A C T A U N I V E R S I T A T I S L O D Z I E N S I S FO LIA OECONOM ICA 17, 1982
M aciej S ta lm a szc zy k *
JO IN T V ENTU RES AS A PO SIT IV E FA CTO R O F D ISTR IB U TIO N OF PO L IS H GOODS IN FO R EIG N M ARKETS
T his le c tu re w ill tre a t exclusively about jo in t v e n tu re s (j-v.) u n d e r-tak e n by Polish e n te rp rise s in th e cap italist m a rk e ts in th e sp h ere of d istrib u tio n , a fte r-s a le service and production.
I am not going to deal w ith jv. op eratin g in such services like in te r -n atio -n al a irli-n e system , steam ship com pa-nies, b a-n k i-n g a-nd fi-na-nce, n e ith e r those j-v. th a t a re established in Poland. F u rth e rm o re I shall not ta lk about th e various technical aspects of se ttin g up a new v e n tu re abroad n or shall I an alyze th e organizational s tru c tu re of j-v.
T he above m entioned lim itations a re n ecessary to p e rfo rm a n a n a -lysis of th e role played by j-v. in th e process of d istrib u tio n — and this is th e su b je c t of th e conference in w hich w e a re tak in g p a rt today.
The m ain idea of th e le c tu re has been ind icated in its title th a t goes: „ J o in t v e n tu re as a positive fac to r of d istrib u tio n of P olish goods in foreign m a rk e ts ”.
The b ro ad e r and m ore d e ta ile d approach to this su b je c t w ill be p ro -ved by th e follow ing th re e points:
1. The u n so p h isticated m otives of P olish e n te rp rise s to p a rtic ip a te in j-v. in th e foreign m a rk e ts consist in:
a) m ore m ark e tin g -o rien te d a ttitu d e of Polish m an u fa ctu res and e x p o rte rs to w ard s foreign m a rk e ts in th e last 8— 10 y e a rs w hich r e -qu ires am ong others: a d ire c t approach to th e consum er, elim in atio n of u n n ecessary links of d istrib u tio n , creation of a p p ro p ria te conditions fo r aftesale service, sales prom otion and so fo rth ;
b) th e w illingness to accom m odate som e disadvantageous effects of inco m p arab le m ethod of in te rn a l s tru c tu re of p rices and costs adopted in th e Polish econom y and th a t of in te rn a tio n a l level of costs e v alu ated in m u tu a lly com parable cu rrency.
2. J-v . p lay a positive r ole in th e stra te g ic and op eratio n al a c tiv ity of P olish pro d u cers and e x p o rte rs in foreign m ark e ts th o u g h th e p ro -b a -b ility of op eratio n al m an ip u la tio n of such chan n el of d istri-b u tio n as rep re se n te d by j-v. seem s to be m ore ap p re c ia te d th a n th e m otives of stra te g ic ch aracter.
3. J-v . have b een gaining th e ir significance in th e p ractice of P o-lish foreign tra d e and th e y w ill be grow ing in n u m b er both in th e d e-veloped co u n tries and less dee-veloped onec.
Ad. 1. Now I w ish to call y o u r a tte n tio n to un so p h isticated m otives of p articip a tio n of Polish e n te rp rise s in th e j-v. in th e foreign m ark e ts as m entioned above.
W hile such u n d e rta k in g s of th e c a p italist e n te rp rise s to in v est abroad in d ire c t tra d e , in d u stria l or service a c tiv ity a re a consequence of th e ir p rin c ip al aim w hich is th e m ax im izatio n of th e ir p ro fit — and such v e n tu re s abroad are reckoned as one of th e w ays to rea c h th a t aim — th e m o tiv atio n of p ro fit has not got y e t a decisive w eig h t in th e case of P olish en terp rises. In P o lan d foreign tra d e organisations and those in d u stria l ones th a t h ave got th e a u th o rity to c a rry e x p o rt of th e ir p ro -duction act w ith in th e fra m ew o rk of d efin ite p lans allocating th e ir task s and resp ectiv e resources. As th e re is a re la tiv e ly hig h in te rn a l in te rd e -pendence b etw e en these tw o m ag n itu d es — th e e n te rp rise realizin g its task of foreign tra d e is in a c o n sta n t search of th e best solutions in its a c tiv ity a t hom e and abroad, selecting such com bination of resources and m eans th a t g u a ra n te e s accom plishm ent of th e task.
