SUCCESSFUL GLOBAL STRATEGIES FOR SERVICE COMPANIES

As much as companies the world over recognize and indeed are participa nts in the acclerating pace of investment in services, numerous firms find themselves grappling with fundamental questions about whether, an d how, to offer their services globally. Companies need to address cer tain basic issues to help assess international competition in their se ctor to clarify their motivations and identify appropriate strategies for globalizing. This process further entails making organizational ad justments, determining whether a service is best standardized across a ll markets or differentiated, and choosing the best mix of services. T his paper offers frameworks to guide the globalization process, as wel l as concrete examples of the various options firms have chosen.