An excerpt from the abstract of a paper I wrote in 2016. This literature review covers many aspects of launching new products from diffusion methods to adoption, and culture to uncertainty avoidance.

I will be posting sections from this literature review, reformatted to better suit online reading, regularly and seeing if we can link multinational strategies to that of smaller local and growing businesses.

Abstract

What are the important areas that a company looking to expand into a new country should consider?

How can knowing about the culture of the new market help in making decisions on when, and how, to launch a new product innovation?

Which strategies can help increase the speed and levels of the adoption rate of a new product?

This literature review examines research and models surrounding the strategies that can affect a new product launch into a new market, in this case, focussing on a new country.

The review examines the benefits, drawbacks and origins of two popular new product diffusion methods in new countries: the waterfall strategy (sequential launch) and the sprinkler strategy (simultaneous launch).

An examination of the growth of IKEA by Johansson (2008) explores strategies used to expand from Sweden through to the United States.

Research on marketing strategies shows how different methods of marketing a new product innovation in a new country can affect the rate of adoption. Entry costs into new markets have also been shown to affect the most successful strategies along with the market's responsiveness to innovation.

The culture of a new market is a variable that can help a company choose which strategies to execute. This includes areas of research regarding consumers switching brands, risk taking (uncertainty avoidance), wealth (both economic and individual) and the assertive or nurturing nature of the market culture.

An examination of the culture research behind IKEA (Kowitt, 2015), found how the company had to re-evaluate their product range based on the culture differences between American and European markets.

Finally, this review looks at how growth rates and adoption levels are linked, and how these can vary depending on the type of product being sold.

References

Johansson, J.K., 2008. Global marketing: Foreign entry, local marketing, and global management [online]. 5th Edition. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education.

Kowitt, B., 2015. How Ikea took over the world [online]. New York: Time Inc. Available from http://fortune.com/ikea-world-domination/ [20/05/16]

Follow up... That was a strange article wasn't it?

I know that this form of writing is very different to my usual style. I wrote this paper in my final year at university for my Business Development module while I was studying Product Design.

Although it is a different style, I'm planning to run a series of posts disecting what the information means for everyday, smaller businesses and individuals.

It's important to recognise that ideas and beliefs can be borrowed* from corporate businesses and used to help grow any other type of business or venture.

Stick around to see more posts and insights from this paper - New Product Strategies for Multinational Companies.

*Good artists copy, great artists steal** - Pablo Picasso

**Although I have to make it clear, none of my content is stolen.

Also, please don't steal my content :-)