E n te rp ris e ’s ow n selling o rg anisation in th e foreign m a rk e t is tr e a -ted as a v e ry effective tool of th e op erativ e activ ity . T h a t view does n ot h av e a v e ry long tra d itio n a n d w as developed a t th e end of th e 60’s and a t th e beginning of th e 70’s, th a t m eans a lre ad y w h en th e influence of cap italist tra n sn a tio n a l corporations on th e w orld tra d e w as w id ely noticed a n d w h e n th e significance of m ark e tin g w as m ore and m ore du ly a p p re c ia te d bo th b y th e p rac titio n e rs and th e o rists ta c k -ling th e econom ic problem s in Poland.
T he cognizance of m ark e tin g s tra te g y of w e ste rn e n te rp rises, a d ap -ta tio n of m an y elem ents of m a rk e tin g to th e p ractice of th e m ark e t and ev olution of th e m ark e tin g th e o ry for th e use of P olish e x p o rt e n te rp rise s (trade a n d in d u stria l ones) h av e led to th e revision of opi-nion and p rac tic e on th e role of tra d e m iddlem en in foreign m ark e ts a n d on th e purpose of analysis and choice b e tw e en th e ch an n els of d i-strib u tio n . T he eagerness to im ita te those verified in th e W est m ethods of a c tiv ity in th e foreign m a rk e ts th ro u g h th e ir ow n b ran c h e s and subsidiaries as w ell as th ro u g h jo in t v e n tu re s w as and is still a v e ry essential reason of u n d e rta k in g th e in itia tiv e of P olish e n te rp ris e s to
in vest d ire c tly in th e foreign m ark e t. „Since o th e rs d e riv e p ro fit fro m co n tro llin g foreign m a rk e ts th ro u g h th e ir ow n e n te rp rise s and jo in t- -v e n tu re s th a n th e re m u st be som ething th a t m ig h t help us in our selling too” — th is opinion could re fle c t th e com m on view of those execu tiv es of Polish foreign tra d e w ho going th ro u g h th e ir ro u n d of d u tie s analyze th e beh av io u r of com petition in o th e r m a rk e ts or w ho d e lib e ra te upon expansion of effective selling пн xi .
A long th a t surface o b servation th e re h ave b ied o ut fo r y ears q u ite nu m ero u s and c o n sta n tly deepening theoretical analyses of larg e w e s te rn corporations and of th e m ethodes of o p eration of m u ltin a tio -nals — in d ep e n d e n tly of th o ro u g h studies of all aspects of m ark etin g . These tw o c u rre n ts: p rac tic a l observations and th e o re tic a l gen eraliza-tio n soon b ro u g h t about v e ry positive legislaeraliza-tion providing factilities fo r in d u stria l and tra d e e n te rp rise s in establishing th e ir affiliated com -p anies abroad. As th e aim of th is a c tiv ity th e re a re m entioned firs t of all — ad vantages arising from th e elim ination of m iddlem en, low ering th e cost of expansion an d prom otion, a closer ap p roach to th e end user b y m an u fa ctu rers, m inim ization of difficulties c rc a te d by legal re s tric -tions, a possibility of c a rry in g a m ore effective a fte r-sa le service, possession of w arehouses, savings on labour, raw m a te ria ls or processing in case of production, etc. A ll these m otives belong to th e bag of in cen-tives of th e tra d e policy of P olish foreign tra d e organisations actin g in th e fra m ew o rk of gen eral ru les dom in atin g in th e socialist foreign t r a -de: e q u a lity of tre a tm e n t, m u tu a l b e n e fits and n o n in te rfe re n c e in th e in te rn a l affairs of th e host country.
B ut th e re is one m ore m otive, not less im p o rta n t th a n th a t m en tio -ned above. A nd now som e com m ents on it. A lthough th e m ethods of calcu latin g th e fu ll costs of e x p o rted goods are in P oland m ore and m ore p erfect — it is still v e ry d iffic u lt to s ta te if and to w h a t e x te n t th e in c u rre d costs and th e ir price expressed in foreign c u rre n c y re fle c t th e real in p u ts and an iticip ated m arg in of profit.
