With expansion possibilities limited domestically, companies go in search of opportunities abroad. This increased globalization of companies worldwide has made cultural awareness a necessity. Many businesses, like Yahoo!, have adopted a marketing system that integrates their product with a local culture. A very common practice in one's country may be a taboo in another. Thus, it is impossible for an uncultured, uneducated company to conduct business abroad.
American companies have globalized through their affiliation with numerous countries around the world but none to the caliber of England. It is inevitable that these two countries would be strong economic partners due to their similarities in language and religion. In addition, there are many other driving factors such as their economies and political structures that attract them to each other. Simply stated, the United States will broaden their horizons in this global market by slowing moving outward on the usual pattern of internationalization circle.
Economic Profile.
England is a very small island, located off of mainland Europe. As seen in Exhibit A, it is a much smaller country in comparison to the United States. However, this country has a staggering population of 59,778,002 people. With such a dense and economically sound population, it makes an attractive investment for foreign companies. These companies will be able to obtain the best of both worlds by having a large population in a small area. England's GDP ran approximately $1.47 trillion in 2002. Most of the contributions came from services and little from manufacturing. They have a progressive economy which has been expanding at 2.4% a year with a per capita income of $24,700. They are one of the few countries that still has not converted to the Euro currency but instead kept their traditional Sterling Pound.
British Business Culture.
In international business, it is not sufficient to merely know the conditions that are directly correlated with an industry, but one must thoroughly understand the culture, traditions, and practices of that country.
