Exam 3: Organizational Participants That Make International Business Happen

A ________ is a specialist firm that provides various logistics and marketing services for focal firms as part of international supply chains, both in the focal firm's home country and abroad.

A(n) ________ is an intermediary contracted by the exporter to represent and sell its merchandise or services in a designated country or territory.

A manufacturer's representative is an intermediary contracted by the exporter.

Distribution channel intermediaries perform all of the following functions for focal firms EXCEPT ________.

MNEs are best known for their ________.

As defined in the European Union, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are manufacturers or service providers with ________ or fewer employees.

Delegating certain noncore functions to outside vendors is a strategy known as ________.

In a short essay, explain why SMEs now comprise the majority of firms active in international business. How have logistics specialists facilitated the success of SMEs attempting to become internationally active?

The increase in the number of international business facilitators has been driven by all of the following EXCEPT ________.

International manufacturers rarely use common carriers.

Dealing directly with foreign-based retailers is efficient because ________.

Which of the following stages of the international value chain immediately follows the research and development stage?

Governments often nationalize important companies facing financial ruin.

Nanocell (Scenario) Two years ago, Nanocell, a small Canadian company, began manufacturing a solar cell that holds a charge for 24 hours, many times longer than any competing solar cell. International sales of the palm-sized solar cell occurred quickly, and soon Nanocell was exporting to Australia, China, and Africa. Today, Nanocell is a growing multinational enterprise with sales expected to soar even higher. -Nanocell is considering partnering with either an agent or a foreign distributor to expand its overseas sales. Which of the following, if true, would most support Nanocell's decision to partner with an agent instead of a foreign distributor for the purpose of expanding sales?

Distribution is an upstream value-chain activity.

In a short essay, discuss how both commercial banks and central banks participate in international business. What are sovereign wealth funds?

In a short essay, describe the role of a logistics service provider, and explain how it contributes to the distribution and facilitation of international trade.

Focal firms can be analyzed in terms of the entry strategies they use to expand abroad.

Joint ventures are less formal than project-based partnerships.

The activities of firms, intermediaries, and facilitators in international business are thoroughly distinct and rarely overlap.