M oreover, th e re a re situ atio n s w h ere th e co n tact of th e m a n u fa c tu -r e -r w ith his final clien t is v e -ry o ften excessively ex te n d e d by m iddlem en. This fact iddlem akes even iddlem ore difficu lt th e c o n fro n tatio n of iddlem a n u fa c tu re r ’s own costs and prices w ith th e com parable p ro ducts of com -p e titio n in o rd er to a sce rta in if and to w h a t e x te n t his ow n -p ro d u ct and price com ply w ith th e ex p ectatio n s of th e end user. In o rd e r to elim in ate th e effects of failu re in th e accounting system and to reduce th e costs of agency as th e y deb it th e e x p o rt incom e account th e re is a cle a rly noticed end eav o u r of a deep e n try into th e foreign m ark et, closer rela tio n s w ith th e consum er — th ro u g h th e in te rm e d ia tio n of ow n afilliated com panies and j-v. I t affords a com parison of e x p o rte r’s
p ro d u ct (quality, appearance, service, price) w ith co m p etito r’s p ro ducts of th e sam e kind. This c o n fro n tatio n m ig h t be called „pure, c lean ” as it bypasses in te rm e d ia te facto rs of d istrib u tio n , alm ost b ro u g h t dow n to th e sam e co m parative fe a tu re s and m easurable in th e sam e cu rrency. A t th e sam e tim e a deep e n try into a foreign m a rk e t allow s th e ex p o r-te r to c a rry active sales prom otion cam paign w ith th e im m ediar-te con-tro l of its effectiveness as w ell as p e rm its him to negotiate d ire c tly th e fin al prices. The sh iftin g of th e final stage of negotiations to th e foreign a ffiliate p e rm its him to obtain prices m ore com parable w ith th e average level of sim ila r goods th a n in case w hen prices w ould be n egotiated a t th e in itia l stage of th e d istrib u tio n chan n el i.e. a t th e m a n u fa c tu re r’s stage.
In th is w ay th e e x p o rte r realizes sales a t „o p tim u m ” price level. A t th e sam e tim e th e w hole system of costs and p ro fita b ility of foreign tra d e gets a rea listic c rite rio n of its rig h fu ln ess and secures a ste a d y flow of in fo rm atio n to a d ju st th e m ethods of calculation w h a te v e r th e case m ig h t be.
I t seem s to m e th a t th e m ain in te re s t of m an y executives of e x p o rt in d u stry and foreign tra d e organizations in estab lish in g th e ir ow n su b -sidiaries and j-v. in th e foreign m a rk e ts deriv es from such approach to th e problem of th e role played b y th e m entioned subsidiaries in th e selling process. I have to a d m it th a t I have nover m et such w ording in th e P olish respective lite ra tu re .
I w ould ad m it th a t th ese tw o m otives hold th e first and decisive place in P olish p ractice of d ire c t in v estm e n t in th e foreign m arkets.
No doubt some o th er m otives w hich nave com pelled tra n sn a tio n a l co rp o ratio n s to in itia te o perations of p e rm a m e n t facilities abroad a re fa m ilia r to th e P olish practice too. We should m ention d issatisfaction w ith th e in te rn a tio n a l m iddlem en and inefficiency of local ag ents and m a rk e t in stitu tio n s as w ell as th e in v itatio n of foreign go v ern m en ts o r com panies. This reaso n occurs m ore fre q u e n tly in tra d e rela tio n s w ith less developed countries. T aking in to consideration th e fac t th a t P olish foreign-based affiliates o p e ra te m ain ly in tra d e and d istrib u tio n th e re is no room for such reasons applied by m u ltin a tio n a ls like lo w er costs obtained th ro u g h em ploym ent of local labour, av a ilab ility of special raw m ate ria ls, low er tax e s a n d ta x privilegos, tra n sp o rta tio n econom ies and others.
To finish w ith th is p a rt of m y lec tu re I w ould like to say a few w ords about th e choice of o w nership policy to w ard s a foreign affiliate. So fa r th e practice of P olish organizations in v estin g d ire c tly in th e d i-s trib u tio n and production facilitiei-s abroad i-show i-s th e ten d en cy to poi-si-sei-si-s
th e ir 100 p e r cent ow n b ran c h or su b sid ia ry though th e a d a p ta tio n to th e local re q u ire m e n ts in estab lish in g j-v. is e q u a lly w elcom ed.
