International development stratrgy of internet companies:a case study on Yahoo

• Main Author: 黃志全
• Other Authors: 趙義隆
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2001
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/06386730073753215385

碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 國際企業學研究所 === 89 === Abstract Thesis Title: International Development Strategy of Internet Companies─ A case study on Yahoo! Author: Huang Chih-Chuan School:Department of International Business, School of Management, National Taiwan University Year:2001 Internet has been one of the fastest growing sectors of the information technology industry since its commercial use in early 1990s. Many of the first movers in the Internet business have become the leaders as an ISP (Internet Service Provider), portal, online media, and E-commerce players. Going global is one of the key success factors that make them very well positioned in Internet market. There are both economies of scale and economies of scope for Internet companies to expand and pursue global presence. The marginal cost of serving a new customer decreases as numbers of users increase. So does the marginal cost of adding a new kind of product or service. Also, with the network effects, the efficiency of the Internet communication behavior will be greatly enhanced. To go abroad, a company has to think about the issues of global integration and local responsiveness. The Internet is in itself a tool for direct communications and a platform for different kinds of culture to interact on. It is therefore crucial for the headquarters to hold the control over the overseas branch while respect the local culture for its international expansion. Yahoo! Inc., the number one pure dot-com companies that emerged as a search engine, has been keeping its global expansion since the year its stock got listed in Nasdaq 1996. From Japan, Europe, Southeastern Asia, to Latin America, Yahoo has been trying hard to provide services to worldwide customers. The entry mode of Yahoo’s penetrating into foreign countries is mostly through setting up wholly-owned subsidiary. But in Japan, it started a joint-venture with SoftBank, Yahoo’s biggest shareholder, for better understanding about the Japanese market. And in 2000, Yahoo merged Kimo of Taiwan to jump to the top as the biggest portal in this market. Yet Yahoo is facing strong competition from AOL Time-Warner, Microsoft’s MSN, and Terra Lycos. They are not stand-alone Internet companies. Yahoo might have t