“Global strategy” and its impact on local operations: Lessons from Gillette Singapore

Abstract

Executive Overview Among the myths about global strategy is the assumption that it means integration across international operations that causes a loss of country identity and dissociation of product lines from their local context, as they report to global product managers. This article advances a different view, in which global strategy is synonymous with holistic approaches, necessarily international ones, that can tighten local integration in the interest of global goals. The experience of Gillette after the acquisition of Parker Pen shows that mergers and acquisitions by global companies can involve local integration across divisions in order to create within-country synergies. It also shows that tapping the power of global brands often requires acknowledging country differences and respecting local norms, thus strengthening, rather than weakening, the local country unit and enhancing relationships across functions and divisions within it.

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