L egislation of m an y co u n tries w hich re q u ire p a rtic ip a tio n of local businessm en in j-v. is against th e in te re s t of m an y corporations. M any of th em w ould r a th e r go o ut th e ir w ay to avoid such ven tu res. B ut th is is not so m uch th e case of P olish e n te rp rise s due to a d iffe re n t type of j-v. M oreover j-v. a re p a rtic u la ry noticed ju st in th e case of a fo-reig n go v ern m en t in v itatio n or w h en a P olish com pany w a n ts to join its selling forces w ith th e in flu e n tial local p a rtn e r.
R eservations of m u ltin a tio n a l corporations ag ain st j-v. like: reduced m an ag erial flex ib ility , c o n tro v e rsy b etw een th e in te re sts of local p a rtn e rs and th e head office of th e corporation over th e volum e of p ro -fit and its division policy of rein v e stm en t, size of sale and p ricin g policy of in te ra ffilia te business and oth ers do not have significant im pact in th e Polish practice. L e t us not fo rg et th a t th e m ain sp h ere of business in th e Polish a ffiliates ab road is tra d e and th is does not cre a te so m any problem s as in th e case of production.
B ut th e re do ex ist o th e r sources of conflicts in th e P olish tra d in g affiliats abroad. T hey arise not so m uch as a re s u lt of conflict of in te -re sts b etw een fo -reig n an d P olish p a rtn e rs b u t as a consequence of a di-ffe re n t com m ercial a ttitu d e adopted by Polish e n te rp rise s doing business in foreign m a rk e ts th ro u g h th e P olish affiliate.
As it is know n th e re a re tw o d istin ct ow ners of P olish j-v. abroad. One is th e firm called C om pany of In te rn a tio n a l T rade DAL specialized in establishing and m anaging Polish v e n tu re s abroad th ro u g h d ire c t inve-stm en t. DAL controls a t th e m om ent a g re a t p a rt of foreign-based P o-lish affiliates. T he o th ers belong to d iffe re n t tra d e organizations like M etalex p o rt dealing m ainly in m achine-tools and in d u stria l tools, T ex- tilim p e x th a t is specialised in e x p o rt an d im p o rt of te x tile s etc. B ut no m a tte r to w hom th e a ffiliate s belong — th e y do business also for o th e r Polish tra d e organizations on a p u re agency basis or as b u y e rs on th e ir own account. Som etim es th e y re p re se n t in a fo reig n m a rk e t m an y P olish ex p o rte rs and h a n d le dozens of d iffe re n t groups of products. T han it m ight hap p en th a t som e com panies could aspire in th e ir selling drive to use th e a ffiliate beyond its capacity of finance, m anpow er, w a re -housing or tra n s p o rt facilities. The m ost probable w ay of solving th e p roblem is a co n trib u tio n of such a com pany in th e costs involved w ith th e additional service ren d e re d by th e affiliate. It m eans th a t also in such cases th e in te re s t of local p a rtn e r in j-v. is not exposed to th e
Ad. 2. I w ould like to d raw y o u r a tte n tio n now to th e second point of m y le c tu re i.e. to consider and exam ine th e sp heres of a c tiv ity p e
r-form ed by Polish pro d u cers and ex p o rte rs th ro u g h j-v. to show th e m ost positive aspects of such organization.
a) It seem s to m e — th ough it m ight be m y p ersonal opinion — th a t one of th e m ore positive qu alities of j-v. in th e c o n te m p o ra ry P o-lish foreign tra d e is th e elim in atio n of consequences proceeding from th e deficiency of m a rk e tin g practices of m an u fa ctu rin g e n te rp rise s and tra d in g com panies. T hanks to th e j-v. based d ire c tly in foreign m a rk e ts th e producing and tra d in g organizations can sim ply continue th e ir in d u stria l and tra d in g a c tiv ity w ith o u t use of dynam ic m a rk e tin g s tr a -tegy. A jo in t-v e n tu re in a foreign m a rk e t becom es in th is w a y a sort of a shock ab so rb er lessening th e effects of c o n fro n tatio n of Polish ex p o rts w ith expectations of clien ts and w ith goods of o th er suppliers. A positive role, in th is ty p e of j-v. as a channel of d istrib u tio n is expressed b y a possibility of j-v. to p e rfo rm some of th e follow ing s e r-vices on b eh alf of th e P olish supplier: packing, so rtin g and classifica-tion, rem oving th e dam ages occurring d u rin g tra n sp o rta tio n , en su rin g a fte r-sa le service, in itia tin g m an y additional o perations based on th e know ledge of local conditions and w hich w ere overlooked b y e x p o rte r etc.
