>RELENTLESS EXPANSION may not be the best way to pursue global markets.
>
>Two professors originally set out to prove the theory that
>megamergers are the path to success in international markets.
>Instead, Pankaj Ghemawat of the Harvard Business School and Fariborz
>Ghadar of Pennsylvania State University conclude the opposite --
>that market share actually decreases for giant globals. "Our finding
>was really surprising," says Prof. Ghadar. They found that other
>players materialize to erode the multinationals' market share.
>
>The research, published in the Harvard Business Review, studied over
>40 years of market-share data for firms in 20 industries and found
>that all except semiconductors had a steady decrease in market share
>concentration. Global players are challenged by advances in
>technology that enable smaller firms to compete; by low-cost
>producers who play hardball on prices, and by niche marketers, they
>say.
>
> -- Pamela Sebastian Ridge
There's an abstract of the article at <http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/products/hbr/julaug00/R00405.html>, where you can download an Acrobat copy for $5.50.
Doug