Fokusiranje novih multinacionalnih kompanija na globalni "value-for-money" segment i nove mogućnosti za srpska preduzeća

Abstract

The Great Recession, which marked the end of the first decade of the 21st century, caused significant changes in customers' preferences and resulted in fierce global competition in different industries. Leading global companies from the countries of the economic "Triad" (Western Europe, North America, and Japan) experienced financial problems which created opportunities for multinational companies from emerging markets (EMMs) to further internationalize. The fall in customers' real income and increased uncertainty about the future during the recession contributed to growth of the "value-for-money" segment in developed markets. Development of this segment further encouraged EMMs to internationalize. EMMs' competence in serving price sensitive customers in domestic markets helped them establish footholds in "value-for-money" segments in developed markets, making them leaders in the global "value-for-money" segment. The aim of this article is to explain development of the global "value-for-money" segment and how this trend affects EMMs' and Serbian companies. We use a case study of the Chinese smart phone producer Xiaomi, to explain the development of this segment and EMMs' competitive strategies. The case illustrates that EMMs can also be strong competitors in technology-intensive industries rather than only in traditional saturated markets. We conclude that global rise of the value-for-money segment has created business opportunities for Serbian companies which have decades-long experience in serving price-sensitive customers in conditions of economic uncertainty.