisis struck in 2008 (Robbins & Finley, 2015). Second, GM is going to make Cadillac its new flagship brand which will become the premium segment brand from GM (GM, 2016). Third, its new marketing plan of GM pays particular attention to the Chinese market, where the company plans to continue its growth and market expansion (GM, 2016).
At the same time, GM pays a lot of attention to emerging markets other than the Chinese one, although the Chinese market remains one of the main priorities for the company in its international market expansion so far. GM uses wide partnerships to expand its business internationally. In this regard, GM is now trying to divide the emerging world between its two partners (Shirouzou, 2013). SAIC in Asian markets outside China and PSA in Russia and Latin America (Shirouzou, 2013). The improvement of the financial performance is a challenging but very important part of GM’s marketing plan in the contemporary globalized business environment (GM, 2016).
GM’s strategy to improve relationships with suppliers to derive more global volume from fewer vehicle architectures and lower enterprise costs for material and logistics is expected to deliver significantly better variable margins on upcoming high-volume product launches, including the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa and Astra in Europe, and the Chevrolet Cruze and Malibu in North America (GM, 2016). By 2020, the company expects that about 99 percent of global production will be on core architectures (GM, 2016).
At the same time, researchers (Chenhall, 2003) argue that the international marketing strategy of GM evolved over the course of time. In the late 1990s – early 2000s, the company conducted an aggressive international market expansion strategy whose main goal was to build up the international network and reach possibly larger markets in a possibly larger number of countries.
However, as the economic recession of 2008 struck, the company has changed its international marketing strategy and focused on emerging markets as its main priority in the development of its global marketing strategy. Moreover, the company focuses on China as the core market for its international market expansion. Such selectiveness is very important and reveals that GM has shifted from an aggressive international market expansion strategy to a careful international market expansion strategy oriented on the potential and quality of target markets.
The study was conducted by DePamphilis, D. (2012). Case Study: The General Motors Bankruptcy – GM Arises from the Ashes? reveals the negative effect of marketing policies launched by GM at the turn of the century. The fast international expansion and extensive development of the global network at all costs resulted in huge financial losses for the company. GM expanded globally and purchased other brands and entered new markets to enhance its position internationally but such expansion had very weak marketing backup in terms of the analysis of costs and effects of such expansion. As a result, the company purchased new brands, like Daewoo in South Korea, which were potentially attractive but did not bring many benefits to GM. Instead, the company suffered substantial financial losses because of investments in the restructuring of its organizational structure and development of its business internationally, while some markets and projects of the company were a sheer disaster. Ultimately, GM had to get rid of many of its acquisitions abroad to regain its competitive position and improve its financial health. DePamphilis views the strategy-oriented international expansion at all costs as erroneous to the extent that this strategy became one of the major reasons for the bankruptcy of GM that followed the financial crisis of 2008. The company just could not afford the further growth and fund existing projects in the time of the rapid and fast contraction of the market in the US and other countries. In such a way, the author reveals possible causes of GM’s bankruptcy and the negative impact of the global expansion of the company on its financial performance. In this regard, the expansion of GM to Singapore may also bear certain risks because the company has launched the expansion on the wave of its aggressive global market expansion. Anyway, the company has experienced substantial troubles with its outlets overseas. This is why it is possible to presuppose that GM had to be more careful while implementing its strategy of the international market expansion because the expansion at all costs strategy has proved to be too costly for the company.
A similar conclusion is obvious from the study conducted by McCracken, J. et al. (March 30, 2009). “Bankruptcy Leads Possible Plans for GM, Chrysler”, where the author also traces factors that contributed to the bankruptcy of GM. At the same time, the researchers also attempt to conduct an analysis of GM’s response to the bankruptcy and the new strategy that was supposed to revive the company and help the company to regain its position in the global market. At the same time, McCracken and other researchers (2009) point out that GM still stayed focused on the expansion of its market share, but, in contrast to the pre-recession period, the company used a different strategy. To put it more precisely, the company decided to merge with Chrysler to enhance its position in the US market, which is the domestic market for the company. Also, this step opened the way for further market expansion internationally due to the potential of Chrysler outside the US. Anyway, the merger of GM and Chrysler marked a considerable change in the marketing strategy that affected the position of the company not only in the US but also internationally. The company refused the risky and uncertain expansions that could not bring certain profits to the company. instead, the company focused on investments in solid companies and renowned brands like Chrysler which could help the company to regain the confidence of investors and customers and attract them to the company.
However, the merger of GM and Chrysler has proved to be not as beneficial as the company expected. Nevertheless, GM became more careful in its international market expansion. The expansion of GM to Singapore may be viewed as the continuation of the new market expansion strategy launched by the company after the bankruptcy because the company focused on the potentially prospective market with the good opportunity to reach nearby markets of South East Asia and the Pacific region. In such a context, the decision of the company seems to be reasonable and the change of the expansion strategy implies that the company refused from investing in risky assets and, instead, became more careful and selective in its international market expansion.
