OKBIT22 Managing International Relations 1. Introduction to the topic

Course topics International business Business to business Network thinking Relationship marketing International business negotiations Personal selling (in B-2-B)

What exactly does it mean, Managing International Relations? 1. What are company’s relations? 2. What about INTERNATIONAL relations? 3. How do we manage them?

1. What are company’s relations/relationships? Let’s consider the interest groups of a company

1. Networks Network thinking is based on the thought that “No company is an island” Each company has a network, big or small For example, consider Ikea with its thousands of suppliers, customers and shops all over the world, designers etc.

1. What are company’s relations? So companies develop ties with customers, shareholders, subcontractors, partners, suppliers, competitors etc. Therefore companies have many relationships to manage, according to Gummesson (1999) there are 30 We are going to concentrate on Company- Customer relationships, even though this is not the only important relationship that a company has

2. What are international relations? When we talk about INTERNATIONAL relations, we assume that the company has international operations of some kind When we talk about companies going international or doing international business, there are different ways of doing this Not all international companies are global players like Nokia

2. Internationalization The company could, for example, embark on  Export Direct or indirect  Licenses  Joint ventures  Investments

2. International business & Business to business Internationalization has become more and more popular also in Finland International companies share many problems that domestic companies lack That is why we need to study international business relations and how to manage them

2. Why do we need to know about INTERNATIONAL relations? When it comes to international relations, you need to deal with problems, which arise from:  Cultural differences Which affect differences in doing business Language Habits Etc. A specific culture or culture in general?

3. How do we manage international business relations? Business negotiations! Relationship marketing Personal selling (PR)

3. Relationship Marketing B-2-B customers are different than B-2-C customers They require more time, money, effort Mass marketing is for independent consumers, it doesn’t work with B-2-B customers There is no real relationship with a person buying consumer goods and the company selling them But you need a relationship between a company selling their product and the company buying it!!!

3. Difference between consumer and business markets Market structure Buyer behaviour Decision-making Products Channels Promotion Price

3. Business Negotiations Negotiations are an essential part of business, especially in B-2-B The company should negotiate with customers, suppliers, subcontractors, partners et. Business agreements are never as simple as in B-2-C  Complex, time-consuming, expensive  BUT we are talking about larger sums and bigger contracts

3. Personal selling An important part in business to business marketing Personal contact is needed for company customers Expensive, but is used, when the customer is worth a lot

Introduction case Read the case, discuss it in your groups and try to find a solution to the problem (with justification)