Globalisation in the sense of a liberalisation of global trade has become a key topic of industry since this term became widespread in the 1990s. For companies this means increased location competition: increasing numbers of companies across multiple industries are deciding to expand beyond national borders into an international competitive environment. The result of this is excess capacity and an increasing diversity of supply.

The resulting move beyond current tried-and-tested economic tools represents a huge challenge for companies, but also throws up opportunities. However, encounters with different corporate cultures, divergent consumer behaviour and changing sociocultural conditions should be achieved in a subtle and professional manner.

Forum participants were presented with examples of strategies which have been successfully developed and implemented in Germany and abroad, for example:

• How Kaufhof had to completely discontinue its range of toys after acquiring the Inno department stores on the Belgian market
• How Carrefour withdrew from the Czech Republic because its goods, brands and French image gained low acceptance from Czech customers
• Why British companies are preferred as potential employers by future managers in the Czech Republic
• What corporate-culture changes employees of an English chain store experienced after completion of a merger
• What companies and individual companies can do to breathe life into their CI

The panel discussion, led by trade expert Prof. Dr. Bernd Hallier (EHI), took an in-depth look at the individual topics and insights.

The program overview.