Other researchers (Farell, et al., 2006) reveal the alternative way for the development of GM which the company could have taken before the crisis and which could have helped the company to stumble through the crisis without running bankrupt. , Alexander E. Farellet al. (2006, Jan. 27) in their article “Ethanol Can Contribute to Energy and Environmental Goals” reveals prospects for the development and production of cars that use alternative fuels, namely ethanol. Ethanol is different from conventional gasoline that GM cars use traditionally and so do many rival cars. The article reveals the potential of ethanol as an environment-friendly fuel that the company could use to accelerate its sales and develop new models that are attractive to customers, who are concerned with their environment. GM apparently ignored such implications before the crisis and bankruptcy because the company did not pay much attention to the development of new models that used alternative sources of power and alternative fuels.
At this point, it is noteworthy that after the bankruptcy, GM has finally shifted to the development of new models that use alternative fuels, like the Chevrolet Spark which was one of the first successful models of GM cars that used electric power instead of the conventional fuel. This shift means that the findings of researchers like Farellet and colleagues (2006) were important and potentially prospective but ignored by GM in the past. At the moment, GM develops a marketing strategy oriented toward the development and production of environmentally friendly cars that use electric power and alternative fuels. This strategy is potentially beneficial as Farellet and colleagues (2006) predicted. Ethanol is one of the possible fuels that may be used instead of conventional gasoline that may replace gasoline and be cheaper than gasoline. Such fuels and the development of new models that use alternative fuels can help GM to enhance its competitive position in the market but the company still has to invest substantial funds in the development of new technologies and new models to enhance its competitive position and launch the large scale production of such models. Chevrolet Spark and its success is evidence of the potential of GM and the potential of this segment of the market that focuses on customers concerned about fuel efficiency and environmental issues. In such a situation, new models may be popular not only in the US but also in Singapore and other markets, where technologies are developed enough for the effective and regular use of such models. Also, such a strategy opens the way for the company to attract more customers and to take the new niche in the market because customers grow more and more concerned with environmental issues.
In addition, customers became very skeptical and even hostile in relation to car manufacturing companies like GM because of their little attention to environmental protection. The negative brand image of GM deteriorated its competitive position and financial performance. The negative image of the company derived from its traditionally negligent attitude to the fuel efficiency of its cars and the production of large cars that consumed a large amount of fuel. As a result, GM’s brand had a negative reputation and many customers turned to brands that were more fuel-efficient, especially during the time of the economic recession, when the fuel price increased considerably. This is why GM ultimately came to the point when the development of new models like the Chevrolet Spark became an urgent necessity to regain its competitive position in the global market and not lose the potentially lucrative segment of the global market.
On the other hand, GM apparently realized too late the importance of alternative fuels and models that use alternative fuels because rivals of GM like Toyota have developed such models much earlier before the crisis has struck. Rivals have proved to be more attentive to the findings and views of such researchers as Farellet and colleagues (2006), while GM has lost the initiative in the new segment of the market and the company has to follow the lead of its rivals. At the moment, the company attempts to catch up with rivals but apparently, GM experienced difficulties in this field because its research and development of models that use alternative fuels have started too late compared to rivals and the company needs to boost its research and development in this field. However, the research and development in this field require substantial financial resources and the company does not have the required amount to accelerate its research and development. This is why GM is the follower in the market of cars that use alternative fuels so far.
In this regard, investments in research and development are strategically important according to Garvin D. A. and Artemis M. (1997, November), who explained and justified the development of knowledge management in their article “A Note on Knowledge Management”. The researchers prove the importance of research and development as the major driver of the business development of companies operating in the market in the late 20th century, but this trend is still relevant in the 21st century. Moreover, today, the role of research and development has increased even more than it used to be in the late 20th century due to the fast progress of technologies that contributed to increased demands of customers in regard to products they buy, including cars.
In such a situation, knowledge management is strategically important for GM and the company has to apply this strategy in its global expansion. In this regard, the focus on Singapore seems to be prospective for GM because the company can gain access to the qualified labor force and fast, dynamic market, where GM can obtain considerable financial benefits and develop and introduce new technologies. The development of knowledge management is essential for large companies like GM, according to Garvin and Artemis (1997). This idea is very important now when GM needs to enhance its competitive and financial position because the development of innovations and their successful implementation by the company opens the way for better competitiveness and improvement of the marketing and financial performance of the company. Such improvements are difficult to achieve and implement without effective knowledge management because knowledge management helps the company to manage the available information and prospective ideas that can be developed into profitable projects and new technologies that can improve the products of the company and make them more attractive to customers. In such a way, knowledge management is important for GM but the company still fails to make knowledge management its priority, whereas innovations are rather generated by its research and development with disregard to all the information and noteworthy ideas that are generated within the company.
