Reto De Los Negocios Internacionales

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THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS THREATS

HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

While international business as a discipline is a relatively new, international business as a business practice isnot. Well, before the tome of Christ, Phoenician and Greek merchants were sending representatives abroad to sell their goods.

In 1600, the British East India Company, a newly formed trading firm,established foreign branches throughout Asia. At about the same time, a number of Dutch companies, which had organized in 1590 to open shipping routes to the East, joined together to form the Dutch EastIndia Company and also opened branch offices in Asia. American colonial traders began operating in a similar fashion in 1700´s.

Early examples of American foreign direct investment are the Englishplants set up by Colt Fire Arms and Ford (vulcanized rubber), which were established before the Civil War. Both operations failed, however, after only a few years.

A number of multinationalcompanies exited in the late 1800s. One of the first to own foreign production facilities, have worldwide distribution networks, and market its products under global brands was Singer Sewing Machine. In 1868,it built a factory in Scotland, the first successful American venture into foreign production. By 1880, the company had become a global organization with an outstanding international salesorganization and several overseas manufacturing plants.

Other firms, such as J&P Coats (United Kingdom) and Ford, soon followed, and by 1914, at least 37 American companies had production facilities in twoor more overseas locations.

Among those firms already established overseas were National Cash Register and Burroughs, with manufacturing plant in Europe; Parke-Davis, with a plant near London(1902); and Ford Motor Company, which had assembly plants or distribution outlets in 14 countries.

General Motors and Chrysler followed soon afterward, so that by the 1920s all three companies had...