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Simulating Foreign Market Entry & Growth

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After discussing articles and analyzing case studies on how companies expand internationally, Moore School students get to roll up their sleeves and manage a company’s expansion into Latin America. Using web-based technology, students do so through the CountryManager simulation game. 

Roth

CountryManager was co-developed and written by Marty Roth, professor in the Sonoco International Business Department and executive director of the International MBA Program. The simulation was first tested and used at the Moore School in 2001. Since then more than 250 IMBA students, 150 undergraduate, and 140 Professional MBA (part-time) students have “learned by doing” on various versions of the game as it has evolved over time. In 2007, CountryManager was used for the first time in the IMBA Global Marketing Management core class, in which 24 teams competed to win customers and profits for their companies.

Manufacturing, selling, and administrative costs can be analyzed for each country.

Students explore market entry and market attractiveness issues including mode and sequence of entry, market segmentation, targeting, positioning, and the “ Four Ps” of marketing (product selection, pricing, promotion, and placement) all in an international context. The simulation is published, hosted, and supported by Interpretive Simulations (http://www.interpretive.com/). 

Having taught international marketing courses for many years at Boston College and the University of Pittsburgh, Roth became frustrated with the teaching materials available for international marketing courses. “Even today, international marketing text books are very descriptive and offer little in the way of tools and techniques managers can use to help their organizations expand and grow internationally,” Roth explains. “So a colleague and I set out to develop a simulation to provide students with hands-on learning. Working with a leading marketing simulation development company, CountryManager was created. Students really enjoy the game, and have fun competing with each other while learning the key analyses and processes involved in international expansion.”

The CIA's The World Factbook data is used to help determine country attractiveness.

Played from the perspective of a U.S. manufacturer of consumer products determined to expand into Latin American markets, CountryManager encompasses the international dimensions of marketing and business. Working in teams, students experience market entry and expansion as managers for Allstar Brands, a fictional major consumer products company. The U.S. market has matured, and Latin America has been identified as having the best potential for future growth.

The toothpaste brand management team must decide which of six countries is the most attractive for their Allsmile brand and then how to expand their presence throughout the region. They can develop and implement local or regional strategies using customized and/or standardized marketing programs. Countries being considered for expansion include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. They also decide when and where to build a Latin American manufacturing plant, and to which markets they will export products. Students strive to build brand equity, retail store penetration, and market share, while watching their bottom line to grow profitably.

The Moore School, renowned for its expertise in international business, provided the perfect environment for Roth to develop and introduce CountryManager. Such innovative learning techniques that help students become effective international managers, help to set the Moore School apart.

January 2008