Innovations and effective knowledge management are particularly important in the time of globalization when the competition grows stronger and companies operating in the car manufacturing industry get access to the global market and attempt to penetrate new markets. Gomory (2012) argues that large corporations cannot ignore the process of globalization because, if they do, they are likely to lose their position to their rivals. The focus on the domestic market alone will prevent the company from successful market expansion, whereas rivals will take new markets and raise barriers to entering those markets. As a result, if a company like GM refuses international market expansion, then it is likely to be doomed to failure in the long-run perspective (Gomory, 2012).
GM was and still is aware of the process of globalization and international market expansion. However, the past experience of GM before the economic recession and bankruptcy of the company proves its inability to prepare and confront the challenges of globalization and market expansion adequately. To put it more precisely, GM expanded unwisely and the company used the strategy of international market expansion at all costs. Costs of such expansion have proved to be too high for the company. This is why now GM is changing its expansion strategy and identifying its priorities clearly. For example, the company prioritizes its international market expansion to China and Asia at large, including such countries as Singapore, where the company can develop its production facilities, enter new markets and export its products in the South-East Asia and Pacific region.
The new strategy for the international market expansion of GM is different from the strategy used by the company in the past. The identification of the key priorities helps GM to focus on the most prospective markets and models which can bring the company success. As a result, the risk of failures and substantial financial losses for GM drops consistently. Instead, the company is more likely to gain financial benefits and enhance its competitive position in the global market than it used to do before, when the company just expanded its market, wherever possible, regardless of the costs of such expansion and its long-run effects. The strategy of selective market expansion allows the company to concentrate its efforts and resources on target markets. This is why the company maximizes the effectiveness of its marketing strategy and uses available means and resources to reach its goals in the target market, such as China or Singapore. At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that the focus on Singapore and the potential of Singapore should not be underestimated because the location of Singapore opens opportunities for the export of cars to China and other Asian countries, while the openness of Singapore to the world economy facilitates the development of GM business in this country. Such openness helps to overcome national boundaries and develop GM business internationally via Singapore as a sort of hub, where the company can expand throughout the Asian market. The Asian market is the priority for the company due to its fast growth and presence of such emerging economies as those of China and India along with other well-developed and fast-growing countries of South-East Asia and other parts of Asia.
At this point, it is possible to refer to the book “Global Economy and the Third World” by Khor, M. (2011), where the author explores the development of the process of globalization and its impact on and the role of the Third World. The author argues that the Third World has huge potential, especially in the time of globalization. Khor (2011) predicts the accelerated development of the Third World and reveals that the growth of the global economy occurs mainly due to the accelerated growth of developing countries. Emerging economies, like China, India, Brazil, and others play a particularly important part in the growth of the world economy. In this regard, Asian countries play a particularly important part because they have a huge economic, demographic and productive potential. This is why large companies are attracted by their potential and available natural resources and cheap labor force. The fast development of emerging economies and other developing countries leads to the elevation of the quality of life and standards of living in the Third World and tends to close gaps between developed countries and the Third World.
However, the gap between developed countries and the Third World persists so far, but Khor is definitely right in his views on the role of developing countries, especially Asian ones, like China, Singapore, and others, in the growth of the global economy. The economic potential of developing countries is enormous. The case of China reveals the full extent to which developing countries can accelerate their economic growth and become leaders in global economic development. In such a situation, GM cannot ignore the fast-growing markets of Asia, like the Chinese one. This is why the company prioritizes Chinese and other Asian markets. At the moment, the company focuses on the Chinese market as its main priority but the development of its business in Singapore opens new opportunities for the enhancement of the position of GM in Asia. Khor (2011) argues that such countries as Singapore have considerable potential with regard to the development of international economic relations. They may become bridges to the larger Asian market for American companies like GM as well as other large companies from developed countries. This is why the development of business in Singapore and other Asian countries may be beneficial for GM. There are several factors that make those markets particularly attractive for GM. First, they have a cheap labor force that may help the company to save costs compared to the labor force in the US. Second, the huge economic potential of developing countries and demographics provides not only a cheap labor force but also stimulates economic growth due to the prevalence of the economically active population in the total population of developing countries. Their markets are not saturated as is often the case in developed countries. For example, the competition in the car manufacturing industry in the US is much stiffer compared to the competition in the industry in China, India, or Singapore. This is why GM can increase its market share in Asian markets and boost its sale rates. The enhancement of the position of the company in Asia would also enhance its competitive position in global terms. Finally, developing countries are interested in foreign direct investments because they do not only bring money to their economies but also bring new technologies, and management strategies and enhance their integration into the global economy. As a result, governments of developing countries tend to conduct loyal policies in regard to large corporations like GM, if they manifest their interest to develop their business in those countries.