b) J -v . provide facilities fo r d ire c t co n tact w ith th e end u se r and in this possibility lies th e m ost positive fe a tu re of e x p o rte r’s ow n t r a -ding channel abroad. A d ire c t contact enables:
— analysis of selling prospects of th e goods a lre a d y produced by P olish e n te rp rises;
— d e te rm in a tio n of co n sum er’s p refe re n c e s and taste s of th e m a rk e t in o rd er to shape th e p ro d u ct for fu tu re sales;
— b e tte r price a d ju stm e n t due to b e tte r know ledge of m a rk e t si-tu atio n , selling contacts etc.;
— m ore p ro fitab le prices d u e to personal n eg o tiating abilities (this fac to r is v e ry m obilizing for P olish sta ff of j-v.);
— elim ination of un n ecessary m iddlem en and cost econom ies: — im m ediate response to th e re m a rk s of clients ab o u t th e q uality, sta n d a rd of service etc.
c) J -v . give a chance to increase th e v a lu e of sales because th ey : — com bine th e know ledge of m a rk e t w ith tra d e and financial faci-lities obtained g e n e ra lly from th e P olish e x p o rte r on b e tte r te rm s th a n o th e r in d ep e n d e n t buyers;
— com bine th e possibilities of d e liv e ry w ith th e selling organization, w h e re th e local p a rtn e r m ight have a bigger selling o p p o rtu n ity th a n he could have an o p p o rtu n ity to b u y outside th e j-v.;
— can organize bigger and b e tte r equipped w arehouses, w h a t m ight b e v e ry essential in th e case of some seasonal goods w hile th e y have to be produced out of season too b u t w ith o u t enough w arehousing facili-tie s in Poland.
d) J-v . in itia te an d p a rtic ip a te in selection of custom ers, fac ilita te th e access of th e e x p o rte r’s p ro d u cts to th e h ig h er class of consum ers, back th is process w ith help and advise, including finance, organization and s ta ff of th e affiliate.
e) T here are some goodw ill aspects of jv. th a t deserve to be m en -tio n ed . J-v . o ften accept em ployees of th e rep re se n te d Polish firm to tra in th em and let th e m im prove th e ir q ualifications a t th e foreign m a r-k e t level. J-v . tar-k e p a rt in th e m a rr-k e t rese a rc h carried out by th e head com p an y o r by those Polish e x p o rte rs th a t do business th ro u g h j-v. T h e y also fu rn ish th e ir P olish p a rtn e rs w ith m a rk e t rep o rts, books and o th e r publications th a t m ig h t deep en th e e x p o rte r’s know ledge of th e m a rk e t. It is also of some im p ortance for th e P olish p a rtn e r in th e j-v. th a t according to th e Polish legislation, some p a rt of th e re p a tria te d p ro fit can be used to b u y m o d ern e q u ip m en t to speed up th e o rg aniza-tional progress a t th e offices of P olish foreign tra d e organizations and in th e e x p o rtin g factories. A significant sh are of m odern office e q u ip -m e n t in so-me head offices of j-v. in P oland is a ttrib u ta b le to such a source of funds.
f) Since th e m axim ization of p ro fit is not a basic goal fo r Polish e n te rp rise s, d ire c t in v estm e n t abroad is also freed fro m th is goal. Thus th e re is possible:
— flexible m an ip u latio n of price and o th er selling conditions as th e need arises in th e m a rk e t and on th e supplying side;
— fu rn ish in g th e a ffiliate w ith bigger selling po ten tial, including h ig h er stock of goods to a m uch h ig h er v alue th a n ju stified by th e r e -la tio n to the reg iste red capital;
— em ploym ent of m ore salesm en in o rd er to g et a b e tte r ex p e rien ce of th e m ark e t, d e ep er p e n e tra tio n of th e m ark e t, elim ination of u n -su itab le clients etc.;
— reliab le service of a clien t a n d provision of m ain ten an ce service according to th e need and n ot only in rela tio n to th e volum e of sales.
