Wal-Mart's failure in Germany
Walmart’s Failure in Germany –
An Analysis highlighting the Importance of Intercultural Communication
Seminar Paper
4th Semester
Intercultural Management
DHBW Karlsruhe
Baden Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University
Faculty: Business
Course of Studies: International Business
Authors:
Professor: Yvette Robertson
Hand-in-date: 08-01-2013
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
In today’s world, the customer is well-informed about goods and services from all over the world and can demand them everywhere. This phenomenom is made possible due to the increasing importance of globalization. Drinking coffee in the morning, wearing blue jeans all day long and having pizza for dinner contribute to the fact that we are a global consumer – a part of the global society.
Globalization offers companies the opportunity to expand worldwide and thereby increase their sales. Especially for retailers it is important to find new markets with more consumers in order to compensate possible declines in sales in the home market.
Becoming a part of the global economy can be seen as a huge opportunity for international players, but there are also many facts to consider for the company to compete successfully in the global market. One important factor of international success is intercultural communication - the way people communicate, act and behave among an interculutural group.
The present seminar paper will illustrate the world’s biggest retailer Walmart’s attempt to enter the German market as a negative example of implementation due to miscommunication.
On the one hand one could argue that the United States and Germany share many similar habits and cultural views. Still the Walmart case shows what happens if the participants communicate inadequatelty.
In the following the authors analyze a case study which shows Walmart’s unsuccessful implementation strategy. According to that they prepare some suggestions of what the company
An Analysis highlighting the Importance of Intercultural Communication
Seminar Paper
4th Semester
Intercultural Management
DHBW Karlsruhe
Baden Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University
Faculty: Business
Course of Studies: International Business
Authors:
Professor: Yvette Robertson
Hand-in-date: 08-01-2013
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
In today’s world, the customer is well-informed about goods and services from all over the world and can demand them everywhere. This phenomenom is made possible due to the increasing importance of globalization. Drinking coffee in the morning, wearing blue jeans all day long and having pizza for dinner contribute to the fact that we are a global consumer – a part of the global society.
Globalization offers companies the opportunity to expand worldwide and thereby increase their sales. Especially for retailers it is important to find new markets with more consumers in order to compensate possible declines in sales in the home market.
Becoming a part of the global economy can be seen as a huge opportunity for international players, but there are also many facts to consider for the company to compete successfully in the global market. One important factor of international success is intercultural communication - the way people communicate, act and behave among an interculutural group.
The present seminar paper will illustrate the world’s biggest retailer Walmart’s attempt to enter the German market as a negative example of implementation due to miscommunication.
On the one hand one could argue that the United States and Germany share many similar habits and cultural views. Still the Walmart case shows what happens if the participants communicate inadequatelty.
In the following the authors analyze a case study which shows Walmart’s unsuccessful implementation strategy. According to that they prepare some suggestions of what the company
References: Eidesstattliche Erklärung Hiermit erkläre ich, dass ich die vorliegende Arbeit selbständig angefertigt habe. Es wurden nur die in der Arbeit ausdrücklich benannten Quellen und Hilfsmittel benutzt. Wörtlich oder sinngemäß übernommenes Gedankengut habe ich als solches kenntlich gemacht. Datum, Ort Unterschrift Datum, Ort Unterschrift