Another priority in the development of GM now is the quality of its products. Traditionally, GM was subject to severe criticism from the part of its customers, especially in the US, because of the low reliability of its cars and relatively low quality of its cars compared to Japanese and cars of other manufacturers. In this regard, Gitlow (2012) in his book “The Deming guide to quality and competitive position” argues that the quality of products and services of companies are determinants of their competitive position in the contemporary business environment. Customers have a wide choice of products and services provided by different companies. Globalization makes the choice even wider than it has ever been before. As a result, customers naturally choose the best products and services available in the market. This is why the quality of products and services is often determinant for customers and defines their choices. Therefore, GM has to develop high-quality products to remain competitive in the contemporary business environment.
At the moment, the quality of products and services is among the main priorities of GM but the company still has to gain customer confidence and change stereotypes customers have about its cars and services. This is a big challenge for the company because the change in the customer behavior requires a considerable change in the quality of services and improvement of its products. also the company needs to conduct a promotional campaign and has to focus on positive publicity to attract customers and to gain more benefits from traditional and new markets.
In this respect, the company may follow the recommendation provided by Hackman, R.J. and R. Wageman (1995) in “Total Quality Management: Empirical, Conceptual, and Practical Issues”. The authors argue that total quality management is an effective way to enhance the competitive position of the company due to the consistent improvement of the quality of products and services. However, total quality management requires consistent changes in the organizational culture and development because the organization has to focus on quality as its main goal. High quality should refer not only to the products and services of the company but also to internal business operations and all the processes within the company. Hence, employees should prioritize quality in their work.
In the case of GM, total quality management could help to enhance the competitive position of the company because it would lead to the consistent and qualitative improvement of its products, services, and organizational performance. However, the introduction of total quality management by GM would be costly and require considerable changes in the company. The introduction of total quality management in GM would require the development of high-quality standards that should be equal for all of its outlets, whether they are located in the US or Singapore. However, such standards would make its products of equally high quality. Today, the company has quality standards but they should be elevated to a new, higher level. Furthermore, the company has to make quality a part of its organizational culture. Hackman and Wageman (1995) argue that the integration of total quality management in the organizational culture is essential because employees should view the quality of all their actions and their performance as an integral part of their routine work. GM may use training and other tools to integrate quality into the organizational culture.
Hackman and Wageman (1995) argue that effects of the total quality management can give the company a strategic advantage over rivals because the total quality management raises the company to a new level, unachievable for rivals, who do not use the total quality management. Total quality management can enhance the competitive position of the company in the long-run perspective because the focus on quality will make the company oriented toward the best products and services and their constant improvement. Moreover, managers and employees of the company will always seek ways to improve their performance that will ultimately improve the performance of the company. In such a way, the company develops its business on the ground of high-quality standards that enhance its competitive position and attract customers.
However, to implement such changes successfully, GM needs flexibility that helps the company to adapt to the rapidly changing business environment and elaborate effective approaches to management, marketing, and expansion of its business internationally into such countries as Singapore or China, for example. S. A. Mohrman (2014) in his book “Tomorrow’s organization: Crafting winning capabilities in a dynamic world” argues that companies have to be capable to adapt fast to the changing business environment. Moreover, he argues that the ability of the company to adapt fast defines its competitive position in the market and its survival in the long-run perspective. The adaptation of the company to the changing business environment and flexibility of its marketing strategies help the company to respond to existing challenges fast and effectively. In such a way, the company may maintain an effective competitive position and gain a stronger position in the market.
GM experiences difficulties with the development of its flexibility because the company has a complex organizational structure at the moment. The further international market expansion makes its organizational structure more and more complex. As a result, the development of flexibility is one of the challenges in face of GM. The development of a flexible marketing strategy means that the company is able to adapt to a very specific business environment of the target market, such as the Singapore market. In this regard, the development of the company’s flexible marketing strategy would focus on the adaptability of the company to the local market specificities. The flexibility also implies that the international outlets of GM should have a certain autonomy in the decision-making process to be able to respond to specific challenges they face in their specific business environment.
At the same time, the company also needs to be flexible in its global business development and marketing strategy. This means that the company has to respond to challenges fast and effectively and resolve problems that emerge in the global business environment. To meet this goal, the company needs to optimize its organizational structure and conduct an analysis of existing threats and the key trends in the development of the car manufacturing industry. The prevention of risks and threats the company may experience in the market and adapt to the current needs of customers.
Muller, J. (2014) in the article “GM chief outlines growth strategy: China, Cadillac and new technology” reveals the main directions in the development of the company and its marketing strategy. The company has defined its priority markets and brands the company plans to develop along with ways through which the company attempts to improve its marketing performance and competitive position in the global market. The target market for GM is the Chinese market. Muller (2014) argues that GM focuses on the Chinese to enhance its position in the international market because the Chinese market keeps growing, while the demand in the Chinese market is still high. The researcher forecasted the further growth of the Chinese market that is likely to provide the growth of GM’s business in the future. In such a way, the company will benefit from the enhancement of its position in China as the major target market. In this regard, GM follows the lead of other companies that have already entered the Chinese market and view this market as an important part of their global business development. The growth in China can compensate for possible losses of GM in other markets, while the relatively low level of saturation of the Chinese market opens great opportunities for GM to take a large share of one of the most prospective markets in the world. This is why Muller concludes that the focus on the Chinese market opens good prospects for the long-run growth of GM.