g) In th e process of estab lish in g th e ir ow n a ffiliates abroad it w as possible for th e Polish e x p o rtin g organizations to elim in ate from th e di-strib u tio n system som e u n fav o u rab le effects th a t w ere in h e rite d from th e post w a r period. D uring th a t tim e, as a re s u lt of lack of experience an d due to d iffe re n t selection c rite ria of m iddlem en and rep re se n ta tiv e s abroad, th e contacts of P olish e x p o rte rs w ith foreign m ark e ts w ere in cid e n ta l and in ad eq u ate to th e fu tu re req u irem e n ts. N0 1 all m
iddle-m en and o th er business p a rtn e rs of th a t tiiddle-m e w e re able to a d ap t to th e changes of selling m ethods in th e ir ow n m ark e ts and to a d ju s t th e ir organizations to th e increasing su p p ly p o ten tial of P olish ex p o rters. It w as a logical consequence th e n to estab lish affiliates abroad. W hat is w o rth m en tio n in g is th a t m an y of these e a rlie r rep re se n ta tiv e s becam e la te r p a rtn e rs in j-v., b ringing in th e ir good-w ill, know ledge of local econom ic conditions, business policies, and custom s.
h) By te m p o ra ry em ploym ent of Polish sta ff a t d iffe re n t levels of m an ag em en t in j-v. it is possible to tra n s m it to th e c o u n try th e acq u ired exp erien ce and m an ag erial know -how . T his is qu ite an im p o rta n t facto r in case of a ffiliates established in th e h ig h ly developed in d u stria l coun-tries. A n o th er facto r re la te d to th is sp h ere is a possibility to diffuse th e gained exp erien ce and expand new m ethods of distrib u tio n . To illu s tra te th is I can m ention th e follow ing exam ple. One P olish e x p o rte r th a t used to w ork th ro u g h th e affiliate of agency ty p e got such a good know ledge of th e m a rk e t and g a th e red a su fficien t pool of e x p e rts in th e su b ject to estab lish a j-v. The said j-v. u n d e rta k e s various o p eratio n s w ith th e im p o rted goods like slicing, sorting, packing, etc. to d e liv e r th em di-re c tly to th e n etw o rk of di-re ta il shops. This v e n tu di-re seem s to be v e ry p ro fitab le due to elim ination of o th er m iddlem en and th a n k s to changes effected w ith th e goods w ith in th e d istrib u tio n channel.
i) J-v . facilitate contacts w ith th e au to rities p a rtic u la ry in those coun-trie s w h ere th e purch ases for public and s ta te in stitu tio n s are m ade in form of ten ders. In th is case a P o lish p a rtn e r in j-v. being a s ta te e n te r-p rise m o tiv ated by o th e r goals th a n th e r-p riv a te com r-pany, gives in a w ay som e assu ran ce th a t th e proposed tra n sa ctio n does not im ply excessive costs or illegal comm issions.
j) J-v . allow om ission or accom m odation of some sp heres of con-flicts th a t m ight a rrise w hen p a rtn e rs w ork to g eth e r b u t are ru le d by d iffe re n t legal system s. T he said sp heres a re follow ing:
— n atio nalization;
— em ploym ent of local citizens;
— consum er pro tectio n (a n ti-tru s t and a n ti-d u m p in g legislation); — u n fa ir tra d e practices like u n reaso n ab le tra n s fe r prices;
— ta x legislation;
— fees and o th e r p a y m e n ts m ade o ut to th e h ead office.
In th e case of in d u stria l j-v. a P olish p a rtic ip a n t gains th e sam e adv an tag es th a t a re usu ally know n in th e practice of w e ste rn c o rp o ra-tions. T hey a re — am ong others:
— m inim ization of difficulties c re a te d by th e g o v ern m en tal re s tric -tions of trad e;
— econom y of scale in production; — access to local sources of capital;
— h ig h er re tu r n of th e invested capital due to low er costs of raw m aterials, labour, ta x e s etc.
T here a re no such a d v an tag es th a t hap p en in th e case of tra n s n a -tio n al corpora-tions and w hich a re backed by th e volum e of o pera-tions d om in atin g m an y countries, in te g ra tio n of affiliates of financial m an a -g em ent on a -global scale. B ut w h a t seem s to be v e ry positive for th e f u tu re a c tiv ity of P olish e n te rp rise s in foreign m a rk e ts is a chance of tra in in g in th e existing j-v. som e n u m b er of Polish executives. By w o r-king for some tim e in a d iffe re n t economic, social and legal e n v iro n m en t th e y m ay provide a professional cad re fo r th e expansion of in d u stria l j-v. abroad.
As it could be observed from th is review of adv an tag es a m ajo rity of th em re p re s e n t p rac tic a l and o p erational ones. The stra te g ic a d v a n -tages are, to a m uch lo w er degree, tak e n into account by these e n te r-prises th a t possess enough financial resources and com m ercial reasons to in v est abroad. A t this m om ent I w ould like to m en tio n th a t re s e a r-ches carried out in th e W est to disclose th e reasons of corporations inve-stm e n t abroad have show n v e ry low degree of stra te g ic p lan n in g am ong o th e r m ore op eratio n al m otives (for exam ple: Endel J. K olde, A w ni A L-A N I and others).
T h ere is a n o th e r sim ila rity as w ell: m an y adv an tag es of Polish p a r-tic ip a n ts in j-v. a re th e sam e as m et in th e p rac r-tic e of w e stern corpo-rations. B ut th e re ex ist also som e useful aspects of j-v. th a t a re v e ry typical for th e P olish practice only.
It is w o rth w h ile to m en tio n th a t th e analysed ad vantages rep re s e n t a v e ry concrete financial aspect and, th erefo re, th e y a re h ig h ly a p p re -ciated by P olish e n te rp rise s using th e ir ow n affiliates and j-v. in foreign m ark ets. B ut th e re a re also some adv an tag es of no financial value — or at least of no such valu e a t th e given m om ent. I th in k th a t th is pheno-m enon is a specific P olish one.
Ad. 3. I am tu rn in g now to th e last po in t of m y lec tu re tre a tin g ab o u t th e fu tu re tendencies for j-v. in th e Polish foreign trad e. In spite of a v e ry positive co n trib u tio n of j-v. and o th er affiliates for Polish foreign tra d e th e re is no d o u b t th a t this phenom enon is still v e ry insi-gnifican t an d does not p lay a v e ry im p o rta n t role for th e w hole eco-nom y as yet. It is enough to com pare th e n u m b er of P olish a ffiliates op eratin g abroad in th e com m erce and production — ab o u t 60 of th e m — w ith th e n u m b er of th em controlled by w e ste rn corporations. F o r exam ple th e US corporations have established m ore th a n 12,000 a ffilia -tes abroad, th e B ritish ones about 8,000, G erm an corporations about
4,000, F re n c h ones about 2,500. T o tally tra n sn a tio n a l corporations of 17 in d u strialized W estern econom ies co n tro l about 35.000 foreign-based affiliates. It is enough th a n to com pare th e re la tio n played by th e P olish pro d u ctio n and tra d e in th e to ta l w orld volum e of p ro d uction a n d com m erce w ith those figures of P olish affiliates in rela tio n to th e w orld n u m b er of th em to see how big is th e disproportion. M oreover — ab o u t 85 p e r c en t of P olish affiliates deal m ain ly in th e agency tra d e an d n ot all of th em b u y and d istrib u te goods on th e ir ow n account. T he in d u stria l a c tiv ity (assem bly and production) fo r th e local m a rk e t is still w ith o u t p rac tic a l significance.
So, it m eans th a t th e use of th is form of a c tiv ity ab road does n o t correspond still to th e sh are achieved by P oland in th e w orld econom y and tra d e . T herefore, w e can ex p ect m ore su b sta n tia l g ro w th of Polish branches, subsidiaries and j-v. abroad th a n u n til now.
T he fo u r tre n d s should be expected.
a) T rad in g and d istrib u tin g a ffiliates w ill increase in n u m b er bo th in th e developed co u n tries and in th e T h ird W orld countries. T h e re w ill be m ore effo rts to b e tte r p e n e tra te th e m a rk e t and n ot ju st to r e -place th e existing n e tw o rk of com m issioned agents. T he n e w ly e sta b li-shed a ffiliate s w ill be b u y e rs on th e ir ow n account, to a h ig h e r e x te n t, th a n in th e case of p re se n t practice. T hey w ill h ave bigger b u ying capacity, as w ell as m ore possibilities to organize packing, sorting, g ra -ding, slicing etc. organizing and co -o rd in atin g a fte r-sa le service.