Another important element of the current marketing strategy of GM is the development of the Cadillac brand which means the promotion of the brand along with the development of new models and improvement of existing ones. Cadillac is positioned by GM as the premium brand that opens the premium segment of the global for this brand which has been under-represented in the world market so far. To put it more precisely, Cadillac as the premium brand holds a small share of the international market compared to premium brands of other companies, such as Toyota, MB, and others. The development of the Cadillac brand and the production of new and better models of Cadillac can open the way for GM to a stronger position among premium brands. The improvement of the position of GM among premium brands is likely to improve the brand image of GM at large because customers will grow confident in the company’s capability to produce high-quality premium products.
Finally, Muller (2014) distinguishes new technologies as another priority in the marketing development of GM. New technologies are essential for GM to enhance its competitive position in the contemporary car manufacturing industry because companies operating in the industry invest substantial funds into the development of new technologies to make their cars more attractive to customers and more competitive compared to their rivals. New technologies help GM to create new models and improve existing ones. For example, new technologies contribute to the improvement of the fuel efficiency of GM models. Also, new technologies contribute to the development of such models as Chevrolet Spark that are environment friendly and use electric power instead of gasoline. This is an example of the effective use of new technologies by GM. The more the company introduces new technologies the stronger becomes competitive position of the company, especially in international markets.
However, the development of new technologies is costly and requires substantial investments in research and development. Nevertheless, GM has to invest in new technologies to make its products more competitive and more attractive to customers. In the contemporary business environment, GM just has to develop and introduce new technologies to keep pace with rivals and outpace them, if possible. New technologies will help the company to improve its position not only in traditional markets like the US or the EU but also in new ones like Singapore. In the contemporary business environment innovations are the major drivers of the marketing success of companies and GM should follow this way.
At the same time, E. Pfanner (2008) in the article “GM’s global strategy: a brand for every place” points out that the global strategy of GM is the creation of brands for target markets. To put it more precisely, the company focuses on the creation or use of brands that are familiar to customers in target markets. For example, GM uses the Vauxhall brand in the UK to reach the target customer group faster and save costs on branding. In such a way, the company uses existing brands effectively and creates an attractive brand image. Customers find the brand which they know and which they like, while the company does not need to invest in the promotion of new brands to attract new customers. Hence, this strategy is quite effective.
On the other hand, the multibranding strategy used by GM is quite controversial in terms of the maintenance of the brand equity and creation of the powerful GM brand because multiple brands are oriented toward a specific customer group. In such a way, GM invests in multiple brands, while GM brand remains the common brand, which is under-represented in the market and serves as the common brand for multiple minor brands. Nevertheless, the company used this strategy for a long time and it has already brought the company considerable success in the past. This is why it is quite reasonable that GM sticks to the strategy that has already proved to be successful. This marketing strategy is used by GM in different markets. Therefore, the company may use the same strategy in Singapore, but taking into consideration the lack of local brands popular among local customers and renowned in Asia, GM may use its traditional brands, like Chevrolet, Cadillac, and others, which are well-known worldwide.
Changes introduced by GM have already brought the company success and helped the company to start recovering after the bankruptcy. At this point, it is possible to refer to J. Parker (2016)., who, in his article “GM, Fiat Chrysler Race Ahead while Ford Lags in 2Q16”, reveals the positive dynamics in the development of GM and its positive marketing performance. The company has outpaced Ford, its traditional rival, and attempts to regain its leading position in the US market, which was and still is the major target market, where the position of GM was very strong.
The positive dynamics of the business development and the positive financial performance of the company reveal the effectiveness of changes the company has implemented after the bankruptcy. At the same time, the growth of GM’s business is not as fast as it could be since the company has not regained its leading position in the global car manufacturing industry so far, while the company does have the potential to be the world leader. In such a situation, it is possible to presuppose that changes introduced by the company were oriented toward the improvement of the financial health of the company and the preparation of the company for further business development. In this regard, the expansion of international markets remains the priority for GM, while the Chinese market is one of the most attractive target markets for the company, the company may also consider the enhancement of its position in the Singapore market, which the company may use as a hub or bridge to reach the huge Asian market.
Methodology
The methodology of the proposed study involves the case study of GM and secondary data analysis. The use of this methodology helps to focus on specificities of the international marketing strategy developed and implemented by GM in the contemporary business environment. Moreover, this methodology helps to trace the evolution of GM’s marketing strategy in the course of time and evaluate its effectiveness. The proposed methodology involves the use of qualitative methods that contribute to the revelation of current challenges GM experiences in its business development, as well as this methodology, helps to find out effective ways to boost the business development of the company.