b) T h ere should be launched j-v. ex p loiting m in e ral reso u rces a n d processing a g ric u ltu ra l produce. This a c tiv ity should be c o n c en tra te d m ain ly in th e less developed countries. This te n d e n c y w ill be m et w ith th e ap p ro b a tio n of these co u n tries as th e y w ish to secure a bigger sh a re for th e ir econom ies in th e w orld tra d e in m a n u fa c tu re d goods. T h is te n d e n c y reflec ts as w ell th e basic policy of P olish econom ic re la tio n s w ith those co u ntries. A positive aspect of th is ty p e of d ire c t in v estm e n t in th e less developed co u n tries should be a possibility of rep a y m e n t in th e fo rm of deliveries of goods received in th e estab lish ed j-v. This corresponds w ith in te re s t of P o lan d as w ell, since ou r econom y is d e-p e n d e n t on th e im e-p o rta tio n of m an y m inerals, a g ric u ltu ra l e-p ro d u cts and o th e r consum er goods. An a d d itio n al positive facto r m ig h t be a po-ssib ility of supplying th e in v estm e n t goods, im p lem en ts and know -how by th e Polish p a rtn e r.
c) T h ere is a positive prospect too fo r d ev elopm ent of assem bly and p ro d uction affiliates in th e T h ird W orld countries, specially since th e in d u stria l and technological level of P olish econom y seem s to be com -p le m e n ta ry enough for th e dev elo -p m en tal necessities of th e T h ird W orld. In th is case it w ould be also advantageous fo r th e P olish p a rtn e r in th e
j-v. to su p p ly in v estm e n t goods fo r th e new e n te rp rise, and continue d eliv eries of sp are p a rts and im plem ents for th e local production.
d) F in a lly th e re a re some possibilities of e stab lish in g production affiliates in th e in d u strialized co u n tries to p ro duce fo r th e local m ark e t or for th e m a rk e ts of th e in te g ra te d area. Such affiliates should exploit m ain ly these lines of business — and so fa r th e re a re n o t m an y — w h ere P oland has achieved a h ig h ly specialized and in te rn a tio n a lly recognized quality.
C onditions for m ore significant dev elo p m en t of Polish a ffiliate s abroad a re m u ltip le and com plex: economic a n d financial, organizatio-nal and hum an, even political ones. As a re s u lt of a possible tw ist of these conditions th e increase of n u m b er an d sp h eres of a c tiv ity of P o -lish a ffiliates abroad m ight not reach th e level re q u ire d by th e in te re s t of th e Polish econom ic cooperation w ith th e W est — though th e positive re su lts of ex isting jv. and o th e r form s of o w nership ab ro ad r e -com m end f u rth e r developm ent of th a t form of d istrib u tio n in th e fo-reig n trade.
M aciej S ta lm a sz c zy k
JO IN T VENTURE JA K O CZYNNIK U Ł A T W IA JĄ C Y D Y STRY BU C JĘ PO L S K IC H TOW ARÓW NA OBCYCH RYNKACH ZBYTU
B a rd z iej m a rk e tin g o w e podejście do ry n k ó w zag ran iczn y ch ze stro n y polskich p ro d u ce n tó w i e k sp o rte ró w d o prow adziło w ciągu o sta tn ic h 8— 10 la t do ro zw o ju j- v z u działem polskiego k a p ita łu . W p rzep ro w ad z o n ej a n a liz ie a u to r zw raca u w ag ę n a szereg pozy ty w n y ch asp ek tó w k o rz y sta n ia z j-v zarów no w o p e ra ty w n ej p rac y polskich p rze d sięb io rstw e k sp o rtu ją c y c h ja k i w p ro g ra m o w an iu długo-okresow ej stra te g ii ek sp o rto w e j. W zw iązku z ty m n ależy za k ła d ać znaczniejszy niż dotychczas rozw ój te j fo rm y d ziała n ia n a ry n k a c h obcych. P oza liczną ju ż fo rm ą spółek ag en cy jn y ch i d y stry b u c y jn y c h w in ie n n a s tą p ić rozw ój a filia c ji dla ek sp lo a ta cji surow ców m in e ra ln y c h oraz d la p rz e ro b u płodów ro ln ic tw a i h o -dow li.