The methodology will include the use of such methods as the literature survey based on the secondary data analysis. The secondary data will include studies dedicated to the car manufacturing industry and GM as well as to the development of the global economy and the key economic trends in the contemporary world. The use of such studies is essential to understand the current development of GM and its prospects in the global market because GM is a multinational corporation that operates internationally and its goal is the global market. This is why the understanding of current economic trends in the world can help to understand whether GM complies with the development of the contemporary business environment or probably the company still stumbles and experiences problems in its business development. Also, the analysis of existing studies dedicated to GM and economic development will help to evaluate the prospects of the company in the global market and, more specifically, to assess the business development of GM in such markets as Singapore, China, and others. The evaluation of the development of GM in markets of emerging economies and developing countries along with the evaluation of the overall performance of GM will show the current competitive position and reveal prospects of the company in the global market.
Secondary data analysis will help to uncover findings of other researchers as well as the overall marketing performance of the company that will show the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the marketing strategy conducted by GM in the context of globalization. Such analysis is essential taking into consideration the past of the company and its current goals and prospects for further business development. The marketing strategy of the company depends on the current business environment and the development of the global economy because GM is a multinational corporation and its business depends on the situation in international markets.
The case of GM will reveal specific marketing strategies used by one of the leaders of the world car manufacturing industry which the company has implemented under the impact of globalization. The study of the GM case will help to find out effective approaches to the development of the car manufacturing business as well as it will also reveal possible challenges and problems companies operating in the car manufacturing industry confront today. The problems of the company are not unique to GM only. Instead, GM has experienced problems common to other car manufacturing companies as well. For example, the criticism of the car manufacturing industry because of its negative impact on the environment is a common trend that affects all companies operating in the industry. At the same time, the experience of GM reveals how the company can overcome a deep crisis and recover after bankruptcy.
In addition, the information from the primary source, such as the official website of GM, may also help to find out the essence of its marketing strategy of GM and determine possible ways for the further development of the company. The analysis of primary sources contributes to a better understanding of the current policies and goals of GM in a long-run perspective. At the moment, GM is still dedicated to international market expansion. This means that the company is likely to continue its strategy but the company apparently needs different methods to achieve its international business goal. This is why the study of the primary source will help to find responses to these questions. The analysis of the company’s marketing strategy has to involve the primary source because it represents the position of the company and its management.
Such a combination of secondary and primary sources will help to elaborate the objective view of the company and to determine how the company may develop in the future. The forecast of the further development of GM and the key directions of its further development may be grounded on current strategies and policies of the company that may be traced from the primary source. At the same time, the overall marketing performance of the company may be traced through the analysis of secondary sources. In such a way, the analysis of both primary and secondary sources will provide objective information about the current performance of the company, its problems, and further ways of developing the company. Such information will help to respond to research questions and reach the goals of the study through the objective analysis of available data.
The limitation of the proposed study is the limited scope of the study since the study focuses on the case of GM mainly, while other companies, including other leaders of the world car manufacturing industry, remain under-researched. Other companies operating in the car manufacturing industry may have different experiences and different problems as well as may have different solutions to their problems. The inclusion of other car manufacturing companies could expand the scope of the study and provide a broader view of the development of the contemporary car manufacturing industry in the world. In addition, the study also focuses on the development of GM in Singapore, but other emerging markets, including markets outside Asia, maybe also attractive for GM and other car manufacturers.
Ethical statement
The researcher is well-informed of ethical regulations and standards applicable to research papers and studies. The proposed research will comply with existing ethical norms and standards and university requirements concerning research papers. The researcher is aware of such ethical and legal regulations and requirements as the protection of copyright and intellectual property rights. Respect for existing ethical norms and standard is an essential element of the proposed study.
The researcher will also obtain informed consent from the part of GM to ensure that the company and its interests are not neglected in the course of the study. The proposed study will be conducted upon the consent of the part of GM which is essential for the effective implementation of the proposed study without violation of the legal rights of GM and ethical norms in regard to GM as the subject of the study. The informed consent and the agreement of GM are essential to ensure that the subject’s interests are not neglected and no ethical issues emerge in the course or in the result of the proposed study.
The first step of the proposed research is the submission of the proposal which involves the current research proposal. The research proposal is essential because it determines the overall framework of the study conducted by the researcher, while the instructor may provide valuable remarks on the research proposal and the researcher will introduce respective changes in the framework of the study or into the research design depending on instructor’s comments and remarks. The research proposal shapes the framework of the study and serves as the backbone of the study. The research proposal is the road map to the creation of a valid and reliable study because it incorporates the key elements and the plan of the research, which the researcher will implement in the course of the study.
The literature overview is also very important for the successful accomplishment of the proposed study. First, the literature overview gives insights into the key trends in the development of the contemporary car manufacturing industry and GM, as the company that is the subject of the current study.
Second, the literature overview will also provide the researcher with secondary data that may be and will be used for further analysis in the course of the study to make the key findings concerning the process of globalization, development of the car manufacturing industry, and marketing strategies used by GM under the impact of or in response to globalization.
Reading on methodology will help the researcher to elaborate on the methodology used in the study. Moreover, reading on methodology will help to determine how to apply the case study and secondary data analysis methods effectively and in compliance with scientific norms and standards. The point of reading on methodology is to make methods and the research design and, therefore, findings of the study valid and reliable from the scientific point of view.
The researcher plans regular meetings with the instructor to report on the progress of the research and to counsel on issues that may emerge in the course of the study. Also, the researcher will seek meetings with managers and representatives of GM to obtain informed consent from the part of GM to conduct the study, first, and to obtain more information about the company and its marketing strategy, second. Online chats or conferences are acceptable to conduct meetings with representatives of GM, when necessary.
Preparing research techniques and instruments is another step in the course of the proposed study that determines specific techniques and instruments to be used in the proposed study. The choice of techniques and instruments used in the study influences the research design and methods used, while methodology defines the choice of techniques and instruments because they have to comply with the goals of the study and methods used.
Receiving feedback for the research proposal is an important step in the course of the study because it will help the researcher to reveal possible pitfalls and enhance the strengths of the proposed research. The feedback will provide the researcher with valuable information concerning the proposed research on the ground of which the researcher may introduce changes in the research design, methodology, or other parts to comply with existing scientific standards and to enhance the quality of the research.
Collecting data is the next and very responsible step in the study because it involves the collection of secondary data concerning GM and the impact of globalization on its marketing strategy. Also, the data collection involves the case study of GM and its marketing strategy used throughout the last couple of decades starting from the late 1990s to the present days, when the impact of globalization has started to grow and now it is particularly significant as globalization has become the determinant factor for the development of the world economy and businesses in different industries, including the automotive one.
Sorting and studying data comprises a challenging but important part of the proposed study. At this stage, the researcher will have to select the valuable and reliable data that may be used in the scientific study. In this regard, the primary focus will be on the selection of studies published in peer-reviewed journals and other reputable sources, official websites, and other data from GM, such as annual reports; and other secondary data published in reliable and reputable resources, such as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and others. When the data are collected, the research will study the data to obtain information on the subject of the study and on the key research questions posed at the beginning of the proposed study. The collected data will also help to prove or deny the thesis statement made by the researcher.
In this regard, interpreting and analyzing data becomes essential for the adequate understanding and interpretation of the data collected in the course of the study. However, the interpretation and analysis of the data collected in the study may raise the problem of their subjective interpretation. To overcome such a risk, the researcher will refer to the analysis of secondary data that will help to obtain findings of other researchers and give insight into the core trends in the development of GM’s marketing strategy under the impact of globalization. Such findings will be relatively objective and bias-free because they rely not only on the case study of GM but also on other secondary data analyses.
Writing the research is the next step and this step is rather technical. Nevertheless, while writing the research, the research will focus on the structure of the study which should comply with the plan of the study and existing standards of writing research papers. Writing the research paper is an important stage that should have not only a clear and concise structure but also proper, formal, and scientific language. Writing the research will show all the work done by the researcher and the written presentation will actually show the procedure, design, and findings of the study.
The final review of the research is an essential step before the final submission of the research. The final review of the research will include revision-editing activities to avoid the risk of typos and other mechanical errors. However, what is more important, the final review will involve the final revision of the overall structure of the research and its content to ensure that all steps are followed succinctly and in accordance with existing scientific standards. Moreover, the final review will help to ensure the proper organization and flow of ideas within the research along with adequate transitions to make the research coherent and easy to follow.
The final step in the proposed research is the submission of the research. This is the last step made when the research is complete and ready for publication. The research submission completes the study and ends the research process, when the researcher cannot add or introduce any changes in the research and when the entire study is ready for publication.
Data Analysis
The data analysis reveals the key trends in the development of the contemporary automotive industry on the ground of the analysis of the GM case. The company operates in the car manufacturing industry and the analysis of the secondary data reveals the key trends in the development of the company, its problems, prospects, and possible directions for further business development. In this regard, the literature survey revealed the fact that GM is recovering after it has run bankrupt and now the company is steadily regaining its position in the global market. The recovery of the company requires the complex restructuring of the company and the enhancement of its marketing performance.
The data analysis reveals that the company experiences certain problems in its business development because of problems with fuel efficiency of the company. Also, the company suffers from growing criticism on the part of the public because of the negative impact on the natural environment. The negative publicity leads to the deterioration of the brand image and the loss of customers. Customers prefer more fuel-efficient cars and cars that are environmentally friendly. GM traditionally paid little attention to fuel efficiency compared to rivals and now the company needs to change its policy and production to meet the new demands of customers and their environmental expectations.
Furthermore, the company is still recovering after the bankruptcy since GM has to regain its position in the global market. One of the major challenges for the company is to get rid of unprofitable assets and optimize its organizational structure and international network by focusing on profitable assets. The restructuring of GM is essential for the financial recovery and successful business development of the company. At the same time, the sale of some of its assets raises many issues, including ethical ones, because the company may leave many employees unemployed and the decision of GM to sell some of its assets may have a negative impact on the development of local communities, where those assets are located.
Also, the company faces the problem of the international market expansion and to make such expansion cost-efficient to avoid pitfalls of its past negative experience of the international market expansion at all costs that resulted in the profound crisis and bankruptcy of the company. The international market expansion is essential for the enhancement of the competitive position of the company, but such market expansion is costly and requires substantial financial resources from the company. This is why the company has to find effective ways to continue its international market expansion and avoid the deterioration of its financial position as was the case in 2008.
The company has considerable potential driven by its major strengths of the company. Today, GM still has a well-developed network worldwide. The company is present in the major markets and continues expanding its market internationally. The Chinese market becomes a priority for GM. The well-developed network allows the company to develop its international market expansion strategy and increase its market share in target markets. GM needs to identify clearly priorities to focus on the most prospective markets, which can contribute to the consistent improvement of the position of the company in the global market.
Also, the company introduces new technologies to enhance its competitive position in the global market. New technologies help GM to keep pace with rivals and outpace them if the company manages to introduce innovations that rivals cannot offer at the moment. The development of new technologies needs innovative activities and the development and implementation of new technologies. However, such development and introduction of new technologies are costly and the company needs to allocate financial resources effectively to focus on the most prospective projects which can bring the company maximum benefits and have low risks of failure.
At the moment, the company has good prospects for further business development through the focus on Chinese and Asian markets, where the company may use Singapore as the bridge to reach those markets. Also, the company can develop new technologies to attract more customers and improve its cars, including the improvement of their fuel efficiency along with the introduction of models that use alternative sources of fuel, such as electricity. The use of new technologies and the improvement of features of cars can attract new customers in both traditional and new markets. In such a situation, the company can enhance its position consistently and obtain a strong position that can help GM to regain its leading position in the global market.
Furthermore, the company should stay focused on innovations and invest substantial funds into research and development because innovations can boost the business development of the company. The wider introduction of innovations can help the company to reach new markets and to enhance its position in the global market. Innovations can help the company to outpace its rivals and get access to new markets and new segments. For example, the development of Cadillac as the premium brand GM requires the introduction of technological innovations that will distinguish GM models from those of its rivals. New technologies and new features will raise sale rates and help the company to improve its financial performance.
Conceptual Framework
The research will focus on the collection of secondary data in terms of the literature survey that focuses on GM and the development of the global economy and car manufacturing industry. The available data will be processed and analyzed in detail to reach the goals of the study. More specifically, the study has to clarify how globalization affects the marketing strategy of GM as one of the world’s car manufacturing leaders and what marketing strategy GM uses in response to or under the impact of globalization and related socio-economic processes. In such a way, the research will reach its main objective, including the identification of the impact of globalization on GM; the identification of GM responses to globalization; the determination of the marketing strategy of GM in the context of globalization; tracing the change and evolution of the marketing strategy of GM since the 1990s to present days in the context of globalization; and the evaluation of the marketing strategy of GM in the context of the development of the car manufacturing industry.
The study intends to show that GM has proved to be successful in its international market expansion strategy which helps the company to recover after its downfall in 2008 and opens new opportunities for GM to regain its position as the world’s largest car manufacturer as the company used to be in the mid-2000s. Also, the study intends to reveal problems of the company and effective ways to overcome the problems GM experiences now. GM was the leader of the world’s car manufacturing industry and now the company has the potential to regain its leading position. The revelation of those ways will give insight into effective business and marketing strategies that can help companies experiencing difficulties to overcome them and succeed in the contemporary business environment. Also, the study will show the major challenges that interfere with organizational performance and raise problems in face of GM that other companies operating in the car manufacturing industry may experience as well.
In such a way, the study will reveal common problems of the car manufacturing industry and specific problems GM has experienced and is still suffering from at the moment. At the same time, the study will show how GM can overcome its problems and become the world leader in the car manufacturing industry again. The company has considerable potential but it also needs changes. The study will show what changes are likely to be the most efficient. More specifically, the study will also reveal prospects for the development of GM business in Singapore which may become the bridge to Asia for the company. The study will conduct the analysis and evaluation of such steps in the further business development of GM. The study will help to identify the best way for GM to develop its business successfully and continue successfully its international market expansion strategy.
Therefore, the qualitative study based on the literature survey will help to understand the impact of globalization on GM and how the company may adapt to the global business environment in a time of crisis. To put it more precisely, the company is recovering after the deep crisis. This is why the positive experience of GM will be helpful for other companies and the analysis of possible ways for GM to succeed in the global car manufacturing industry can lay the ground for the development of an effective marketing strategy that can help companies to adapt to the global business environment and to succeed in their international business development.
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